Jacob Blesses His Sons
49:1 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.
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!
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.
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.
13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea;
he shall become a haven for ships,
and his border shall be at Sidon.
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.
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.
19 “Raiders shall raid Gad,
but he shall raid at their heels.
20 “Asher’s food shall be rich,
and he shall yield royal delicacies.
21 “Naphtali is a doe let loose
that bears beautiful fawns.
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.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey
and at evening dividing the spoil.”
Jacob’s Death and Burial
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. 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.” 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. (ESV)
Gen 49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
Jacob is blessed with a vision of his offspring: in this verse the King of Kings! He sees his deliverance from God through one of his decendants. Isn’t it amazing that God has it ALL planned out perfectly and from the beginning?
Lord, we acknowledge that You are omniscient and have orchestrated all things in your perfect plan for redemption. Please come soon and if You choose not to come back today let me live for You willingly with everything that You’ve given to me.
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
How did Jacob know all of this? It amazes me. By being a man of GOD Jacob was given great great gifts.
This chapter is always so interesting to me because Jacob’s blessings for each of his kids are so specific and yet true. As Murphy mentions it is amazing how he is able to do this through the grace of God. Jacob has been given a blessing to see a vision of what is to come from his kids and here we read part of Joseph’s blessing in verse 25, ” because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb” as Jacob gives God ALL the glory!!
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. 4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. 7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
Sin has consequences! The first three sons of Jacob all lost their blessing from Jacob and their role as their family’s leaders because of the sins they committed. Reuben slept with his father’s concubine and Simeon and Levi murdered Hamor, Shechem and all the men in their town for defiling their sister Dinah. We must remember that sin has consequences and although it may feel good for a time, in the end it leads to terrible things. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” This verse is true in the big issue of salvation, but it is also true in small circumstances, such a Reuben’s where he had the desire to sleep with his father’s wife and he gave into it. And in the situation of Simeon and Levi where they were irate with Shechem for violating their sister and so they took revenge by murdering him. When we are tempted to sin we must pray to God for our promised “way out” (1Cor.10:13) so that we can do what is right, honor God, and avoid future consequences.
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
I just find this awesome right now, here Jacob is prophecying about his children and today’s campus lunch is about prophecy! This chapter I found very interesting! Talks about just like Beth said, sin and consequences.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. 4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. 7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
As I read through this chapter my thought’s aligned with Beth’s almost verbatim. The sins of Reuben and Simeon might have occurred years ago but the reality of its consequences surface at what should have been a time of blessing. It is a sad day when we fall into temptation and allow our sin to rob us of God’s blessings. As Beth has already stated; 1 Corinthians 10:13 is a great verse to put into memory. Let us never fail to ask our Father in heaven for His protection as well as the strength to resist temptation and flee from evil. I pray that we would strive for righteousness daily and find our comfort in knowing that we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
You reap what you so. When I read this it made me think back to my own life. For example it talks about because Siemon and Levi their sin effected them for the rest of there lives. For me I have not been praying for things and not been reading the bible lately so I can learn from there mistakes and get back on the right path. But not just Siemon and Levi, some who did what was right got good things to come in there life.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
So THIS is where we get the ‘twelve trives of Israel’ from! I read about the ‘twelve tribes’ all over my Bible, and it’s finally great to see exactly what it is referring too: Jacob’s twelve sons.
I also love how the Lord fortold all the futures of Jacob’s sons through Jacob. And as Beth pointed out, it is a good example of how sin has consequences. What if the Lord spoke through one of our parents today like this? What would be our reaction? Would we be happy at what they have to say, because we’ve been living a life honoring to the Lord? Or would our parents say something similar to what Jacob had to say about his sons Simeon and Reuben? This should motivate us to sin even less. We want our lives to be pleasing and honoring to our parents, and most importantly, the Lord!
