Genesis Chapter Forty-Nine
Read Genesis 49:1-2 – Jacobs Calls His Sons
v.1-2 “And Jacob
called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you
that which shall befall
you in the last days. Gather yourselves
together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto
“Hear, ye children, the instruction of a
father, and attend to know understanding.
For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father's son,
tender and only beloved in the sight
of my mother. He taught me also,
and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words:
keep my commandments, and live. “ Proverbs 4:1-4
Read Genesis 49:3-27 – Jacob’s Prophecy and
Instructions
v.3 “Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of
my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Reuben was the firstborn; therefore
by birth he should be given the rights and privileges of a firstborn son. Under the Mosaic Law that would mean
that Reuben could not be denied the right to a double portion of Jacob’s
inheritance:
“But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.” Deuteronomy 21:17
And the mantle of the patriarch, the leader of the family of God, the
keeper of God’s promises just as Isaac had prepared to present to Esau:
Genesis 27:4 “And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.”
But the life that
Reuben has led has caused God, through his servant Jacob, to remove these
rights and privileges from him. His
character and his actions have made him unfit for God’s purpose.
v.4 “Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.”
Reuben is as unstable
as water; he follows his emotions, his wants and wishes rather than keeping
these desires under control. He does not
think through the consequences of his actions and consequently he sinned
against his father.
Genesis 35:22 “And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:”
Because the patriarchal law is not recorded as a body of law, we find no
record of God’s law to the Patriarchs concerning this matter but it is
specifically called out in the covenant made with
“Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.” Deuteronomy 27:20
v.5 “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.”
Jacob’s next two sons,
Simeon and Levi were guilty of base crimes as well. They took upon themselves to deceive the
inhabitants of a city and destroy them in revenge:
Genesis 34:25 “And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.”
v.6-7 “O my soul, come not thou into
their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in
their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
Cursed be their anger, for it
was fierce; and their wrath, for
it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in
Simeon and Levi allowed
anger and hatred to rule their minds.
The apostle Paul admonishes us today to:
“Be
ye angry, and sin not: let not the
sun go down upon your wrath” Ephesians 4:26
There are many places in the wisdom of God where mankind is given
instruction concerning anger, the dangers of uncontrolled anger and the results
of being angry. Though we would normally
turn to Proverbs for references of this nature, but here are two from Job:
Job 5:2 “For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one”
Job 19:29 “Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.”
So judgment for their
unbridled anger and cruelty comes to Simeon and Levi.
v.8 “
Judges 1:1-2 “Now after
the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the
LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight
against them? And the LORD said,
And many things are credited to the tribe of
I Chronicles 5:2 “Now the sons
of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but forasmuch as he defiled
his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of
Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For
v.9-10 “
Here, recorded in the
words of Jacob we, have a double prophecy.
From the descendants of
“I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” Numbers 24:17
This prophecy refers to the coming of Christ:
Psalms 110:1-2 “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength
out of
In proving that he was the Son of God, the Lord of David and all who
lived, Jesus Christ refers to this prophecy in Psalms 110.
Matthew 22:42-45 “Saying, What
think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The
son of David. He saith
unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said
unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?”
v.11-12 “Binding his
foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his
garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall
be red with wine, and his teeth
white with milk.”
“For the LORD
thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley,
and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;” Deuteronomy
8:7-8
v.13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.”
The land that Jacob
prophesied would be allocated to Zebulun and that
which is recorded indicate that it went toward or near the seacoast.
Joshua 19:11 “And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam;”
The river
before Jokneam is the Kishon which flows into the Mediterranean
v.14-15 “Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two
burdens: And he saw that rest was
good, and the land that it
was pleasant; and bowed
his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.”
Issachar
was to the south of Zebulun in the Shephelah west of
the
v.16-17 “Dan shall
judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder
in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his
rider shall fall backward.”
Two observations about
the tribe of Dan: while
In addition we find in Judges 18 that Dan had not conquered
the part of
Judges 18:30-31 “And the
children of Dan set up the graven image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the
son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day
of the captivity of the land. And they
set them up Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of
God was in
v.18 “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.”
