THE STORY OF JOSEPH. EPISODE 14. GENESIS CHAPTER 49: THE FINAL GATHERING

 

CHAPTER 49: THE FINAL GATHERING

In this chapter, Jacob gathers his twelve sons to deliver prophetic blessings and insights about their futures, symbolizing the destiny of the tribes of Israel. Each blessing reflects the character and actions of the sons, with both positive and negative aspects highlighted.

Reuben:
As the firstborn, Reuben had great potential but lost his preeminence due to instability and dishonoring his father by defiling his bed.

Simeon and Levi:

Known for their violence and cruelty, particularly in the massacre at Shechem, their descendants will be scattered in Israel.

Judah:
Prophesied to be the leader among his brothers, Judah is likened to a lion. The scepter (royal lineage) will not depart from him, pointing to the future kings of Israel and ultimately, the Messiah.

Zebulun:
His descendants will live near the sea and become a haven for ships, indicating prosperity through trade.

Issachar:
Described as a strong donkey, Issachar will become a laborer, bowing to forced work but benefiting from the land's fertility.

Dan:
Will provide justice for his people but is also likened to a serpent, suggesting both strength and potential danger or betrayal.

Gad:
Will face raids but will overcome them, symbolizing resilience.

Asher:
His land will produce rich food, providing royal delicacies, indicating prosperity and abundance.

Naphtali:
Described as a free doe with beautiful offspring, symbolizing grace and fertility.

Joseph:
Extensively blessed, Joseph is described as a fruitful bough attacked but strengthened by God. His descendants will enjoy divine favor and prosperity.

Benjamin:
Compared to a ravenous wolf, Benjamin's tribe will be fierce warriors, known for strength and conquest

Jacob’s Death and Final Request: Jacob commands his sons to bury him in Canaan, in the cave of Machpelah, alongside Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah. He emphasizes the importance of returning to the promised land, a symbol of faith in God's covenant. Jacob then dies peacefully. This chapter sets the stage for the future history of Israel and emphasizes God’s overarching plan through the twelve tribes.

In this chapter, Jacob’s family is gathered together in its complete state for the very last time. This happens by the order of the reigning patriarch Jacob. Jacob is the last of the three foundation patriarchs of the Hebrew/Jewish people, the other two being Abraham and Isaac. It is in these three patriarchs that Israel the nation is encoded to the extent that that God Himself has identified His Name with these three: He is often referred in the Scriptures as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Jacob is uniquely placed in the history of the Jewish people because the nation and the people would carry his name for all generations thorough out scripture an in all of history post his encounter with God at Jabbok River where he “wrestled with God” (Genesis 32:28) and renamed as “Israel.” In this encounter, Jacob received a new name and a blessing; it is a pivotal moment in his life and that of all his descendants. All his descendants shall henceforth be referred to “the children of Israel” or “the Israelites” and their nation “Israel.”

This encounter is also significant to the soteriological history, that is, the history of salvation because it is from the nation of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, that the Messiah and Savior of the world would spring from.  In fact, we will see that in this chapter when Jacob is pronouncing the prophetic blessings upon one of the sons in whose tribe is the Messiah’s lineage. Again, I believe that this encounter, where Jacob “wrestled with God” is the basis on which Jacob/Israel, will proclaim the prophetic blessings and destinies of his sons in this chapter. This, again, takes us back to the point we elaborated in detail in the previous chapter 48 about the fact that every blessing must be pegged on a clear promise of God.

So therefore, we see the centrality of this encounter to the posterity and history of the Jewish people and indeed to all of humanity. But this encounter came at a high cost to Jacob. Jacob was at his lowest point in his life, he had to make difficult decisions like to separate from his family and possessions, as a precaution against total destruction by his twin brother Esau. But it was at that state that he encountered God and received an eternal blessing.

