Genesis 49: 1 – 33
Famous Last Words
49 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. 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. 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. 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. 13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall adjoin Sidon. 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. 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! 19 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, but he shall triumph at last. 20 “Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties. 21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words. 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. 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.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 cave 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.
In conducting numerous memorial/funeral services I have observed how many people have wanted to be remembered by their family. In a way I think we all would love to know that our descendents remember us on a constant basis. Suppose you were the descendent of a famous person I would guess that you do not hide the fact that so and so was your ancestor. For example suppose you distant ancestor was Abraham Lincoln. Wouldn’t you somehow let things slip out that he was your great great great grandfather. Imagine though Lincoln lived only a few centuries. Now suppose your ancestor lived a few thousand years ago and you could say that you are a descendent of his. Now that is something to brag about.
Today we are going to look at the last words of Jacob before he went to sleep in God’s presence. His words have been recorded for posterity. Our Lord has informed us that these words are His words and that they will never pass away as we read in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 24 verse 35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
49 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.
The dying words of a man were considered to have powerful effect on the future, and Jacob knew that God was with him. Yet at the end they are called a blessing, for such words were a guide to each one of his sons as to his future
His words are to the sons as a family, although each will be treated individually. Picture yourselves as one the sons of Jacob. You are to get in line from the first born to the youngest. To a large degree you are awaiting to hear what good old dad is going to leave for you. To you it seems like this is going to be a good day.
Now the first born of all the children was Reuben. If you are the first born in your family then you know how hard you had it compare to your other siblings. Our Great and Holy God of course understood what you had to endure so He made sure you would be greatly blessed. Out of all the inheritance if you were the first born that our Holy Master instructed us that you should get two shares of the inheritance.
Now if you were Rueben you could look around and start adding all the wealth pop accumulated. He was rich and owned a lot of livestock along with great quantizes of precious metals and jewels. You figured that the total you approximated of dad’s wealth divided by 13 would leave what each brother would get. You then could add a second part to your share. Sadly, this didn’t turn out for Reuben as he expected.
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.
Jacob first describes Reuben in terms of being his firstborn. As such he had been his father’s strength and the beginning of Jacob’s power base as found in his sons. All this sounds good so far dad. But Reuben’s future is going to be difficult for he has revealed his weakness in his sexual behavior. Such weakness has destroyed many men and Reuben is no exception. Because of it he is going to lose out.
Jacob observed that his oldest son was ‘Pre-eminent in dignity and pre-eminent in strength.’ –Reuben was more contained than his brothers, and bore himself well and as the eldest was the strongest. Yet ‘Uncontrolled as water, you will not be pre-eminent.’ Reuben had a fatal flaw, he was unreliable, uncontrolled like a flow of surging water. Thus he could not safely take the pre-eminence, and, as we have seen, his place as leader has been taken by Judah. (The verb means ‘unstable, uncontrolled, and frothing over’).
‘Because you went up to your father’s bed, then you defiled it ---’. This refers, of course, to when he went in to his father’s concubine (35.22). This too was a sign of his unreliability. He who should have watched over his father’s bed defiled it. Thus he cannot be trusted.
He had his good points. He had tried to save Joseph and at least saved him from death, although he was not strong enough to stand up to his brothers. He was the one who was concerned about Simeon and wanted to go back for him, but he failed to persuade Jacob to let him take Benjamin. It was Judah who was firm and later succeeded. Perhaps even then his failure was because his father saw him as unreliable and untrustworthy.
Interestingly the tribe of Reuben also failed early. It is depicted by Moses as dying (Deuteronomy 33.6) and is mentioned with censure in Judges 5.15 where their inability to make a strong decision is emphasized. These ideas may have partly arisen from this original perception of Reuben.
After hearing what the oldest brother had said to him now put you in the position of Simeon and Levi. When dad mentions both of you together I think that a little bit of fear and anxiety hits you.
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 demonstrated their strength and their fierceness when they led their men against Shechem having disabled the inhabitants by their ruse (Genesis 34). They were two of four full brothers to Dinah, but Reuben and Judah did not join with them in their blood vengeance, although later joining in the general destruction of the city. They wanted justice without mercy, and acted together in unison. And that is Jacob’s complaint, that they are merciless. They are violent men who carry out violent deeds. Thus they are to be avoided.
