Makers Of Money – Or History?

If we parallel Deborah’s story in Judges with our world, who does the tribe of Dan represent? Dan is the Christian who belongs to God’s family, knows what are God’s claims upon him, hears God’s call – but does not respond. He remains in his ship shop when God wants him to “seek first the kingdom of God.” The music of the tinkling till, applause of the unconverted, or opinion of family and friends deafen him to the call of the living God. Dan sings about “the sweet bye-and-bye on the beautiful shore”, – but will his ship reach it, or just flounder in the Sea of Life? Can this be? Look at the wreckage of lives where people have chosen the wrong priorities. Some of the saddest people have been those who did not keep their eyes on God, and things went terribly wrong in the end. Success turned to ashes, popularity went sour. They chose the Danite opportunities of the ship shop: they let others follow Christ to his harvest field, or battlefield, or maybe mission field. In the end, they saw their joy and contentment turn to tragedy: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!”

The runner with Deborah’s recruiting letter hoped for a better response as he reached the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali. Two men were working in the fields, and looking forward to the end of the day and to the joy of their wives and children. They huddled around the dispatch runner to hear and consider Deborah’s call to service. What should they do? There was only one choice: Go! “Praise the Lord,” they shouted, “that God has anointed somebody to lead us. Let’s make an end of this constant harassment from Jabin and his bandits. Thank God for Deborah! We’ll back her to the hilt. Tell her we’re on the way!” Zebulun and Naphtali exchanged their pruning hooks for spears. Children were hugged, weeping wives kissed, and the men marched away into the dust of battle. “Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their lives to the point of death, Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.” That is high praise; the kind of praise that you want to hear from God.

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