Every family has that one person that marches to the beat of their own drum. Sometimes that drum is a good rhythm, pleasing to the ears despite making a melody that is all their own. Other times, that sound is harsh, bitter, and distorted. As much as you want to encourage them to “be themselves,” you also just want the noise to stop.
The tribe of Dan is kind of that way. Genesis 49:16 paints Dan as a hyper-individualistic tribe, one that “judges his own people.” It doesn’t say anything about judging the rest of Israel, though – just his own.
That’s probably for the best, though. As Jacob comes to Dan in his list of blessings/prophecies, he calls Dan a “serpent in the way.” This is an allusion to a particularly poisonous snake that used to dwell on the roads in ancient Israel. Hidden amongst the rocks and camouflaged against the sand, the serpent would wait til its prey passes by, then strike – and usually kill – its victims.
Apart from its most famous member, Samson, the legacy of the Danites is marked by its embrace of idolatry.
In Judges 18, the tribe of Dan is looking for a place to call home. Keep in mind that they were given their land allotment back in Joshua 19:40-48, but as Judges 1:34 points out, the Danites were rebuffed by the Amorites in taking it. As such, they were relegated to wandering through other lands looking for something else to conquer.
They found it in Laish, a city of the Sidonians that was quiet, isolated, and fruitful. They conquered it, set up shop, then found a local priest that they could bribe to provide their new home with a sense of spiritual legitimacy.
In reality, this “legitimacy” was anything but. They stole from others, burned the city to start anew, and set up idols that they could worship. It’s here, in Judges 18, that we find the first introduction of national idolatry within Israel’s borders. From here, it spread to everyone else. Their sins in this regard are so noteworthy that they’re even excluded from the “heavenly roll call” of the 144,000 in Revelation 7:4-8.
Perhaps that’s why, immediately after uttering his words to Dan about being a snake, that Jacob says that he is “waiting” for God’s salvation. He knew Dan would be a snake, and that fact troubled him. All any of us can do in that situation is wait for God’s judgment.
