The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 11/3/20 Tuesday Night Service. We apologize for any transcription inaccuracies.

Hey everyone. Welcome to our through the Bible journey. And today we're in Genesis chapter 49. As we conclude our study through the book of Genesis with this teaching chapter 49 and of course, chapter 50, and as an encouragement to you, if you are listening to, or watching this teaching standalone without having heard the rest of the teachings through Genesis of these are all archived. Wherever you get podcasts or at calvary.com or at nateholdridge.com and also at YouTube, if you'd like to watch these teachings, we started Genesis chapter one, many months ago, and now today we'll conclude our study in the book of Genesis.

Genesis 49 -- Jacob Blesses His Sons

And with that in mind, it's of course, good to remember that the book of Genesis began with life. God created, God spoke life into existence, no random accident, no chance, but a definite designer and God being the first cause the one who made all that is, and the one who is uncaused, the one who is eternal and has never not been in existence.

So it began with God instituting life. Now, of course, in entered into the world. And now today in Genesis 49 and 50, we're going to see the book of Genesis and with death, the death of Jacob, the death of Joseph, but in the midst of that death, there will be the hope, the hope of restoration, the hope that all of the blessing that God created the world and created his people to experience that all of that blessing would somehow still come to pass somehow some way.

And there are illusions all throughout the passage that we're going to look at today to that blessed hope. And of course, as believers, we understand that it's Jesus Christ who ultimately fulfills all of that hope and that his kingdom that we pray to come today will ultimately come in the future. And we will be brought back to something like Eden, but even better than Eden. And so that's sort of the idea or the overview of Genesis and also the whole Bible itself. Now it begins here in chapter 49 with Jacob and his old age.

What Shall Happen

1 Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. 2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.

It says in verse one, then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together that I may tell you what shall happen to you in the days to come assemble and listen, oh, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father." So Jacob here gathers his sons together there, of course, old men themselves in many respects. Jacob here, deep into his one hundreds and age, is at the point where he feels that he's going to die and he wants to bless his sons. Now I say that that he wants to bless his sons. And many of her Bibles probably have a subtitle to this section saying, "Jacob blesses his son."

But as we go through this, you'll probably be asking the question, is this really Jacob blessing his sons, or is this Jacob prophesying about his son? Some of the prophecies are blessings and some of the prophecies are curses, but they seem more like prophecies rather than blessings. Or is Jacob merely observing who his sons are today and saying that what you are today is going to dictate what your tribe will be like tomorrow.

And maybe what Jacob is really doing is not so much blessing or prophesying, but pointing out the consequences of the kind of men that his sons currently are. Perhaps even hoping that they will break whatever bad patterns are there in their lives. By coming clean, asking for God's grace and forgiveness, perhaps using Judah as an emblem of that, a man who was on one route, but then through repentance was restored to Joseph and then was, put on a brand new route as we'll see in our passage today.

But the reason that I call it Jacob blessing his sons is because in verse 24 and a following, or excuse me, verse 28. And following it says three times that Jacob blessed his sons in this section of scripture. So does have predictive elements to it. It does have consequential elements to it, but in the end, this is a father speaking life into the lives of his sons. He is blessing his sons. Now the lives of all of these 12 patriarch, patriarchal figures are these 12 boys are these 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel. The way that they live did affect those who came after them. And what an important lesson for us as modern believers to embrace who we are, does impact who comes after us. But of course, Jacob is going to look into their future, but beyond their future, into the messianic hope and kingdom age.

Reuben

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

And the astounding thing about what Jacob is about to do is that he is going to predict things with incredible accuracy about his boys and the tribes that they would become years before going back to the land of promise and becoming the 12 tribes of the nation of Israel. Jacob, as a father, far from Canaan and Egypt is able to predict with great accuracy what is coming. This is the word of God. It can be trusted. And the prophetic and predictive element within it is part of the reason why we trust it like we do. But with that, let's get into the actual blessings or predictions from Jacob starting with verse three. And he begins with his firstborn son, Reuben. It says, Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might. And the first fruits of my strength, preeminent and dignity and preeminent and power unstable as water.

You shall not have preeminence because you went up to your father's bed, then you defiled it. He went up to my couch. All right. So the blessings begin and right away, they come in a confrontational form. He starts out with Reuben, a Reuben of course, the firstborn, between Jacob and Leah. And, he tells Reuben, you are a man with great opportunity. He was preeminent in dignity. He was preeminent in power. He said in verse three, you're my firstborn. You're my might. You're the first fruits of my strength.

