Verses 1-2 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
The Hebrew word used here for “last” is “achariyth” and it means end, latter, last or hindermost. The Hebrew word for “days” is “yowm” and it occurs 2274 times in the Bible. It is translated as “day” 2008 times and as “time” 64 times, denoting a period of time. The remaining uses continue to pertain to a period of time. So the question needs to be asked, “Does this information pertain to only the sons of Jacob or does it pertain to the tribes and to the nation that will arise from the sons of Jacob?” Notice that Jacob refers to his sons as “ye sons of Jacob” but tells them to “harken unto your father Israel.” Why the name change? Remember that the name “Jacob” means supplanter or deceiver whereas the name “Israel” means God prevails. The sons, with the exception of Joseph, were not walking closely with the LORD and letting Him prevail in their lives, whereas Jacob had had his name changed by the LORD because he was walking with Him and letting Him guide his life.
Verses 3-4 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Reuben should have been the best and the brightest as he was the firstborn, but he had sexual sin in his life that affected how successful he would become. This tribe became part of the ten tribe nation of Israel.
Application: The believer is not immune to the spirits of lusts. Sexual lust can be the most destructive as it can lead to physical disease and death and to the loss of relationships. Other lusts such as the desire for more and more wealth, the desire for excessive success and power, the desire for drugs and alcohol or other addictive substances or behaviors can and will destroy the believer’s life and relationship with God. When the enemy sends a lust spirit into a Christian believer’s life, it is essential that the believer seek help with the problem from God, from family, and from the Church. Resisting the temptation will cause it to go in time. Giving in to the temptation just one time can ruin a life and a future both on this Earth and in eternity.
Verses 5-7 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Imagine if you were hearing this scathing prophesy from your father. Israel used strong language to condemn these two boys for their actions of revenge. He described their personality or character as being cruel and he cursed them. Levi became the tribe that cared for the temple and the religious affairs of the nation Israel and they never owned land except for that in which they dwelt which was located on and around religious centers. Simeon’s descendants disappeared into the nation of Israel when the ten northern tribes separated from Judah and Benjamin after the death of King Solomon.
Verses 8-12 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Judah was the tribe God chose to have Jesus born into. This entire prophecy is about the LORD Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who shall receive the praises of man.
It is Jesus who, by His death on the cross, dealt a blow to His enemies; to Satan and all evil by conquering sin and death and rising to eternity in Heaven.
It is Jesus that the descendants of Israel, the Jews, will bow down to, if not in this world, then in the world to come. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11 Not only will the Jews bow down to Jesus, but all people everywhere; those alive on the Earth, those alive in Heaven, or those alive in Hell. This prophecy is future and has not been fulfilled yet, but it will be fulfilled.
Jesus is known as the Lion of Judah. The lion is the king of the jungle and all powerful in his environment and an animal to be feared and respected. Jesus is the King of kings and all powerful in Heaven and on Earth and someone to be feared and respected.
The sceptre was a rod or staff like instrument that was a mark of authority. Jesus holds the sceptre in His hands and is the lawgiver. He is the final authority and He will judge the world at the end of time.
Shiloh is mentioned elsewhere in Scripture and was the place that the children of Israel assembled and set up the tabernacle which was the place of worship during the days of Joshua. It is referenced from the book of Joshua to the book of Jeremiah, but it is always a place associated with the worship of God. However, Israel’s prophecy as recorded above is the first mention of Shiloh in the Bible and it is a direct reference to the LORD Jesus Christ who is God, very God. Shiloh came during Roman days and it is unto Him that the people gathered, both during His earthly ministry, and through time until now. And as long as time continues, people will continue to gather unto Him for forgiveness of sins and for salvation from sin, death and Hell.
Verse 11 is the first prophesy in Scripture revealing some of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. He rode into town on a donkey, headed for sure torture and death at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman government. The reference to garments being washed in wine is a reference to His shed blood that washes away the sins of the world.
Referring back to the question asked in verses 1-2, the answer may be that since Israel’s prophesy regarding Judah extends out to the time of the one world Roman government and beyond, it is probable that all the prophesies regarding his sons pertain to both their own lives, the lives of their descendants, and out to the end of time. You decide.
Verse 13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Zidon was a Phoenician city located on the Mediterranean coast.
Verses 14-15 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
This son is described as a hard worker but one who never excels in leadership, but is a servant, most likely as a slave or serf, unto others.
Verses 16-18 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. 18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
The name “Dan” means “a judge”. He is described as having the attributes of a snake that strikes out and causes injury. Regardless, Israel prophesied that out of Dan would come judges.
