Now in our daily reading (Genesis49-50) we see Israel blesses his sons & Joseph forgives his brothers. Sorry there is a lot here!
Genesis 49:1-2 Jacob knows that he is about to die, & calls all of his sons together. They probably were all lined up in birth order.
What he says here on his deathbed is prophetic.
Genesis 49:3 “3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn; My might & the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in dignity & preeminent in power.”
He starts off w/Reuben, his firstborn, the one who should have received the birthright & the blessing, which Jacob instead gave to Joseph (Genesis48).
1 Chronicles 5:1, 2 “1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. 2 Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, & from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),”
He first places praise upon him.
Genesis 49:4a “4 “Uncontrolled as water…”
Here the picture that is being used is that of water that is bubbling, boiling over.
Genesis 49:4b “4 “…you shall not have preeminence…”
Because he is unstable as boiling water, he would fail in leadership & never excel at anything.
In fact, in the time of the Judges, the tribe was marked w/great indecision. (Judges05.15-16)
Genesis 49:4c “4 “…Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it--he went up to my couch.”
This was when Reuben slept w/Rachel’s maid, Bilhah in Genesis35.22.
Jacob didn’t really say much when this happened, but we see him here saying that this was why Reuben & his descendants will not excel at much.
Genesis 49:5-6 “5 “Simeon & Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. 6 “Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united w/their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.”
Many people assume from this that Simeon & Levi were close to each other, because they seem to always be together in stuff.
Here Jacob refers to their uncontrolled anger & how their uncontrolled anger led them into sin when they killed all of the Shechemites after their sister Dinah was raped (Genesis34.25-29).
Genesis 49:7 “7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel. that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.””
The tribe of Simeon was later disintegrated w/in the tribe of Judah. (Joshua19.01, 09)
The tribe of Levi, which later became the priestly tribe, had not inheritance of their own & God had them living all throughout the Promised Land. (Joshua21)
In Joshua21, we read that the Levites are given 48 cities all throughout the land. It was estimated that no one in Israel lived more than 10 miles from 01 of the 48 Levite towns. The purpose of this was because the Levites could then fulfill what Moses said about them in…
Deuteronomy 33:10 “10 “They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob, And Your law to Israel. They shall put incense before You, And whole burnt offerings on Your altar.”
So despite Levi’s anger & sins, we see that God can still use & bless His people!
Genesis 49:8a “8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you…”
If you remember from Genesis29.35 we saw that the name Judah means, “praise”.
Genesis 49:8b “8 “…Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.”
This is referring to the fact that from his descendants will come the kings of Israel. We have seen leadership qualities already in the life of Judah, & how the other tribes of Israel will be obedient to him.
Remember that it was Judah who was the one who came up w/the plan to sell Joseph down to Egypt. (Genesis37.26-27)
But then when they need to return to Egypt, Judah takes responsibility for Benjamin. (Genesis43.08-09)
Judah was the one who stood up & interceded on behalf of Benjamin after Joseph’s silver cup was found in Benjamin’s sack of grain. (Genesis44.18-34)
In fact, it was this intercession that stirred Joseph’s heart to the point that he decided that he needed to reveal who he really was. (Genesis45)
Genesis 49:9 “9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp (cub); From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?”
The symbol of the tribe of Judah became a Lion.
Genesis 49:10 “10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”
Shiloh (rest) is another name for the Messiah.
Check out this…
Revelation 5:5 “5 & one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book & its seven seals.””
Lion of the tribe of Judah is a term of royalty. The scepter is a symbol of authority.
Around 12AD we know from Josephus (The Jewish War 02.08.01) & history that the Romans took away capital punishment from the Jews.
In the mind of the Jews, this took away the foundation of their government, which is to be able to put to death those who deserved it.
On this day when Rome took capital punishment away from the Jews, we know that the Jewish people went out & wept because they believed that the Messiah had not come & they could not understand how God can do this.
Shiloh (rest) another name of Jesus!
We know that at this time, Jesus the Messiah was already alive & they did not recognize Him as a boy, & of course, even as a man!
Genesis 49:11-12 “11 “He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. 12 “His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.”
These verses are stating the condition of the land that the tribe of Judah will have in the Promised Land.
The grapevines will be abundant & they will have a lot of milk to drink.
Genesis 49:13-15 “13 “Zebulun will dwell at the seashore; And he shall be a haven for ships, And his flank shall be toward Sidon. 14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between the sheepfolds. 15 “When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant, He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, And became a slave at forced labor.”
Zebulun would profit greatly from sea trade, even though they didn’t border the Mediterranean Sea.
Issachar is likened to a strong donkey. What this means is that this tribe was usually one of the first that invading armies would come into.