These are all the titles that Jacob bestows onto Reuben. It's as if Jacob is saying, "Reuben you had great potential. You could have been so much more than you are, but you threw it all away." He says in verse four, because you went up to my couch, you went up to your father's bed. Now, when Jacob says that, of course he's alluding to an episode that we saw in chapter 35:22, where it says that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And so because Reuben did that and perhaps now is being confronted for it or about it for the first time. He lost that role, lost that position of the firstborn and all of the blessings that could have been his.

And Jacob is quick to point out that the reason that he behaved in that manner is because of his instability. He said, in verse four, you are unstable as water. Instability just crushed this man, Reuben. He had an ungoverned impulse within. I liked the way the new international version describes Reuben rather than saying, "Unstable as water." It says, "You are like turbulent waters." All he's just churning, unpredictable, dangerous. You vacillate wildly.

And when a person becomes like Reuben, when a person vacillates wildly, when they're prone to wild mood swings or wild allegiances to various passions that are within them. Back and forth between righteousness and godliness, holiness, and impurity. Back and forth between good and evil, one foot in the world, one foot out of it. When a person is vacillating and unstable, like Reuben, they cough up so many of the blessings that they could have had in Christ Jesus.

And not only did it cost Reuben what he could have been, but it costs him preeminence. In other words, he could have been the leader of this whole group. He could have been that man, but his instability cost him a position in God's kingdom. He was no longer suited for spiritual leadership because of that instability. And it's interesting when you follow out the tribe of Reuben, they joined and in rebellion against Moses. They asked for their inheritance on the wrong side of the Jordan river. They contributed no judges to Israel during the period of the judges. They never ruled, never had that position of authority in Israel.

And we're the first to be carried into captivity by the Assyrians or scattered by the Assyrian invasion. They did not have the preeminence now before moving on, I do want to give a word of hope because here with Reuben, and as we move through this passage, you'll probably feel this way. Even further than just with Reuben. It feels a little bit spiritual genetics, like Reuben was this way. So everyone be behind him or from him is going to be this way. Simeon and Levi were this way. Everybody who comes from them will be like Simeon and Levi.

But the reality is, is that all of us are broken in sin in one way or another. All of us are related to Adam himself. And when Adam sinned, our great grandfather, so to speak was sinning and he passed his sin down to us, his nature down to us. So are we destined to spiritual failure because of our spiritual genetics? No, not at all. Romans 5 tells us that in Christ Jesus, when we become believers, we are transferred from Adam into Christ. We now have new spiritual genetics in Jesus Christ. So no matter what your family of origin has done, no matter what sins were handed down to you in Christ Jesus, you can battle against those sins and overcome them. And we'll see that actually in this passage, some of the descendants of these figures actually rose above therefore father.

Simeon and Levi

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6 Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. 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.

Let's go on though and see the next curse or a blessing that Jacob pronounces. In verse five he says, "Simeon and Levi are brothers." Now all of them of course were brothers, but he wants to put these two together for a specific reason. Simeon and Levi are brothers weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their counsel. All my glory be not joined to their company for in their anger they killed men and in their willfulness, they hamstrung oxen, cursed be their anger for its fierce and their wrath for its cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. Now, after hearing Reuben's blessing, I'm sure Simeon and Levi were a little nervous when Jacob started talking to them and quickly, they discovered that the reason that he joined them together is because they were joined together in their sin against Shechem many chapters earlier. Because of what Shechem had done to their sister Dinah had concocted a revenge plan or plot to kill the male citizens of that city. It was a terrible moment in Israel's history, a terrible moment on their record. And here Jacob points out that he has not forgotten that moment. He says in verse six and seven, you killed men you hamstrung oxen, your anger, your wrath it's out of control. Like Reuben these two would not be the leaders either.

They would not inherit that position. After Reuben defiled himself, they couldn't lead because they were revenge filled men. Really what they were doing if you think about it in that old episode is they were taking God's place. They thought that vengeance belonged to them. But the Bible says that vengeance belongs to the Lord.

Now, when you move forward into Israel's story and you come to the book of Joshua, the people of Israel will eventually go into the promised land, the land of Canaan, where Jacob had come from when he moved to Egypt, they will go back as a people of one or two or 3 million into the land of Canaan. And when they go in, God will command them to destroy the inhabitants of the land. So with that in their future, some wonder why Simeon and Levi were judged so harshly by Jacob and so harshly of course, by God Himself weren't they behaving in a similar form to the future iteration of Israel when they went into the promised land.

