Deuteronomy 33:22 says, "And of Dan he said, Dan is a young lion: he shall leap from Bashan" (Heb.). The mention of the young lion in this verse links the second and third groups of the twelve sons, showing that the third group is the continuation of the second. The crucial figure in the second group is the lion; and Dan, the first of the third group, is also called a lion. As a young lion, Dan is not fighting for the prey, but for more land (Josh. 19:47; Judg. 18:27-29). By this we see that the young lion has progressed from fighting for the prey to fighting for the land. In typology, to fight for more land means to fight for more Christ. The young lion in Judah was for seizing the prey. But the young lion here is fighting for more land, fighting to gain more Christ. In Judges 18 we see Dan as a young lion, fighting for more land.
After Dan obtained the city of Dan in Judges 18, an idol, made by Micah, was set up in it (Judg. 17:4-5; 18:30-31). At that time God's tabernacle was in Shiloh. But in the city of Dan there was an idol. Today we have the light to understand the spiritual significance of this. It means that some Christians have been able to gain more of Christ. But after gaining more of Christ, they set up another center of worship. According to the book of Deuteronomy, in the good land there should have been only one center of worship for God's people (Deut. 12:11, 13-14, 21; 14:23-26). At that unique center there were God's name and God's habitation. During the time of the book of Judges, the center of worship was in Shiloh, where God's tabernacle and priests were. Although Dan gained the victory, this victory made him independent. All independence comes from pride. Do not think that spiritual gain cannot make you proud. Even the gain of Christ can make us proud. This is what is called spiritual pride. Those who are spiritually proud will not be subject to others. Rather, they say, "Why must we go to Shiloh? We can set up something ourselves." Immediately after Dan's victory, another center of worship, with the idol made by Micah, was established in the city of Dan.
If you consider the history of Christianity, you will see that this kind of thing has happened again and again. A certain individual or group of believers has been victorious in gaining more of Christ. But this gain of Christ made them proud and independent. Because they were not willing to submit to others, they set up another center of worship. They should have gone to the worship center in Shiloh, for the priests ordained by God were in Shiloh. But they set up something man-made and man-ordained. This is the creeping in of the serpent, the subtle one.
The serpent of Genesis 3 appears again in Judges 18. In this way Dan, the young lion, became a serpent. Genesis 49:17 says, "Dan shall be a serpent on the way, a horned snake on the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward" (Heb.). The serpent here is worse than the serpent in Genesis 3, for here it is a horned snake. Without knowing the history in the Old Testament, the spiritual significance, and how to make the practical application, it is difficult to understand this verse. However, if we know all these things, we shall see that there have been many Dans in Christian history. First these Dans were young lions gaining more of Christ, but they eventually became serpents, even horned snakes, setting up other centers of worship. Even today, many spiritual ones who have gained something of Christ have set up another center of worship in addition to the unique center ordained by God and established by Him. We must apply this to ourselves and ask if we are setting up other centers of worship. It is a shame and a sorrow to say that during the past fifteen years at least two or three who were once among us have done this very thing. They gained something, but that gain made them proud and independent, unwilling to submit to what the Lord has ordained. As a result, other centers were set up. These have caused some to fall backward.
In Genesis 49 this was prophecy. But today we see the fulfillment of this prophecy in past history and in the present situation. Once again, this convinces us that the Bible is truly inspired by God. How impressive is the picture given here of Dan! Today we see centers of worship with spiritual idols, with so-called spiritual images. The idol and the separate center of worship became the greatest stumbling block to the nation of Israel. By reading the historical books in the Old Testament, we see that by taking in this idol Dan truly became a horned snake. This snake bit the horse's heel and caused the rider to fall backward. This means that the snake became a great frustration and held the people back. As they were riding on, Dan bit the heels of the horse and caused them to fall backward; that is, he frustrated them from going on.