Jacob Words-Hugo Bouter

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A Summary Of Jacob's Last Words To

His Sons

by Hugo Bouter

http://www.biblecentre.org

The order of Jacob's sons in Genesis 49

As appears from the table below, the order of their blessings in the last words of the

patriarch is only partially identical with their order of birth:

Genesis 29, !, " #birt$%

Genesis &9 #bessing%

() !eben "#eah$ !eben

2) %imeon "#eah$ %imeon

) #e&i "#eah$ #e&i

&) J!dah "#eah$ J!dah

") an "(ilhah$ )eb!l!n

*) *aphtali "(ilhah$ +ssachar

+) Gad ")ilpah$ an

) Asher ")ilpah$ Gad

9) +ssachar "#eah$ Asher

(!) )eb!lon "#eah$ *aphtali

(() Joseph "achel$ Joseph

(2) (enamin "achel$ (enamin



+n blessing his sons, Jacob first addressed the sons of #eah, p!tting )eb!l!n before

+ssachar. Then the sons of the maids follow, of whom *aphtali is the one mentioned last.

(oth sons of )ilpah, #eah's maid, are gi&en a place between the two sons of (ilhah,achel's maid. -inally, we ha&e Joseph and (enamin: the two sons of achel, the wife

whom Jacob lo&ed more than #eah and for whom he ser&ed his fatherinlaw #aban

another se&en years.

This order agrees with the r!les of the birthright as they were set down by oses later on

"e!t. 01:1213$. -or the son of the lo&ed wife co!ld not be fa&o!red at the epense of

the firstborn, who was the son of the !nlo&ed. The fact that e!ben did forfeit his birthright was entirely his own fa!lt. 5e had gone !p to his father's bed and committed

ad!ltery with (ilhah, his father's conc!bine and therefore he was depri&ed of his

pri&ileges "Gen. 62:007 49:647 1 8hr. 2:10$.

The position lined with the birthright went to J!dah, the fo!rth son of #eah "%imeon and#e&i were passed o&er beca!se of their &iolence against the inhabitants of %hechem$. The

wealth lined with it, howe&er the firstborn was entitled to a do!ble portion of the

inheritance went to Joseph, the first son of achel, the lo&ed one. r rather it went to

;phraim and anasseh, Joseph's sons, whom Jacob had blessed pre&io!sly and more orless adopted as his own sons "Gen. 4<$. Th!s ;phraim and anasseh obtained a place of

their own among the tribes of +srael "e!t. 66:13$. %o we see that both J!dah and Joseph

are gi&en a prominent place in the blessings of Jacob, J!dah recei&ing the position of ar!ler and Joseph the wealth laid !p for the firstborn.

+t is also remarable that !nlie +shmael in the story of Abraham the sons of the maids

do not tae a separate or inferior place here, b!t are blessed together with the other sonsof Jacob. f +shmael God said that the son of the maid sho!ld by no means be an heirwith the son of the free woman "Gen. 01:<01$. -rom this principle =a!l draws the

concl!sion that there is a clear distinction between Jews and 8hristians, between people

in sla&ery and people who are free "Gal. 4:0161$. They are separately blessed. (!t in the blessings of Jacob the distinction between +srael and the 8h!rch does not play a role.

>hile Abraham is the ?father? of both a hea&enly and an earthly offspring, Jacob is more

especially the progenitor of +srael after the flesh. Jacob's twel&e sons gi&e a complete pict!re of God's earthly people. +n accordance with God's go&ernmental ways they are

blessed together, for in %cript!re the n!mber twel&e is always connected with God's r!le

o&er all 5is people.

*ow if the order of Jacob's sons in Genesis 49 is determined neither by the order of their birth nor by the order of their mothers, what principle is !sed here@ The answer is that

prophetic and spirit!al factors are taen into acco!nt as well, which render these

blessings a splendid pict!re of the history of +srael !ntil the last days.

A -ro-$etic $istory of .srae and of t$e /ord



+ am con&inced that this chapter also gi&es a brief o!tline of man's history as a whole,

beca!se this is really centred aro!nd +srael. +n the first three sons we see how nat!ral man

failed right from the beginning. e!ben was g!ided by his l!sts, while %imeon and #e&i!sed means of &iolence. These two e&ils, inner corr!ption and o!tward &iolence, ha&e

been the two principal e&ils e&er since the fall of man. Time and again, these things can

be fo!nd in both the history of manind and that of +srael. The sin of Adam and ;&e wastheir l!st, the sin of 8ain his &iolence, and they had to be dri&en o!t of God's presence.