But there's a major difference. One major difference is that they were again fighting for revenge, personal revenge. Whereas in the book of Joshua, they were executing God's righteous judgment. God himself was determining that the Canaanite people were ripe for his judgment after centuries of ignoring the general revelation that God had given. And then specifically for rejecting the revelation God had given about Israel, because everyone in that region heard what God had done to Egypt through the plagues. They had rejected all of that, so when Israel went into Canaan and drove out the inhabitants, it was not revenge personally, but they were being used as instruments of God to execute the judgment of God.

God saw those people as a cancer in humanity that needed to be removed less they harm humanity even further. But of course the other big reason is because Simeon and Levi concocted the plan of their own volition, it was not something that God had told them to do. And so, as I said, because of their anger, their vengeance they also would not be the leaders in Israel over everybody else. And you've got to deal with your anger. We've got to deal with the wrath within Paul said in Colossians 3:8 that we have to put off all anger, put off all wrath. Galatians 5:28 tells us that one of the works of the flesh are outbursts of wrath. But when we walk in the spirit, we're able to overcome the wrath within the anger within. And look, there are many reasons that anger exists, Simeon and Levi had a strong reason to be angry, but we must bring it to the Lord and seek Him and have Him heal us within and teach us the right way to respond to even the things that would make us angry that it's right for us to be angry.

A righteous anger, Lord teach us how to respond. Even when our anger is righteous. Now, when Jacob said these things to Simeon and Levi, he also said in verse seven, you'll be divided and you will be scattered in Israel. You see, Jacob is projecting forward to when his sons go back into the land of Canaan as a people group with tribes that are, under the banner or the name of these 12 sons. And he says, "Basically that Simeon will be scattered and Levi will be scattered." Now it's interesting. I've mentioned this in a previous study, but they were both scattered in different ways. Simeon he basically had his inheritance inside of the land of Judah.

Judah

8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

Various towns and villages and regions that we're within the borders of the large powerful tribe of Judah. So they were kind of lost or scattered, just kind of within Judah. Levi however, was scattered in a more positive way, and that God put a calling on the tribe of Judah or excuse me, the tribe of Levi I would be through that tribe that the Levitical priesthood arose and they would be given towns throughout all of Israel, but their people would serve for the worship of God the worship of Yahweh way in Israel.

Now, before I move on, I just need to point out to you something that Jacob is doing. Jacob here when he says these things to his first three sons is yielding to God more than he is yielding to his children. This is important because when a child goes astray, when a child commits error, when a child gets into wickedness and evil, many times a parent will side with the child, rather than siding with God. In our modern time, many children will embrace etiologies and moralities that are contrary to scripture.

And unfortunately many believing parents will then bend their belief system to accommodate their children. This should not be so. They should still love their children pray for their children, be in relationship with their children in a parental kind of way, be as much of a support system as they can be to their children. Love unconditionally their children, but still believe what God says and understand that, a great curse in a sense will come upon their child for ignoring God's word.

Zebulun

13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon.

All right, let's move on into verse eight and see an actual blessing that Jacob gives. He says, "Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hands shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's son shall bow down before you." Judah is alliance cub and from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down. He crouched as a lion and as a lioness.

Who dares rouse him? The shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until tribute comes to him and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples binding his full to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice of vine. He has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. And how this is fascinating because Reuben we know of his sin. He went up to Bilhah has his father's concubine. Simeon, and Levi we know of their sin. They took out the city of Shechem and total vengeance. Judah by now is probably realizing I have a lot to fear. I've taken a Canaanite wife named Shua. I had horrible sons who God judged in death killed. I sand against Tamar, my daughter-in-law and I was instrumental in selling my dad's favorite son, Joseph into slavery, but he doesn't get any rebuke.

He doesn't get any judgment. Instead he receives the grace of God. He received grace. There's no mention of any sin, but instead it's all grace. Jacob tells him you're going to be praised by your brothers. Now the name Judah actually means praise. And so it's a play on his name. He will be praised by the other tribes in Israel. And certainly that's what happened with the tribe of Judah. They became a warrior tribe that was massive and became heroic for the rest of the nation. So the rest of the nation, praise them for what they would do for the rest of Israel. He also says to Judah that he would have a lion like power.

In other words, he be mighty militarily. And of course, we look forward to Jesus who came from the tribe of Judah. And we know him as the lion of the tribe of Judah, all the powerful figures, whoever arose from Judah in their history, Jesus is the most lion like and powerful of all. And then not only does he tell him, "You'll have the praise of your brothers, you'll have power like a lion," but he gives him a promise of the coming messianic age. That's what all those words about the sceptre not departing from Judah. The ruler staff not departing from his feet until tribute comes and to him is the obedience of the peoples.

