Tag Archives: Genesis 49

Tribes of Israel – Thoughts on the Family

Posted on by
1

Thoughts on the Family

Jacob – Just when you think you “know it all” you actually study someone and there is more (see What Was His Name). First thing I found was he was a lot older than I thought when he got married (see Timeline). He, like his dad, certainly played favorites with his children. It is easy to understand him being mad at Rueben, Levi and Simeon but he seemed determined to elevate Rachel’s children in the inheritance area thus cutting out Leah’s children. I guess we can always wonder if some of the contention in the family wasn’t his fault. But getting a wife you did not want and then two concubines so you can appease two warring sisters really does not add up to a blissful home life. But through all of the trials in his life I think he found God in a deep way and profound way that amplifies the blessings in Genesis 49.

Leah – When you look at her over the years she really was a faithful wife who watched out for her husband and the family. She probably did not get the respect she deserved until after Rachel died. You get the idea that she had a crush on Jacob when he was working for Rachel because she definitely claims him as HER husband. I guess I now think that Jacob loved the wrong one because Leah is the one who seemed to have really wanted to Leah_w_Rachel_67-63be his wife.

Rachel – The “beloved” wife that was Jacob’s dream girl/trophy wife that he favored above all else. She was real-handful and pretty self-centered the classic example is her stealing the family “gods” and hiding them. Image Jacob’s blood pressure when he finds them and has them buried under a tree. But in her defense I might be a little miffed about my father and sister messing up my wedding and my life.

* I think both Rachel and Leah at the end of their time in Paddan Aram realized that daddy was just out for a buck and that they were better off with each other and Jacob. I wonder how these things affected their relationship as sisters it is definitely competitive after they are married.

The Concubines – Bilhah and Zilpah are the two slave girls who were used to increase the number of children in the family. I have no doubt that they remained just that slave girls. Jacob did not ask them about leaving Paddan Aram and they were put in front when Esau was about to show up. And was Bilhah just trying to up her status when she slept with Rueben?

The Boys – They have provided a lot to think about and some really good lessons.

Rueben is the picture of someone who messed but still part of the family. All of the sons took part in selling Joseph and the years of covering up the deed; can you image how Jacob felt about them when the wagons rolled up to take him to Egypt. I said it before but big or little, leader or not being part of the family is important.  It seems like Jacob even with four women each wanting their children to be the standouts managed to raise a group of children who could work together. But the stress and contention in the camp must have been thick enough to cut with a knife or everyone knew their status in the family and that was enough.

The composition of the family provides some interesting comparisons for the Body of Christ.

All are true sons but some are:

  • Sons of a loved wife
  • Sons of an unloved wife
  • Children of free, true wives
  • Children of slaves
  • Some were born in Egypt (Joseph’s boys)

The picture is Leah with Rachel from: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bibleencyclopedia.com/picturesjpeg/Leah_w_Rachel_67-63.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bibleencyclopedia.com/pictures/Genesis_29_Leah_with_Rachel.htm&h=614&w=400&sz=110&tbnid=Vci4cXEClxoKoM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=64&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpictures%2Bof%2BLeah%2Band%2BRachel%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=pictures+of+Leah+and+Rachel&usg=__KbmFiyhA-FIhWlDZFpBEJ8kzp40=&docid=d0RrbP5CPUreIM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qUJyUNnONJKDqgGvwoG4Bw&sqi=2&ved=0CDIQ9QEwBQ&dur=673 

Tribes of Israel – Ephraim

Posted on by
12

Ephraim

The second son of Joseph or after being claimed by Jacob and elevated in status he was Jacob’s thirteenth son. Born and raised in Egypt from the daughter of an Egyptian priest we know very little about his life.  He and Manasseh were probably in their early twenties when they received the blessing from Jacob; they were born before the famine started and Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years before he died. The only story about Ephraim outside of Genesis is in 1 Chronicles 7:20-24 where it recounts a raid gone bad in Gath where two of his children were killed. That changes my idea that the children of Jacob lived quite lives in Egypt tending flocks and growing crops.