Someone has commented about this encounter: “In the end, Jacob does what we all must do. In his weakness and fear, he faces God. Jacob was separated from all others and from his worldly possessions, and that’s when he grapples all night for what is truly important. It was an exhausting struggle that left him crippled. It was only after he wrestled with God and ceased his struggling, realizing that he could not go on without Him, that he received God’s blessing.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Jacob-wrestling-with-God.html)

Jacob here now gathers his entire clan to pass the blessing onto them as his last fatherly act. It must be a mixed feeling moment in the room. The family is in a foreign land having left their native land to escape the ravaging famine, and moreover, the elderly patriarch is, without a doubt, in his final moments. How will the family fare without his leadership and counsel, what does the future look like considering that the family is in a foreign land? On the other hand, the brothers must be eager to hear what their father has to say about these things.

It is an extraordinary family moment; gathering to hear from the father. The Bible puts a lot of emphasis on family unity and togetherness, and the family in this case may mean the human blood relations or the church family, that is, the body of Christ. The entire Psalm 133 talks about unity among brethren. It says:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! ² It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.

The writer of Hebrews also emphasizes on the need for New Testament believers to gather together in order to encourage one another in anticipation for that great and glorious day, the day of Christ’s return. He writes: And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25, NKJV)

One could argue that one of the most important goals of believers gathering together is to remind one another about our ultimate future; the return of Christ. This is demonstrated in the verses in both Hebrews 10 and psalm 133. In Hebrews it highlighted by the words: the Day where D is capitalized in most versions. In psalms it is highlighted in the phrase: the blessing— Life forevermore, where L is uppercase too.  And here in this chapter in our continuing story of Joseph, Jacob calls his sons together in order to tell them what will become of each one of them in the future; what is the portion of each one of them and the generations after each of them.

Again we could liken this to Jesus’ Last Supper with the twelve. Jesus gathers his twelve disciples/apostles for an all important gathering where He would effectively pass the baton to the them to be the foundation upon which the Church would be established. Most bible commentators are of the opinion that on that night there were only 13 people, Jewish men, at the table. And in our story, there are thirteen Jewish men possibly round a bed ready to receive instruction and prophetic guidance from their leader.  Just as the twelve men in the genesis story would be the foundation of the nation called Israel, the twelve apostles at the table became the foundation of the church. Today the nation and people arising from the twelve Jewish brothers is known by the name of the leader in that last meeting (Israel, that is Jacob’s other name) while the people who follow the teachings of the twelve apostles are called by the name of the leader of the twelve: Christians (from Christ).

In this all important gathering in the Genesis story, Jacob goes through the whole list of the sons, one by one, from the oldest to the youngest, making prophetic proclamations about their posterity. Matthew Henry comments, we cannot tell our children what shall befall them or their families in this world; but we can tell them, from the word of God, what will befall them in the last day of all, according as they conduct themselves in this world.

Now, some of the sons of Jacob will be great and some not so great. Some are outrightly blessed while others are not. And a lot of it has to do to with the conduct and actions of each of them right from their youthful age. It is ripe time to reap what each one of them sowed. The bible warns us of the consequences of our actions and promises of the good benefits of doing what is right.

Paul writes in Galatians 6:10: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. ⁸ For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. ¹⁰ So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (ESV)

The bible even warns that we shall all answer or be held accountable for every idle word we uttered. And this is Jesus Himself speaking. He says:  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, ³⁷ for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:36, ESV) Brothers and sisters, we need to be careful of our actions and words, because one day soon we will be held accountable before our Heavenly Father.

Now, Rueben is the firstborn of Israel/ Jacob. Ideally, he is supposed to receive the biggest share of blessing in the inheritance of birthright. But not so! Rueben did many good deeds especially in connection to story of Joseph, like looking out for his brothers. For instance, he is the one who pleaded that Joseph is not killed but rather thrown into the dry pit, planning to rescue him later. He also pleaded for the rescue of Simeon by convincing his father to send Benjamin in the second trip down to Egypt as demanded by the ruler of Egypt as a prerequisite for releasing Simeon from custody.

But Rueben had also done one unthinkable act of ungodliness by sleeping with his step mother, Bilha as recorded in Genesis 35:22. That single act ruined his destiny. In our discussion on chapter 39, titled Purity Over Pleasure, and while considering the sexual sin, we went into great detail highlighting the dangerous consequences of sexual sin. We discussed that what set apart Joseph (who received the biggest blessing of all) from Rueben (who lost everything that he otherwise naturally deserved) might as well be their different attitudes towards sexual purity. The former refused to indulge in the sexual sin while the latter cultivated sexual pleasure in the most gross way. And the consequences of each of the choices are hereby made lifelong and multi-generational.