There'll be a moment. Jacob is telling Judah where one of Judah's descendants would sit on a throne and the nations would bow in allegiance to him. Now this is a fascinating prophecy and many scholars and commentators have attempted to unearth the true intention of the original Hebrew language with this promise. Some of the popular versions of an interpretation of this verse, make the word Shiloh, come out of it and attach that name to Jesus Himself. That Jesus is the Shiloh who is to come and that Judah will retain some semblance of authority until Jesus comes.

I don't know that that's exactly what it's saying. But what is clear is that there is at the very least an illusion to David himself, and of course, through extension Jesus Himself, that He will one day come and have a thorough it over the nations that every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is Jacob hoping in a future kingdom. Jacob hoping in a future theocratic monarchy that rules the entire world. And of course, in one sense, we are still hoping for that today. We are waiting for Jesus to come back to be the ruler of all. And of course we know that He will have a rulership that is over all nations.

His gospel is for all nations, but of course all nations have received Him to one degree or another people, groups from all over the world have received Him. And so every tribe and nation and tongue is worshiping the Lord for all of eternity. And so this is the promise that Jacob is hoping for as he pronounces a blessing upon Judah. And he actually thinks about an age to come that is so prosperous that he says in verse 11, "It will be so prosperous that people will take their donkey's colt and tie them to a choice vine. In other words, vineyards will be in such abundance that, you'll park your donkey by tying them up to even the best vines, because it will be no big deal. There'll be so much wine in that region.

And, there will be grapes and abundance and fruit everywhere during that time. Again, I think this is Jacob eluding to the dawn of a new age, the coming age of plentiful peace and prosperity for God's people. And I don't think it's a mistake that when Jesus came His first recorded miracle was the turning of water into wine at a wedding. I think it was just sort of a way to point forward to the glory and the blessing and the richness of his coming kingdom. Like water can turn into wine. Wine is so abundant it's like water. And Jacob was thinking about that day as he blessed his son, Judah.

Issachar

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. 15 He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor.

Verse 13 says Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea. He shall become a haven for ships and his border shall be at Sidon. So here's Zebulun has spoken of as a coastal kind of man or tribe who has coastal access and coastal commercial interests. Now some have pointed out that it doesn't seem that the tribe of Zebulun actually ever had a coastal access or coastal commercial interests. And this would lead some to conclude that this prophecy must be fulfilled in the coming kingdom, messianic millennials age.

And that is possible of course, because when Jesus comes, he will split the Mount of olives in two, there's an indication and in Ezekiel that he will change the topography and the geography of Israel. So perhaps the coast land comes inward too. Whereas Zebulun is when Jesus returns. Verse 14, it's a car is a strong donkey crouching between the sheep folds. He saw that a resting place was good and that the land was pleasant. So he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant at forced labor. Now is a car here he's pictured as a strong donkey, not a flattering animal or a interesting animal, like some of his brothers who are compared to lions or deer or wolves or snakes.

But he just was a strong kind of man just moving forward, like a strong donkey. But the thing about the tribe of is a car is that because they were located in fertile land they often were subject to invading armies. That's why he says there, they became a servant at forced labor. So they had a good resting place, Jacob prophesies. But because they just kind of fell back on the prosperity that they were in and they had a desire for ease. They actually ended up serving, the surrounding area quite often. That's why they became that servant at forced labor. Desire for ease or giving into a life of ease is one of the worst things we can do for ourselves. We lose our strength when we say like the man said in Luke 12:19, to our souls, Soul, you will have ample goods laid up for many years, relax, eat, drink, and be merry.

Dan

16 “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. 18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.

That kind of life or mentality is actually what leads to great weakness. And it isn't a blessed life anyways. Verse 16, Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent in the way a viper by the path that bites the horses' heels so that his writer falls backward. I wait for your salvation, oh Lord. Now the tribe of Dan, okay. He says here they will judge his people. This means that he'll have a position of being a judge, even though he comes from a very small tribe, he'll be kind of fighting for his rights, continually. Being a judge or operating as a judge over his people. And one way that he'll do that is like a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, Jacob says in verse 17, this means that he is small, but he is influential.

