The fourth lot fell to Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families.The tribe of Issachar, who was the ninth of the twelve sons of Jacob, was chosen fourth. In Genesis 49:14-15, we discover that Jacob described Issachar as being strong, but also docile and lazy. And as is so often the case, this temptation toward procrastination was passed down through the family tree of Issachar. And the reality is that the same thing often occurs today. And we know this to be true; we have seen this in the lives of others. Unfortunately, we often cannot see this reality in the mirror, however. The reality is that the temptation toward procrastination is a trait and characteristic in our lives that can be taught and caught by future generations.
A little further in the story, we see that the tribe of Dan ended up being chosen last when it came to receiving their portion of the land that God had promised the Jewish people. However, there was a problem with the tribe of Dan when it came to their possession of the land, which is revealed for us in Joshua 19:47:
The territory of the sons of Dan proceeded beyond them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and possessed it and settled in it; and they called Leshem Dan after the name of Dan their father.In this verse, we see revealed for us the consequences that the tribe of Dan faced for their procrastination when it came to occupying and settling the land that God had promised and provided for them. The phrase “proceeded beyond them” literally means that it went out from them. In other words, the land that God had promised this tribe was passed from the possession and control of the tribe of Dan. This tribe never fully occupied and possessed the land. In another letter in our Bibles, called the book of Judges, we read that it was the tribe of Ephraim, not Dan that ended up occupying and settling this land. In the 18th chapter of the book of Judges, we read that instead of occupying the land that they were supposed to possess, the tribe of Dan eventually ended up traveling all the way up to the northwest corner of the Promised land, where they ended up capturing a city named Leshem, which they renamed Dan. So instead of possession all of this territory, the tribe ended up only possessing one city.
And as we read through the Old Testament, we discover that the tribe of Dan repeatedly introduced idolatry into the midst of the Jewish people. And by the end of God’s story in the Bible, we discover that the tribe of Dan is omitted in the description of the 144,000 Jewish people that God protected so that they could serve Him during the Great Tribulation. In essence, the tribe of Dan faded into oblivion; they disappeared from being identified as part of God’s people. And this process of fading away into rebellion and failure began to be revealed by their procrastination.
And in the same way today, as followers of Jesus, our procrastination when it comes to doing the right thing when it comes to following God and restarting our lives can serve as a sign of a much deeper and far more significant spiritual issue. Whether it is procrastination that is fueled by idolatry; or it is procrastination that is fueled by rebellion, procrastination can serve to reveal the true nature of our spiritual condition.
So how are you doing when it comes to resisting the temptation toward procrastination? Are you missing opportunities to experience God’s activity when it comes to restarting your life because of procrastination? Are you suffering an identity crisis as a result of procrastinating when it comes to pursuing a growing and maturing relationship with Christ? Are you passing down procrastination as a trait and characteristic to future generations? Does procrastination serve as a sign of a much deeper significant spiritual issues? Because the reality is that to restart requires resisting the temptation toward procrastination.
No comments:
Post a Comment