I don’t think I’ve ever heard a sermon on Dan, nor sang a song about Dan; come to think of it, I’ve never preached about Dan either. Daniel, yes, but not Dan. What we read today seems quite negative on Dan, like an insult, but we remind ourselves that this is a blessing from Jacob. So what does it mean?
“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.” (Genesis 49 v 16-17)
This is not an insult.
Look again.
The horse falls, and the rider goes down. How? By a snake, a viper, something that doesn’t overpower the enemy but destabilises it. The unexpected strike and a great animal comes tumbling.
God has always worked this way.
Look at this list, but there are so many more in the Bible:-
- The stuttering prophet — Moses
- The shepherd boy with five stones — David
- The prostitute with a scarlet thread — Rahab
- The barren woman — Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth
- The runaway — Jonah
- The tax collector at the booth — Matthew
- The child with a packed lunch — feeding thousands
I’ve only listed seven; I could have listed so many more. He works through the unnoticed and the ones the world thinks are not a threat. Dan is small, a younger son of a concubine and easy to overlook. Yet Jacob speaks justice over him before the world has seen a single thing.
You may feel like Dan. Not the obvious choice, maybe by others. Insignificant. A roadside place that people pass through without stopping.
But snakes don’t need to be seen to be effective.
That’s the power and blessing of the Dan people.
Missions Paul 