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
I also loved this verse, it immediately reminded me of Jesus’ birth and genealogy! It’s the start of a beautiful prophecy about our Lord and Savior! This verse reminded me to be grateful for such a loving God! He planned his birth from the beginning that we may be saved! Praise the Lord! :D
What a dramatic old finish for Jacob/Israel… Through him is now the Israelites and soon this friday the exodus of egypt! Woo I am excited for that! Names are incredibly important throughout all of Genesis and probably through exodus as well, if not the entire Bible! But it is so awesome to see the works and fullfilled promises that God did through the fathers of time!
Ya small groups tonight! I am excited for that as well! God has blessed me with so much that I do not want to take for granted, lets remember what God does in our everyday lives and lets live for him…
I love how Jacob mentions that the cause of Joseph’s deliverance from the attacking archers is by the strength of the Almighty God. Joseph is considered prince among his brothers not because he is a great guy, but because of his unbreakable faith in God. Let us strive for that faith, so that we may trust in God at all times. Praise God because he is faithful even when we are not.
Austin Wilemon – Great to see you on here and way to be honest!
In some ways this is almost a picture of what will happen at the end of all our lives: judgment. God is going to go over how we have lived and send us to an eternal destiny that will be either good or bad corresponding to our actions. This is very sobering that all of us will face death and judgment. But encouraging that if we live for the Lord like Joseph did we can be confident we will receive blessings!
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
>>because of your father’s God, who helps you
this part stuck out to me the most because God does really help you the most
Good to see you on Beth Ann:)
I totally agree with Beth Lauder! Sin definately does have consequences. I think that knowing this and that God always provides a way out will help us to chose God of sin. We need to remember that the sin that only feels good temporarily like Beth said only seperates us from God!
Echoing what others have said, it is amazing to see how jacob was able to predict so accurately the future of his children’s descendants! verse 4 in particular stood out to me; Reuben missed out on a great blessing because of the sin he had committed! And in verses 5-7, 2 more brothers are punished for leading lives of sin. This is a great example of how even though we may be Christians – just as these brothers were a part of God’s special nation of Israel – sin will not go unpunished in our lives. It causes us to miss out on so much that God can offer us, because we are too caught up in what we want that is sometimes the complete opposite of what He wants for us! We need to be resolved to live lives that are above reproach so that we will not sacrifice our reward, in this life or the next!
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
God gave Jacob the abiltiy to know what is going to happen in the future in his son’s lives. This does not really happen now a days because there are not many people who are as close to God as Jacob and Abraham and Jospeh back then in the Bible times.
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.”
Israel is calling everyone together for they are his children and he loves them, and they should listen and obey him, for one of the 10 commandments is to obey your father and mother. And God is our father and we too need to obey Him and our earthly parents, for they to love us (no matter what) and want the best for us. So we need to make sure that we listen to God and do what He says and not what we want; for we are sinning against Him if we disobey. (just like Jonah. He disobeyed and then was eaten by a fish :D) :]
***Remember: to encourage and love one another daily***
33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
i love this chapter! it is so cool to look back at all of hte things that are blessed to the sons, and how they all came true. i also like how all of Jacob’s sons buried him as he wanted, showing their respect for him and their willingness to obey their father. though blessing of the father isnt big today like it was in Patriarchal times, we should read this and look at the love of the fathers and sons and how they obeyed thier parents and respected one another
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
The Lord is always there to help you through anything. When you put the Lord as number one in your life, everything else falls into place. And by putting him as number one, he blesses you in so many ways! Today i talked to a friend at school about the Lord, and i just felt the Holy Spirit talking through me, and giving me every word to say to her. Because of that I was blessed (: It is truly an amazing experience to be used my God. It encouraged me so much to hear my worldly friend listen to the gospel. You know you are on the right path when you start being persecuted for your faith, which for me is losing friends. But the Lord always blesses you and shows you his love and mercy which today was telling someone the gospel!
(:
Our God is AMAZING!!!
