Deuteronomy 33:22 About Dan he said: "Dan is a lion's cub,
springing out of Bashan."
(The next tribe to receive Moses' farewell pronouncement goes to Dan.
The Hebrew meaning of lion's cub not only refers to strength, but also to the undisciplined and mindlessness of a whelp that exhibits an inappropriate boldness and rashness.
Though allotted a small territory along the Mediterranean, to the east of the Jordan and just north of the Dead Sea,
the Danites chose, instead, to establish themselves in the northernmost part of the Promised Land,
willfully "springing" like a young lion out of the mountains of Bashan which lay east of the Jordan River, an area that would later be the name of a town and region that became a descriptor for the northernmost boundary of Israel.
As we receive the blessing of Dan, the Lord also allows us, too, to establish ourselves as a boundary that separates us from the possible intruding forces around us and to spring forth with strength from the mountains of His strength. At the same time, He calls us, like Dan, to maintain a careful guard over potential rash or undisciplined acts on our part.
This description of Dan may also be a reference to a future event later told in Judges 18 where the members of the tribe had fallen into idol worship and attacked and destroyed an unsuspecting people near Bashan.
As a caution to us, our immaturity in the Lord and even our disobedience can lead us to make decisions that may be bold, but can be based in willfulness, meanness, and even injustice. When we allow our self-will to guide us into following our own desires,
we become idol worshipers who are unruly and destructive.)
