Genesis 48:1-49:33
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Genesis 48:1-49:33
Genesis 48:1-49:33
Last week, our scripture started with Jacob heading out with his family from Canaan to Egypt. They stopped in Beersheba to sacrifice and worship the Lord. The land of Israel has always been known as the land from “Dan to Beersheba.” So they stopped there, and the Lord gave Israel encouragement that this is where the Lord would make him a great nation there.
How many people from Israel went into Egypt? 70, how many people would come out? About 2 million. This is the beginning of the 400 years of the Hebrew captivity. God doesn’t tell Jacob this is part of His plan. Does He have to tell us His plans? No. Does it help if He tells us? Not usually.
Why? If God told you he needs to put you thru a hard trial, what would we do? We’d be looking for the loopholes, wouldn’t we? We avoid pain...but pain serves a purpose, doesn’t it? Can it be helpful?
Look at it like this. When we go to the gym, we feel great, those endorphins hit us and make us feel great. Then 2 days go by...and we can’t even stand after a good leg day, can we? What does that pain mean? It means we’re getting stronger. Our body needs to feed the muscles so they grow and then, we do it again!
This week, we’re going to go to talk about the last days of Jacob and the blessings he bestowed on his sons, and we’ll see how these blessings, and curses, would mold Israel 400 years down the line until the captivity is over. Then another 1200 years until Jesus comes, then 2000 years to our time with some prophecies yet to be fulfilled!
On this beautiful day, let’s get started in these 2 chapters, Genesis 48 and 49.
1 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father is sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.
How old was Jacob/Israel? 147 years old, a ripe old age. He had lived a very full life, full of adventure, but more than that, full of dysfunctional family issues, but all-in-all he was a beloved father.
In those times, respect and care for elders was important. In Leviticus 19, God says this:
32 ‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.
Jesus even mentioned how we should handle our elders:
4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
Brothers and sisters, how do we treat our elders these days? Mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, great grandma or grandpa? They get to a point where they’re too much of a burden for our busy lives, right? So we neglect them. I am guilty of this myself...
HOW DO THEY REACT when these people see us? They rise as much as they can, right? They want you to know how much it means to them to have you there and to spend time with them. Next question, how much of our time is really spent WITH them? Is it structured so you can get out of there? Do you listen to their stories? Or do you spend all the time talking? There is so much knowledge that can be passed on from those who have lived the life we wish we knew!
Something else we can take with us, IMPART THAT KNOWLEDGE AND EXAMPLE IT for your children! You may think they don’t need to know things...but they do. They will learn from how you react, how you handle tough situations, how you navigate sensitive subjects. Their eyes are on you all of the time! We spend so much of our energy protecting our children from war, that when they start getting into battles, they don’t know how to fight right. I’m not saying endanger your kids, but when you walk around with a shield, the people you’re walking with see the firey darts coming. Help our kids start to recognize the respect you have for your elders. I’ve been convicted myself this week about how I handle some of these situations...I need to make some changes myself.
3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 6 Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
In verse 3, Jacob uses the name Abraham used in Gen 17 for God: El Shaddai. When you spend time with those special people who await your time, they tell stories. Jacob recounts what the Lord promised him, but then instructs Joseph that he wants to bless his grandsons as he will his own sons. It was an honor for Joseph, as well as the boys, but it makes for a mathematical problem...How do 12 sons, plus 2 sons, equal 12 sons? This is the problem with common core math...
There are many ways to explain this, but the simplest way is to look on the map here:
You can see that there is no land of Joseph, but his sons get 2 tribes, and no land for Levi, and we’ll talk about them when we get there today. Also, you hear about the half tribe of Manessah, they are called that because they settled on both sides of the Jordan river. Got it. Math works. 12-2+2=12.
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”
Go ahead and ask the question, “Does Israel not know he has grandsons? In 17 years, he’s never seen them?” NO, not only can Jacob not see very well, but how do our parents act when they see their grandkids? They don’t always know who is whom, but Israel is so proud to be the grandfather of these children, the ones who were from the son whom he thought he had lost forever.
Do you realize the blessing children are? Our kids deserve so much more than we give them, don’t they? I often look at my busy schedule and think of the scraps I provide for my kids. I don’t provide meals, I give them my leftovers, and that’s not right. I’m their dad. I know how to fix things, to make things, how to make things new again, how to protect, how to love. I wish I had spent time earlier teaching my kids the things I know. Now, they’re about at the age where they’d not want to sit down with their ol’ dad and learn it.