They are troublemakers and best avoided, they are the kind who leads men astray. Jacob is warns the rest of his family, his not to be carried along by their aims and methods.
This could be seen as referring metaphorically to their evil scheme whereby the men of Shechem were basically hamstrung by circumcision and slain. But it also refers to more general cruelty, that being short tempered and harsh they do not restrain themselves. They have within them a streak of cruelty and harshness. They slay men without thought and hamstring oxen. Hamstringing of oxen (cutting the tendons in the hocks) was unnecessary and may have been their way of punishing someone who had offended them. The point here is that while all had to kill in those days, if necessary, in self defense they seemed to delight in it.
Because of their fierce and cruel ways they must be separated by the children of Israel and kept apart, otherwise they will dominate. They are dangerous men.
The age of the narrative comes out in that there is no thought of Levi as a priestly tribe (although even as a priestly tribe they were not averse to slaying their brothers. They had a fierce godliness). As a tribe Levi would indeed be scattered among the tribes, but then for a godly purpose. His descendants will have, as it were, purged his contempt. But this is clearly not what Jacob has in mind, although we may see it as being a secondary application. For as a result they were divided up.
Simeon later combines with Judah as the weaker of the two tribes (Joshua 19.9) but it retains its identity throughout the period of the kings (1 Chronicles 4.41-43) although it is never mentioned after the Exile (except in the list in Revelation 7).
So the first two deathbed sayings are analyses of the brothers themselves, depicting their weaknesses and the consequences. In the case of Reuben loss of pre-eminence, something that has already partly happen to him - In the case of Simeon and Levi separation in the tribe in order to control their blood lust. Thus it comes as some surprise when the words about Judah are more full and prophetic, for in his case his father sees wonders that lie ahead. But by now Judah had revealed his leadership potential. And yet even here the first words concern Judah himself.
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.
The words directed to Judah prophesy future ruler ship for Judah. He already has the pre-eminence among the ten and he is promised further exaltation, success and authority. His enemies will submit to him and his brothers will acknowledge his leadership and rule. He is clearly established to be a leader of men.
If Judah is a lion’s whelp we may see Jacob as the lion. Certainly Jacob in his old age is remembering his past glories. Thus Jacob is likening Judah to himself in his younger days (as seen in his own eyes). Judah is a young lion who is successful in the hunt (he has gone up from the prey) and before whom men cower in fear. In other words he is a strong man who can impose himself on others.
His seed will carry the scepter which we may say kingship and sit in judgment with their staff of office and authority between their feet demonstrating their right to do so.
We next see the powerful statement ‘Until Shiloh come, and the obedience of the people will be to him.’ This surely suggests the coming after a period of kingship of a greater one who will establish his rule and bring the people to final obedience. Here we have in seed form the promise of a Messiah from the tribe of Judah.
Our Precious Holy Spirit paints a beautiful poetic picture of a coming time of plenty connected with the coming of Shiloh. Animals will be tethered, not to ordinary trees but to sumptuous vine trees, clothes will be washed not in water but in wine, and he will be saturated in wine and milk.
After hearing an outstanding blessing on Judah the next son in the line-up – Zebulun is a little bit more comfortable in hearing what his dad has in store for him. Sadly though, for him the words from his father are just a quick statement and then moves on to the next son.
13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall adjoin Sidon.
Having moved into prophetic mode Jacob now seems more inspired. But as the previous blessings have first majored on the patriarchs themselves, it must probably be seen as the same here. It thus seems probable that we must see Zebulun as having revealed a liking for the sea and as having taken an interest in ships. For the family tribe will have had constant contact with merchants who may have stimulated such an interest, and his residence in Egypt may have brought him in contact with the ships and sailors, with the result that they had become his passion. This may be why Jacob forecasts such a continuing interest for him and his seed. (This would be an unusual interest in Canaan where harbors were both small and a rarity because of the coastline, which was not suited for shipping, but is understandable in Egypt).
I find Jacobs words ‘His flanks will reach towards Sidon.’ to be very insightful. You see this statement refers to some proposed maritime activity aiming to trade with Sidon which was a well known merchant seaport in Phoenicia.
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.
Jacob recognizes in Issachar (‘man of wages’) someone who enjoys his pleasures and lacks initiative. He would always be a servant to others rather than taking the mastery. He would always prefer to be paid rather than being his own boss.
The donkey was a beast of burden, and Issachar is pictured as being ready to receive extra burdens. It may be that in Egypt he had fixed his eyes on its pleasures and in order to enjoy them had become committed to a certain level of forced labor in order to subsidize a pleasurable lifestyle.
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.
In judging his people would successfully make independent major decisions and be good at acting as an arbiter. Jacob’s complaint however about Dan is that in his leadership and as a dispenser of justice he is devious and untrustworthy. He is like a snake waiting to strike unexpectedly, thus bringing down a horse’s rider. He will not deal fairly with his people.
18 I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!
What Jacob had seen in regard to the future of Dan moved him to cry out to Yahweh God. In his life he had learned the hard way to wait for YHWH to act and deal with the problems, and in his dying breath again calls on Him to do so. Is it not time now for YHWH to act? This suggests that Dan’s behavior is actually contrary to the covenant and covenant ordinances to such an extent that YHWH’s intervention needed intervention.
19 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, but he shall triumph at last.
This rather enigmatic statement reflects Jacob’s conviction of some disaster to face Gad at the hands of a marauding band. He may indeed, with the wisdom of an old man, be aware of some trouble already brewing. But he assures Gad that he will be able to retaliate successfully. Success will finally be his.
20 “Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.
It is always nice to have some good cooks and chiefs in a family. One time a couple invited my wife and I to go to New York city to see Le Miz on Broadway. The woman’s brother was the head chief at the New York Hilton who invited us to dinner before the show. He had gone to a local junior college which had an excellent school of cooking.
At the restaurant he gracefully joined us. The way the staff reacted to him joining us made us feel like we were celebrities. Everything was on the house. I ordered a nice steak with fries and boy was that prepared to excellence. Yum..Yum.
21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.
Even though Jacob is short on words about Asher and as we see here Naphtali the few words still say a lot. Naphtali would be the scholar in the family. As a deer desires the freedom to move around so too will Naphtali roam free in his thoughts and knowledge. Naphtali has clearly been the surprise among the brothers. He is like a trapped hind which has been let loose, in that he has moved from being merely the quiet one to becoming a teacher of wisdom.
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.
In this word in respect of Joseph his father rejoices in the way that God has triumphed. Although Joseph has been persecuted (the archers represent his brothers sniping at him) he has been strong and has also triumphed. Indeed mighty blessings have been poured on him including the birth of sons. This is because the blessings of his father have far exceeded those of his contemporaries, and these blessings will be on him into the future.
Jacob may well have himself in mind here as the fruitful tree, with his twelve sons and many daughters. Once again his pride in his own abilities comes out. But he knew from God’s promises that he himself was to have abundant seed and declares the same for Joseph. He will be fruitful, and flourishing and exceedingly blessed, and will produce abundant fruit and offspring. Manasseh and Ephraim in fact became two of the largest tribes.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.”
To a shepherd the ravenous wolf was a dreaded but awesome sight. He ate in the morning and was himself satisfied and then in the evening he provided extra for his young. Thus likewise Benjamin will be successful in all his efforts, providing for himself and for his children. The picture is not necessarily derogatory. Men liked to be thought of in terms of fierce beasts.
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.
In amazing way even though some of the sons did not seem to get a good blessing ultimately our Precious Holy Lord is still going to do wonders through these 12 sons. Each one would be so fruitful that they will develop a tribe of descendents.
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 cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.”
Jacob is aware now that death is close. He will now join those who have gone before, and he longs to be buried with them. It is clear that Mamre was the place to which the family came when death was near, if they had a choice. Sarah died there (23.2), Isaac died there (35.27), Abraham died there by implication (25.9), and Leah presumably died there - in a hot country burials had to take place within a fairly short time of death for physical reasons. Jacob can be taken there because of the possibility of mummification. And that is his dying wish.
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.
Now here is the way to go to the Lord. Just lay back down on your bed and that’s it. Jacob dies calmly and at peace. There is no thought of his grey hairs going with sorrow to the grave for in the end all has worked out happily, and he is content.
