Day 4: Genesis 40-50

Let's map the kids from their birth to their blessings (chapter 49):

Leah:

1. Reuben

Leah said that, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.”

Jacob: "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father's bed, onto my couch and defiled it.

Now, Reuben seems to get the double shaft here. Ordinarily, the firstborn would receive the biggest part of the inheritance and blessing, but here he receives neither, and in fact his double-portion ends up going to Joseph. The question is, why? The answer falls back to 35:22, where it says that Reuben had lay with Bilhah, Rachel's hand maid. So because of Reuben's sin against Jacob, he loses out on his inheritance and blessing.

2. Simeon

Similarly to Reuben, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.”

Simeon and Levi go together: "Simeon and Levi are brothers— their swords are weapons of violence. Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased. Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel."

The curse on these two, who were borne out of Leah's jealousy, stemmed from their treatment of the city of Shechem in Chpt. 34. Shechem had kidnapped and raped their little sister Dinah. Simeon and Levi responded by going to the city, killing all the males, and plundering everything within the city. They believed they were doing right by their sister, but Jacob felt differently; my guess is that he felt that they had gone way too far and used what happened to Dinah to justify their blood lust.

3. Levi

And for a third time, Leah says, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”

See above.

4. Judah

Different from the first three, this time Leah says of Judah, “Now I will praise the LORD.”

Leah praised the Lord when he was born. And he received the most unique blessing:

"Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk."

Wow. Despite Judah's egregious sin (Chpt. 38) he is blessed with carrying a royal bloodline. The scepter would not part from his descendants until he comes to him it belongs.

5. Issachar

After giving her hand maid to Jacob, Leah is able to bear children again. She says, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” She still seems jealous of Rachel.

Jacob's blessing is positive for Issachar: "Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between two saddlebags. 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."

It seems like Jacob respects the way Issachar is willing to submit himself to labor now to reach an ultimate resting place of glory down the road.

6. Zebulun

Leah bears #6, and seems finally at peace with her blessings - "God has presented me with a precious gift. This time my husband will treat me with honor, because I have borne him six sons."

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

Although Zebulun never reached this while he was still alive, his descendants did, as noted in Ezekiel 48:26.

7. Dinah

Poor, poor Dinah.

Bilhah (Rachel's maid):


1. Dan

Says Rachel - “God has judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” She sounded bitter about the fact that she couldn't bear children, and so basically stole Bilhah's.

Dan's blessing is cryptic: "Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backward.

On the one hand, he is described as a serpent that bites at horses' heels. This brings to mind the curse in Genesis 3, where the serpent would strike at man's heel, but ultimately have his head crushed - i.e. the prophecy of Lucifer's eventual destruction. Yet it says Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes. I had to cheat and look it up, but there is future reference in Ezekiel 10:5, which talks about the tribes of Israel reclaiming their land, and the people of Israel knocking the enemy riders off their horses.

This also brings to light the fact that Jacob, the younger brother of Esau, came out grabbing his brother's heel, and his name literally means "heel grabber." It makes me wonder if Jacob ever reflected on his connection to the original curse on man, or if he wanted to identify in some way to his son Dan.

2. Naphtali

Rachel is still bitter - “With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” Twice she has stolen Bilhah's kid.

Jacob's blessing for him is short: "Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns."

It would definitely seem to imply that Naphtali will have an abundance of offspring. Also, the imagery of a deer is frequently used in scripture - "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you..." Ps. 42:1; "He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights." This might prophecy of his longing for God and seeking Him in the high places.

Zilpah (Leah's maid):

1. Gad

Leah can't bear children, so she gives her hand maid to Jacob. When Gad comes, she declares, “A troop comes!”

It seems like Gad falls in a similar blessing with Dan: "Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels." It would seem to be one of the few that are consistent with Leah's original proclamation that a troop comes.

2. Asher

Leah finally seems to be having peace about her role - “I am happy, for the daughters will call me blessed.”

Jacob also gives Asher a very promising blessing: "Asher's food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king."

Seeing how many of the other blessings of Jacob look to the future, this one would be very promising as it would seem to indicate that Asher would have a very special place in the Kingdom in the end. It might also indicate that his tribe would be bountiful in its harvest.


Rachel:

1. Joseph

Rachel is the last of the wives to bear Jacob a son. She says, "God has taken away my disgrace." Rachel also prays for another son, which God answers.

As previously mentioned, Joseph holds a special place in Jacob's heart. We know that he takes Reuben's double portion, and Jacob adopts Joseph's two sons as his own, so they will receive an inheritance as well. In the blessing, Jacob says,

"Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. 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, 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. 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."

Much of this seems to be a continuation to the way Joseph has already performed the role of a Christ-type in his personal narrative.

2. Benjamin

Rachel is about to die when she gives birth to her last son. She named him Ben-Oni, but Jacob called him Benjamin.

Even though he is very young at the time, Jacob gives him an aggressive blessing: "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder."

This blessing might speak toward the fact that the Benjamite tribe would become strong in warfare. They would learn to fight with swords with either hand, which would give them a tactical advantage. Also, this is the tribe that the Apostle Paul descends from, and holds it out as a badge of honor for the Pharisees.