Genesis 49:16-17 “16 “Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel. 17 “Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned snake in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, So that his rider falls backward.”
If you remember from Genesis30.06 (Bilhah is his mom) we saw that the name Dan means, “judge”.
Dan was supposed to provide justice but instead chose treachery, like a snake by the side of the road.
In the time of the Judges, the first major practice of idolatry appeared in the tribe of Dan (Judges18.30).
Genesis 49:18 “18 “For Your salvation I wait, O LORD.”
Here Israel just breaks out in praise!
Genesis 49:19-21 “19 “As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, But he will raid at their heels. 20 “As for Asher, his food shall be rich, And he will yield royal dainties. 21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose, He gives beautiful words.”
If you remember from Genesis30.11, (Zilpah is his mom) we saw that the name Gad means, “troop, attack or fortunate”.
In fact, the tribes on the border of Israel (East side of the Jordan River, modern day Jordan) often experienced attacks from the border. (1Chronicles05.18-19)
The prophecy is in the end though that they will overcome.
The land that the tribe of Asher inherited was fertile & they produced great food.
Naphtali would be a people who lived free in the mountains like a deer.
Genesis 49:22 “22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall.”
Israel says that Joseph will be like a fruitful branch. If you remember from Genesis41.52, the name Ephraim means “fruitful”.
So Joseph not only will be blessed, but he will be a blessing to others.
Genesis 49:23 “23 “The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot at him & harassed him; 24 But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty (Shaddai) who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts & of the womb. 26 “The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.”
Here we see a reference to all that Joseph endured from his brothers, as well as the trials in Egypt.
But, instead of striking back, Joseph was allowing God to fight for him & protect him.
Here we see the secret of Joseph’s strength & perseverance, & that is God holding him & helping him.
It is also interesting to note that Joshua (Numbers13.08), Deborah (Judges04.04-05) & Samuel (1Samuel01) all were great leaders in Israel & they were from the tribe of Ephraim.
Gideon (Judges06.15) was of the tribe of Manasseh.
All of these people were all victorious.
Genesis 49:27 “27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoil.””
Israel describes Benjamin & his tribe like a wolf, a tribe violent in spirit.
You can see the cruelty of the tribe of Benjamin & they were almost eliminated at one time as a tribe in Israel because of wickedness. All of the tribes of Israel gathered against Benjamin & were barely able to defeat them Judges20.
The 1st king of Israel, Saul, was of the tribe of Benjamin (1Samuel09.01-02; 19.10; 22.17)
The great apostle Paul was also of the tribe of Benjamin (Romans11.01; Philippians03.05)
Genesis 49:28 “28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, & this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one w/the blessing appropriate to him.”
So we see that each of the personal things that Israel said were appropriate for each of his sons.
Genesis 49:29-33 “29 Then he charged them & said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me w/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 along w/the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. 31 “There they buried Abraham & his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac & his wife Rebekah, & there I buried Leah-- 32 the field & the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed & breathed his last, & was gathered to his people.”
Israel then commanded them to not bury him in Egypt but in Canaan, in the cave that Abraham had purchased (Genesis23) as a place of burial.
Israel then put his feet up in the bed & died.
After their father’s death, the brothers are afraid Joseph will turn on them.
Genesis 50:19-21 “19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? 20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. 21 “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you & your little ones.” So he comforted them & spoke kindly to them.”
Now that Israel was dead, his sons all feared that Joseph would now pay them back for the wrong that they did so long ago.
They begged for forgiveness & Joseph reassured them that he had forgiven them & that he recognized that God was in control & allowed it to happen for the best.
Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
Genesis 50:22-26 “22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he & his father’s household, & Joseph lived one hundred & ten years. 23 Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees. 24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you & bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac & to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, & you shall carry my bones up from here.” 26 So Joseph died at the age of one hundred & ten years; & he was embalmed & placed in a coffin in Egypt.”
Joseph also died in Egypt, but when he died, he made his brothers promise that when God delivers them out of Egypt that they would bury his bones in Canaan.
First of all notice that Joseph knew that God would deliver the nation from Egypt, & that he had faith in God that his bones would be buried in the Promised Land.
Exodus 13:19 “19 Moses took the bones of Joseph w/him, for he had made the sons of Israel solemnly swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, & you shall carry my bones from here w/you.””
Joshua 24:32 “32 Now they buried the bones of Joseph, which the sons of Israel brought up from Egypt, at Shechem, in the piece of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred pieces of money; & they became the inheritance of Joseph’s sons.”
Hebrews 11:22 “22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, & gave orders concerning his bones.”
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