Genesis 49

July 2, 2014

Jacobs family is reunited in Egypt where they live for seventeen years, and then the
time comes for Jacob to die.

And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you
that which shall befall you in the last days.
2
Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye
sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Jacob calls all his sons into his room so he can tell them what will happen to them in the
last days. It was the same when Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau and when Jacob blessed
Ephraim and Manasseh: he reveals Gods will for his sons by faith.

The trouble with a passage like this is we can get really bogged down in the details. Its
not that arent important, because they are. But Ill just tell you now that some of these
prophecies are pretty vague. Some commentators have tried to find meaning in them, but
I dont like being subjective. Also, a couple of these (especially Zebulun) have some
difficulties that require a lot of study and explanation. Its enough for me that theyre
true, and were not going to spend a lot of time on it.

Suffice it to say that what hes about to say is a blessing that has value for the son who
first heard it, for the Israelites all throughout their history, and for every son of God
since. For that reason were not going to focus so much on what he says as we are why he
said it.

This passage shows God declaring the end from the beginning; He knows what will
happen with these tribes even before they become tribes. It also shows that Hes not
chosen them because of their might or their morality but because of His own purpose in
election. Most importantly, its here that we find more information about the redeemer
for Adam and Eve.

So, Jacob has a blessing for each of his sons, and he starts with Leahs first four children:

Reuben

3
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the
excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4
Unstable as water, thou shalt not
excel; because thou wentest up to thy fathers bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to
my couch.

Being the oldest, Reuben is supposed to get the blessing and the birthright. Hes
supposed to be the family priest, but because of his sin years earlier hes been
disqualified. The only thing he gets is a promise not to excel. Its been pointed out that
this is basically what happened for the Reubenites as a tribe too. Theres some debate
about whether Hosea came from his line, but, other than that, there really werent any
kings or prophets or priests from him.

Thats pretty harsh, but dont read more into it than whats there. Moses blesses the
Reubenites in Deuteronomy 33 and he says, Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his
men be few (v. 6). In Revelation seven hes listed as one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and
12,000 from his tribe are there with the Lamb. So hes not being put out of Israel, but the
man himself loses the rights of the firstborn and his descendants arent anything special.

Simeon and Levi

5
Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6
O my
soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou
united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a
wall.
7
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will
divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

When Dinah was raped they convinced the men of Shechem to be circumcised and then
they executed them all while they were too weak to defend themselves (Gen. 34:25).
Jacob didnt approve of it then, and he hasnt changed his mind.

Now, the King James says theyve digged down a wall, but apparently the Hebrew can
also mean they've hamstrung an ox. That means they either tore down someones
defensive wall or maybe their house, or they cut an oxs tendons just to make him useless
to a farmer for ploughing.

So, these two men, who are next in line for Reubens birthright, are rejected because of
their vengeance, their senseless destruction, and their violent anger.

They will be scattered, but again that doesnt mean theyre cut off from Israel. The
Simeonites got land, but they had to share it with Judah (Josh. 19:1, 9) and Levi didnt get
any at all, but they got the priesthood (Dt. 18:1).

Judah

8
Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of
thine enemies; thy fathers children shall bow down before thee.
9
Judah is a lions
whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion,
and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10
The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be.
11
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his asss colt unto the
choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12
His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

Reuben's birthright is handed to Judah; hes given preeminence over his brothers, and
victory over his enemies.

Judah is compared to a lion because kings will come through him. Of course you know
that David and Solomon are two of them, and more importantly, so will the King of kings
who is called the Lion of Judah!

This is why the scepter will never depart until Shiloh (or peace) comes. In other words,
theres a king in Judahs line who will reign over His people forever in peace.

In addition, Judah will have material blessings in dyed clothing and plenty of food.

Its hard to say why God chose him, but it says something about His grace and purpose in
election. It truly cant have anything to do with works if God chose Judah.

Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali and Benjamin

13
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and
his border shall be unto Zidon.
14
Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two
burdens:
15
And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and
bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16
Dan shall judge his
people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17
Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in
the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18
I have
waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall
overcome at the last.
20
Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal
dainties.
21
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

27
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night
he shall divide the spoil.

These are the ones I had in mind when I said theyre either vague or require a lot of
study. The truth is we dont know a lot about these. If you read 100 different
commentaries youll likely get 101 different perspectives.

But keep in mind that were asking why more than were asking what. What good is
this for the sons? What good is it for Israel? And what about us? I think this blessing will
serve as proof to Israel that everything is going according to plan. If the brothers start to
think theyre in control of their own destinies, God will show them that Hes the planner
of their lives.

Joseph

22
Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over
the wall:
23
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24
But
his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands
of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25
Even by
the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee
with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the
breasts, and of the womb:
26
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the
blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall
be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from
his brethren.

Joseph is Rachels oldest child, so he gets the blessing. Jacob already gave it to him when
he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh, but now its done in front of everyone. Its the first
time Jacob actually uses the word blessing and he uses it five times.

These blessings were from God, and they were complete: they were of heaven above, of
the deep below, and of the breast and womb (or sustenance and life). They even
surpassed those of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.

28
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto
them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

So he finishes blessing his sons, and then he gives one final command:

29
And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury
me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30
In the cave
that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which
Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
31
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah
his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32
The purchase of the field and of the cave that is
therein was from the children of Heth.
33
And when Jacob had made an end of
commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost,
and was gathered unto his people.

This is his last declaration of faith. Though hes dying, he wants to be taken back to the
Promised Land.

Lets finish with a few thoughts and observations about why this passage is beneficial:

#1God gave Israel a clear sense of identity which linked them directly to the promise.

#2God shows His control over the destinies of the men as individuals and as tribes.

#3God provides true grace in keeping with His will in election.

#4God reveals more about His promise for a redeemer in Christ.

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