Now being the “first-born” of the beloved son of the favored wife Ephraim received the double-portion blessing of Jacob. The blessing is in Genesis: 15 Then he (Jacob) blessed Joseph and said, “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day 16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm —may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly on the earth.”(NIV) This made them equal to the eleven and combined with Joseph’s blessing in Genesis 49 did truly set them above the others.

I want to mention two of Ephraim’s children Joshua and Jeroboam. Joshua, Moses’ military leader and a faithful spy really set a high standard for anyone to follow. He truly is the picture of a “double blessing” person and worked hard for all the tribes he lead into the Promise Land. Jeroboam was a man that had a truly great blessing put in front of him and ignored it. His story starts in 1 Kings 11:26; he had a prophetic call to rule Israel because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness. All he had to do was walk after the ways of David and he would have had an “enduring dynasty.” I feel that this opportunity was extended to him because he was an Ephraimite and had the right to the double blessing from Jacob. Instead he took the ten tribes given to him by the Lord and led them astray. He got a second chance in 1 Kings 13:6 but he could not trust God to fulfill the promise so his linagetop of timeline died out rather quickly. His son Nadab only ruled for a short time and was killed. (see my King’s Timeline)

Tribes of Israel – Joseph

Posted on by
7

Joseph is the twelfth child of Jacob and the first son of Rachel; he was the last child born in Paddan Aram. The NIV Bible says the name means “may He add” Rachel believed to have another son. He is the first-born son of the “loved” wife and it showed when he met Esau; Rachel and Joseph were in the back far away from the first attack (Genesis 33:2).Joseph as a slave

Deuteronomy 33: 13 About Joseph he said: “May the Lord bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below; 14 with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield; 15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills; 16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. 17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them, he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh.” (NIV)

Genesis 49:22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall. 23 With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 24 But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed 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 heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies 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. (NIV)

Jacob and Moses in their blessings pretty much gave it all to Joseph and his children.  I really don’t have a lot to say about Joseph because I think every pastor has at least two Joseph sermons. He has all kind of types and shadows from being a type of Jesus to a picture of blessing and faithfulness in hard times.

In Genesis 47 Joseph does his job and gives all of the lands of Egypt to Pharaoh. Oh, we are supposed to do an excellent job for a heathen boss. This is done in the last five years of the famine after his family has joined him.

It is interesting that Jacob continues the “second son” being first in Genesis 48; he was the second son, Joseph is the “second son” and was placed before even Judah as noted in Genesis 48:22 and 1 Chronicles 5:2. Ephraim’s children do live up to all the predictions and play important roles in Israel’s history.  In Amos and Obadiah the children are grouped again under the name of Joseph and in Revelation 7 Manasseh is mentioned by name but Ephraim is not and instead, it is the “tribe of Joseph.”

joseph-dreams of wheatAll told Joseph must have been an amazing person who understood his destiny and believed God was going to get him there even when he sold as a slave and put into prison.

Pictures from: http://www.freebibleimages.org/photos/joseph-dreams/ 

Tribes of Israel – Gad and Asher

Posted on by
4

Zilpah and Her Boys

Zilpah is Leah’s slave and is not mentioned outside of Genesis. Even though she had children by Jacob you have to wonder if life really changed any for her because of the “marriage.” Like Bilhah she did not even name her children. (see comments under Bilhah)

Gad is Jacob’s seventh child and Zilpah’s first, his name means “good fortune.”

Deuteronomy 33: 20 About Gad he said:“Blessed is he who enlarges Gad’s domain! Gad lives there like a lion, tearing at arm or head. 21 He chose the best land for himself; the leader’s portion was kept for him. When the heads of the people assembled, he carried out the Lord’s righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel.” (NIV)

Genesis 49:19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. (NIV)

Once again little is told about his life and his family became shepherds with lots of animals and settled on the east bank of the Jordan with Reuben and Manasseh. Those tribes seem to blend together and are called Gilead often in scripture. The Gadites produced warriors that “crossed the Jordan” with the half-tribe of Manasseh all the way to the time of David. With the other trans-Jordan tribes they built a large alter in order to announce their intentions of worshipping Jehovah.

Asher is Jacob’s eighth child and Zilpah’s second, his name means “happy.”

Deuteronomy 33: 24 About Asher he said: “Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil. 25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days. (NIV)

Genesis 49:20 “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king. (NIV)

This word from Jacob was fulfilled in their allotment because that area has some of the best olive trees and orchids in the land. The tribe helped Gideon but for the most part they are rather quite throughout Israel’s history. Anna the prophetess, in the book of Luke, that met Mary in the Temple is about it for notable tribe members.

Tribes of Israel – Predications of Genesis 49

Posted on by
2

I have been writing about the boys and referencing Genesis 49 but it is interesting to look at the inspiration for Jacob’s words.

  • 1. Reuben – turbulent water   The water that Jacob would have know was a swollen Jordan River or the flooded, rushing gullies in the wilderness after a thunderstorm. He understood the violence and power of moving water; so he recognizes Reuben’s strength, power and abilities.
  • 4. Judah – lion    Lions were common in Palestine usually living near the Jordan River. In Africa the male lion’s roars can be heard up to five miles away. Their stately appearance and raw strength has apparently inspired respect for thousands of years. A modern moniker for Jesus is the “Lion of Judah” directing our thoughts to the strength and power of a risen, glorified Jesus.
  • 5. Dan – snake/viper     Eerdman’s sites that there are harmless snakes in that region but that all biblical references refer to venomous snakes. They site the Carpet or Saw-scaled viper (Palestine viper) as a possible candidate and the Arkive Organization attest to its quick strike and the amount of human attacks.  The tribe of Dan in Judges 18 where they stole “gods” and then killed off a quiet people and took a northern most position in Israel show their violent nature and is a good picture of what Jacob must have seen in his son.
  • 6. Naphtali – a doe    According to Eerdman’s the possible animals may have been the Fallow Deer, Gazelle or the Nubian Ibex. I am not sure that the specific animal is important but the symbolism; a doe and its fawns are such a tranquil picture. So I would assume that Naphtali did not have the temper of Simeon or Levi.
  • 9. Issachar – a strong donkey   A strong donkey shows his usefulness and his tendency to be like Jacob, a “home-body.” Interestingly he was not called a wild-donkey because they are the exact opposite; they are free roaming and very hard to get along with.
  • 12. Joseph – a fruitful vine   The only choice of plants here is the grape and the picture would be like the cluster of grapes the spies brought back in the Exodus story. Besides the words for Judah this is the only one that I could call a blessing; Jacob here gives it all to Joseph and calls for the supplying of all his needs and ask special favor of God to take notice of Joseph.
  • 13. Benjamin – a wolf    They are a social yet fierce predator that takes care of family.  So I still think that Jacob was recognizing a loyal yet mean side to his youngest son. There were other predators that could have been chosen like foxes, bears or jackals so him picking the wolf is interesting.
  • 2. Simeon and 3. Levi  – still after all the years that lapsed Jacob had nothing good to say about these two.
  • 10. Zebulun – he will live by a seashore
  • 7. Gad – he would be attacked and then fights back
  • 8. Asher – that he would have and make awesome food

The last three are hard to track down in the Bible so I wonder if they may not have been words about their life in Egypt.

references: Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible,                                                              about the viper http://www.arkive.org/palestine-saw-scaled-viper/echis-coloratus/                             picture of viper http://www.flickriver.com/photos/aviadbar/2616597272/                   picture of wolf http://www.cosmosmith.com/arabian_wolves.html                               picture of the flood http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ein_Avdat_Flood_1.JPG