Vigilance
“The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its clans. The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa.
(When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their ancestor.)”
Today’s Text: Joshua 19:24-51 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
The land that Dan was allotted belonged to the Philistines. Dan was not able to take possession of their inheritance. And so they ended up attacking and destroying Leshem (aka Laish).
The story of Dan’s conquest of Laish is given in Judges 18. Reading that account in Judges, it becomes clear why Dan could not take possession of the territory of the Philistines. They robbed a house and kidnapped a priest, they were bullies, and worst of all, they practiced idolatry. Furthermore, the people that the Danites eradicated are characterized as peaceful. We get a very strong sense that Laish was not a territory that God was giving to the Israelites.
We find at an early stage in the conquest of the promised land that the faith of the Israelites was already getting compromised and corrupted.
It is a reminder that faith in Christ takes daily vigilance—even when, or especially when, we think we are doing the work of God. That is because we do not “sense” the Living Christ with any of the five traditional senses (or the 20-30 extended senses) that humans are born with.
And so, while everything that we “know” and believe ultimately takes faith, faith in Jesus Christ is counterintuitive. And that is why faith in Christ has always been countercultural.
In fact, faith in Christ is more counterintuitive than faith in idols or faith in other so-called gods. That is because Christian faith demands faith in one true God; Christian faith believes that the one true God is triune—Father, Son, and Spirit; Christian faith believes that God loves us and wants a relationship with us; Christian faith believes that God rescues us because of His love, not as a transaction, but because of grace through faith; Christian faith believes that our ultimate reward is Christ Himself, not in any wealth, power, or prestige in this world; and Christian faith believes that Jesus will return and that we will join with Him for all eternity.
For all those reasons and more, Christianity is counterintuitive and countercultural.
But as we maintain our daily vigilance of faith in Christ, our faith grows. Our lives and our world (the good and the bad) start to make more and more sense in the context of the Scriptures. We experience God answering our prayers. And the Holy Spirit starts to develop our spiritual senses more and more.
Every day we live must be a day received from the Lord. Every day we live must be a day given to the Lord. Every day we live must be a day to reflect the glory of God and to give Him glory.
It is alarmingly easy to compromise in living for the glory of God. And so we need to be vigilant in faith daily.
Father, Your power, Your majesty, and Your love, mercy, and grace know no bounds. Forgive me when I compromise in living for Your glory alone. Yet, Your word continues to guide me, and Your mercy continues to sustain me. Thank You for being patient with me. Help me to be diligent in faith daily. In Jesus’s name.
