In Genesis 48:1-49:27, Jacob blesses his sons on the eve of his death. Israel’s blessing of his sons is described as
a great act of faith and worship in Hebrews
11:21 because in these two chapters, Jacob’s blessings are flowing out of
an anticipation of God’s great salvation to come in Christ. For the Israelites, this will play out in both
the near (in the Exodus, Conquest, & Monarchy) and distant future (the
Messianic Kingdom).
We as Christians are also
called to hope in God’s coming salvation (Titus
2:11-14) and to so bless our families and all other peoples of the earth
with that hope. So what does a rich hope
in God’s coming salvation look like in the life of God’s people?
I.
TOUR OF THE TEXT: Israel’s Blessing Upon All of
His Sons (49:1-27)
[49:1] Then Jacob called his sons and
said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you
in days to come. [2] “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to
Israel your father.
One thing that is
important to keep in mind as we make our way through this blessing is that it
is both poetic and prophetic.
It is a poem explaining the unique destinies of the tribes of Israel
(not just these sons) within the common destiny of the nation of Israel. These blessing do reflect their past, but
they mostly point to their future. The
phrase “in the days to come” means in
“the latter, or last days,” meaning that these blessings have eschatological
implications. Again, these will play out
in the near and far future.
a.
The Sons of Leah (49:1-15):
i. Rueben (49:3-4)
[3] “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might,
and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in
power. [4] Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you
went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!
Reuben here is stripped
of his preeminence because of his affair with his father’s wife (Gen. 35:22). This plays out in Israel’s history in that not
one prophet, judge, king or priest comes from the tribes of Reuben.
ii. Simeon
& Levi (49:5-7)
[5] “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of
violence are their swords. [6] Let my soul come not into their council; O
my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and
in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. [7] Cursed be their anger, for
it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and
scatter them in Israel.
This reference to the
anger and violence of Simeon and Levi is about their slaughtering of the men of
Shechem in Genesis 34. Because of their uncontrolled anger and
senseless brutality (“they hamstrung
oxen”), their blessing becomes more of a curse as well. This blessing is literally fulfilled in
Israel’s history, as Simeon’s portion of the Promised Land is located within
Judah’s tribal allotment (Joshua 19:1,9)
and the tribe of Levi is not given their own portion of the land but is
given 48 cities scattered throughout the other tribes (Joshua 14:1-5). So with the
“blessing” upon these first three sons, we see how sin, sexual sin in Reuben’s
case and anger and violence in Simeon and Levi’s case, can robe us of blessings
that would be ours.
iii. Judah (49:8-12)
[8] “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your
hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down
before you. [9] Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have
gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares
rouse him? [10] The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's
staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be
the obedience of the peoples. [11] Binding his foal to the vine and his
donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his
vesture in the blood of grapes. [12] His eyes are darker than wine, and
his teeth whiter than milk.
In Judah’s blessing, the Davidic
dynasty is foreseen, but it also foresees much more. I think the blessing is primarily
Messianic. Not only is a kingly line
spoken of here, but also a lion-like King who will come to whom tribute belongs
(Num. 24:7,17-19, 1 Sam. 2:10, 2 Samuel
7:12-16, Is. 9:6-7, 11:1-10, Ezk. 21:27, Zech. 6:9-13, Rev. 5:5). This king will secure the obedience of the
nations. This means, according to Rom. 1:5 and Gal. 3:8, that the way the nations will experience the blessing of
Abraham is by being incorporated into this King’s benevolent empire by
faith. Notice also that this King is not
safe. He is poised for attack like a
crouched line whom no one would dare rouse.
His garments are soaked in wine (stained with the “blood of grapes”), a picture of both blessing and judgment.
This King, Jesus Christ, will simultaneously bring salvation (blessing) to all
peoples who place faith in Him, will fix this broken world and bring judgment
to all those who reject Him (Is. 63:1-6,
Rev. 14:14-20).
iv. Zebulun (49:13)
[13] “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the
sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.
v. Issachar (49:14-15)
[14] “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching
between the sheepfolds. [15] He saw that a resting place was good, and
that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a
servant at forced labor.
b.
