Genesis 49:13-33 Notes from Class

Genesis 49:13-33

READING

49 “Zebulun will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend toward Sidon.

14  “Issachar is a rawboned[f] donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.[g]

15 When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
    and submit to forced labor.

16 “Dan[h] will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord.

19 “Gad[i] will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.

20 “Asher’s food will be rich;
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.[j]

22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.[k]

23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
    they shot at him with hostility.

24 But his bow remained steady,
    his strong arms stayed[l] 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,[m] who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,
    blessings of the breast and womb.

26 Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than[n] the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among[o] his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    in the morning he devours the prey,
    in the evening he divides the plunder.”

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[p]”

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

BOARD – What is appropriate for God?

Afterthought

Attributes

Action

49:13-21 - Afterthought?

49 “Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. 15  When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
    and submit to forced labor.  16  “Dan will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.  17  Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.  18 “I look for your deliverance, Lord.  19 “Gad[i] will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels. 20 “Asher’s food will be rich;
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.  21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

13 – Zebulun – whose boundaries are in Joshua 19:10-16 do not touch the sea.  Its borders to the sea as far as Sidon.  Zebulun means loft abode – an intended play on words between abode and abide in the promised land.

14-15 – Name play on the name of Issachar which means ‘wages’.  Is pictured as a strong donkey who sess that his land of rest is good and applies his back to the burden.  This may be an allusion to chapter one where God said – he saw it and it was good. Psalm 95:11  Notice the submission is something he WANTS to do.

16-18 – Dan which means ‘he will judge’ – He will judge his people .  Although the image seems negative it is meant as positive as shown in 18 – You must come off your horse and be judged – Deliverance, then, comes from the Lord.  Obviously this also points to the fact that from these tribes is the deliverance of all mankind.

19 – Same as with Dan it is obvious that the future of these tribes is not one of just conquering all but constant attacks and re-attacks. 

20 – Obviously Asher will have food and will clearly provide much

21 – This should be a picture of prosperity and abundance

·     What is the future for you and your family? 

o  Where will you live?

o  What will you do? 

o  Remember these are no longer teens with ‘their whole life ahead of them’ these are adults.  This should speak to us.

·     Who already knows what is around the bend for you? 

o  What is His plan? 

o  How would you know it?

·     Does God see your life as an afterthought? 

o  Do you have Him as an afterthought?

49:22-27 Attributes

22 “Joseph is a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.[k]   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 skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs 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.  27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder.”

22-26 – Joseph – how does Jacob describe the future for joseph – He shows the past and repeats much of what he as already said about Joseph

22- Attain - He climbed over a wall – certainly could reference him being able to climb over the wall of the Egyptians or over the wall of the brothers having problems with him. He brought forth fruit – this can also be translated – “Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill”

23-24 – Adversity -  Joseph faced adversity but stayed strong –  The reason given for his being able to stay strong is because of God who is given relationally referenced with Jacob then given Shephard and rock as part of this description – Shepard similar to 48:15 for Ephraim and Manasseh

25-26 – Acknowledgment – relationship again to Jacob – but clear acknowledgment of blessing from God in these ways:

·     The sky above you

·     The deep springs below

·     Blessing of nourishment and life

·     The bounty coming from the hills – God is greater

·     The continuation of these blessings and acknowledgement of God being in Joseph’s life

27 – Benjamin – The future for Benjamin is similar to that of Judah – Strong language showing quick victory for Benjamin compared to Judah

·     What are your attributes?

o  How would someone describe you and why you are who you are?

o  How would you describe you?

·     What blessings do you have from God? 

o  What is your list?

o  Who and how would you communicate this list to others?

49:28-33 Action

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

29 Then he gave them these instructions: “I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[p]”

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

28 – Summary of blessings APPROPRIATE to each. 

29 – 33 – Looking to be buried in the same place that was purchased in chapter 23 by Abraham, he makes the same request that he made in 47:29-30.

Obviously Jacob’s faith in God’s promise regarding the promised land remained to the end.  We see he wanted to be there because of that promise.

In his last action before death as we all are and the statement – gathered to his people is a common expression to mean he died.

Final Questions –

Do you believe you are an afterthought or very much an attended to life?

Do you acknowledge your attributes and who they came from?

When do you attest to the attaining you have done or the adversity you have worked through based on God’s blessing?

What is it that is Appropriate to YOU? 

What blessing is it that God should give you?

We often get sideways with prosperity preachers because we want another’s blessing.  What blessings should we have and are appropriate to us?

At the end of our life – OR WHY NOT NOW? -  will we talk and produce actions that show we are relying on his promises?

God continually interacts with us and gives us our attributes and blessings – Our choice is in the actions we take

When does God think of you and interact with you?

How would others describe you?  What are your traits?

What SHOULD God be doing for you or that you think you need?

Sons – what was their blessing?

1.    Reuben –

2.    Simeon –

3.    Levi –

4.    Judah –

5.    Zebulun –

6.    Issachar –

7.    Dan –

8.    Gad –

9.    Asher –

10.       Naphtali –

11.       Joseph – then Ephraim and Mannesseh –

12.       Benjamin –

13.       You?? -