A Father’s Blessings and Curses; Blog Through the Bible Project
Genesis 49
Close to death, Jacob pronounces on each of his sons a blessing that, reflecting something of their past actions tells how their descenants will prosper in the future.
Jacob Blesses His Sons
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.
listen to your father Israel.
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.
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.
Though Jacob said nothing at the time, the moral consequences of Reuben’s sin–sleeping with his father’s concubine– was that moral authority and leadership slowly shifted away from him.
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers—
their swordsa]”>[a] are weapons of violence.
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
6 Let me not enter their council,
let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
God’s judgement, voiced by Jacob on his deathbed is slow, but sure. These two tribes are scattered among the other tribes to prevent either tribe from dominating the rest, and bringing destruction on Israel.
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, 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,c]”>[c]
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be 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.
Judah was the fourth son, but Reuben, Simeon and Levi had forfeited the right to leadership because of their moral failings. So leadership is given to Judah, and the double portion of the first born given to Joseph.
For God’s inscrutable reasons, the tribe of Judah was chosen to be the one to whom the Messiah was born. See lion imagery associated with the tribe from the first book of the Bible to the last, when Jesus is referred to as “the lion from the tribe of Judah.”
ESV In these words, Jacob predicts the great empire of David, and the greater Kingdom of Christ, the second David. Messianic expectation in the OT: the way that Abraham’s blessing will come to the Gentiles will be by the ultimate heir of David, reigning and incorporating the Gentiles into his benevolent empire.
The royal line of Judah culminates with Jesus Christ.
13 “Zebulun will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend toward Sidon.
14 “Issachar is a rawbonedf]”>[f] donkey
lying down among the sheep pens.g]”>[g]
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labor.
lying down among the sheep pens.g]”>[g]
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and submit to forced labor.
16 “Danh]”>[h] will provide justice for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 “I look for your deliverance, LORD.
Jacob interrupts his pronouncements here by a brief prayer that highlights his concern for his descendants. Without divine deliverance, they will not survive.
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
so that its rider tumbles backward.
18 “I look for your deliverance, LORD.
Jacob interrupts his pronouncements here by a brief prayer that highlights his concern for his descendants. Without divine deliverance, they will not survive.
19 “Gadi]”>[i] will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will attack them at their heels.
but he will attack them at their heels.
20 “Asher’s food will be rich;
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
he will provide delicacies fit for a king.
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns.
that bears beautiful fawns.
22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.k]”>]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayedl]”>[l] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 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.
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.
In spite of his brothers’ hostility towards him, Joseph has survived, sustained by the Mighty One of Jacob. Jacob prays that Joseph’s descendants will experience blessing upon blessing, blessings which will exceed those shown to Abraham and Isaac.
The hand of the mighty one of Israel enabled the bow to stay steady in Joseph’s hand.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning he devours the prey,
in the evening he divides the plunder.”
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.
The Death of Jacob
29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.p]”>[p]”
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.
Jacob does not forget that it was Canaan which was his God-appointed homeland.
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. Genesis 50
You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good
Genesis 50
1 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, 3 taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4 When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, 5 ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”
6 Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— 8 besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. 9Chariots and horsemena]”>[a] also went up with him. It was a very large company.
10 When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.b]”>[b]
12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
Sometimes, peace and contentment and shalom is all the reward one gets for virtue. Conversely, dread, fear, worry and anxiety is often all the punishment one gets for one’s evil deeds.
16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
Joseph wept because they were the same old manipulative brothers, still untruthful. Because they still did not trust him.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
And thus, Joseph’s dream came true.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
God can bring good out of the sins we have committed–and the sins committed against us.
ESV–The principle that God ultimately overrules human sin for his glory and the ultimate good of mankind is important in scripture. The crucifixion is a prime example of this.
As in the lives of Jacob and Esau, Joseph’s life was marred by the deadly hatred between brothers. In each case, the story ends with the wrong brother offering full forgiveness.
Is this fair–or not? It is certainly the best thing for the injured brother’s mental, emotional, spiritual and perhaps physical health.
The Death of Joseph
22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.c]”>[c]
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”
26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
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“Yet I go days at a time, while always in prayer, not always reading the Bible.”
Hi Jennifer, Yeah, I thought that if I put short passages from the Gospels, Epistles, Proverbs and Psalms, the words of Scripture themselves would provide blessing to those who stumbled upon my blog–whether my annotations proved inspiring–or not!! 🙂
It's inspiring. I'm praying for more of a hunger for God's word, as much as I need air to breathe, which is how it's supposed to be. Yet I go days at a time, while always in prayer, not always reading the Bible.
Stats? I think I looked at mine once about four years ago, so I have no idea if people read me or not unless they leave a note. It might depress me to look at them…or inspire me, I'm not sure which!
Thanks so much for reading, Jen. Trying to blog through the Bible is a bit of a step of faith for me, and I get excited when stats show that people are reading it. I am really enjoying it–though it is certainly an enormous and challenging project!!
I love when Jacob says to his sons “Gather around so I can tell you…” Every father, take note.