The Sons of Zilpah & Bilhah (49:16-21):
i. Dan (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 viper by
the path, that bites the horse's heels so that his rider falls backward.
Dan’s “blessing” has both
positive and negative connotations.
Samson, one of Israel’s most famous judges, came from the tribe of
Dan. The imagery of a serpent brings Genesis 3:1 to mind and we do see this
tribe leading Israel into idolatry in Judges
18.
INTERLUDE: [18] I wait for YOUR SALVATION,
O LORD. (Genesis 49:18)
This verse is an
interlude in this poem where Jacob prays to God, seemingly in response to all
that God is revealing to him at the time.
He says, “I will wait for your
salvation, O Lord!” Perhaps as He
speaks this prophetic blessing, it becomes clear to Him that ultimate salvation
won’t come at the hands of these tribes to come. Without divine intervention, none of Jacob’s
descendants will survive. Their people
will fail. Their priests will fail. Their judges will fail. Their kings will fail. Their prophets will
fail. Their only hope will be the coming
salvation of God Himself in His Messiah and that is where Jacob declares His
hope to be. Jesus is the hope of
Genesis!
ii. Gad (49:19)
[19] “Raiders shall raid Gad,
but he shall raid at their heels.
iii. Asher (49:20)
[20] “Asher's food shall be
rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies.
iv. Naphtali
(49:21)
[21] “Naphtali is a doe let
loose that bears beautiful fawns.
c.
The Sons of Rachel (49:22-27):
i. Joseph (49:22-26)
[22] “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful
bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. [23] The archers
bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, [24] yet
his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty
One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), [25] by
the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you
with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb. [26] The blessings of your
father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the
everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him
who was set apart from his brothers.
Joseph, like Judah, is
given a lengthy blessing. He is called a
fruitful vine and a soldier who suffers greatly, yet cannot be overcome. The reason that he is fruitful and cannot be
overcome is due to the help of God, “the
Mighty One of Jacob…the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel…the God of your father
who will help you…the Almighty who will bless you.” True to God’s Word, it is the tribes of Judah
and Joseph who play most prominently in Israel’s history. It is Caleb and Joshua (from the tribes of
Judah and Ephraim) who stand faithful to God when the spies return from the
Promised Land and give their report. In
the divided monarchy, Judah becomes a title for the southern kingdom and
Ephraim a title for the northern kingdom, with the first king of the northern
kingdom being an Ephraimite (Jeroboam).
It is also noteworthy
that while Judah directly points to Jesus Christ, Joseph does (and has done so)
indirectly. His blessing reminds us of a
Greater Joseph who suffered greatly and yet could not be overcome, not even by
death. He is the True Vine. He is the Mighty One of Jacob, the Good
Shepherd, and the Stone of God’s People who was Joseph’s help.
ii. Benjamin (49:27)
[27] “Benjamin is a ravenous
wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.”
II.
THOUGHTS FROM THE TEXT:
a.
People Who Hope in God’s Coming Salvation Have a
Deep Trust in the Sovereignty of God:
Jacob twice blesses a
younger son instead of the oldest son in Gen.
48, and here again we see Jacob blessing according to God’s sovereign choice. It is interesting that although Joseph is
granted the rights of firstborn and a significant blessing, Judah is the one
through whom the man of promise is prophesied to come. While Joseph may be Jacob’s choice, Jacob
recognizes God’s sovereign choice to bless whom He will and choose whom He
will. Psalm 78:67-72 reads, [67] He
rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, [68] but
he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves. [69] He built his
sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever. [70] He
chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; [71] from
following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel
his inheritance. [72] With upright heart he shepherded them and guided
them with his skillful hand.
Many people stumble over
this sovereign prerogative of God’s, what about you? How deep is your trust in the sovereign plan
and choice of God?
b.
People Who Hope in God’s Coming Salvation are Ultimately
Hoping in God Himself:
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