And unfortunately Dan used that influence in the wrong ways. This is the tribe that was the first to practice idolatry in the land of Israel. And, I've actually actually seeing the ruins of some of the infamous altars that were built in this tribal area. They introduced this pagan idolatry to the land of Israel, like a serpent in the road able to trip up a massive beast of burden. The tribe of Dan, though small tripped up with their poison, the whole nation of Israel. They didn't use their influence for good. They use their influence for evil. Now in the midst of all of this, Jacob kind of takes a break and verse 18, and he just says, "I wait for your salvation, oh Lord." He just prays asked the Lord for deliverance. And I think part of the reason why he placed this prayer right here might have been that he was growing fatigued just thinking about the actions of some of his sons.

But I think also he was trying to turn the attention of God's people to the Lord. You're not going to be saved by any of these tribes. You're not going to be saved by any of these patriarchs. You're going to be saved by God. I wait for your salvation oh Lord. He just was saying, God will be the one who delivers. And before I move on, I should just say to you, wait for the salvation of the Lord. It is one of the hardest things for a believer to do, to wait upon God, to wait upon His power, to wait for His answer, to wait for His deliverance, but it is so good to wait. I'm at that stage in my life where I have walked with the Lord long enough now to see many moments in my life where waiting really was the best response, waiting upon the Lord, waiting for his salvation.

Gad

19 “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.

So many times where I was tempted to take matters into my own hands. And in prayer, I thought, God, this is what I must do. But then I would sense the ministry of the spirit saying to my heart, "Wait, wait for me to say, wait for me to deliver." And I've seen the Lord time and time again, do that work. And so I'm at that blessed space in life where I can see times in the past that God has saved, but I have so many opportunities yet in the future to still watch God's saved. Let us be a people who wait on his salvation. Verse 19, raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. Now the name Gad actually literally means attack. And in this little blessing from Jacob to his son Gad, he fills that blessing with that word attack, raiders, shell raid, Gad but he shall raid at their heels.

It's the same idea attack, raid. So what he's saying here is that Gad who eventually was a border tribe. They were on the outskirts of Israel. They would often as a border tribe be attacked first, but they would turn against their attackers and they would verse 19 raid at their heels. They would eventually fight back and win in other words. In other words, I could say it like this, "With God, they were up to the fight with God, they were up to the fight." Brothers and sisters there's a fight in front of us. There are raiders attacking, so to speak. But with God, we are up for that fight. He can empower us and strengthen us and get us through. So we must turn to Him for His answers and his deliverance. Verse 20, Asher's food shall be rich and he shall yield royal delicacies.

Asher

20 “Asher’s food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies.

This speaks of the abundance that would be found in the tribe of Asher, a fertile and productive land. And they provide rich food. They'd actually provide food that was of royal quality and eventually provided for future royals in Israel. They dwelled on that rich Northern coast of the land of Canaan and they lived in great abundance. Now, the thing about Asher is that as you follow their story, you discover that often their prosperity was actually the thing that kept them out of war. Their prosperity was the thing that kept them out of war. In fact, an infamous moment where many of the tribes of Israel refused to gather together to fight against an invading army and Deborah, the prophetess led a small band into victory.

She sang in her victory song. Asher sat still at the coast of the sea, staying by his landings. There he was in prosperity on the coast of the sea, not doing anything, not engaging himself in the war and people who live in prosperity today should be warned by the tribe of Asher. Let us not be a people who due to prosperity or peace or beautiful natural surroundings, avoid engaging in the mission of God, avoid engaging in the war of God. There are dangers attached to prosperity, and this is one of them. Verse 21, Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.

Naphtali

21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.

Now it is true that the people of Naphtali eventually settled in mountainous territory. So they were like a deer that is climbing in the mountain regions. But here Jacob is saying he's like a doe let loose. That has great offspring. There's going to be beautiful fruit that comes from the tribe of Naphtali. And of course, one of the greatest fruits that came from the tribe of Naphtali actually came to the tribe of Naphtali because Matthew quotes from the old Testament and tells us that, "Jesus came and served in Capernaum and the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali."

Joseph

22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. 23 The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, 24 yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), 25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.

So the greatest of all blessings to come from Naphtali was Jesus Himself. Now verse 22, Jacob blesses his son, Joseph, his beloved son, the son that many years before he had given the coat of many colors to here. Here he says, "Joseph is a fruitful bow, a fruitful bow by a spring, his branches run over the wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him and harassed him severely. Yet his bow remained unmoved. His arms were made agile by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel by the God of your father, who will help you by the almighty, who will bless you with blessings of heaven above blessings of the deep that crouches beneath blessed blessings of the breasts and the womb. The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents up to the bounties of the Everlasting Hills. May they be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of him, it was set apart from his brothers."

