Israel's Last Will and Testament, Part 2 - Genesis 49:22-33
INTRODUCTION:
How is your reading of Revelation going? Keep at it, it will help if you are familiar with it before we begin. Also I would like to take a poll, I should have done this last week since some of our ladies are gone this week. Who would like me to do a special Mother’s Day message next week (a raise of hands) or who would like me to finish up the book of Genesis (a raise of hands)? If we do a special Mother’s Day message then we will push starting Revelation out another week. I will finish Genesis on the 21st of May and we would start Revelation on the 28th. If we don’t do a special Mother’s Day message I would finish Genesis on May 14th and start Revelation on the 21st.
Last week we began going through the second half of Israel’s last will and testament. In chapter 48 he had named Joseph the recipient of the birthright and the blessing, the rights of the firstborn son which Reuben had forfeited. The birthright and the blessing would be realized by Joseph through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. In chapter 49 Israel tells his twelve sons what will befall them in the days to come. Most of what he says is prophetic concerning the future when the nation of Israel will return and inhabit the land of promise. Last Sunday we looked at the first 10 sons, the sons of Leah, Zilpah, and Bilhah. This morning we will look and the sons of Rachel and Israel’s final words to his sons. Again look for Jesus this morning and look for evidence of Israel’s legacy of a man who walked with God. Let’s pray and get into our passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Genesis 49, this morning we will be looking at verses 22-33. Please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God and follow along.
Genesis 49:22-33,
“‘Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; Its branches run over a wall. The archers bitterly attacked him, And shot at him and harassed him; But his bow remained firm, And his arms were agile, From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; May they be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he devours the prey, And in the evening he divides the spoil.’ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. Then he charged them and said to them, ‘I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site. There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah— the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.’ When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 49:22–33, NASB95)[1]
JOSEPH (Genesis 49:22-26)
Though Israel had much to say about Judah and declared he would receive the praise and honor of his brothers and would become the royal tribe, Joseph was the one who would receive the birthright and the blessing. The book of 1 Chronicles explains it this way, in chapter 5:1-2, “Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph),” (1 Chronicles 5:1–2, NASB95)[2] Because of this Israel spends as much time in what he says about Joseph as he did with Judah. He begins by describing Joseph as a fruitful bough, Israel compares Joseph to the bough of a fruit tree that is planted by a spring and draws the water from the spring and whose branches spread up and over the wall of the orchard, these images of bough and branches are wordplays the word translated bough can also mean sons, and the word translated branches can also mean daughters, this image makes it understood that the sons of Joseph will increase and multiply and Israel when he said Joseph was a fruitful bough was referring to Ephraim because his name means fruitful. Joseph’s sons would increase and not be hemmed in, Joshua told the sons of Joseph that they were powerful and that they would clear forests and settle there and that they would overpower the Canaanites and drive them out of their territories even though they were strong and had iron chariots. They would possess their land.
Israel then describes some of what happened to Joseph by using the image of archers shooting arrows at him, attacking him and harassing him, a phrase that can mean to hate to the point of being hostile towards the person. These archers describe the suffering that Joseph experienced at the hands of his brothers and his master in Egypt. In the Old Testament, shooting arrows is sometimes the image used to describe telling lies or speaking hateful words. Proverb 25:18 for example describes bearing false witness against a neighbor as compared to using a club or a sword or an arrow against him. Jeremiah 9:8 says that the tongue is a deadly arrow that speaks deceit. Joseph’s brothers had hated him so much that they could not speak to him even to greet him. They lied and deceived their father concerning him when they sold him, and Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph and got him thrown into prison. Truly, the archers shot their arrows of lies and deceit at this innocent man. Israel says that Joseph bow remained firm and his arms agile, but he did not shoot back, he did not repay evil for evil, even when he could have exacted revenge he did not because it was the Mighty One of Jacob that was strengthening him so that his words were always true. It was his integrity, his truthfulness and his faith in his God that eventually got him released from prison and elevated to the highest ruler in the land of Egypt next to Pharaoh.
