March 10, 2024
Focus: Genesis 49:1-2 – Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come. Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father, Israel.”
Father God, let us draw close and listen to Your words about our lives. Help us to pay attention and listen to Your guidance. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Jacob lived another seventeen years after he arrived in Egypt and died at the ripe old age of one hundred and forty-seven. Very venerable to the Egyptians. Before he died, he called all of his sons together to bless them. These blessings were not only expected but were important to the inheritance of the father’s wealth and authority. We will find as Jacob blesses his sons that, again, birth order does not count.
Note that Jacob called them sons of Jacob AND sons of Israel. They were both. They were human sons as well as spiritual sons. This shows that Jacob acknowledges that he is Jacob, the man who struggled with God and Israel, the man that God made him to be. They gathered at his bedside. As we will see, not all of these blessings are blessings. Some are prophecies. This is the first time that a prophecy given through a man, rather than by the mouth of God or one of His angels.
Reuben (Gen. 49:2) is first in the list as he was the first born. He was his father’s pride and joy at birth. He was supposed to be a leader, high in morality and character. However, if you will remember, he slept with his father’s concubine, defiling his father’s bed. He had been honorable and powerful until that time. He was no longer an honorable man and therefore was not eligible to lead Israel. He was not disowned or disinherited, but the prophecy for the tribe of Reuben was one of insignificance. They did not excel, no prophet, judge or king came from this tribe that we are aware of. Uncontrolled passion took any blessing that Reuben may have had.
Simeon and Levi (Gen. 49:5-7) are the second and third sons. They were responsible for the massacre of the men of Shechem as they were recovering from being circumcised. They attacked in anger and fury and without honor. There is a time to be angry but at the same time we must not sin. These two chose to give in to their anger and murdered the men of an entire city. They killed the innocent and the guilty when they should have done neither. Here is another time that the sins of the past affect the future. The tribe of Simeon was the third largest tribe when they left Egypt but was the smallest of the 12 tribes when they arrived in Canaan. They shared the land allotment with Judah and they did not prosper. The tribe of Levi, after the exodus from Egypt remained faithful to God when the people demanded a golden calf (we’ll visit this again when we get into Exodus). As a result they were scattered across Israel as a blessing. They were the chosen priesthood after Aaron, the brother of Moses, who were of the tribe of Levi. They were given no land but were a blessing to the people on whose land they lived.
Judah (Gen. 49:8-12) is the fourth son of Israel. He was not a perfect man either. It was Judah who instigated the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites. He also did not deal with his daughter-in-law according to law, by giving her to his son to raise up a child to her first husband. He slept with her, thinking she was a prostitute. However, he did redeem himself and showed the depth of the change in his character by offering himself to Joseph as a slave in Benjamin’s stead. The blessing that Judah was given is prime example of the grace of God. Judah’s blessing was ultimately the blessing of the firstborn. Jacob said, “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; . . . Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; . . . The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.” Shiloh is another name for the Messiah. Jacob literally prophesies that kings of Israel will come from Judah. Not only that, the Messiah will also be a descendant of Judah. David and all the rulers of Israel, right up until Rome took it away, were men of the tribe of Judah ruled, even if there were foreign masters. The rabbis of the time believed that the “scepter” had indeed passed from Judah because they did not recognized that the Messiah was among them. But, at that time, Jesus was alive and in the land of Judah and yet they could not see it. This blessing made Judah the Keeper of the Covenant of Abraham and Judah leader of Israel.
Jacob remained focused here on Leah’s sons. He moves to Zebulun (Gen. 49-13), his tenth son. Zebulun would settle by the sea. The lands were between the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee. They were sailors. They took to the sea. It is interesting to note that in 1 Chronicles, the tribe of Zebulon sent fifty thousand men to David as warriors. This was the largest number of men sent from any tribe of Israel.
Issachar (Gen. 49:14-15) was the ninth born son. Their prophecy was rather grim. Jacob said literally said that they would wind up under foreign masters. By the time they entered Canaan, Issachar was the third largest tribe. However, the tribe of Issachar were not fighters. They were content to hold their land, not fight for it. As one of the largest tribes, they were targets of oppressors and often became slaves and wound up working for their masters.
Dan (Gen. 49:16-18) is next on the list. Jacob calls Dan a judge and a snake. Samson was of the tribe of Dan and he was a prominent judge in Israel. But the tribe of Dan introduced idolatry to Israel. Shrines to idols were set up by Jeroboam in Dan. The tribe of Dan is missing from the list of 144,000 in Revelations but is listed first in Ezekiel in the millennial roll call of the tribes of Israel (Ezekiel 48). At the end of Dan’s blessing, Jacob calls for salvation. Point of interest here, the Hebrew word for salvation is ‘yeshuwah’. Yeshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus. Jacob was calling out for Jesus, whether he knew it or not.
Gad (Gen. 49:19) was a tribe of warriors. They provided some of the finest warriors for battle. The prophecy is that though it looks as though they lost the battle, they will win the war.
Asher, (Gen. 49-20) apparently was blessed with a green thumb. Not only would their land provide good bread but it would also provide luxuries as well. Even Moses called the tribe of Asher blessed.
Naphtali (Gen. 49-21) was described as a doe set free with beautiful children. The lands proportioned to the tribe of Naphtali is near the Sea of Gallilee. This is where Jesus did much of his preaching and ministry. The apostle, Matthew, pointed this out in his writings. “Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:12-16).
Now we come to Joseph (Gen. 49:22-26). Joseph was the favored son until he was sold to Egypt. He is described as “fruitful vine”. He was attacked, jeered, picked on, sold as a slave, accused of a crime he did not commit and forgotten while in prison. Yet through all of this, he remained faithful to God and to His guidance. he let himself be used of God no matter where he was. As a result, he not only saved Egypt from the famine but he also saved the tribes of Israel. Because of Joseph, Jacob realized just how good God was to him and his family.
Benjamin is the last of Jacob’s sons (Gen, 49:27). The tribe of Benjamin was know for it’s fierceness. There are several examples of this in scripture. Ehud (Judges 3:15-23), King Saul (1 Samuel 9:1, 14:47-52), and Paul, the apostle (Acts 8:1-3). The tribe was also known for cruelty (Judges 19 -20). The tribe of Benjamin was also know as a constant, faithful ally of the tribe of Judah.
When he was done with the blessings, Jacob gave very specific instructions of what was to be done with his body. He instructed Joseph that his body be carried back to Canaan and laid to rest in the Cave at Machpelah, which had been purchased by Abraham as a burial cave for the family. Then, he lay down in his bed and breathed his last.
Some of these prophecies seem vague and unclear and we may not see them come to fruition until the end of time. The sons and the tribes had had their calling and their destinies set out before them. The promise overall was that they would thrive and come out of Egypt and back to the land promised their forefathers.
We may not have or know of prophecies spoken over us. But God will show us our calling and maybe even our destinies. We are promised that we will overcome by the blood and power of Jesus Christ. This world is our Egypt. Our Deliverer, Jesus, will come to lead us out to the Promised Land. We must remain faithful to His word and His plan.
Father God, thank You for these men who were Your chosen people. Thank You for their faith. Thank You for Jesus, the lion of Judah. Help us to be faithful and to follow the calling You have laid on our lives. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Food for Thought
- If you were a son of Jacob, what would you think about your blessing?
- Reuben?
- Simeon?
- Levi?
- Judah?
- Zebulun?
- Issachar?
- Dan?
- Gad?
- Asher?
- Naphtali
- Joseph?
- Benjamin?