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
This verse and this whole chapter was so amazing how Jacob knew what was gonna happen to his sons before. Its so cool for us to know that Gd has our whole future and everything already planned out for us.
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
I just love this verse! It is totally pointing to Christ. I love how he says “to whom it belongs”. It’s so cool how he knew that one day the Messiah would come from the line of his son Judah! This is waaaay before Jesus lived, and yet Jacob is prophecying about him! It’s crazy just to try and imagine that God knows all things before they happen. He knows the past, present, and future. It’s just amazing and mind boggling. The Bible is just chock full of amazing prohecy that has all come true. It’s so amazing and it totally shows that the Bible is 100% credible and true!!
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
This is so cool to see. At the campus lunches we are talking about this and how it proves the Bible to be true. It is so cool how Jacob knew what was going to happen to every one of his sons. Good or bad. And that shows that there are definatley consequences for the actions and sins that we commit.
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
I love hearing these blessings the Fathers come up with! The words are filled with such wisdom and have a very deep powerful meaning!! They love their children so much, it amazes me to try and fathom how much love God has for us!! These passages have been reminding me of God’s promise and what his purpose for my life is…i need to be looking to him and waiting and obeying His commands.
Romans 12:11 Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord!
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.
Jacob was so specific in each son’s blessing. It was a really intense chapter to read. I agree with Beth that every sin has a consequence as we see in the beginning of this chapter. It can keep us back from a blessing that the Lord has for us. We need to pray that God keeps us out of temptation and has his hands of protection over us. We need to live in obedience every single day and remember that no sin goes unpunished. That should be encouraging to help us live a life pleasing to the Lord!
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
Its cool how God revealed to Jacob what will happen in the future. Jacob knew his sons well and shared his wisdom with them in his last breaths. Its cool how even as he is about to die, his mind is still sharp…
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
26 Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
This is very encouraging! I want the Lords blessings! This just shows how important and strong the lord is and this makes me want to do better in my daily life. I want to be a light to those around me and I want to examine my life and make sure that I am bearing fruit!
I totally agree with you katie! It makes me so much more at ease knowing that it is in Gods control and he already has a plan for our lives.
This gave me a perspective on the day that all Christians will face Christ and will receive blessings. During that time, I want God to recall the things I did and reward me for them. I do not want to live claiming to be a Christian, but never feeling truly guilty of my sin and completely repenting of it and willingly do good. I want the Lord to bless me for my life here on earth.
i thought this chapter was very convicting, and i thought about a lot of what austin was talking about… God sees our motives for doing everything. even though we may put on a mask and pretend like we are doing something “spiritual”, our hearts could be only out for selfish gain… this chapter encouraged me to live a more sanctified life, knowing that God is examining everything we do and that we will have to account for our every deed on judgment day.
I can’t help but love the blessings specificly to Joseph and Judah, Judah is told his brothers will bow before him. Joseph is told he is a fruitful vine flourishing. All the rest seem to come with a little bit of rebuke.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.
Like Beth said, this really made me think of the consequences of sin. Not only were Reuben, Simeon, and Levi denied the birthright, but their tribes were made small and to be scattered. This shows how our sin affects so many other people beside ourselves, so before we lash out in anger like Simeon and Levi, we need to remember that it will have consequences and affect a lot of people for the worst. Instead we should let God handle revenge and instead obey Him like He asks of us, and He will bless us like Judah and Joseph.
Sounds like some prophesying is going around in this chapter
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t Jesus come from the line of David and doesn’t come from the line of Judah. If so, God placed Joseph in a position of power for the sole purpose of keeping Judah alive so that he can have descendent that would lead to David that would lead to Jesus, our Savior. It’s so awesome to read this and have proof for the Bible, people may say that the Bible is full of error, but 2 Timothy 3:16 just powns all the doubters. God knows everything and has a perfect plan, one that may not always seem happy, but one that is perfect and good. I am thankful that I’m no longer in control of my life, but that I gave my life up to God to use me as his little puppet (hahahahahahaha, I can just imagine the faces of some of the people at LHHS after I just said that). This “book” is truth, I use quotations because people act as though it is a book of mythology, and I am going to live my life based on the truth which is God. Bless all those who seek God and will one day find Him
God bless you!