This summer, we’re working on that. We’ve enlisted people we know and asked our kids: “what do you want to learn this summer?” And we’re going to help them learn it. Our kids deserve more than we’ve given them over the years. Take the time to be with them. BE with them. Pin your work and BE with them.
2 SLIDES
12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn. 15 And he blessed Joseph, and said: “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The God who has fed me all my life long to this day, 16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
This tender moment took a turn here, didn’t it? Ol’ Jakey, up to his old tricks. This was an important moment, though for the family. The blessing of the father was irrevocable. It gave instruction and hope to the sons. From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, though, it had much more prophetic meaning. How did Jacob gain his blessing, does anyone remember? He put on a goat skin, his brother’s dirty clothes, and made some stew for Isaac and deceived or supplanted his brother. That’s what Jacob means, but according to his mother Rebekah, he was supposed to be the one to get the blessing anyway.
It’s always hard to see the oldest struggle, and the younger kids get things right, doesn’t it? As a dad myself, I see they dynamic play out among my 5 kids. It’s a father’s job, though, to figure his kids out. 4 years ago, I wrote out my prophecy for my kids...and I’m seeing some of those things come to fruition in some of them. Your kids aren’t broken, they have amazing tools that you need to teach them how to wield properly. Teaching people is frustrating, though. Don’t lose hope in it.
Jacob was proving, though, that you can’t change God’s plans. You might think you got away with it, but He knows what He’s doing. I look at my brother and I. Growing up, it was like the movie Twins with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. My brother is 6’7 and can do anything athletically. I’m 5’11 and always been a bit of a butterball, and had to work really hard to do the things I could do. Greatness is a matter of perspective. The question you need to ask yourself, constantly is, am I OK with someone else’s greatness? It used to frustrate me to watch my brother do what he could do...Now, I just say “That’s my brother, he’ll always be the best in my eyes.” I’ll protect that reputation of my brother, because I know what few others know, and that’s how hard he worked in secret to get to where he was.
God knows what he’s doing, though, and we need to be OK with that. That’s why Jacob didn’t throw a tantrum, but he listened to his father’s words. When the Lord blesses, be OK with your blessing too...sometimes we don’t understand what to do with it, but when the time comes, we’ll know and that’s when others will get to watch the fruits of what the Lord has done in you!
20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Israel is not pulling a fast one here, he’s doing what the Lord had him to do. When would they go back to the land to live? 400 years.
Do you remember what the names mean?
51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” 52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
So, now back to the map, the people of Ephriam would fight for the hill country and become fruitful in that land. Manasseh would become 2 huge half tribes on either side of the Jordan river. Israel blessed them both, for the love he had for Joseph, giving Joseph 2 blessings thru his sons. They would be mighty nations in the years to come.
Some famous Ephriamites? Joshua, the judge Deborah, Jereboam, an evil of the kings of the northern tribe of Israel.
How about some famous Manassehites? Gideon, and Jephtath, a judge who defeated the Ammonites.
Great people would come from these brothers. Let’s continue on!
1 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: 2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.
We don’t know for sure if the blessing in the last chapter happened in front of everyone else, but now it was time for Israel’s last words to his children, and it’s amazing how long down-range some of these prophecy’s fall. Some of them haven’t come true completely yet too...The Bible is an amazing book, spend time in it.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it— He went up to my couch.
The birthright of the firstborn was forfeited by Reuben because Reuben took the liberty of sleeping with his step mother. This was seen by Israel as an attempt to overthrow his leadership. Something that King David had to deal with, with his son Absolam. It was a common power grab in that culture at the time. Reuben did settle into his role as the protective big brother later in life, but he would never regain his reputation with his father.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. 6 Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. 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.
Simeon and Levi were the ones who lead the charge to get their sister Dinah back when she was taken captive in chapter 34. Dinah was a young child, between the ages of 8-14 and was preyed upon by a man named Shechem. He kidnapped her and held her while trying to get Jacob to give her hand in marriage to him because he “burned” for her.
Jacob was stunned and paralyzed by the event, but Simeon and Levi came up with a plan to get their sister back. They said the whole town had to be circumcised to let this happen, and when the men were weak and healing, Simeon and Levi killed every man in the village. They were but teenagers at that time.