The !dgment of the flood was ca!sed by the s!bse!ent corr!ption and &iolence that

filled the earth.

(!t after the flood there was no apparent impro&ement. an wanted to mae a name forhimself and started worshipping idols7 we also hear abo!t *imrod, a mighty h!nter

before the #ord. Then, with the calling of Abraham, God made a new start in that 5e

separated a nation from the other nations in order that it sho!ld ser&e 5im and belong to5im alone. 5owe&er, +srael's history too, was one of sad fail!re, in the wilderness as well

as in the =romised #and. 8orr!ption and &iolence mared the last chapters of the (oo of

J!dges and the first chapters of -irst %am!el. (!t then God bro!ght relief thro!gh inga&id, whose birth is mentioned in the (oo of !th.

This period in +srael's history is reflected in Jacob's prophecy concerning J!dah, the royal

tribe, where nothing b!t praise is heard "J!dah means ?praise?$. +t was a Golden Age for

+srael, when the nations aro!nd them were s!bd!ed. The words of Jacob abo!t %hiloh"meaning ?he who brings rest?$ probably refer in the first place to %olomon, the ing of

peace. (!t it is ob&io!s that they reach far beyond him, as is shown by the words that the

sceptre wo!ld not depart from J!dah !ntil the arri&al of %hiloh, to whom the obedience of

the peoples wo!ld be.

This prophecy concerning %hiloh is therefore a essianic prophecy. J!dah was to ha&e a prominent role !ntil the coming of 8hrist, tho!gh later on this was limited to the ingdom

of the two tribes and red!ced to an e&en lesser degree after the ret!rn from the(abylonian capti&ity. To 8hrist the nations ha&e e&en now become obedient by the

obedience of faith "om. 1B:0B$. Cet we ha&e to concl!de that this prophecy etends

f!rther into the f!t!re. !r #ord was reected and the time of !ni&ersal peace and

prosperity abo!t which Jacob spoe was postponed !ntil 8hrist's second coming. Then5e will reign as the =rince of =eace and 5is dominion will be to the ends of the earth.

Then we see what happened after the prospero!s times of a&id and %olomon and also

after the reection of the essiah: assimilation with and s!b!gation to the nations,

ending in complete apostasy. This is shown in type in )eb!l!n, +ssachar and an. 5ereagain, the prophecy has a twofold import, a historical one and a f!t!re one. +srael came

grad!ally !nder the infl!ence of the s!rro!nding nations, which res!lted in their

s!b!gation to these nations "e.g., ;gypt, Assyria and (abylonia$ and in ser&ing the idols.

5ere we find )eb!l!n in connection with ?the sea of peoples and nations? "cf. +sa. 13:10

167 e&. 13:12$. )eb!l!n "meaning ?dwelling?$ was f!lly orientated towards the nations

and to %idon especially, from which the worship of (aal originated which was bro!ght to



+srael by ing Ahab "1 Di. 1B:6166$. +ssachar "meaning ?hire? or ?wages?$ then

s!bmitted to forced labo!r and became a sla&e. +n an "meaning ?!dge?$ the power of

the serpent "that is, %atan$ was f!lly embodied, so that +srael was bro!ght down andrendered powerless. %cript!re often connects the tribe of an with idolatry "J!dg. 1<7 1

Di. 10:096E$. +srael left the one tr!e God and finally reected the essiah when 5e came

to them in the form of a %er&ant. This mared the end of the history of +srael and of thefirst man in his responsibility. +t had become one great fiasco and only the sal&ation of

the # co!ld bring relief "&. 1<$. This sal&ation was manifested "and seen by faith$ in

the cross and in the res!rrection of 8hrist.

Then there is also a f!t!re aspect in &erse 1< regarding the sal&ation and restoration of+srael. Jacob's short prayer is the t!rning point of this chapter. After 8hrist's reection, the

abo&e process of decline and apostasy repeated itself. +srael was dispersed among the

nations, ha&ing become more and more dependent on them, and this has been theirsit!ation !ntil today. *ow we come to the f!t!re application of these &erses. an is a type

of the antichrist who will reign o&er "?!dge?$ +srael with the s!pport of the head of the

re&i&ed oman empire and of %atan himself "e&. 16$. +dolatry will then reach an alltime high and the faithf!l remnant of +srael will wait anio!sly for the inter&ention of

God's sal&ation.

