Genesis 49, 50 - Finale
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So good to be with you again and its hard to believe that we have reached the end of our journey in this book of beginnings.
Tonight will be looking at Jacobs final words to his sons, this will be in a poetic prophetic style, as he reveals what will become of each tribe. Some are very clear and others are still not understood. Interestingly Moses did something very similar several hundred years later in the last chapters of Deuteronomy by giving a prophetic look at the tribes.
So please stand as read the first verses of Gen 49.
1 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come.
2 “Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And listen to Israel your father.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4 “Uncontrolled 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.
This scene is a continuation of Jacobs private conversation with Joseph and the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh making them part of the 12 tribes and included as sons of Jacob. Jacob knew he was very old and ready to die and he calls for all his sons so that he might prophesy over them the things to befall them in the days to come. Literally “in the last days.”
Image - Map of Israel
What if your father did that for you? would you want to know? Well as Christians our heavenly Father has told us and like the 12 brothers it still can be a little foggy.
So Jacob begins with Reuben, the firstborn.
Genesis 49:3 (NASB95)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn; (in birth order only, as the firstborn blessing would pass to Joseph)
My might and the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
Here Jacob recalls his pride and joy over his firstborn son. But in verse 4 Jacob recalls Reuben's sin in sleeping with Bilhah Jacob wife.
4 “Uncontrolled 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.
Other translations say you shall not excel for preeminence. Interestingly there were no prophets or judges or great men to come from Reuben at least that we know of in the Bible.
Next Jacob moves on to Simeon and Levi, the second and third oldest;
Genesis 49:5–7 (NASB95)
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
6 “Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
Here Jacob is referring to their slaughter of Shechem over the defilement of their sister Dinah. At the time we studied this section we noted how it seemed to really affect Jacob almost to the point of despair. He now prophesies regarding these to two, Simeon and Levi.
I will disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
Interestingly, Simeon is swallowed up by Judah, it’s land mass being completely inside of the land of Judah.
Levi never had their own portion but was given cities through out the land and were known for their stand against idolatry. Notably, Moses, Aaron, and Miriam were all part of the tribe of Levi and all the priests are descendants of Aaron and thus all the priest are Levites.
Next Jacob, focuses on Judah, his fourth son and more importantly the one from whom the Messiah would come.
Genesis 49:8–12 (NASB95)
8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; (here is a play on words as Judah means “Praise”)
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s sons shall bow down to you. (this was not fulfilled for about 600 years until the time of David and ultimately Jesus Christ.)
9 “Judah is a lion’s whelp; (Whelp simply means a young lion.)
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?
(here speaking of the royal majesty and the power of the lion king. No One will mess with him. Later the sidule of Judah, on its banners was a Lion)
10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, (The scepter is a symbol of power and rulership and self determination)
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes, (Shiloh is a term for the Messiah so the power of self determination will not depart until the Messiah comes.)
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
According to historian Josephus, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come” was the phrase that caused the rabbis to run through the streets of Jerusalem screaming in anguish in the year A.D. 12.
You see, it was in that year that the Romans—who were occupying the land of Israel—withdrew the ability of the Sanhedrin to mete out capital punishment. Having taught that the mark of a nation’s sovereignty resided in its ability to execute capital punishment, when this power was taken from them, the Jews thought the scepter had indeed departed from Judah—that God had broken His promise to them. After all, Shiloh, Messiah, had not yet come.
Oh, but He had. For right in their midst sat Shiloh, Messiah, Jesus as a twelve-year-old boy, astounding the teachers and rabbis with His wisdom (Luke 2:46).
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.
Most commentators see this alluding to the abundance of milk and wine, “good things” in Judah. prophetically this may also be speaking of the battle of Armageddon His clothes covered in blood (wine).
Next up Zebulun.
13 “Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a haven for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.
We really know very little about Zebulun. Even the borders of his land are difficult to decipher but do not border water directly. Zebulun was in the area of where Jesus ministered most the area of Galilee.
Next was Issachar,
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.
On this Henry Morris writes,
Jacob compared Issachar to a strong donkey bowing down beneath a double burden or between two sheepfolds. Though the precise translation may be obscure, the meaning seems to be that Issachar was strong, but docile and lazy. He would enjoy the good land assigned to him but would not strive for it. Therefore, eventually he would be pressed into servitude and the mere bearing of burdens for his masters. Historically, Issachar had rich lands and rich crops, which attracted marauders and captors.
Next up is Dan,
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.
Dan is seen as the entrance of idolatry into Israel with Jeroboam setting up one of his golden calves in Dan , thus imagery of the serpent causing the rider to fall back. The word used for serpent is nawkhash the same as in Gen 3. Dan is treated somewhat differently by the HS throughout the bible as he is left out in Rev 7 and his offspring are not listed. Some scholars see the AC as coming from Dan.
Jacob then speaks of Gad,
19 “As for Gad, raiders shall raid him,
But he will raid at their heels.
Gad’s territory was on the East side of the Jordan. Along with Reuben Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. Because of that they where open to raiders but Gad was strong and would fight back.
Asher is next,
20 “As for Asher, his food shall be rich,
And he will yield royal dainties.
Located on the northern Seacoast they enjoyed fertile rich soil. Thus the mention of the rich food and delicacies.
Naphtali is the next up,
21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose,
He gives beautiful words.
The most famous of the this tribe was Barak, who with Deborah, won a mighty victory over Jabin and Sisera of the Canaanites, Judges 4. The beautiful words was fulfilled in part by the victory song of Deborah and Barak in Jud 5.
Now Jacob gets to the favorite, Joseph.
Genesis 49:22–26 (NASB95)
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a spring;
Its branches run over a wall.
Here speaking of Joseph’s character much the the man in Ps 1. There is no sin recorded regarding Joseph’s life. Because of his righteous life;
23 “The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and 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 who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and 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.
Obviously, the two brothers who received the most blessing from Jacob were Judah and Joseph. However Judah’s was more spiritual where Joseph’s was more material.
The last one that Jacob spoke about was the youngest, and brother of Joseph, Benjamin.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”
This description fits with the first King of Israel, which was Saul. A great warrior but one who could become out of control. Saul of Tarsus (Paul the Apostle) was also of Benjamin. Interestingly Jerusalem was in Benjamin.
Jacob finishes with v 28
Genesis 49:28 (NASB95)
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, (first time twelve tribes of Israel mentioned)and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.
Jacob closes with a request;
29 Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to 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 along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site.
31 “There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah—
32 the field and 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 and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
On to Gen 50..
Genesis 50 (NASB95)
1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him.
2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.
Embalming required 40 days and still not completely understood.
3 Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4 When the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying,
5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’ ”
6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8 and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen.
9 There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.
10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation; and he observed seven days mourning for his father.
11 Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
12 Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them;
13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.
14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!”
16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying,
17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
Why did Joseph weep? Perhaps because his brothers still did not believe him. Much like Jesus weeping over Jerusalem.
Luke 19:41–44 (NASB95)
41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
43 “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
Its amazing to think that my own heart attitude can cause God pain to point of weeping.
Article - Joseph a type of Christ
18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?
What a great truth to acknowledge, you are not God! and be grateful you are not.
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.
This is the key lesson of Joseph’s life. It’s not all about you! Try to focus on the big picture, the things of eternity.
21 “So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and 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 and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.”
25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.
So there we have, we began with Creation and end with a man in a coffin. But the story continues because it is His-Story!!
Next time we will begin the book of Exodus, your home work is to watch the Ten Commandments. We will begin that study in January.
Jeremy will be up next week and then a special night of prayer on the 14th. We will be off on the 21 & 28th.
Prayer