Because of this, they are cursed with a scattering. At the end of the captivity, when returning to the promised land, the tribe of Simeon would be scattered and decimated. The tribe of Levi would be scattered and prosper. They were the priestly tribe, and would live thruout the kingdom, with no inherited land, but being supported by the other brothers, fully dependent on them, and the Lord.
8 “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. 11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
Judah receives the blessing of Reuben, but by the grace of God. In Genesis 38, Judah was humbled by a woman by the name of Tamar. She was the wife of 2 of his sons. She ended up pregnant to him, and accused of being a harlt, until she produced the affects of the person whom she was pregnant by. She handed over HIS signet scroll, the cord that held it around his neck, as well as his scepter, his sign of nobility.
Judah being described as a lion is not only foreshadow to the Jesus, but also to his strength and cunning. Also the scepter shall not depart, that means the Kingdom that is coming will be from him. Verse 10 says “Until Shiloh comes; the word Shiloh means “To whom which it all belongs.”
Verses 11 and 12 would have been rediculous at that time, but to us, we can see clear parallels to Jesus in the story of the Triumphal Entry on the colt of a donkey, bound to The Vine, garments washed in the wine, representing the blood of our Savior, not staining his teeth, but making them whiter than white.
The brothers would be confused, but 3600 years later, we see clearly. Also, notice, these blessings are handed out by the matron of the brothers. These are Leah’s sons
13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.
If you remember the photo from earlier of the map, where is Zebulun? It’s landlocked, BUT, the land of Zebulun overlooked the sea of Gallilee, and this is where the town of Nazareth is found today.
14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens; 15 He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.
The 9th son, but 5th of Leah was Issachar. His people would be known for their strength. They would be agricultural people, hard working, and would do slave labor.
16 “Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse’s heels So that its rider shall fall backward. 18 I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!
Dan would be the seat of the northern tribe of Israel. Samson would come from the tribe of Dan. They would embrace a world of treachery as Israel is split into 2 tribes, trying to usurp the power of the tribe of Judah in the south.
Verse 18 uses the word Yhweh as Israel cries out, near death.
19 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.
Gad would settle on the east side of the Jordan river, and would be the buffer zone for the Ammonites, Moabites, etc as they tried to enter the kingdom. This prophecy has not yet been fully fulfilled.
20 “Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.
Unlike the Ephriamites, who conqured the Canaanites in their land, the tribe of Asher decided to live amongst them. They would constantly be serving the Canaanite people there, teetering on the edge of war.
21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
Where is Naphtali? Around the west and north side of Galilee. What are some cities from around that area? Capernaum, which was Peter’s home, where Jesus would make a home himself. Cana, Magdala, Chorazin. Lots of Jesus’ ministry happened in this land. The Sermon on the Mount was given in this land. Again, Israel is leading his people to the Messiah.
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him. 24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless 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 excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
Joseph has been thru many trials up to this point, but we know that trials bring what?
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Trials show us what we’re made of. We are prepared though, thru the events of our lives. As you’re training someone how to handle a bow, a weapon of war, sometimes it’s too hard to pull the string back, it takes stamina to stay on target. What happens then? A more experienced archer comes in and strengthens the arms, refines the action. Jesus is called the Great Shepherd, and the Capstone. There is so much imagery that points to Jesus thru Joseph’s life, even thru this blessing...it’s like Israel read the New Testament and installed it in these verses.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.” 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.
Benjamin, the youngest and smallest, would become skilled experts with swords and slings. Ehud the judge would come from Benjamin. Anyone else that we can think of? Humble King Saul, and even the apostle Paul would come from the tribe of Benjamin.
29 Then he charged them and said to them: “I am 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 with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the scave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.” 33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
We have one more chapter in Genesis to go thru, and it’ll have to wait until after next week because it’s Mother’s Day. Ending this chapter, laying Jacob to rest with his ancestors is important. This place is Hebron, and has major spiritual significance in the history of Israel. It’s the land that Joshua appointed to Caleb, one of the 2 spies that came back from the promised land and said Israel could take the land back from the giants.
He is famous for having so much faith in the Lord to provide, that he demanded his mountain so he could go conquer it!
This portion of scripture seemed like nonsense at the time, but thru time, God being faithful, He revealed his plans long ago.