1 Chronicles 5:2 says, "The birthright belonged to Joseph." And here with this blessing from Jacob to Joseph, we can see that on full display. Ephraim and Manasseh so to speak, being blessed through their father Joseph, even though there was no tribe of Joseph in the future, and he was split up into Ephraim and Manasseh, the blessing of Joseph would flow into those two tribes. And he says there, "Joseph, you know your branches, they run over the wall." It is life. And this, these tribes would actually be a blessing to everyone around them. They would be prosperous in that kind of way. Now we've been thinking about Joseph as an emblem or type or picture of Jesus, going before his brothers, making a way for reconciliation, providing a way for forgiveness to take place. The favored son who was rejected once but came again. So we've seen Joseph as an emblem of Jesus.

And of course, Jesus is the ultimate one with branches that run over the wall, blessing all those who pass by His life and partake of Him. Jacob said in verse 23, "That the archers bitterly attacked Joseph shot at him and harassed him severely." This is him recounting Joseph's life. As a teenager sold into slavery by his brothers, rejected by his brothers and went through great trials and difficulties for many years. So it's like he was shot at and harassed by the archers. But then Joseph is told that that God is on his side. Notice all the titles that Jacob gives to God when talking to Joseph, he calls God, The Mighty One of Jacob, The Shepherd, The Stone of Israel, The God of your Father, The Almighty, all these titles for God. It's as if Jacob is saying to Joseph, "You've been defended by God, God is on your side and you will continue to be defended by God."

The mighty of Jacob, the one who gave me all these promises and has stood with me all these years. He's going to stand with you, Joseph. The Shepherd who has guided me and led me the ultimate shepherd. We are under shepherds taking care of literal flocks, but He has shepherded us he will shepherd you Joseph. The Stone of Israel, only from foundation I've ever known. The only rock upon which I could build my life. He will be a foundation and dependable rock for you Joseph, the God of your father. You know the one who came before you, He is now transferred down to you as well, Joseph, He is your God. And he is the Almighty. Jacob said, "He is the God who will empower you and enable you."

Now Jacob said, "That Joseph would then experience radical blessings because God interacted with his life." He called them blessings of heaven above that's reign. He called them blessings of the deep that crouches beneath that's streams and rivers of water all throughout their land. He said, "Blessings of the breasts and of the womb." So they'd have much offspring. There would be a numerous people.

Benjamin

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil.”

He said, "Blessings of your father and of my parents." So this is the covenant that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had received up to the bounties of the Everlasting Hills. In other words, he's thinking out beyond just the physical blessings into the ultimate kingdom and glory of Christ. What an incredible blessing, Jacob places upon Joseph. And finally, last of all, the sons, the youngest Benjamin in verse 27, Benjamin is a ravenous wolf in the morning, devouring the prey and at evening dividing the spoil he's like into a ravenous wolf. And Benjamin did become a warrior tribe. They were like Judah, but smaller than Judah, a warrior tribe, perfect for the mountainous terrain surrounded the capital city within them. And it's like, Jacob could look forward and see, this is what Benjamin is going to become.

One Final Command

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him.

I think it's great when a parent or a person is able to look at someone they love and see the potential victories that God could win through their lives. That's what Jacob was doing with Benjamin. I see that you are going to be a victorious man and a victorious tribe. Owe to God that we would have hope as we look at the people that God has placed in our lives hope and what God could do through them. All these verse 28 are the 12 tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. So there it is. These were the blessings of Jacob though, as I mentioned earlier, some of them come across more predictive or prophetic, but at the end of the day, it is a blessing for them to know these things about their tribe in the future.

29 Then he commanded 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 at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying 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 in it were bought from the Hittites.”

Then verse 29, he commanded 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 and the cave that is in the field at Machpelah to the East of Mamre and the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place there, they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife there they buried Isaac and Rebecca, his wife, and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites. Here Jacob just announces I'm about to be gathered to my people. This is his way of describing his death. He is going to die and he is going to be united to his ancestors, likely is merely thinking of the communal grave that they are going to share together.

But this was important to Jacob. He wanted the family to be gathered together in death because they were buried in the promised land. It was a way for them to lay claim to the land that God had promised to them. Now, in a sense, I like this because Jacob is anticipating death. He is living backwards. So to speak, he is thinking about what he wants his life to be like because his death is approaching. And I think it's a good exercise for us as God's people to be thinking about what would we like our lives to be about. And one great way to think about that is to ask yourself the question, what would you like the eulogy to say about you. And to work backwards from that point. Now, of course here he is trying to connect to the faith of Abraham as well.

33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

And that's why he wants to be buried with his father, with his grandfather, Abraham and Isaac. When Jacob verse 33, finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people 147 years old, it tells us in chapter 47. That he breathed his last and died. Jacob was far from a perfect man, of course, but he did have an unquenchable desire for God to bless his life. And by the end of his life, as I mentioned in our last study, he finally figured out that the blessing of God came from just God alone, God Himself.

Genesis 50 -- The Family Grieves And Proceeds

1 Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

Now let's close with chapter 50. It says in verse one, "Then Joseph fell on his father's face and wept over him and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel 40 days were required for it, for that as how many are required for embalming and the Egyptians wept for him 70 days.

Now, all through this passage, what we're going to see are the Egyptian officials engaging in the official morning of Jacob morning over Jacob. And of course this speaks to us of the position of Joseph. He was so highly esteem that his family was highly esteemed. And it reminds us of the promises that God made to Abraham little old Abraham told that he would be a blessing to all the nations. And now one of his descendants is venerated at the moment of their death. It's just a reality check or a reminder that God has been raising up this family, into world consciousness. Now they mourned for Jacob for 70 days. It says in verse three, and some say that this is two days shorter than the official time of or length of grieving for a deceased Pharaoh that they'd grieve for them for 72 days.

4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’ ” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

So this speaks of great honor that they would mourn for Jacob Joseph's father for 72 days. And when the days verse four of weeping for him were passed. Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh saying, if now I've found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh saying, "My father made me swear saying I'm about to die in my tomb, that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me. Now Therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return." And Pharaoh answered, "Go up and bury your father as he has made you swear of that." Because Joseph was mourning, he would not have been shaved. And because he was not shaved, he would not have an audience with Pharaoh. So he has to send messengers to ask Pharaoh for permission, to leave Egypt, to go bury his father in Canaan and Pharaoh gives that permission.

7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company.

So Joseph went up to bury his father with him, went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt, as well as the household of Joseph, his brothers and his father's household, only their children, their flocks and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. And there went up within both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. So they returned to Canaan. You remember, this is the first time that Joseph has been in the promised land for 39 years. He left at age 17. He was in Egypt for 22 years alone, and then another 17 years with his brothers and with his father. And so they go back. It's just an impressive retinue of people that are with him in this company, mourning him. That was a great loss for everybody.

10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim; it is beyond the Jordan.

They hey left their children though and their flocks back in Egypt. So this ensured that they would have to go back to Egypt. They couldn't stay in the land of Canaan. When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan. They lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad. They said, this is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians. Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim. It is beyond the Jordan. Now, Abel-mizraim actually could mean meadow of Egyptians, but the word meadow, sounds in the original language like mourning. So it's kind of a word play on the mourning of the Egyptians or the meadow of the Egyptians who mourned in that place.

12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

Thus, his sons verse 12 did for him as he had commanded him for his sons, carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah. To the East of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephrone the Hittite to possess as a burying place, after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father. Now this, of course for the brothers is their fourth journey from Canaan to Egypt. They've gone a few times earlier to get grain and I go back and forth until they finally moved to Egypt on their third trip. This is now their fourth journey from Canaan to Egypt. And they all come back to Egypt together. But now Jacob is gone from the scene.

Family Meeting

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.”

16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”

And when Joseph's brothers verse 15, saw that their father was dead. They said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph saying, "Your father gave this command before he died," say to Joseph, "Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin because they did evil to you." And now please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God, of your father, Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants."

So here something very natural takes place. The father dies. These brothers think that Jacob's presence is the only reason that Joseph has not lashed out to them in wrap. And of course, Joseph has incredible power. He could destroy these men and their families if you so chose. And so they come and they ask for forgiveness. They say, "Our father would not have wanted you to lash out against us, but to forgive us. So please, as the servants of God and your servants, please forgive us." Now, Joseph, for his part, it says in verse 17 wept, when they spoke to him. Remember in all of the episodes, when the brothers came, there were moments where Joseph had to run into his inner chamber and weep alone, because he was so broken up over their presence. And over the words that they spoke, here he weeps again, he's broken over what they're saying to him.

