At the end of your life, right before you die, your children gather around you to say goodbye. I would assume, for most of mankind, we tell them we love them and thank them for their lives. Many will cry. In Jacob’s case, he decided to prophesy. Jacob called for his sons and basically said, "Gather around so I can give you your blessing, and tell you what will happen in the days to come." Jacob gave God's message to each of his sons in the order of their birth. He said to Reuben, his firstborn, that though he was mighty, he would not excel. He told Reuben why - "Because you have slept with my wife" Reuben's actions did not line up with God’s law described in Leviticus 18 and 1 Corinthians 5:1. There is a kid of sexual immorality that even the pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife!" Then Jacob turned to his next two sons, Simeon and Levi, and spoke to them as if they were one. He said that they would be cursed because of their anger and violence was super fierce. They also had defiled another one of God’s commandments: Thou shall not murder. They literally took out all the men of Shechem. So the first three sons of Israel were actually cursed by Jacob’s words. Then Jacob addressed Judah, The fourth son born to Leah, and said, “Judah, your brothers will praise you; and your hand will be on the neck of your enemies heads; the rest of my sons will bow down to you because Judah my son - You are a lion’s cub. You will return from the prey. Like a lion, Judah will crouch down, and like a lioness, when he lies down, who will dare to rouse him?” “The scepter will not depart from hand of 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.” “He will tether his donkey to a vine (Like Christ did) his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.” Genesis 49:8-12 Jacob knew Judah would be the extension of Christ. The Lion of Judah would come from the Lamb. Then Jacob told Zebulun that he would live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. To Issachar, his 6th born son, Judah said, “You are like 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 the labor force." The blessing Jacob delivered to Issachar reminds me of the prophets among men, who bend their shoulder to submit their will to tend to the fields of God. To Dan, Jacob said “Dan, you will provide justice for your people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan, you 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.” Then he told Gad he will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. This sounds like a group who will continually have to fight. To Asher he said, “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king; and to Naphtali, “You are a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.” I don't know about you, but the blessing delivered to Asher and Naphtali sounds absolutely delicious. Then Jacob turned to Rachel’s firstborn, and said, “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.” Wow! Joseph received a greater blessing than Judah - I’m not even sure how to interpret this. Finally, Jacob turned to Benjamin, Rachel’s last born and called him a ravenous wolf. He said, “in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.” Benjamin sounds like he will be the devourer and the divider. All these sons 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 49:1-28 I wonder, what kind of word does God want you to share with your children?
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On his deathbed,
Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers (to the land of Canaan). Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.” Genesis 48:21-22 Let’s break this down - First, Levi did not get land. Instead, Levi was allotted refuge in the land of Canaan that would be conquered by Jacob’s sons. Joseph also did not get land. Instead, his portion was given to his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joseph received a double portion, one portion more than his brothers. But, what did Jacob mean when he said, “which I took from the hand of the Amorite?” I can’t find anywhere in scripture that references this. I wonder what Amorite Jacob was referring to? Was it a single man or an Amorite group? Perhaps it was an Amorite king? Is it possible that Jacob fought against Amorite chiefs and their tribes when he grew in the land of Canaan? According to Genesis 10, the Amorite kingdom came from the fourth son of Canaan whose name was Emer. Some information I found says it’s hard to know the Amorite past because they have two different points of reference, one from Mesopotamian literature and one from biblical scripture. What I did find interesting is that Amorites were known as “mysterious herders” who became steeped in folklore. The folklore says the sons of Emer brought their flocks down from the mountains of western Syria into southern Mesopotamia. They swept eastward, into the Levant, and they transformed the social landscape as they spread. Apparently, the Amorites were fierce warriors and often referred to as “horrible barbarians.” I wonder if they came from Mount Hermon, the land of the watchers? In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses wrote that Og, the king of the Amorites, was a very tall man whose bed was 13.5 feet long. Deuteronomy 3:11 The Amorites were probably descendants of the Giants, the Nephilim. Who knows? Later on, in the scripture, we also learn that God destroyed them! At least the ones that Joshua took on. That was the day the sun stood still. Joshua 10 references five Amorite kings - the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. They all joined forces and moved their troops and took up positions against Gibeon. The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Come. Do not abandon your servants.” This is when the Lord assured Joshua He was with him, and Joshua commanded the sun to stand still. In the book of Numbers, in Chapter 32, Joshua was told by God to give the Amorite territories to Manasseh, the Joseph's first born son. God has His timeline, and we are His vessels. “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:28-29 |
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