C
“The children of Dan erected for themselves the sculptured idol,” and they “set up the sculptured idol that Micah had made the whole time that the house of God was in Shiloh”—18:30-31:
１
The apostasy with Dan was the setting up of a divisive center of worship—17:9-10; 18:27-31; 1 Kings 12:26-31.
２
Dan fought as a young lion to gain more land (signifying Christ), but after being successful and victorious, he became proud, individualistic, and independent—Deut. 33:22; Josh. 19:47; Judg. 18:27-31.
３
What the Danites gained made them proud and independent, unwilling to submit to what the Lord had ordained—vv. 1-31; Deut. 12:5, 8:
ａ
Because Dan was successful, he became proud and individualistic; he cared only for himself, not for others—33:22; Judg. 18:27-31.
ｂ
The source of Dan’s apostasy was in not caring for the other tribes; not caring for other parts of the Body is the source of apostasy.
４
Nothing throughout the history of Israel was more sinful or more damaging to God’s people than Dan’s apostasy in setting up a divisive center of worship—Gen. 49:16-18; Deut. 33:22; Judg. 18:1, 30-31.
５
Every divisive center is set up for someone’s self-interest; such a practice causes not only division but also competition—vv. 1, 13-31; Gen. 49:16-18; Deut. 33:22:
ａ
The tabernacle was in Shiloh, and the graven image was in Dan—Josh. 18:1.
ｂ
“They set up the sculptured idol.. .the whole time that the house of God was in Shiloh”—Judg. 18:31; 1 Sam. 1:3.
６
In the history of Christianity there have been many “Dans,” who were not willing to submit to others but set up another center of worship—Judg. 18:1, 13-31.
７
The best way to be safeguarded from falling into apostasy is to care for the entire Body and the Lord’s unique testimony in the Lord’s one work—1 Cor. 10:17; 12:12, 27.
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 12:27 Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.12 For even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.
The words for themselves in Judges 18:30 are very significant. Many who claim to be worshipping God are really doing something for themselves. Apostasy is doing something for the self under the cloak of worshipping God. Jeroboam had no heart for God. Rather, his heart was for his own little empire. In his heart he feared that the kingdom would return to the house of David (1 Kings 12:26). Using the name of God as a cloak, he did everything possible to preserve his empire. This is apostasy. (Life-study of Genesis, p. 1321)
Today’s Reading
The whole of Christendom today is an apostasy. So many are doing things for themselves under the name of Jesus Christ and under the cloak of the worship of God. This is the reason the Lord needs a recovery. The Lord’s recovery will always offend others. As long as the recovery is here, the divisive groups will stand condemned. As long as the temple was in Jerusalem, the golden calf was under condemnation. Was it possible for Dan to love Jerusalem? No, there could be no reconciliation between Dan and Jerusalem. Often others have come to me and said, “Brother Lee, please don’t be so bold. Why not be a little nice?” I replied, “To whom should I be nice? To the serpent? To the horned snake? To the graven image? To the golden calf?…” How can we be kind to today’s apostasy? There can be no compromise. Do not try to compromise with the serpent, the horned snake. If you are kind to the snake, you will be poisoned by it. If you try to be nice to today’s apostasy, you will be damaged…. In Jerusalem there was God’s temple as His testimony, but in Dan there was apostasy. Both in church history and in our own Christian experience we have seen this very thing….We might have said that we were working for the Lord when we were actually working for something else. This is apostasy.Dan did not care for the other tribes; he cared only for his own tribe. After he won the victory and gained the expansion, the enlargement, he did something for himself. This was the source of his apostasy. According to the Old Testament, the Lord never forgot Dan’s apostasy. In the eyes of God it was the worst sin in His economy. Nothing is more damaging than divisiveness. Nothing is more destructive than division among God’s people. Divisive worship centers are often related to idols. Because the devil lurks behind idols, by setting up an idol Dan became a serpent. Whenever you become divisive, no matter how good your reason may be, there will be something behind you—the serpent, the subtle one. The whole history of the church testifies of this and our experience confirms it. Whenever you do not care for others, but only for your interests, doing something merely for yourself, the serpent is at hand. The best way to be safeguarded from falling into apostasy is taking care of others. Suppose Dan had contacted the other tribes and said, “Brothers, do you agree that I set up another worship center in the city of Dan?” Had he done this, the others would have said, “Brother, don’t do this. Deuteronomy 12,14,15, and 16 forbid us to have any other center of worship that we may come to the unique center.” If Dan had consulted the other tribes, he would have been kept from apostasy. But being individualistic, he set up another worship center and fell into apostasy.
In principle, every divisive center of worship is the same. Those who establish them care only for their interests, their desires, and they neglect all the other saints. They are like Dan, who cared only for his tribe, not for the others. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1321-1323)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Genuine Ground of Oneness,” ch. 3; Life-study of 1 & 2 Kings, msg. 8