Israel again shows us how his faith has grown in his God in the four names that he uses to describe God in verses 24 and 25. First, as I already mentioned Israel calls God the Mighty One of Jacob, recognizing that any strength that he received or that Joseph received was from the hand of God, He is the One who orchestrated all the events in their lives, that God had taken what was meant for evil and turned it for good and used it to fulfill His sovereign purposes. Then Israel continues and describes the Mighty One of Jacob as the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel. He had already referred to God as his Shepherd back in chapter 48, but here he uses this name in reference to Joseph that God was his shepherd as well. Israel had been a shepherd his whole life, he knew what was involved in caring for sheep, protecting them from predators, leading them to good pasture and water. This concept of God being a Shepherd is often found in Scripture, the most famous example is Psalm 23 that describes God’s care for us as a shepherd, He provides all that we need so that we are not in need of anything. This concept of God as our Shepherd culminates in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, speaking of Christ’s death on our behalf, paying the penalty required for sin so that we might be forgiven and made right before God in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Israel also referred to God as the Stone of Israel, another familiar image of the God of Israel, often in the Psalms God is called our rock. When you think of a stone, you think of strength, stability, security and God had provided all of that and more to Jacob and to Joseph, it also make me think of steadfastness that He will always be there for you. This image also culminates in Jesus Christ, in the New Testament He is referred to as the cornerstone that was rejected, He is also the cornerstone of the church upon which the foundation of the apostles and prophets are built. In these last moments in his life Israel does not refer to God as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but says to Joseph that his help to remain faithful to God came from the God of his father, came from the God of Israel. In the final 17 years of Israel’s life, in the time that he lived in Egypt God became his God as he had grown and gotten to know God better and reflected on his life and saw how God had protected him, provided for him, been a refuge and a help for him, how God had blessed him abundantly despite his failures and setbacks. God had been faithful to him, even when he had been faithless. Now in his last moments he declares that God, the LORD, the covenant God of Abraham and Isaac is also the God of Israel. Israel declares his faith in God, leaving a legacy to his sons of a man who finished his life well, walking faithfully with his God. Israel reminds Joseph that this God, the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel, the God of Israel is the God who has been with you and helped you and sustained you in all the difficulties that you endured, and this same God, the Almighty Sovereign of all is also the God who blesses you, who brought you out of your hardships and exalted you and the Almighty will continue to bless you and Israel pronounces the blessing of God upon Joseph and announces that God will bless him with the blessings of heaven above sending the rain and the sunshine to make their crops grow and be fruitful, to send the blessings of the deep that lie beneath, giving them streams and wells with which to water their crops and their flocks and herds. God the Almighty would also bless Joseph with the blessings of the breasts and the womb promising fertility to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and they would increase and multiple. They grew and became very important tribes in Israel.
Israel continues and speaks of how God blessed Abraham and Isaac, but he says the blessings I have received from God have exceeded my ancestors, my blessing have reached up to the highest hills and may these blessings be on the head of Joseph, the head of the one distinguished among his brothers, the one who became prince among his brothers, the one who attained to greatness. Maybe Israel was remembering the dream that Joseph had spoken to him and his sons so many years before and seeing now the fulfillment of it. Joseph truly received the blessing of the firstborn from his father.
BENJAMIN (Genesis 49:27)
At last we come to Benjamin, the son who Israel feared to send to Egypt with his brothers, the only son born in the land of promise, the son whose name means “son of my right hand.” Though all of this is true about Benjamin, Israel does not say much about him, you would expect him to say more about his youngest son, but in one short verse Israel compares Benjamin to a ravenous wolf who devours his prey in the morning and hunts for prey at night. The tribe of Benjamin was strong and brave, but as you read about their history in the book of Judges you see the ravenous wolf in action. They fight against the other tribes of Israel to defend the wicked men of Gibeah; in the first two battles against Israel they were victorious, but finally Israel defeated them. You see the ravenous wolf in Saul, the first king of Israel, who was from the tribe of Benjamin. During his reign he hunted David to kill him more than once and he ordered the ruthless murder of everybody in the priestly city of Nob. Saul of Tarsus, a Benjamite was like a wild, ravenous wolf when he persecuted the church and tracked down Christians to imprison them and condemn them to death. This ravenous wolf can be seen in the tribe of Benjamin at times and in certain men of this tribe, but Saul who became Paul shows that God can change any person. In the end when the nation of Israel divided under the rule of Solomon’s son, Benjamin as a tribe remained faithful to the Davidic line and stayed with Judah. Together they formed the southern Kingdom of Judah.
