49-9: How would ISIS fare against the Tribe of Gad?

“Gad-a troop will troop on him, but he will troop on their heel.”
-Genesis 49:19

Okay, today we’re going to discuss the tribe of Gad.

Jacob’s blessing over this tribe is quite short, only about 12 words actually.

The first thing you need to know is that like Reuben, Gad’s descendants will be one of the tribes who made the decision to NOT enter the promised land.

 Instead, they decided to settle in the east side of the Jordan River.

As a result of this decision, Gad would become greatly exposed to Israel’s longterm enemies and be constantly at war, much like the tribe of Dan was.

So Gad would develop into fierce warriors.

-When Moses was blessing all of the tribes before his death, he likened Gad to a lion.  This was an allusion to the mighty warriors of this tribe who would strike down Israel’s enemies.

-Also mighty warriors of Gad joined David when he was a fugitive from Saul’s jealousy yet was fighting his own battles against the Philistines.

The Book 1 Chronicles describes the men of Gad as follows:

They were “men of valor, men of war fit for the battle, who could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions and were swift as the barts upon the mountains . . . captains of the host; the least of them commanded a hundred men and the greatest, a thousand”

Interestingly, two of the people groups they found themselves constantly at war with were the Moabites and Ammonites.

Recall these two races were the products of the illicit sexual relationship Lot had with his daughters when he got drunk in the cave he was hiding out in following God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Okay, in terms of spiritual takeaways, I feel like the Lord has placed on my heart the following three points.

First, just as the tribe of Judah’s purpose was to bring forth the Messiah and Levi was separated away from the other tribes to be priests unto the Lord, it seems like Gad’s purpose was to become warriors for the Lord.

So, in the same way, you also have been given special gifts to fulfill a special role God has prepared for you.

Find out what those gifts are and then become the beacon of light you were meant to be in His Kingdom.

Second, just as Gad was called to be a mighty warrior tribe for Israel, let me bring to your attention an important facet of our Messiah that I feel many of us have a tendency to forget.

The image of our Messiah as a meek, gentle servant of God who tenderly kissed the babies and mercifully forgave people their sins has been stressed to the point of overkill where I feel many of us have overlooked the fact that when Yeshua returns, He is coming back as the mightiest warrior mankind has ever seen.

The Book of Revelations makes it clear that when Yeshua returns, He isn’t taking any prisoners and the blood of His enemies is going to flow so deep as to reach a horse’s bridle. 

Finally, in this day and age when we are facing horrific extremist groups like ISIS, I think the time is ripe for a “tribe of Gad” to reemerge and do what needs to be done to take care of such despicable enemies of God.

I wonder how long ISIS would hold up against the ferocious warriors from the tribe of Gad?

Not too long is my guess.