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In this lesson we will continue to look at Jacob’s prophecies with blessing for his twelve sons.
In Genesis 49:16 Jacob prophesied, “Dan will judge his people, / As one of the tribes of Israel.” This indicates that Jacob was concerned that Dan would be cut off. According to the Mosaic law, anyone who set up or worshipped an idol had to be cut off from the people (Deut. 13:5-18). After the Israelites entered the good land, the tribe of Dan brought in an idol among the twelve tribes. Thus, Dan should have been terminated as a tribe. However, Jacob, not wanting to see one of his sons cut off, blessed him prophetically out of a loving heart, saying that Dan would still be a tribe judging his people. This word was particularly fulfilled in Samson, who was of the tribe of Dan (Judg. 13:2, 24; 15:20).
Jacob said that Dan would judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. The Hebrew word translated “tribe” first has the meaning of “branch,” then “stick, staff, and scepter.” A scepter signifies authority. Therefore, the word tribe actually means “scepter.” Every tribe has a scepter, an authority. The twelve tribes were twelve scepters, twelve powers, twelve authorities. During the time of Samson, the tribe of Dan certainly became a scepter. With Samson the tribe of Dan was a power, a real authority. This was the fulfillment of Jacob’s prophetic blessing concerning Dan in Genesis 49:16. Jacob’s word meant not only that Dan would remain as a tribe but also that Dan would be a scepter, an authority. This prophecy has been fulfilled.
In verse 17 Jacob continued, “Dan will be a serpent in the way, / A viper on the path, / That bites the horse’s heels, / So that his rider falls backward.” The serpent in this verse is worse than the serpent in Genesis 3, because it is a viper. Dan eventually became a serpent, even a viper, because the tribe of Dan set up another center of worship. After the tribe of Dan obtained the city of Dan in Judges 18, an idol made by Micah was set up in it (17:4-5; 18:17, 27, 30-31). At that time God’s tabernacle was in Shiloh, but in the city of Dan there was an idol. The tribe of Dan not only set up a divisive center of worship in the good land but also appointed and hired their own priests (v. 30; 1 Kings 12:29-31). This made Dan one with Satan in bringing in stumbling blocks to frustrate God’s people. Therefore, Jacob prophesied that Dan “bites the horse’s heels, / So that his rider falls backward.”
In chapters 2 through 9 of 1 Chronicles the tribe of Dan was omitted in the record of the holy people of God. Dan’s name is mentioned in 2:2 but in the following record his tribe was omitted. Furthermore, the tribe of Dan is also not mentioned in the record in Revelation 7. The tribe of Dan did not perish. Dan’s name was omitted in the record in 1 Chronicles and Revelation because he fell and became one with God’s enemy, becoming a viper and bringing in a stumbling block to God’s people. Notwithstanding, Dan will still be a tribe in the millennium because of his father’s blessing (Ezek. 48:1). This prophecy is certainly a picture of God’s mercy.
Because of the failure of Dan, Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49:19, saying, “Gad, raiders will raid him, / But he will raid at their heel.” With Dan there is defeat, but with Gad victory is brought back. Dan ends with failure, but Gad, who will raid at the heel of the raiders, comes in with the recovered victory.
After prophesying concerning Gad, Jacob spoke concerning Asher. Genesis 49:20 says, “Asher’s food will be rich, / And he will yield royal dainties.” The word rich literally means “fat.” Hence, Asher’s bread is fat. This means that his food is rich. This rich food even becomes royal dainties, the royal food.
Genesis 49:21 says, “Naphtali is a hind let loose.” This is a prophecy concerning the resurrected Christ as a hind let loose, skipping on the mountaintops. Nothing can frustrate Him, and no one needs to pave the way for Him.
Verse 21 also says, “He gives beautiful words.” The resurrected hind in Genesis 49 corresponds to the resurrected Lord in Matthew 28. After Christ was risen, He gathered the disciples together and charged them, saying, “Go therefore and disciple all the nations,...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (vv. 19-20). The disciples’ teaching all the nations all that the Lord commanded them was the giving of beautiful words.
Genesis 49:22 says, “Joseph is a fruitful bough, / A fruitful bough by a fountain; / His branches run over the wall.” Joseph is a fruitful bough. Therefore, the fruitful tree must be Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons. Twelve is the number of eternal completion. The fact that Jacob had twelve sons shows that he was very fruitful; he was a fruitful tree. His son Joseph was a bough of this tree and was also fruitful.
