Dan And Naphtali Series

Dan and Naphtali [part 1]

Naphtali was Jacob's sixth-born son and two sons by Rachel's maidservant, Bilhah. Naphtali's older brother was Dan.

Rachel was so delighted at the birth of another son that she called the child Naphtali, which means "my wrestling." She chose this name because she felt vindicated (Justified) after struggling with her older sister, Leah, to provide Jacob with heirs: "Then Rachel said, 'I have had a great struggle with my sister, and I have won.' So, she named him Naphtali" (Genesis 30:8).

Little more is written of Naphtali in the Bible; we know that he had four sons: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem (Genesis 46:24), and, eventually, he moved his family with Jacob to Egypt to escape the famine.

Jacob's deathbed blessing upon Naphtali was, "Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns" (Genesis 49:21) or "gives beautiful words" (NASB). Scholars suggest many interpretations for Jacob's blessing of Naphtali. Some say it implied gentleness of character; others think it may have alluded to agility in battle or hastiness.

Naphtali's descendants came to be known as the tribe of Naphtali, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The first census in the wilderness credited 53,400 adults, battle-ready males to the tribe of Naphtali (Numbers 1:42–43). A later census taken near the end of the wilderness wanderings counted 45,400 men of Naphtali who were capable of battle (Numbers 26:48).

When Israel entered the Promised Land, it pronounced a blessing on Naphtali's tribe: "Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake" (Deuteronomy 33:23). As indicated in this blessing, Naphtali settled in northern Canaan in the high regions west and northwest of the Sea of Galilee.

Three Levitical cities reserved for the family of the Gershonites existed within the tribe's borders (Joshua 21:32; 1 Chronicle 6:62) along with Kadesh, a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7). Naphtali successfully conquered the region but did not drive out the Canaanites. Instead, the Canaanites were the geographical position of the tribe which led to several significant conflicts in the region. The most significant was the war against Jabin, King of Hazor. Victory over Jabin came by the hand of Barak, the Hebrew Warrior.

Barak, the Hebrew warrior

Barak was a ruler of Ancient Israel. As military commander in the biblical Book of Judges, Barak, with Deborah, from the Tribe of Ephraim, the prophet and fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel, defeated the Canaanite armies led by Sisera.

Barak was the son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and Barak's mother was from the Tribe of Benjamin. His story is told in the Book of Judges, Chapters 4 and 5.

The story of the Hebrews' defeat of the Canaanites led by Sisera, under the prophetic leadership of Deborah and the military leadership of Barak, is related in Judges Chapter 4 and repeated in poetry (Chapter 5, which is known as the Song of Deborah).

Chapter 4 makes the chief enemy Jabin, King of Hazor, though his commander-in-chief, Sisera, played a prominent part.

Deborah summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam, from his home at Kedesh in Naphtali and ordered him, in the name of YHWH, to take ten thousand men to Mount Tabor. He agreed on the condition that Deborah should go with him. As Deborah had expected, he was attacked by Sisera, whose forces were put to flight, and the more significant part of them were slain by Barak's army.

Because Barak would not go to battle without Deborah, in turn, she prophesied that the honor of victory would not go to him but rather to a woman (Judges 4:9). Barak asked Deborah to go with him because of her connection with God. Some Scholars see Barak as spineless, while others might see Barak as making an intelligent decision since Deborah was a mediator between God and humans. Most authorities believe this passage refers to Jael's killing of Sisera in her tent following the battle, while others believe this refers to Deborah herself.

Scripture reading: Revelation 7:13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. Moreover, he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The 144,000 mentioned here are people whose beginnings were far from holy. However, they are going to stand pure and holy finally. However, how do they get there?

We are reviewing the tribes of Israel, which comprise 144,000, and we have seen and will continue to see the process by which these people will be made perfect: They come out of great tribulation, wash their robes, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb.