S/oriee of /le Soin/e Digging Deeper

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The Tvelve Triles ol Israel
IntroJuction
Ve have seen the characters ol the tvelve triles ol Israel over
the past tvo veeks as ve have Jug into the story ol ]oseph.
This veek, hovever, ve vill look more at not only the 50450
lor vhom the triles are nameJ, lut at the .43.059 ol these
tvelve triles ol Israel. These lecome the lounJation lor the
geopolitical nation ol Israel as vell as the lounJation lor the
church as the people ol GoJ.
The Triles
]acol/Israel haJ tvelve sons. These sons are part ol the
lullillment ol GoJ's promises to Alraham (Gen I2.I3, I.38),
anJ Isaac (Gen 26.I5). More specilically, they vere also part
ol the promise ol GoJ to Relekah, that loth her sons, ]acol
anJ Fsau, voulJ lecome nations (Gen. 25.23). Hovever, the
actual tvelve triles Jo not map exactly to the tvelve sons,
though ve might expect that.
]oseph can really le consiJereJ to le tvo triles, since his
sons, Fphraim anJ Manasseh, lecome nameJ triles (Numlers
I.IJ anJ 32, I3.II, 26.28). But then Levi, thirJ son ol ]acol anJ
Leah, Joes not get counteJ vith the others. GoJ chooses Levi
anJ his JescenJents to le set apart lor special ministry in the
talernacle. These lecome the priests anJ Levites throughout
the rest ol Scripture.
Sons ol Leah (]acol/Israel's Iirst Vile)
O Reulen. lirstlorn lut not as prominent as ve think a
lirstlorn might le, possilly lecause ol his allair vith
Bilhah (Gen 35.22)
O Simeon
O Levi. not counteJ as a trile no allotment ol lanJ set
apart lor talernacle service
O ]uJah. lecomes one ol the most prominent triles the
line ol KinJ DaviJ anJ ]esus
O Issachar
O elulun
Sons ol Bilhah (Rachel's maiJservant)
O Dan & Naphtali
Sons ol ilpah (Leah's maiJservant)
O GaJ & Asher


Sons ol Rachel (]acol/Israel's Iirst Vile)
O ]oseph. counteJ essentially as tvo triles through his
sons, Fphraim anJ Manasseh
O Benjamin
The Numler Tvelve
The numler tvelve plays a signilicant role in Scripture. Ve
see these tvelve triles that lecome the lounJation ol the
people ol GoJ throughout Scripture. Ve see ]esus choosing
tvelve Jisciples. In the look ol revelation, the numler is useJ
symlolically to represent the church on earth in Jillerent
vays. 2+ elJers representing the OlJ anJ Nev Testament
church (Rev +.+), the voman in chapter I2 (Rev. I2.I6, I3I8),
the names ol the triles on the gates (2I.I2) anJ the apostles on
the lounJation (2I.I+) ol the nev ]erusalem (as vell as
measurements ol the city leing multiples ol I2), ol the I++,JJJ
(I2XI2XIJJJ, a numler ol completion) representing the
vhole church on earth (Rev. .+, I+.I,3). All ol this legins vith
the tvelve triles ol Israel.
Irom Person to Trile to KingJom
In our message toJay ve spent some time on the movement ol
the lullillment ol the promise ol GoJ. lrom person (Alraham)
to the trile (the I2 that come lrom ]acol's sons) to geo
political kingJoms (the grouping ol the triles into tvo
groups. the northern kingJom ol Israel anJ the southern
kingJom ol ]uJah). All ol these are Jescriling the people ol
GoJ.
Vhen ve see ]esus enter into human history, He also comes
vith kingJom language, except that He reJelines kingJom
lrom an earthly geopolitical realm to the heavenly, spiritual
realm. He speaks ol the kingJom ol GoJ as the place vhere
GoJ rules in people. So all lelievers in ]esus nov truly lecome
a nev nation. the nev Israel (I Peter 2.9IJ). The kingJom is
no longer a physical nation, lut a spiritual one, in the church
on earth.
So though there is much historical locus through the theme ol
this veek, ve see the reality lor us toJay. ve vho have laith
in ]esus are part ol the kingJom ol GoJ, vhether or not ve are
physically JescenJeJ lrom Alraham. Ve are all chilJren ol
the promise spiritual JescenJents ol Alraham anJ heirs
together vith him ol that promise!