1 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.
3 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.
5 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.
8 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.
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.
14 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.
16 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.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22 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.
27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28 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.
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.
1. Jacob gathers his sons together and prophesies over each of them.
2. Jacob dies.
Verses 1–2. As Jacob prepared to die, he gathered his sons for a round of prophetic declarations. In our day, we cannot expect that any godly father would speak under similar divine inspiration as Jacob did with his sons. Nevertheless, every father should speak with prophetic force over his children. He may employ what he knows from Scripture and from his own experience with his children to craft prescriptive exhortations and blessings for them.
Verses 3–27. Future generations were affected both by Jacob’s prophetic declarations and by the character of each progenitor of the twelve tribes. The life of a father really matters. That one life will profoundly influence the lives of many in succeeding generations. Therefore, the decisions that fathers make are extremely important. Not only do they affect their own lives for better or for worse, but these decisions may impact the lives of millions who come after them.
Reuben: Reuben’s wicked decision to take his father’s wife to his bed produced disastrous consequences. Though he was the oldest son in the family and would have claimed the primary position, he forfeited this place of honor by his own actions. Fundamentally, Reuben lacked moral integrity and loyalty. This is not to say that he was incapable of making right decisions occasionally, but he was not one upon whom anyone could rely over the long haul. Noting this fundamental weakness of character in his son, Jacob forecasted an ignominious future for the family of Reuben. As it turned out, the tribe of Reuben became one of the smallest tribes in Israel, never producing a leader of any note. It was the progeny of Reuben: Dathan and Abiram, who led the rebellion in the wilderness. And they were swallowed up in the earth for their treachery.
Simeon and Levi: However, neither did Jacob speak any blessing over the next two oldest sons, Simeon and Levi. He recalled the violent action these two men took against the city of Shechem after the affair involving their sister Dinah, against the wishes of their father. They would be scattered and dispersed in Israel. Later, in true fulfillment of this prophecy, we find Simeon’s inheritance mixed with Judah’s; and, of course, the Levites were scattered over the cities throughout the land. While this passage illustrates the terrible, long term consequences of sin, God still may turn a curse into a blessing by His mercy. This is what He chose to do with the Levites, as they became the ministers and teachers of the Word of God to the people. This tribe was blessed with the priesthood until another Priest of a different order took their place.
Judah: After passing over his first three sons, Jacob turned the mother-lode of blessings to Judah. This included great material blessing: wine so plentiful that he would wash his clothes in a tub of it! Judah was likened to a lion, the great beast universally recognized as the dominant force in the jungle. This was the part Judah played in the nation of Israel. His tribe was given the authority to rule over the entire nation, a prophecy which was fulfilled in David and his kingly line.
“The king’s scepter will never depart from Judah” was the clearest reference to the Messiah since the proto evangelium revealed to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15. Jacob spoke of the eternal reign of the Son of David and the Son of Judah, in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what can we make of this semi-veiled statement that the scepter shall not depart from Judah “until Shiloh come?” Many believe the word Shiloh refers to “his Son,” and both Jewish and Christian commentators almost universally agree that this must refer to the Messiah. Ezekiel 21:26–27 refers to the removal of the diadem during the exile, which did happen. For many years there was no king, no descendant of Judah sitting on the throne of David. In true fulfillment of this prophetic word, the scepter remained with Judah upon the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father (Acts 2:25–32). It would be more appropriate to translate this text as, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah when Shiloh comes.”
Zebulun: Jacob’s word for Zebulun was exactly in accord with historical record. As it turned out, Zebulun inherited the land on the Mediterranean sea in the northwest corner of Canaan. Whether or not Joshua and the leaders took these ancient prophetic words into account when distributing the land many years later is unknown. Undoubtedly, Jacob spoke under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God.
Issachar: Jacob described Issachar as a tribe as strong as a mule, yet unwilling to fight for freedom from the nations that would enslave him. What a shame that those who claim the name of the true God can so easily capitulate to slavery! The fight for liberty is an uphill battle all the way, and must include a constant struggle with our own fleshly temptations.
Dan: This prophecy could very well refer to Samson, who was himself a judge from the tribe of Dan. Never a particularly powerful tribe, Dan was still an enemy with which to contend. Just as a snake that bites the heal of a horse, he would inflict a deadly wound on the enemy.