Application: Much has been written and speculated about the fact that the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in the book of Revelation. This tribe has been called the Lost Tribe of Israel. Well, Dan and his descendants were never lost. They were given a section of land by Joshua but they never conquered the resident people there and so they migrated to another area within the promised land and assimilated with other tribes. The reason Dan is not mentioned in the last book of the Bible is that the listing of the names has a prophetic purpose that will be discussed when studying the book of Revelation and not here in the book of Genesis. All the tribes were lost when the Temple was destroyed under the Roman occupation of Palestine in 70AD. Once the Temple was gone, so were all the records of the genealogy of every Jewish person that had ever lived since the records were first kept centuries earlier so that, today, no one can claim that they are descended from the tribe of Issachar or the tribe of Benjamin, etc.
In verse 18 above, it seems that Israel had changed the subject. But he had not. Because of the salvation of the LORD, the believer will not be judged. He is forgiven and free.
Verse 19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Remember that the name “Gad” means a troop. Whatever forces would come against Gad and his descendants, Israel predicted that they would overcome in the end.
Verse 20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
It would seem that Asher was to prosper and that possibly his descendants would have connections to kings.
Verse 21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
A “hind” is a deer. The Hebrew word translated as “words” is “immar” and it only occurs three times and refers to a “lamb”. So this prophesy is a mystery to this writer. What do you think?
Verses 22-26 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Israel recounts the difficult times Joseph experienced and how God blessed him and made him fruitful, not only by giving him children, but by giving him the leadership position in Egypt that allowed for all the people in the area to be blessed. Like a tree, Joseph produced good fruit that blessed Israel and his family.
Verse 27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
To ravin means to tear, rend or pluck. It would seem that Benjamin and his descendants were to be people to fear and who were perhaps warlike, conquering other people and taking the spoils of the battle for their own enrichment.
Verses 28-32 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. 29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto 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 of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. 31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. 32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
Burying places were important in the days of the patriarchs. Here Israel wanted his sons to promise that he would not be buried in Egypt, but be buried with his wife and his parents and grandparents back in Canaan in the family cave.
Application: Just a few words about burying practices to be mentioned here. This writer has not found Scripture to support the burning of a human body after death. It would seem that all the bodies of the people of God were placed in the earth. Does that mean that cremation of a Christian believer is wrong. Don’t know. Burning bodies is often associated with pagan practices of human sacrifice to pagan gods, and historically with the Catholic practices of burning people alive at the stake who disagreed with their doctrine. Other people groups down through time have burned their dead as a cultural norm. But this practice does not seem to be one that God commands to happen or that God even condones. Today, cremation is a cheaper and more convenient way to dispose of a human body. This writer is not passing judgement on believers who cremate their dead family members, but just bringing up the topic for thoughtful inquiry. God made Adam out of the dust of the Earth. Ecclesiastes 3:20 states, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Daniel 12:2 states, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Some Christian believers have voiced concern that a cremated body cannot come forth out of the grave as prophesied to happen at the return of the LORD Jesus Christ at the end of time. But what about the bodies of people lost at sea and eaten by fishes or the bodies of military men blown apart by explosive devices during the horrors of war? Surely the God who put the atoms and molecules together to create and form the flesh of Adam can put the atoms and molecules together again at the resurrection. As you study Scripture, see for yourself if cremation is indeed an acceptable practice for the Christian believer. Then you decide. Often the Bible is silent about a specific issue because during the times it was written, the issue did not exist. Often, the Bible does not give a clear answer. The believer considering cremation needs to pray about this decision and get the answer from the LORD and from His word. Then the believer can make the decision to cremate or bury based on God’s will for him/her and for their family that remains behind.
Verse 33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Jacob decided when he wanted to leave this world. The verse says he yielded up the ghost (spirit). That was an act of his will. He had blessed his children and said his goodbyes and was ready to leave. There was no fear of death or the unknown. He knew he would be reunited with his fathers in the spirit and that his body would be reunited with their bodies in the cave in the field of Machpelah. All was in order. He trusted God and went to be with his people.
Application: The believer who is really walking closely with the LORD will know when it is time to leave this world for the next. Like Jacob, the believer needs to have his/her affairs in order and to say his/her goodbyes, to have full confidence in God, and to have comfort in knowing that, although loved ones will be left behind in this world, loved ones will be waiting in eternity for a joyous reunion in the presence of the LORD. Remember what the apostle Paul said. To be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD.