The new movie, Unsung Hero, tells the story of one family with seven children who left
everything to follow God. I loved how the end showed what each child ended up doing with their adult life. Many of them work together today. I have always had a fascination with large families.
So, no surprise, the family in the Bible with 12 boys and one girl fascinated me. Joseph, with his
technicolor dream coat, came from that family, with eleven brothers and one sister. Yeah, they were brothers from four different mothers, but all one father. Similarly, we all have different parents, but in Christ, One Heavenly Father. Each time the Israelites are listed in the Bible, I pay attention.
In birth order, the twelve sons
were as follows: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin (Genesis 29:31-30:24, 35:16-18). At some point, brothers Levi and Joseph were replaced with Ephraim and Manasseh. The Levites were set apart to care for the temple of God. Therefore, the twelve brothers needed to really be thirteen in order to have twelve tribes develop with one brother’s line caring for the temple. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph’s two sons. Therefore, he actually received a “double inheritance,” as the favored son. His two sons
became two of the twelve tribes of Israel. I’m sure that caused some debates among little boys
and girls in competitions! “I’m favored because I’m from the tribe of Ephraim!”
At another point, Judah, the fourth born became the leader. The first three disqualified
themselves by sinning. Reuben slept with his father’s maid, trying to usurp his position as leader of the family instead of his dad (Genesis 35:22). Simeon and Levi killed a whole city full of men in response to one
of those men raping their sister and consequently wanting to marry her (Genesis 34). Therefore, those three disqualified themselves from being the great great great great…many greats
later…great grandfather of Jesus! While those three still had tribes with their names, the
ultimate King of Kings did not come from their seed.
So…what’s the big deal? We first heard about those dudes in Genesis, the first book of the
Bible. But look at the list in Revelation, the very last book of the Bible. Somewhere between Genesis and Revelation, some tribes shifted! See if you can tell who is missing and why?
“From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the
tribe of Gad 12,000, from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,
from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000, from the tribe of Simeon 12,000, from the tribe of
Levi 12,000, from the tribe of Issachar 12,000, from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the
tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000“
(Revelation 7:5-8).
Why 12,000 and the sealings are questions for another day. However, just looking at the tribes listed reveals a few things. First of all, Judah is first. As Christ came from his line, he remained the leading tribe. I am still trying to figure out the reasoning of the rest of the order. But I have found reasons why Dan and Ephraim are missing! Apparently, the tribe of Dan was the first to fall into idolatry in Judges 18:1-31.* The tribe of Ephraim is excluded for similar reasons (Judges 17:1; Hosea 4:17).** The tribe of Dan also gradually ceased to exist. “Hence [the tribe of Dan] is omitted in the fourth through eighth chapters of First Chronicles. Dan’s small numbers
are joined here to Naphtali’s, whose brother he was by the same mother.”***
So what’s the big deal you ask? It all reveals something about the God we serve. While He definitely forgives those who seek repentance, He also doesn’t overlook sin. Judah was not perfect. He messed up, big time in Genesis 38. But he also repented in the end. He had a life changing experience. Jacob, the father of the twelve Israelites, also messed up, but had a life changing encounter with the Lord Almighty
(Genesis 32:22-31).
Following God is not about perfection. It’s about continued repentance. As a result of their repentant hearts following hard after God, the Lord blessed them! Conversely, we never see Reuben, Simeon, or Levi truly repent of their wrongdoings. The tribe of Dan and Ephraim never turned their hearts back to God as opposed to idolatry. When they messed up, they faced long lasting consequences as a result of their sins. I cannot explain further without referencing the Chronicles of Narnia.
In the beginning, Edmund turned from Aslan toward evil, but eventually repented and was made whole again. Yet in the end, in the final book, Susan is missing. She turned away and never returned to Aslan. She never repented. She chose her own way.
We all make mistakes, some bigger than others, some daily. But repentance and continued dependence on the Lord is our call, not perfection. God never expects us to be perfect, but to
depend on His perfection to cover our fallible selves. Take a lesson today from the Israelite
brothers. Whether you have made a big or a small mistake, choose to repent and return to the Lord, like Judah, like Edmund. Choose to be one included when Jesus returns. Do not go missing like the tribe of Dan and Ephraim or like Susan from the Chronicles of Narnia. God is ready and waiting to make things right. Don’t fear returning to Him with your mess. He can handle it and work with it. As the song from Unsung Hero says, “He makes everything, everything beautiful…in His time.”
Footnotes
*Critical and Explanatory Commentary on the Whole Bible, Revelation 7
**Critical and Explanatory Commentary on the Whole Bible, Revelation 7
***Critical and Explanatory Commentary on the Whole Bible, Revelation 7