AUTHOR’S NOTE (Genesis 49:28)
Moses, the author of Genesis inserts a note for us in verse 28, he says that all these are the twelve tribes of Israel, or the sons that would become the twelve tribes and these are the words that their father said when he blessed them. As I said last week it did not seem that some of what he said was a blessing, but Moses goes on to explain that Israel blessed them, every one with the blessing that was appropriate to him. Some received more of a blessing than others, some lost the blessing they should have received, some had to search to find the blessing in what was said to them. What had been said was given to Israel from the Lord and as I said much of it was prophetic.
ISRAEL’S FINAL CHARGE (Genesis 49:29-33)
Israel has one last charge for his sons, a matter that he had already discussed with Joseph and Joseph had promised to fulfill it, but now the charge goes to all twelve. Israel tells his sons that he is about to be gathered to his people, go to where his ancestors before him have gone. At 147 years old his age had not attained to that of his father or his grandfather, but spiritually he had matured and attained to the faith of his father and grandfather. Israel charges his sons that he is to be buried in the land of Canaan, in the promised land. A reminder to all of them that Egypt was not their home, God had promised to give them the land of Canaan and when they came and took possession of it, Israel wanted his bones to be in the place God had promised to give them and not left behind in Egypt.
Israel had his burial plot picked out, in the only piece of property that had ever belonged to Abraham, the cave and the field that he had purchased from Ephron the Hittite. It was just after Sarah died that Abraham approached the Hittites or the sons of Heth about purchasing some land for a burial place for his family. Israel reminds his sons that it is the cave of Machpelah which is before Mamre. He also reminds them that 5 people are already laid to rest in that tomb, Abraham and his wife Sarah, Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and Israel had buried Leah there when she had died. Israel wants to be laid to rest beside Leah.
After making this clear to all his sons we read that Jacob the man drew his feet up into his bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people. A man full of years who finished well and left a legacy to his family of a man who walked with his God and fulfilled all that God wanted him to do in the end. God was faithful to Israel, and in the end Israel was faithful to God.
CONCLUSION:
What kind of legacy will you leave? What will be said about you when you are gone? Will you be remembered as one who walked with God and was faithful to God’s purpose for you? Let us not be like Israel and wait till the last 17 years of our life to begin leaving a legacy, let’s start now by being faithful to our God, by seeking to live our lives in purity and righteousness, by showing our faith in all that we say and do. Being men and women of integrity, truthfulness, and faithfulness. What will people say about you when you are gone?
Did you see Jesus in our passage this morning? He was there, Israel called Him the Shepherd and the Stone of Israel. Both names are used to refer to Jesus in the New Testament. In John 10 Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd and speaks of His role as the Good Shepherd. He said concerning Himself in John 10:11-18, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” (John 10:11–18, NASB95)[3] Jesus speaks of His death on our behalf, that by believing that He died and paid the penalty for our sin, which we could not pay, and was buried, and three days later resurrected from the dead we can be forgiven for our sins and made right with God through the righteousness of our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us. The Lord Jesus Christ is also referred to as the stone that the builders rejected so that He might lay down His life for us. Peter writes concerning the stone of Israel in 1 Peter 2:4-6, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.’” (1 Peter 2:4–6, NASB95)[4] Jesus Christ is the choice stone, the precious cornerstone and if you put your faith in Him you will not be disappointed.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995