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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.”
“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 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.”
“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 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.”
“I look for your deliverance, Lord.”
“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.”
“Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”
“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”
“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 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, 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. 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.”
“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
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.
Genesis 49:15-28
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In yesterday’s message, we found Jacob (also named Israel by God) proclaiming the future of his sons, starting from the oldest. And given that each of his sons would be the progenitors of the Israelite nation’s twelve tribes, we get a sense of what would lie ahead for future generations.
In part one of this message, A Matter of Legacy, we looked at the future of Rueben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. You’ll remember that the prospects for the first three weren’t positive as they had acted sinfully in some way, disrespecting their father in the process. On the other hand, Judah would find himself richly blessed and highly successful, having shown himself as being honorable during his life.
The main takeaway was that the way we live impacts the way we will be remembered and transgressions we may commit can have lasting effects on later generations.
Today, in the second and final message of this series, we turn to the other eight sons and see what Jacob says about their destinies. Look again at those words here:
“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.”
“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 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.”
“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 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.”
“I look for your deliverance, Lord.”
“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.”
“Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”
“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”
“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 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, 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. 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.”
“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
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. Vv.15-28
Let’s look at these eight sons and how their father’s prophecies played out.
1. Zebulun.
“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.”
When land was allocated to each tribe after Israel inhabited Canaan, the land God had promised to them, the tribe of Zebulun was allotted land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. In regard to the land on the sea, the tribe’s northern border did indeed “extend toward Sidon”.
2. Issachar.
“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 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.”
These words spoke to Issachar’s tribe being grounded in agriculture and the hard work and labor associated with that work. As it played out, the tribe ended up with land in the valley of Jezreel in Galilee, land rich and ripe for farming.
3. Dan.
“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 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.”
One of Israel’s judges, Samson, came from the tribe of Dan and “provided justice” for the Israelite people but not everything about this tribe would be so positive for unfortunately, many of the tribe’s leaders would turn to idol worshiping, a sin that would bring God’s judgment (Judges, chapter 18).
4. Gad.
“Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.”
This prediction was based on the future fighting ability of the tribe of Gad. In the twelfth chapter of 1 Chronicles, we find a large fighting force from Gad supporting King David.
5. Asher.
“Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king.”
Jacob’s prophecy regarding the tribe of Asher predicted that they would later inherit land that would produce “rich” food. This tribe would be given the fertile land of Carmel located near the seacoast.
6. Naphtali.
“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.”
While we don’t fully understand what Jacob meant here, it’s believed that Naphtali would be a tribe that would be admired by the other tribes.
This leaves us with Joseph and Benjamin, the two sons that were delivered by Jacob’s beloved, deceased wife Rachel. We know how much Jacob admired both of these sons, especially Joseph, and this is reflected in the blessing he declares for each.
7. Joseph.
“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 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, 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. 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.”
What would have happened to Jacob and his family if Joseph hadn’t allowed God to place him in a significant place of Egyptian leadership by trusting Him in obedience and then showing grace, mercy, and forgiveness towards his brothers who had sold him into slavery?
Indeed, Jacob’s favored son stood out from the rest in a big way, reflecting the abundant blessings of the Lord through his life.
As we see in Jacob’s prophecy, this would continue into the future and Joseph’s two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, would each lead their own tribes, both claimed by Jacob as if they were his sons (Genesis 48:15-16).
8. Benjamin.
“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”
As we will see play out in Old Testament history, many warriors will emerge from the tribe of Benjamin such as Ehud, Saul (Israel’s first king), and his son Jonathan. Ultimately, the tribe would gain a reputation for being mighty in battle.
And with that, Jacob had completed “giving each” of “the twelve tribes of Israel” the “blessing appropriate” to them. Each of them had a unique legacy to fulfill and it’s so interesting to read the rest of the Old Testament from this point on to see how these predictions come to be.
As Christian believers, we need to be mindful that the lives we live and the associated influence from those lives carries an impact as to the mark we will leave on this world we live in. The Lord's expectation is that we will leave things better than they were and that He will be glorified through those who remember the wonderful, Kingdom work that we did in obedience to His will and way. It's a matter of legacy that we can't afford to not get right.
Tomorrow, we will see how Jacob’s (Israel’s) life comes to an end as he leaves his sons to carry on his name and establish themselves as the Israelite nation.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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