I think the reason that he's weeping is that he had done everything he could to communicate to them his favor and also his forgiveness. But they thought that everything he'd done was only because their father was alive. It wasn't though the life of Jacob that was keeping them alive. Joseph knew it was the life of Joseph that was keeping them alive. And their misunderstanding broke his heart. I think that Jesus weeps over this attitude within his people as well, He is so badly wants us to live in boldness before Him running to His throne of grace. He wants us to understand our position forgiven in Christ Jesus, righteous in the sight of God. But so often when we are weak, we fall into fear and doubt before Him. We should have a reverence for God. That is fear of fear of God, but not a paranoia about God, that kind of fear.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

So so we have to learn to embrace the grace that Christ has extended to us. And so often when we're still trying to earn it, or we're still thinking we're not good enough in his sight. We are like these brothers who think that, that the life of the father was what was causing Joseph to favor them. But the favor came because of the life of the son, the life of Joseph himself. But Joseph said to them, verse 18, or excuse me, verse 19, do not fear for, am I in the place of God, as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.

So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph demonstrates a great heart. He says, first of all, am I in the place of God? This is a great heart and a great attitude. In fact, I think that this heart and attitude is very helpful for those of us who need to extend forgiveness to someone else. Joseph is just saying, "This is not my position. This is not my role. I can not avenge myself. That is not my place." God is your judge. God is responsible for you. I am not in the place of God.

But he also has this beautiful announcement that reminds us, of course, of Romans 8:28. That God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. When He says in verse 20, God meant it for good. Joseph was able to embrace the sovereignty of God. You see, God had used all these things for good. He had saved a nation through Joseph's life. He had discovered this and seeing this as things unfolded, Joseph realized God is at work. God meant all of these things for good. Now, as much as Joseph saw this at that point, it's important for us to believe this in the future that God can use even the worst of circumstances or the worst crimes against us for great good, for beautiful things in the lives of others.

Joseph's Death

22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation. The children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph’s own.

Proverbs 12:21 says, "No grave trouble will overtake the righteous. And Joseph was confident of this fact. So Joseph verse 22 remained in Egypt. He and his father's house. Joseph lived 110 years. And Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. The children also of Makir the son of Manasseh were counted as Joseph's own. These are Joseph's sons as a reminder, Ephraim and Manasseh. Joseph got to 110 years old and he was able to see his, great, great grandsons on Ephraim's side and his great grandsons on Manasseh side. And he just living a blessed life. But he's going to die. And that it's important for us to note that he's going to die before his brothers they're older than him, but they will actually live much longer than him. And Joseph said to his brothers, "I'm about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land, to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob." Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear saying, "God will surely visit you and you shall carry up my bones from here."

So Joseph died being 110 years old. They embalmed him and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Now 110 years old, we have studied and come to understand was according to Egyptian law the perfect age though, many of them did not live that long. Joseph did. He lived that exemplary age, according to their standards. And then as he was dying, he made his brother's promise when you return to Canaan, bring my bones. And years later, centuries later, when the people of Israel went to the land of Canaan, they did bring the bones of Joseph with them so that he could be buried in the land of promise live so to speak in the land of promise. And here Jacob, or excuse me, Joseph just announces God will visit you. I'm about to die, but God will visit you.

24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

I know I've provided for you, but God will take care of you. I know I've been your sustenance, but God will defend you. I know I've provided all of your needs, but God will provide all of your needs. And one day he'll visit you and he will carry you out of this place back into the land of promise. And when that happens, bring my bones with you. All of this of course is looking forward to the day that they would leave Egypt and go into the promised land. The book of Exodus is about them leaving Egypt. And we will study that book next. But the book of Joshua is about them going into the promised land after a period of wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. By the way, this sentence, that concludes the book of Genesis. It is the thing that Joseph was extolled and praised for in the book of Hebrews. In Hebrews chapter 11, the patriarchs are mentioned for their great faith and each one of them had a singular thing pointed out that they had great faith in God for and about.

And Joseph's was this. That when he was dying, Hebrews 11:22, he made mention of the departure of the children of Israel and gave instructions concerning his bones. The reason why this was his great act of faith is because it was Joseph's way of saying the best is yet to come. The best is yet to come. Yes, the book of Genesis began in a garden and yes, it ended with a coffin. Joseph's coffin, but the best is yet to come. Things do not have to get worse and worse, but because of the plan of God to restore all things unto Himself through the blood of Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come. And Joseph understood that and was praised for that great faith. And we also, today must believe that the best is yet to come. God bless you, church. I hope you journey with us through the book of Exodus, but thank you for joining me in the book of Genesis. God bless you.