At that point God will bring abo!t a change in the lot of 5is people. +n answer to the

prayer of &erse 1< 5e will re&eal 5is sal&ation. an mars the absol!te low point andfrom there on +srael's history taes a t!rn for the better. Gad, Asher and *aphtali show the

res!lts of God's sal&ation in the end time. Gad "meaning ?troop?$ is still being

endangered by hostile troops, b!t in the end he is &ictorio!s and dri&es the enemy o!t of

the land "cf. ic. 4:142:<$. Asher "meaning ?happy?$ enoys an ab!ndance of food andshares it with others. *aphtali "meaning ?my wrestling?$ reoices in the freedom of the

&ictor and sings the song of sal&ation.

-inally, Joseph and (enamin gi&e a twofold pict!re of the glory of 8hrist in themillenni!m. Joseph "meaning ?5e will add?$ is a special type of the essiah who was

reected by 5is brothers7 b!t ealted by God to sit at 5is right hand, thereby becoming

the %a&io!r of the world. The -ather is pleased with 5im and 5e recei&es the richest

blessings. (enamin "meaning ?son of the right hand?$ is more typical of the earthlyaspect of 8hrist's reign. At 5is appearing and the dawn of the Dingdom, 8hrist will

destroy all 5is enemies. 5e m!st reign !ntil the last enemy, namely death, has been

abolished at the end of the Dingdom "1 8or. 12:04$, ?in the e&ening? "Gen. 49:03 *A%($,and the millenni!m will gi&e place to the eternal state.

To s!m !p, the first three sons of Jacob show !s nat!ral man's corr!ption. e!ben

"meaning ?see, a son?$ beha&ed as an !nworthy son, and %imeon "meaning ?heard?$ and

#e&i "meaning ?attached?$ were brothers in e&il. Three sons are special types of 8hristand show !s how 5e inter&enes: first J!dah and finally Joseph and (enamin. The

meanings of their names and of the others ha&e been gi&en already. The third gro!p of

three )eb!l!n, +ssachar and an mars the downward line of +srael's decline and!ltimate apostasy "and also the apostasy of the last days$. +n the last gro!p of three Gad,



Asher and *aphtali we ha&e an !pward line again, and we learn how +srael will be

restored and will see the sal&ation of the #ord. Genesis 49 is a prophetic history, of which

se&eral parts ha&e already been f!lfilled in the co!rse of +srael's eistence, while other parts with an added prophetic &al!e are still awaiting their f!lfilment in the end time.

A $istory of t$e 0$urc$

+ am con&inced that this chapter also contains important teaching regarding the history of

the 8h!rch, for the whole of the ld Testament was written for o!r instr!ction "om.12:4$. (eca!se of the reection of essiah, +srael was temporarily p!t aside and God now

has the 8hristian testimony here on earth. +t has failed as m!ch as God's ancient people.

The first fo!r sons of Jacob show the characteristic blessings which God had bestowed

originally !pon 5is people:

• The blessing of sonship "e!ben$7

•

The blessing of the %pirit's g!idance and of hearing God's >ord "%imeon$7• The blessing of fellowship with God and with fellowbelie&ers "#e&i$7

• The blessing of worshipping in spirit and tr!th in recognition of the a!thority of

8hrist, who sings God's praises in the midst of 5is brethren "J!dah$.

+f we follow the history of 8hristendom we see that these pri&ileges were soon lost sight

of. Jacob's sons did not really deser&e their bea!tif!l names, and liewise, the life of the

8h!rch often contradicted its high calling. 8hristians ha&e mingled with the world at the

price of s!bection to the world, as is seen in )eb!l!n "meaning ?dwelling?$ and +ssachar"meaning ?hire? or ?wages?$. Therefore 8hrist reproached the ch!rch in =ergamos with

the words: ?+ now where yo! dwell, where %atan's throne is? "e&. 0:16$.

+n defiance of its hea&enly calling, the 8h!rch has become an important o!tward power

here on earth, and therefore the world and ?the woman JeFebel? "i.e. popery$ ha&e r!ledo&er it. +n e&elation 0 this also c!lminates in idolatry, which in Genesis 49 is seen in the

tribe of an. JeFebel's infl!ence is fo!nd again in the end time in idolatro!s (abylon the

great "e&. 13 and 1<$. 5ere nominal 8hristendom shows itself to be heading for !dgment.

