Chapter 49 of 1163

Genesis 48–49

What should believers do for their family before God takes them in death? Just what Jacob did.

He praised God for the past. He told his family what God had done for him and how God had blessed him. God had redeemed him and shepherded him all his life (48:15–16). Jacob had been in some hard places, but the “Stone of Israel” had been his refuge and defense (49:24). At the end of life, may we be able to say, “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 34:11).

He gave a blessing while he could. Reuben’s sin cost him the blessing of the firstborn, which went to Joseph’s sons. (See Gen. 35:22; 1 Chron. 5:1–2.) Again, God changed the birth order as Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Joseph was disturbed by the move, but Jacob was right. We must never try to tell God how to bless other people. Note that Jacob crossed his arms. Is this perhaps a picture of the cross that sets aside the first birth and gives us a second birth?

He warned about the future. Chapter 49 is not a father’s blessing on his sons. Rather, it is a prophecy of what the sons could expect in the future because of their individual characters and the decisions they had made. Reuben was the lustful prodigal son, but Levi and Simeon were angry elder brothers. Judah would be the royal tribe, for the Messiah (Shiloh, “the peace-bringer”) would come from Judah. Joseph was the vine that went over the wall separating Jews and Gentiles. He was shot at by his brethren, which often happens to those who are especially blessed of God. But the Lord was with him, strengthened him, and extended his boundaries of blessing (v. 26). Joseph suffered, and his sons were blessed by God. Reuben sinned, and his sons lost the blessing of God.

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