In an interlude of sorts to this soliloquy of prophecy, Jacob broke out in a prayer, “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.” Here is the heart-cry of every Old Testament saint who felt a deep and abiding need for God’s salvation. In this sinful world filled with evil, temptation, and guilt, one can only look above for true and eternal salvation. And these saints waited patiently for that salvation in faith for another 1,600 years. Upon the coming of Christ, old Simeon held that little Child in the temple and prophetically declared the consummation of these desires.
“Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for mine eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke 2:29.)
Gad: The obscure tribe of Gad would come under oppression. But in the end, this tribe was persistent and it overcame. This is a picture of the church throughout Old Testament and New Testament times. The church is always under oppression, but it overcomes again and again throughout history, and will overcome in the end.
Asher: Jacob spoke of a rich material inheritance for the tribe of Asher in the land of Canaan.
Naphtali: This tribe was gifted with the ability to speak and negotiate. As that blessed family referred to in Psalm 127, they were to speak with the enemy in the gates—and prevail.
Joseph: When Jacob spoke of Joseph escaping the arrows of the archers, he was most likely referring to the persecution Joseph received from his brothers, Potiphar’s household, and others. Yet God strengthened Joseph through it all, and rewarded him with victory in the end.
In yet another prophetic pronouncement concerning a Messiah Savior, Jacob spoke of the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel who must proceed from God Himself. These men of faith in the Old Testament certainly knew that they could never save themselves. From the earliest days of the church, the saints referred to the Rock, the Shepherd, and the Salvation of Israel—a role that can only be filled by the Lord God. These men could not see what we see now—the fulfillment of these prophecies in the final Prophet, Priest, and King of God, in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. But they spoke in great faith and hopeful expectation.
Benjamin: Benjamin was mentioned as a ferocious fighter. Apparently, the tribe would become a people that would live more off of plunder than cultivation and production. This may be a reference to King Saul and the military power he developed as the first king of Israel. With all of Saul’s faults, David gave credit to Saul’s military accomplishments against the enemies of Israel upon his death, as recorded in 2 Samuel 1.
In one final act of faith on the part of the old patriarch, Jacob provided instructions to his sons to bury him in Canaan. Then he pulled his feet up on his bed and surrendered his life. He was “gathered to his people,” an ancient and veiled reference to the surety of life and fellowship somewhere beyond the grave.
1. We must believe that it is God who provides our salvation. This is fundamental to the Christian faith—the true faith. Before the coming of Christ, the Old Testament saints waited in hope and faith for their salvation. Now, the New Testament saints (including us) receive salvation provided by the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah with the very same hope and faith. Let us look to God for salvation with the same faith old Jacob had as he breathed his last breath on his death bed so many years ago.
2. What can we learn from the lives of the elder brothers in this family? A failure to honor fathers and a weak moral character will result in spiritually weak families. In later generations, the children of Israel were marked by spiritual compromise and weakness. May God pour out His Spirit upon us and our children, that we might be men and women of character, and that our future generations will be blessed with strength of faith and character. Let us pray that each of us will be strong in our convictions, and stand in the hour of temptation.
3. It takes hard work and a real struggle to be free. Our nation is under severe tribute today because we have given up the struggle for freedom. Since the 19th century, tyrants have imposed huge taxation and massive regulations over the citizens of nations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For our lack of character and courage, we have become nations under tribute, as Issachar of old. Without hard work, a love for liberty, and a courageous struggle, we will never enjoy true freedom.
1. What are the themes of Chapters 1 through 49?
2. Why did Reuben lose a blessing?
3. Why did Simeon and Levi lose a blessing?
4. What happened later to Simeon and Levi in the inheritance of the land?
5. What great prophecy was given concerning the tribe of Judah?
6. What famous judge came from the tribe of Dan?
7. What was the final act of faith on the part of Jacob before he died?
8. How did the Old Testament speak of heaven?
1. What can we say about our own children? What gifts and opportunities lie ahead for each of our children? What sort of warnings and blessings might we present to our children?
2. How do we rely on the salvation of God? What will be the final prayer on our lips as we pass from this earth?