FRAMEWORKS:
Genesis 49: Blessing & Death
v.1,2
Jacob calls his Sons together to be blessed
v.3-28
His Prophetic Blessing over the Sons
v.29-33
The Death of Jacob
v.1,2
Jacob calls his Sons together to be blessed
v.1
Then
Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell
you what will happen to you in days to come.
v.2
“Assemble
and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.
[Notes:
This is quite remarkable. The man, who for much of his
life had been a self-centred grabber, is now a God-centred man
who is concerned to bring the blessings of God to his sons before
he dies. We will not comment on each one, sufficient to say that
some of them are clearly based on past experiences – e.g. Reuben
who had slept with Jacob's concubine and Simeon and Levi who had
murdered the men of Shechem. Judah, from whom the messianic line
flows has a particularly lengthy blessing. Similarly Joseph who
had been the first-born of his special love, Rachel. To conclude,
we should note that to call each of these a ‘blessing' may lead
us astray in that we usually think a blessing is a decree from
heaven for good. These words are more specific words of prophecy,
a number of which you would not want spoken over you! They are
insights into the brothers AND what their tribes will eventually
be known for.]
v.3-28
His Prophetic Blessing over the Sons
v.3
“Reuben,
you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
v.4
Turbulent
as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up
onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
v.5
“Simeon
and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence.
v.6
Let
me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as
they pleased.
v.7
Cursed
be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter
them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
v.8
“Judah,
your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of
your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you.
v.9
You
are a lion's cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like
a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to
rouse him?
v.10
The
scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from
between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the
nations shall be his.
v.11
He
will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
v.12
His
eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
v.13
“Zebulun
will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
v.14
“Issachar
is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens.
v.15
When
he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his
land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced
labor.
v.16
“Dan
will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes
of Israel.
v.17
Dan
will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path that bites
the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.
v.18
“I
look for your deliverance, Lord.
v.19
“Gad
will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack
them at their heels.
v.20
“Asher's
food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for
a king.
v.21
“Naphtali
is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
v.22
“Joseph
is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
v.23
With
bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility.
v.24
But
his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because
of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd,
the Rock of Israel,
v.25
because
of your father's God, who helps you, because of the Almighty,
who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of
the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb.
v.26
Your
father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the
ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all
these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among
his brothers.
v.27
“Benjamin
is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the
prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
v.28
All
these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their
father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing
appropriate to him.
[Notes:
A study of these prophecies is too extensive to receive
much comment here. The reader may wish to go back through them
and consider which ones, as we inferred above, would be more words
of perhaps challenge/correction/chastising, which words bring
praise or vision and which ones might be considered a combination
of both. Verse 10 attracts special note in its reference to kingship
(see in David and his family) ‘until' one comes who will rule
the nations (Jesus).]
v.29-33
The Death of Jacob
v.29,30
Then
he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to
my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of
Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre
in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial
place from Ephron the Hittite.
v.31
There
Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife
Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah.
v.32
The
field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
v.33
When
Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his
feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his
people.
[Notes:
With his dying words, Jacob requires that he be buried
in Canaan – faith in God's promises to the end.]