We are still in chapter 49 of Genesis with our word for today used for the first time in the Bible in our chapter. דִּין judge, plead one’s cause, contend, quarrel, argue, execute judgement. It is used 23 times in the Old Testament. A big part of God’s character is his ability to judge correctly. Psalm 9:7-8 The Lord reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He rules the world in righteousness and יָדִ֥ין judges the peoples with equity. Solomon prays for God to give him justice so he can judge correctly like God does. Psalm 72:1-2 Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. May he יָדִ֣ין judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. Isaiah 3:13-15 The Lord takes his place in court; he rises to לָדִ֥ין judge the people. The Lord enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?” declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. We see Rachel making reference to God’s correct judgement when she names her son Dan. Genesis 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has דָּנַ֣נִּי vindicated me; he has listened to my plea and given me a son.” Because of this she named him דָּֽן Dan. This brings us to how our word is used in our chapter today.
Genesis 49:16-18 דָּ֖ן Dan shall יָדִ֣ין judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. דָן֙ Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward. I wait for your salvation, O Lord. The name Dan is the noun form of the verb with the same root word “to judge”, and his tribe produced one of the most famous judges, Samson (Judges 13–16). The tribe of Dan was given a fertile land bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Philistine territory (Joshua 19:40–48), but they weren’t able to drive out the Philistines. In order to gain more land, they moved north and conquered the people of Laish and took their land (Joshua 19:47; Judges 18:1–29). By associating Dan with the serpent, Jacob revealed his crafty nature and his habit of making sudden attacks on his enemies. The tribe’s conquest of the defenseless people of Laish is an example of their subtle tactics, and their setting up an image in their territory shows that they weren’t wholly devoted to the Lord (v. 20). Two centuries later, King Jeroboam set up one of his idolatrous golden calves in Dan (1 Kings 12:28–30).
Jesus identifies himself as the Judge in the parable of the sheep and the goats. Matthew 25:31-32 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. We know that Jesus as God will judge correctly. In the parable the basis of God’s judgement is on their faith in action meeting the needs of others. The good news is that if we are in Christ we pass from judgement into life because of Jesus death in our place for our sins. Our faith in Christ is what God considers or counts as righteousness because on our own good works we would be separated from God. But faith in Christ is active it not theoretical or ideological. It meets the needs of others. I’ll close with Jesus own words on being saved from Judgement because of our relationship with him through faith. John 5:24-27 Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
