Word Live: Mixed Blessings
Still your body, heart and mind so that you can receive what your heavenly Father has for you today.
Bible passage
Genesis 49:1–28
Jacob blesses his sons
49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: ‘Gather round so that I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 ‘Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.
3 ‘Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honour, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.
5 ‘Simeon and Levi are brothers –
their swords are weapons of violence.
6 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.
7 Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
and disperse them in Israel.
8 ‘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.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness – who dares to rouse him?
10 The sceptre will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 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.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.
13 ‘Zebulun will live by the seashore
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend towards Sidon.
14 ‘Issachar is a scrawny donkey
lying down among the sheepfolds.
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 labour.
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 backwards.
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.
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 supple,
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.’
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.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
It is natural for a child to seek a parent’s blessing. Earlier in Genesis, Esau’s cry of raw anguish rang out, ‘Bless me – me too, my father!’ (Genesis 27:34). A parent’s blessing offers love, security and identity. Jacob’s blessing to his sons is his final gift to them.
However, these blessings are varied. Scholars suggest that, like the blessings of Moses in Deuteronomy 33, they point to the future of the tribes of Israel. For example, Judah becomes the leading tribe in the southern kingdom, and Joseph (particularly Ephraim) in the northern kingdom.
At a human level, this passage suggests that some people are more ‘bless-able’ than others. Reuben, as the firstborn, should have received the greatest blessing, but he tried to grab it prematurely and supplant his father (see Genesis 35:22). Similarly, aggressive temperaments make it difficult for blessing to rest on Simeon and Levi. Joseph, on the other hand, receives the most beautiful blessing in line with his story. Maybe this is what is meant by the ‘appropriate’ blessing (v 28).
When God the Father speaks his blessing on his Son at Jesus’ baptism, the gift of the Spirit comes like a dove which is easily disturbed, but which rests comfortably on Jesus and remains (John 1:32,33).
Author
Steve Silvester
Respond
What blessing is mine to receive, and how can I be more ‘bless-able’? What blessing is mine to give to others?
Deeper Bible study
‘Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper’.1
Writing references for people has become a perilous business, since referees are under pressure to avoid saying anything negative. Robust honesty was clearly not a problem in Jacob’s day. Before his death he gathered his twelve sons together and blessed each of them with a mixture of honest appraisal of their character and prophecy about their future. He uses vivid imagery, ‘giving each the blessing appropriate to him’ (v 28).
Two sons receive greater attention than the others: Judah (vs 8–12) and Joseph (vs 22–26). Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, disqualified himself from leadership because of unstable behaviour (vs 3,4)2 and to some degree Judah steps into the vacuum. Jacob epitomises him as a lion, an effective ruler who would command international respect and usher in an age of prosperity, symbolised by abundant wine. Intriguingly, however, Jacob suggests that his rule would only be as a stand-in ‘until he to whom it belongs shall come’ (v 10). The early church understood this to point to the Messiah, whose first miracle was to provide a young couple with an abundant supply of wine.3 Early Christians would speak of Jesus as ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’.4
Joseph, Rachel’s firstborn, is described as ‘a fruitful vine’ (v 22). Recognising the troubles Joseph had been through, Jacob commends him for remaining true to his calling, with God’s help. As with Judah, it’s prophesied that through Joseph the earth would experience abundant fertility, more than fulfilling the promise of the Promised Land. These prophecies would be fulfilled in more than one way down the centuries, but ultimately in the coming of Jesus.
If someone were to pronounce a blessing over you today, what honestly would you expect them to say and what would you hope they’d say about your future impact?
1Deut 33:29 2Gen 35:22 3John 2:1–11 4Rev 5:5
Author
Derek Tidball
