Jacobs Last Words With Family
April 14, 2021
Commentary
Jacob continues to give his last words to his sons as they gather around his bed. The next in line is Dan (verses 16-18) who was a son of Bilhah the maid of Rachel. As Jacob gazed at Dan he saw coming out of his tribe the mightiest of all the judges from which Samson was to come. However, it would be Dan that would first introduce idolatry into Israel. The next in line is Gad (v. 19) who was the first son of Leah’s maid. Gad was to choose his inheritance on the far side of Jordan where they would be under constant attack from warlike, nomadic tribes. However, they would be able to take a beating and still triumph. Asher (v. 20) was another of the bondwomen’s sons. Asher’s inheritance was that fertile strip that ran along the foot of Mount Carmel and up the Mediterranean coast.
Naphtali (v. 21) also a son of the bondwoman had apparently been a wild and ungovernable young man before he was regenerated with the help of Joseph. His tribe settled as a free mountain people northwest of the Sea of Galilee. Then Jacob’s eye fell on Joseph (vv. 22-26). Words seemed to fail him in seeking to describe all the blessings he could see in Joseph. Joseph is pictured as “a fruitful bough; by a well; whose branches run over the wall” (v. 22). Even though there is no reference to a tribe of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh are given a prominent portion in the inheritance. Benjamin whose mother Rachel died when he was born, was simply described as a warrior tribe (v. 27). The warlike nature of this small tribe became well known because of their archers and singers (I Chron. 8:40) and in their brazen defense of their wickedness in Gibeah (Judg. 19-20). Both Saul’s in the Bible were from this tribe; the first king of Israel (I Sam. 9:1, 2) and the Apostle Paul (Phil. 3:5).
Application
As Jacob’s sons stood before him they were in a sense standing before the judgment seat. One day I will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ. It is my desire that my heavenly Father will be able to say concerning my life? “Well done thou good and faithful servant,” and not wasted time?
Genesis 49:16– 27 (NET)
16 Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 May Dan be a snake beside the road, a viper by the path, that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider falls backward.
18 I wait for your deliverance, O Lord.
19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands, but he will attack them at their heels.
20 Asher’s food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies to royalty.
21 Naphtali is a free running doe, he speaks delightful words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough near a spring whose branches climb over the wall.
23 The archers will attack him, they will shoot at him and oppose him.
24 But his bow will remain steady, and his hands will be skillful; because of the hands of the Powerful One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of the God of your father, who will help you, because of the Sovereign God, who will bless you with blessings from the sky above, blessings from the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the eternal mountains or the desirable things of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph and on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning devouring the prey, and in the evening dividing the plunder.”