In the history of Christianity, there have been many like Dan who were not willing to submit to others but set up another center of worship; the best way for us to be safeguarded from falling into apostasy is to care for the entire Body and the Lord’s unique testimony in the Lord’s one work. Amen!
In Judges 17-18 we see how Dan, who did not yet get a portion of the inheritance, fought and gained a city, settled there, and set up an idol there; they set up another center of worship besides the one in Shiloh.
After being successful and victorious in gaining the land, Dan became proud, individualistic, and independent; this lead to apostasy and division in the people of Israel.
If we were to apply this to our Christian experience, we need to beware of falling into apostasy, for it is easy to do this even after having a victory in gaining Christ.
Unless we remain in the fellowship of the Body of Christ and care for the entire Body and the Lord’s unique testimony and work, it is easy for us to be deceived and set up a divisive center of worship.
In the church life in the Lord’s recovery, in the mid-1950s, some of the young co-workers in Taiwan were influenced by brother Austin Spark’s visit from England, and they became proud.
They said that now they see the vision of Christ, and everyone else in the church life, including the elders and the saints, are too small and limited.
They seemed to be seeing this awesome Christ and became so proud, and they caused a rebellion. Oh, Lord!
They were so spiritual, even very spiritual, and they prayed so much and were so gifted and so eloquent, but they became proud and ambitious and ended up in dividing themselves from the Body of Christ.
This is similar to what the Danites did when they gained a city and a place for them to be in the good land – they became proud and independent, and they were not willing to submit to what the Lord had ordained.
Being spiritual is not everything; being eloquent and knowledgeable in the Word of God, being spiritual, and being victorious are not the goal.
The goal is to gain Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ and doing everything for the building up of God’s corporate expression on the earth.
God has a place where He put His name, and we need to all come to that place, be in that place, and worship God in the way that He has ordained.
May we be saved from becoming proud and individualistic; may we be saved from caring for ourselves and not caring for others in the Body.
Setting up a Divisive Center of Worship is the result of Not being to Submit to Others and leads to Division and Competition
In Gen. 49 Jacob gave his blessing to his twelve sons, and his blessing contained a prophetic word.
Concerning Dan, he said that he will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel, and Dan will be a serpent in the way, a viper on the path that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backwards.
This means that, as history proves, Dan took the action of setting up a divisive center of worship, and thus he caused many to fall way and be stumbled. In our history in the church life there were some turmoils that we experienced in the late 1970s and late 1980s, in which many acted in the principle of Dan, trying to bring in and lead the saints to different places of worship, thus stumbling thousands of saints.
When the saints wonder, Which place is better? Which place has more eloquent speakers and more powerful ministry?
When such questions are asked, degradation and division come in. Instead of following God’s choice, God’s way, and His ordination, some follow their choice and preference.
Every divisive center of worship is set up for someone’s self-interest, and such practice causes not only division but also competition (Gen. 49:16-18; Deut. 33:22).
Such competition can clearly be seen in Christianity – some have a 5000 people cathedral, and others make sure they have a bigger one with even more people.
They strive to differentiate themselves from others and draw people to themselves.
What about among us in the church life: do we have competition among us, among our services and areas of service?
We may say that we don’t, but we may prefer one particular work, and we may want all saints to be involved in that work and strengthen that work.
We may serve with the children, the young people, the students, the community saints, or the gospel, and we may want to build up this work, even ask more saints to be involved, not caring for the other needs in the church life. Oh, Lord!
We need to realize that in the church life there is only one work; in the whole Body of Christ there’s only one work, and all our work is part of this one work.
We may serve with the young people and may want to make it successful, but this leads to pride; what we need to do is care for the unique work in the Body and care for all the members and the needs in the Body.
We should not build up our work but rather remain in the fellowship of the Body.
In Judges 18:31 we see that there was competition going on. Even as we serve in the church life in the Lord’s recovery, we have to be cautious of any kind of competition.
We all are serving in the Body, our work is a piece of work in the Body and for the Body, and we should not consider our work as being the most important work.
Rather, we should learn to blend with others, fellowship with others, enter into others’ burden, serve in other areas also, and be conscious of the Body.
In the history of Christianity, there have been many “Dans” who were not willing to submit to others but rather set up another center of worship (Judg. 18:1, 13-31).
May we beware of falling into apostasy by setting up a divisive center of worship that leads to division and competition in the Body!
Lord Jesus, save us from being unwilling to submit to others and to Your ordination in the church as the Body of Christ. Save us from being proud, independent, and individualistic after having some victory in gaining Christ. Keep us one with You, Lord, and keep us in the fellowship of the Body. May we realize that there is only one work in the church life, the work of building up the Body of Christ. Save us from competing with others in our work. Save us from trying to be successful in our work for the Lord without caring for the other members of the Body and the needs of the Body. May we be conscious of the Body and remain in the fellowship of the Body for the building up of the Body of Christ!
We are Safeguarded from Falling into Apostasy by Caring for the Body and the Lord’s Testimony in His one Work
If we look at this greatest sin that Dan committed, that is, setting up another center of worship in Israel besides the unique place of worship where the tabernacle was, we will realize that this is seen everywhere in Christianity today.
So many in Christianity claim to worship God but actually, they are really doing something for themselves. Apostasy is doing something for ourselves under the cloak of worshipping God.
This is practiced so much in Christianity today that many who want to believe in God would rather not because they are stumbled by apostasy and hypocrisy.
The whole of Christendom today is an apostasy, and there are hundreds and thousands of “apostles”, “ministers”, “pastors”, “bishops” and other kinds of leaders who do things for themselves under the name of Jesus Christ and under the guise of the worship of God.
May we return to the divine revelation in the Word of God and be limited and governed by the way God has ordained to worship Him and to meet.
The best way for us to be safeguarded from falling into apostasy is to care for the entire Body of Christ and the Lord’s unique testimony in the Lord’s one work (1 Cor. 10:17; 12:12, 27).
May we never do anything or say anything that will cause the saints to be concerned for us.
As we are doing things, as we serve the Lord, and as we are carrying out our work, do all the saints feel peaceful? We are not the only ones who serve the Lord; we are serving Him in the Body, as members of the Body, even members one of another.
We should never do anything or say anything that will cause concern by the other members.
Rather, we should care for the entire Body and for the Lord’s unique testimony in the Lord’s one work.
If there are concerns by the other members, we should simply stop, surrender ourselves, and submit to the Body.
We shouldn’t be headstrong to say that our work is the most important, we know how to do it, and we can do it and will do it.
This is to take the way of Dan, thus bringing in division, idolatry, and rivalry.
There are ten items of oneness that take away all our excuses to be divided from others: we have only one Bible, one God, one Christ, one Spirit, one life, one salvation, one living, one testimony, one Body, and one city. We are for the oneness of the Body, and we want to be preserved in the oneness.
We don’t know how much longer the Lord will delay before His return, but we want to remain in the fellowship of the Body keeping the oneness of the Body and caring for the unique testimony of the Lord in His one work.
We shouldn’t care for our own interest, our preference, or for building up a work that we prefer to do or are good at doing; rather, we should care for the entire Body of Christ.
The whole history of the church testifies and our experience also confirms that division comes in whenever we do not care for the entire Body of Christ but do something for ourselves to strengthen ourselves.
In Dan’s case, if he had checked with the other tribes to see how do they feel about setting up another center of worship in Dan, they would have been preserved in oneness.
May we be full of fear and trembling within that we would be preserved in the central way of God, in the way of God’s economy, until He returns.
May we see the possibility of apostasy and be saved from falling into apostasy by cooperating with the Lord to care for the entire Body and the Lord’s unique testimony in the Lord’s one work.
Lord Jesus, we want to be safeguarded from falling into apostasy by simply caring for the entire Body and the Lord’s unique testimony in the Lord’s one work. May we realize that we are members in the Body, members one of another, and there is only one work in the church – to build up the Body of Christ. Hallelujah, we have only one Bible, one God, one Christ, one Spirit, one life, one salvation, one living, one testimony, one Body, and one city, so we are one! Amen, Lord, keep us in oneness, in the one accord, so that You may bless the church for the building up of the Body! Keep us in fellowship and coordination with the saints in the church life so that our work would be part of the one work in the church, the building up of the Body of Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. James Lee for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis (pp. 1321-1323), by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2021 summer training), week 6, The Intrinsic Significance of the Book of Judges and the Apostasy of Israel in the Worshipping of God.
- Hymns on this topic:
– For the Church should be our service, / ’Tis the perfect will of God; / ’Tis the only way of working / Which the Lord’s apostles trod. / For the Church should be our service, / Not our aims to satisfy; / This, the perfect will of God is, / And with it we must comply. (Hymns #914)
– In the stream! in the stream! let us work with the Lord / In the flow of the Spirit, as taught by His Word; / Never working by self, independent and free, / But in service related in full harmony. (Hymns #909)
– God the Lord has spoken, and from heaven shown / That the triune God would blend with creature-man: / Father in the Son, the Son the Spirit is, / Dwelling in the Body to fulfill His plan. / God the Lord has spoken, revelation giv’n / Of His vast creation and His lowly birth, / Of His great redemption and salvation full; / May His adoration ever fill the earth. (Hymns #800)
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