Young people, who are probably the most vulnerable to sexual temptation, need to be very much aware of this big and deadly trap. The trap is set all over by the chief enemy of our souls and destines, the devil, so that many may fall into it and lose their God-ordained destinies/purpose here on earth or even, ultimately and eternally, their souls.

One of the things I realize about Rueben’s big sin is how it is highlighted in scripture at first, vis-à-vis how adverse its consequences are later in his life. Look at how the bible simply makes mentions of it, sort of in passing, as a by the way, in Genesis 35:22: While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine. And Israel heard of it. (ESV).  That’s it! Nothing more is said or explained about the event here; what led to it, how he planned it out, how Jacob reacted to it upon hearing of it, nihil plus-nothing more! In fact, no more mention of it again, until here in chapter 49, 14 chapters later, about 40 years plus later, in my calculation.

It seems like it was a simple sin, nobody really made much fuss about it, nobody remembers about it anymore, Rueben actually went ahead to do good deeds later; I mean who cares about something that happened in the days of his youth anymore? It is all fun and games, until the day of reckoning. Rueben sowed and now harvest time has come.

The true consequences of his actions are captured in the following commentary which we previously quoted in our discussion on chapter 39: Jacob’s sad prophecy for Reuben certainly came true. No judge, prophet, ruler, or prince came from that tribe, nor any person of renown except Dathan and Abiram, who were noted for their rebellion against Moses. Reuben’s tribe chose a settlement on the other side of the Jordan, a further indication of the loss of godly influence on his brothers to which his birthright entitled him. Although Reuben was the firstborn, the kingdom was given to Judah and the priesthood to Levi, leaving Reuben’s tribe to be small and non-influential.” (https://www.gotquestions.org/tribe-of-Reuben.html)

So, what happens if someone, a believer even, has committed this great wickedness of sexual sin in whatever form, like Rueben. Is there any hope? Thank God, the answer is, fortunately and emphatically, yes! You see, another thing that is also conspicuously missing in the story of Rueben’s sin is repentance unto his father. Rueben simply moved on as if nothing happened. If he ever repented, the Bible does not record it and it is safe and logical to assume here that he did not. Had he repented, I bet it would have been recorded here and the turn of events would have probably been completely different.

Brothers and sisters, whatever sin we may have committed, sexual or otherwise, the best thing is not to cover it up and move on. The right thing to do is to confess and repent, because God has clearly promised in His Word to forgive us.  1 John 1:8-10 says:  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Of course, once we repent and God forgives us, the next step is to do what Jesus told the woman who was caught in adultery having forgiven her: Go and sin no more (John 8:11b). Jesus also told a man who was evidently sick because of a sinful act: “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14b, ESV)

Next on the line is Simeon and Levi. These two too do not receive any good report but rather that they would be scattered all over the land of Israel. But what did they do? Their wrong doing is recorded in Genesis 34. They massacred all the men of Shechem for the sin of one man (Shechem) who raped their sister Dinah. It might seem that they are judged too harshly here, for simply avenging the injustice done to their sister. But I think here the issue is that they allowed themselves to be overcome with anger and acted disproportionately in their revenge. In fact, NLT suggests that some of the things they did while at it they did it “just for sport” (verse 6)

The bible teaches us not to be overcome by anger, even if mere anger in and out of itself may not be sinful. Paul quotes Psalms 4:4 while writing to the church at Ephesus and exhorts them saying: And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ for anger gives a foothold to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-28, NLT).

Paul also writes to the Romans and says: Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21, NKJV).

The above verses are, of course, NOT teaching that we should not act decisively in self-defense or to deter evil or seek justice for the oppressed. But in so doing we should not be led by anger or the desire for retribution for the sake of it. As believers we are however called to love even those who hate us and Godly wisdom is required in balancing these two concepts. Simeon and Levi desperately failed the test in their conduct and will pay heavily for it. These two are to be contrasted with Joseph their younger brother who, though he was in a position to easily unleash the harshest vengeance on his brothers for their evil against him, he chose to forgive and love on them.