Great passage about reaping what you sow. All of us have done things that we shouldn’t have, and we have to accept the consequences for those things just the way that Simeon and Levi do. It makes you stop and think that taking the path of least resistance isn’t the wise way to go, especially if you end up hurting others, that misery and misfortune will come back to you.
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
As many have previously commented, it is awesome to see the predictions about the coming of Christ! According to God’s plan, the salvation of his people came through the tribe of Judah, which will one day be completely fulfilled when Christ returns and reigns forever. As Christians we should be longing and awaiting this day with great anticipation. I’m looking forward to the day when our journey here on earth has ended. Join with me and pray MARANATHA!
(v18) “I look for your deliverance, O LORD. (NIV)
(v18) “For Your salvation I wait, O LORD. (NASB)
Jacob was calling out to God for the day that salvation would come to Israel. God is highly exalted and Jacob knew that salvation was coming. He is crying out for that day to come. They know they need a savior because they’re trapped in their sin.
Fortunately, salvation is here. Jesus has come to die for our sins. We need to remember that we are saved by the grace of God. There is no need for us to wait for salvation anymore. The Savior has come, Jesus Christ, and He is the God of this universe. Jesus Christ delivers us from our sin through our turning away from our sins and our faith in him. One day Jesus will come back to Judge all of humanity and this world, we need to make sure we are right with God before that, and see a pattern of repentance in our lives so that we can spend eternity with the Father and Son, instead of eternity of pain and suffering in hell.
25because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blessed you with blessings of heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
This verse was encouraging to read, the fact that God helps us so much in everything we do and we know we can rely on Him is amazing. He blesses us with life and everything about it which reminds me of verse 11 from yesterday of how we can ask Him for things and He goes above what we need and deserve to make us happy. And I also love in this verse how it says “with blessings of the heavens above” this reminds me of how The Lord is so much greater than us, He’s up in Heaven watching over us. He doesn’t have to be involved in our lives and giving us salvation and all His love for us, helping us overcome this world. Hes not stuck on Himself and feels like He’s to good to help us, instead He does everything He can for us and a lot of people take that for granted.
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
its so sick that he can tell the future i mean really how many people can do that these days….like none? yeah this is a gift straight from God!
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.
Wow Judah is a pretty awesome guy! he followed God and Joseph’s word and was rewarded for this. We need to keep in mind that we will be rewarded because of our struggling for God. This is such an encouragement.
I enjoyed this chapter… many cool things and good lessons in it such as prophesy type things with the tribes as well as showing how much sin basicly is terrible….It really meses the normal plans up such as birthright and stuff like that. Living for God is the only way to go and for sin it is a no….oh ya a little rhyme action going on!!!
18 “I look for your deliverance, O LORD.
We need to always be relying on the Lord in everything that we do. Without Him in our lives we are truly nothing. In the words of the Psalms – Lean not on your own understanding but in all you ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Our priority needs to be God and all the rest of the things in our lives will fall into place!
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breast and womb.
This verse stuck out to me because in the previous verse, it explains how Joseph withstood trials. Then, I love how this verse is one of the several that elaborate on how the only way Jacob kept things together in the midst of crisis. This berse made me very grateful for the blessings God has given me. The “blessings of the deep” made me realize that God is incredibly deep to the point that it is sometimes impossible for us to understand everything. I am just so grateful that God loves and has blessed me!
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
For he was prophecying about what was coming in the future and that is a true act of God. What an amazing thing God giving someone the power to see in the future and to make prophecies so far ahead.
18 “I look for your deliverance, O LORD.
I agree with Jacob Antoun we need to always be relying on the Lord in everything we do. Lord come any second I am ready.
And Austin Wileman way to be honest!!
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