Jacob stops in his
blessing and discourse to his sons and pauses for a moment or two. Perhaps his purpose was to regain his strength
as some have suggested, perhaps it was just to praise God but for his wonderful
blessings much like we find in the song of Moses:
“The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.” Exodus 15:2
v.19 “Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.”
“A TROOP SHALL OVERCOME
HIM…” Gad, which means troop, were a
warlike tribe:
I Chronicles 12:8 “And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains;”
Since they were on the east side of
v.20 “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.”
Asher was prophesied to
become a very rich tribe, not only having the necessities of life, symbolized
by bread but would be blessed with “ROYAL DAINTIES”, the luxuries of life as
well.
v.21 “Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.”
While Gad would be warlike in their disposition, the descendants of Naphtali would be more like a hind or rabbit, quick, amiable to friends and enemies alike. They would be known for their “GOODLY WORDS”, or their ability to use words to accomplish their purposes rather than might or stealth.
v.22 ”Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:”
Joseph is honored by
Jacob as the most fruitful of his sons and he was. He was even fruitful to God in the face of
adversity, prison and the drudgery of slavery.
His branches, his sons, were like the vines or branches of vines that
find their way over or around obstacles and continue to grow and multiply.
v.23-24 “The archers
have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his
hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of
Joseph did indeed have
to endure the slings and arrows of sorrow, trouble and the hated of others,
even his own brothers. But these slings
and arrows have only served to strengthen him and prepare him to replace Jacob. One of the lessons from this text is that we
must understand Joseph’s source of strength and claim it for our own because is
it Almighty God our heavenly father.
Here we should be mindful of the wonderful words of the psalmist with
which we are so familiar because it is far more than just a comfort in trouble.
Psalms 23:1-6 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his name's sake. Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
v.25-26 “Even by the God of thy father, who shall help
thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above,
blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the
womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my
progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on
the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from
his brethren.”
“BY THE GOD OF THY
FATHER…” Jacob emphasizes the source and the extent of the blessings that
Joseph will receive. He shall help in
times of trouble; Joshua, who was faithful and followed Moses
was a son of Joseph. He will enjoy the
blessings of all of God’s providence from the heavens and the earth. He will be blessed with many descendants, his
sons becoming two of the major tribes of
v.27 “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.”
We are not given much
in scripture to help us understand the nature and personality of Benjamin. The blessing and prophecy of his father
indicates that his tribe would a warlike in nature and they were. They also produced some of the central
characters of scripture; Ehud, the second judge of
Read Genesis 49:28-33 – The
Death of Jacob
v.28-29 “All these
are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and
blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. And he charged them, and said unto them,
I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,”
Jacob ends his blessing
of his sons and his prophecy of their destiny.
He now gives them a commandment concerning his burial for he knows that
his end is imminent. Some might expect
Jacob to want his remains placed with those of the wife that he loved, Rachel,
who was buried near the present town of
Genesis 23:17-18 “And the
field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field, and
the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field, that were
in all the borders round about, were made sure Unto Abraham for a possession in
the presence of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of
his city.”
v.30-32 “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 for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife;
there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The
purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was
from the children of Heth.”
And we remember our
earlier study that this is where Abraham buried Sarah (Genesis 23:19), and
Isaac buried Abraham (Genesis 25:9). The scripture doesn’t give us this specific
in the account of the burial of Isaac but we’re told here that he was buried
here too. We have no other account of
the death of Leah, other than what Jacob tells us here. I also find it interesting that while living
Jacob honored Rachel above Leah but in death Leah is honored by being buried
with the patriarchs.
v.33 “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”
The scene that we have been studying plays out in my mind like this. Jacob, realizing that he is on his death bed has called his sons to him to receive their blessing. They have surrounded him as he has gathered enough strength to sit up on his bed and address them. When he is finished he simply pulls up his feet and lays back down again ready now to end this life’s sojourn. He is at peace, contented with his lot, and the lot of his family. He has served God faithfully and is now ready to go home to be with God. Could we leave a greater legacy than this?