We then turn to Judah, the man of praise, the praiseworthy man. His brothers will praise and bow before him. His mother, in naming him, associated his name with praise and here Jacob poetically and prophetically perpetuates the meaning of his name for all of generations to come. Jacob actually prophesies here that indeed the Messiah shall spring out of the tribe of Judah. This is especially derived from verse 10 whose meaning is not clearly understood but in the many ways it is rendered or interpreted it points to a coming figure who shall reign over the nations. The scepter or the ruler’s staff will first and foremost land in David’s hand and run through his generations all the way to Jesus Christ who is also described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and from the root of David in Revelation 5:5.

One thing to note here is that, unlike the three brothers covered so far, and whose negative predicament comes out of their own actions, Judah’s blessing is not based on anything good he did, and if any, it is not mentioned here. And isn’t that the story of grace; that unmerited, undeserved favor? We can only burst out with praise to our God for this wonderful gift of grace.

Zebulun receives a blessing to settle along the sea shores and prosper by sea trade. Again, this is not associated with any good deed on his side. Issachar will be a laborer, sort of slave. It is his eyes that will lead him to admire the land and thereby submit himself to forced labor. Some commentators suggest that Issachar saw beyond the obvious and looked at the greater good thereby choosing to willing endure hard or forced labor and attain the greater good.

Dan would be a judge and indeed one of the most famous judges of Israel came from the tribe of Dan, namely Samson. Gad will face battles and strife but will be resilient. Asher will be a prosperous farmer who will interact with kings due to his success at it. Naphtali would be fruitful, fertile and speaking gracious words.

We now come down to the last two, the last but definitely not the least. In fact, and if anything, these are the cherished two, the most favorite. It is as if God saved the best for the last.  Even though Joseph has been already been blessed exclusively, him and his two sons, previously as we read in the last chapter, Jacob has some more blessings to proclaim to Joseph now before all his brothers. Jacob, while at it, does not mince his words, he speaks so generously of the abundant blessings that will befall Joseph, the beloved of his father.

He does not hide his favor upon Joseph compared to his brethren. Previously, the show or expression of this favor caused Joseph to be hated by his brethren and may be Jacob previously regretted showing it plainly, but here now he is unafraid and unmoved in his extravagant display of this favor. Previously, the greater-than-Joseph was hated, betrayed and killed by His brethren for calling Himself the Son of God. But soon, during His second coming, the Father will exalt him before His brethren and there will be no controversy, or hard or ill feelings about it. Joseph is clearly blessed beyond all his brethren, and even more is Jesus than any other Jew or human.

Benjamin is spoken of as blessed and conquering as well. He is the last born but in no way the last in power, strength and might. Indeed, God is not a respecter of persons; His ways are not our ways. The Apostle Paul was from this tribe.

Verse 28 says that Jacob blessed each of the twelve. For some it might seem like all they got was a curse but being God’s chosen race, they are all ultimately blessed. The blessing was promised on them from Abraham, down to Isaac and now directly through Jacob. The Jewish people are a blessed people to date, they have in most of history rebelled against the LORD their God, but God is faithful to keep his word and promise.

The last 5 verses of the chapter are about Jacob’s final wishes and words. And these revolve about his burial place. He categorically states he must be buried where his forefathers Abraham and Isaac are buried; in the promised land. His final resting place must be in the promised land. Egypt has been great and gracious to him but it is not home. You see brethren, over and over in this study, we have emphasized the centrality of our ultimate home, the new Jerusalem, and we cannot over-emphasize it. The new heaven is the ultimate price, no matter how good or bad this Egypt turns out to be, we must never lose focus of it.

Verse 33 says that it is after this clear command to be buried in Canaan that Jacob finally breathes his last. It should be a lesson to us, the ultimate way to prepare for death is to be sure where we will finally rest. Not about where we will be buried but where our souls will rest once we breathe our last. No matter who you are and what you do here on earth, the ultimate question is where your soul will rest. The bible teaches that the person who is in Christ Jesus, though he dies, shall live again. In fact, the death of a believer is just transition from life to life.

Paul teaches: So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸ Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. ¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, NLT) Let me end with a very uncomfortable question that you will not hear in the regular church today: are you prepared to die?