+n this sit!ation only God can show a way o!t. Therefore the prayer of those who remain

faithf!l to the >ord and the *ame of 8hrist is, ?+ ha&e waited for Co!r sal&ation,

#? ;&en in the darest ho!rs there is a &ictorio!s remnant "Gad o&ercomes his

enemies$. They reoice in ab!ndant spirit!al food "bread from Asher shall be rich$ andha&e str!ggled o!t of the grasp of worldly and J!daistic infl!ences "*aphtali is a deer let

loose$. They will share the glory of 8hrist who is the -irstborn among many brethren"Joseph is the one who was separate from his brothers, or the one disting!ished among

his brothers$. They will also reign with 5im here on earth and sit with 5im on 5is throne

"(enamin shall di&ide the spoil$. Th!s the blessings which ha&e been lost sight of in the beginning become the portion of a faithf!l remnant that is waiting for the f!ll re&elation

of God's sal&ation in the second coming of 8hrist.



Stages of s-iritua gro/t$

Apart from this, Genesis 49 contains &al!able lessons for o!rsel&es as indi&id!al

belie&ers. !r history as children and sons of God is not always flawless, as is shown intype in the first three sons of Jacob. The first lesson we learn is that ?the spirit!al is not

first, b!t the nat!ral, and afterward the spirit!al? "1 8or. 12:4B$. +n spite of all the pri&ileges granted to !s, o!r old self can be a great hindrance. Altho!gh we do recogniFe

8hrist's a!thority in o!r li&es "J!dah and %hiloh$, we can be ensla&ed by the world, thelaw and sin ")eb!l!n, +ssachar and an$. !r need then leads to the prayer for the

inter&ention of God's sal&ation: ?+ ha&e waited for Co!r sal&ation? "&. 1<$. >e learn from

eperience that we cannot epect anything good from o!rsel&es and that only God can bring relief.

The *ew Testament co!nterpart of this short prayer of Jacob is the eclamation in

omans 3:04 ? wretched man that + am >ho will deli&er me from this body ofdeath@? (!t the darest ho!r is !st before dawn. And !st as the prophecy of Jacob taes

a t!rn for the better from this critical point, the belie&er is blessed once his eyes ha&e

been opened to the f!llness of sal&ation in 8hrist and to the fact that he has been set free

from the law of sin and death. %o he learns to than God, for he changes from a sla&e intoa free man, and from a loser into a &ictor. omans < depicts the 8hristian's &ictorio!s life

in the power of the %pirit of God.

*ow this is eactly what we find in the net three sons of Jacob. Gad o&ercomes theenemies besieging him. Asher shows the ab!ndant life which is the &ictor's portion. 5is

bread is rich and he yields royal dainties: he is able to let others share in his ab!ndance.

The pict!re is completed by *aphtali, who depicts the freedom and the oy of the belie&er after the str!ggle of omans 3. 5e is a deer let loose and gi&es bea!tif!l words. 5e singsthe song of praise of 8hristian liberty and cries, ?Abba, -ather?

This process of spirit!al growth finally reaches its height in that 8hrist 5imself is seen in

the belie&er. #i&ing by the %pirit conforms !s to the image of God's %on "cf. om. <:14,

09$. This is shown in type by the last two sons of Jacob, Joseph and (enamin, bea!tif!ltypes of the #ord Jes!s.

8hrist 5imself is the clima of o!r blessing, the crown of o!r happiness. +n Joseph we

see 5im both in 5is reection and in 5is ealtation, and o!r li&es sho!ld be in agreement

with this. n the one hand 8hrist in 5is !tter h!miliation is o!r model "=hil. 0$7 on theother hand 8hrist in 5is hea&enly glory is the goal of all o!r ambitions "=hil. 6$. +f 5e is

formed in !s in this way, o!r life will be more and more !nder the #ordship of the an at

God's right hand, who allows !s to partae in the res!lts of 5is &ictory "(enamin shalldi&ide the spoil$.



Th!s we reach spirit!al mat!rity which is so often mentioned in the *ew Testament

and the image of 8hrist is clearly seen in !s "cf. 1 8or. 6:167 Gal. 4:197 ;ph. 4:101B7

8ol. 1:0<$.

Hugo Bouter

Jacob Words-Hugo Bouter

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