Note: When doing a study on a book in the Bible you use a lot of resources. The major influence for me on this study of Genesis is The Genesis Record by Henry Morris.
Genesis 49
1. 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.
I want us to notice this phrase "in the last days". Tell me what does it mean to you? I want a couple of answers.
Does it mean the same to us as it does the Israelites? It could. But it also may refer to the coming of the time when the tribes will not be so recognized. It could have double meaning.
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto
Israel your father.
Jacob not knowing how long he has to live but still having faith that God would one day deliver his seed into Canaan takes time to gather in this children to bless and sometimes curse them.
3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength,
the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
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.
He we see the contrast of what Reuben should have been and what he truly was. He should have been the leader. He should have been the strength. He should have been the man of good character. He should have carried the power but he never did. Why? Because he lost the respect of his brothers. Once you lose the respect of your peers then it starts going down hill.
Reuben could not be the leader and the heir to his fathers wealth because he defiled his fathers bed we see this in Genesis 35:22
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:
You know alot of children lose the respect for their parents. You can tell by their attitude they have. There is no respect. Why? Because there is no! discipline. Oh the love is there but the discipline is not there and there is no respect. It also can happen because of something the father or mother had done. They no longer listen because their character had been flawed.
Do you think that this should have kept him from this position?
Could we apply this to the qualifications for leadership in the Christian church?
For more information look at pg 1908 in Full Life Study Bible.
We do see a good example of this in Reubens life early when he tried to talk his brothers out of killing and selling Joseph. They would not listen.
Genesis 42:22 And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is
required.
Why would they not listen? Because there was no respect.
Remember Jacob says that he was unstable. As water. There was no stability. He wavered in his life. Some people in their walk with the Lord they are unstable. They want some of God but not all. They want to change some but not all. They want to give some but not all.
No prophet came out of this tribe. The only mention of anyone from here was the two opposers of Moses in Numbers 16 Dathan and Abiram
5. Simeon and Levi [are] brethren; instruments of cruelty [are in] their
habitations.
6 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
self-will they digged down a wall.
7 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 Israel.
Simeon and Levi now both had an opportunity to be the head of the family. No but they sinned. Remember in Shechem when their sister was raped the killed the whole city. Their father was not proud for they had done it in anger and revenge. Probably even out of their own selfish desires and not for their sister.
So as we will see in their future there is division among them. Simeon has a place on the coast of the Israelite land and later was modified to include other divided lands. And we know of the Levites who had cities in every tribe.
Although the Levites actually had a high position. This is believed because of their stance they took at the scene of the golden calf in Exodus 32:26. Now they are a privileged tribe. This is grace. God takes one and turns them into a new person working for the Lord.
8. Judah, thou [art he] whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand [shall be] in
the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
This happens twice when? When David becomes king. When Jesus becomes king.
9 Judah [is] a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he
stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre (used for kings) shall not depart from Judah (even with the Messiah it did not depart but was enlarged), nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him [shall] the gathering of the people [be].
Judah as the new leader has the rights of all the leaders. He will be the blessed one because he qualified. What was the main blessing that I told you that Abraham received from the Lord that would affect every generation of people? He would be a blessing. His seed would be a blessing to all nations.
Genesis 12:1. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Here is the answer and it was passed onto Judah. Now tell me how this was fulfilled in the life of Judah.
The word Shiloh means "that which it belongs or to whom it belongs". Most scholars believe that it is in reference to the Messiah. Which would make sense. Who is the owner of the Israelites? Who are they looking for the most and all their hope is built up in and that is the Messiah.
The Messiah did gather unto him his own people
Revelation 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof.
11 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: 12 His eyes [shall be] red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
His eyes darker than wine and teeth white with milk. Milk for food and wine for the glad heart.
It is believed that these prophecies relate to the Lord Jesus. We see some references here but is a very obscure and debatable passage. Some say this is a reference to Jesus because of him walking the colt into the city. He washed his garments in blood when he died on the cross.
The millennial prosperity Is 11:1-9;Ex 34:23-31; Amos 9:11-15
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.
Zebulun land allotment was near the sea in the northern part of the land. Mainly he had a lot of sea trading
14 Issachar [is] a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 15 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.
A hard worker. He did a lot of the work.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 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.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
Dan as we would see in scripture was not a very good judge but actually led in rebellion.
Samson was a judge from this tribe. But Samson was also a good example of him.
He was sly as a serpent and took advantage of the moment. This is probably what makes Jacob call out for the salvation of the Lord.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
The tribe of Gad was oppressed by the Moabites and the Ammorites in the Land of Canaan as we see in I Chronicles 12:8 but they overcame.
20 Out of Asher his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
A very rich tribe. They exported alot to other tribes.
21 Naphtali [is] a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
He would be free and utters beautiful words.
22. Joseph [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose]
branches run over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:
Joseph's tribulations
24 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 Israel:)
Joseph's temptation or testing
25 [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:
26 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.
Joseph's triumph Why? Help of God
He was blessed immensely by God. His tribes were blessed that is Ephraim and Manessah. Some of the people that came from the tribe of Ephraim Joshua, Deborah and Samuel. Gideon and Jephthah came from Manessah.
27 Benjamin shall ravin [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey,
and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Benjamin was known as a warrior. This we see in the history of Israel
Ehud, King Saul and Jonathan were out of the tribe of Benjamin
28. 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.
Ungers Bible Handbook sees in this also the history of Israel, let us just not this.
In Reuben, Simeon, and Levi this is to be characterized the nation till Messiah's advent.
Judah pointed to the period when our Lord was on earth.
As we know Jesus will come from this tribe and the sons of Jacob will bow down either
then or in the future
Zebulun and Issachar (which was located where sea traffic and commerce were proinent) portrayed Israel a trading people scattered among the nation
Gad, Asher and Naphtali portray the godly Jewish remnant of the great Tribulation
Joseph speaks of the second advent of Messiah
Benjamin ("son of the right hand") of the rod-iron-righteous ruld of the King in the Kingdom age
29 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,
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
for a possession of a buryingplace.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and
Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] therein [was] from the
children of Heth.
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.
Jacob's last request was to be buried in the land of Canaan. He wanted to be buried with his Ancestors. He knew that although they were dead they were in a better place. It is a faith here all built in God.