When Joseph’s father and eleven brothers and their families came down to Egypt, they became channels for the branching out of Joseph’s fruitfulness. At that time in Egypt Joseph was not simply branching out personally; he was branching out God’s administration with seventy people (Exo. 1:5). Eventually, the entire world was under the branching out of Joseph. The picture of Joseph’s fruitfulness and branching out is being fulfilled through the church. Acts 2 reveals the fruitfulness of Peter and the other eleven apostles. Throughout the centuries, all those who have loved the Lord and who have been occupied with Him have also been fruitful.
As a fruitful person, Jacob signifies the producing God. God is a fruitful tree. This is seen in John 15 where Christ, as the embodiment of God, is portrayed as a producing tree. In the Old Testament Christ is also called a branch (Isa. 11:1). On the one hand, the Bible says that Christ is a tree, and on the other hand, it says that He is a branch. He is both. As the embodiment of God, He is a tree, but as the branching out of God, He is a branch. Joseph, a type of Christ, as part of Jacob the fruitful father, was a bough of the fruitful tree and also a branch that branches out.
Allegorically, Genesis 49:22 prophesies that Joseph will move out beyond the wall. Joseph was not limited to the good land; he ran over the wall into Egypt, spreading beyond the limits of the good land into another region. In typology this indicates that the children of God are spreading Christ over every restriction and magnifying Him in every circumstance (Phil. 1:20). A wall signifies restriction. Since the day of Pentecost, wall after wall has been erected to restrict the spreading of the branches. One day Peter was put into prison (Acts 12:3-4). But not even that stronghold could restrict the branching out of Christ. Year after year, decade after decade, and century after century, walls have been raised up by the opposers and by the enemy to restrict the fruitfulness of God’s children. However, the branches run over the wall every time.
Jacob prophesied that his God would help Joseph and that the All-sufficient One would bless him. Genesis 49:25 says, “From the God of your father, who will help you, / And from the All-sufficient One, who will bless you.” When we combine the blessings mentioned in 49:25-26 with those in Deuteronomy 33:13-16, we see that there were ten aspects to the blessings bestowed upon Joseph. First, he was blessed with the choicest things of heaven (v. 13). Certainly some of the blessings of the choicest things of heaven should include rain and snow. Second, he was blessed with the dew. Third, he was blessed with the deep waters that couch beneath. This refers to the springs, fountains, and waters underneath the earth (v. 13). Fourth, he was blessed with the choicest of the crops of the sun. Fifth, he had the blessing of the choicest of the yield of the moons (v. 14). The sixth blessing he received was the blessing of the top of the ancient mountains, and the seventh was the choicest things of the eternal hills (v. 15). In these blessings all of time and space is included. From the ancient mountains to the eternal hills means that all time is included, and from heaven to earth, including the deep under the earth, means that all space is included. This indicates that all the good things in the universe have become blessings to Joseph. The eighth blessing includes the choicest things of the earth and its fullness (v. 16). Certainly this must include minerals, such as gold and silver. The ninth blessing is seen in Genesis 49:25: “Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” This refers to the producing of life. This is the only blessing that is of life. The tenth blessing is “the favor of Him who dwelt in the thornbush” (Deut. 33:16; cf. Exo. 3:4). The One who dwelt in the bush dwelt in the temple; now He dwells in the church, and eventually, He will dwell in the New Jerusalem. This is the very desire of God’s heart, His good pleasure. All these things are included in the universal blessing bestowed upon Joseph.
All these blessings are the inheritance of Christ, typified by Joseph. Hebrews 1:2 says that God appointed Christ as Heir of all things. All the good things throughout time and space are the inheritance of Christ. This is God’s blessing to Christ, and Joseph represents Christ. All the blessings of the Father go to Him. The New Testament says that all things have been given to the Son. Because we are His partners, we join Him to inherit all these blessings (Heb. 3:14; Rom. 8:17). All the things in time from ancient times to eternity, everything in space from heaven to underneath the earth, and all the producing and nourishing aspects of life are the blessings bestowed upon Christ. Christ, typified by Joseph, was the One separate from His brothers (Gen. 49:26), and as such, He has received the blessing of the whole universe.
When Benjamin was born, his mother named him Ben-oni (35:18), which means “son of my affliction.” But his father changed his name to Benjamin, which means “son of the right hand” and signifies the ascended and exalted Christ. Genesis 49:27 says, “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, / In the morning devouring the prey / And in the evening dividing the spoil.” In Hebrew, the word translated as “ravenous” means “tearing,” that is, to tear into pieces. Benjamin, as a tearing wolf, is also a type of Christ. The ascended and exalted Christ is not only the overcoming One but also the tearing One, the One who eats His enemy.
As Jacob was dying, he prophesied concerning his twelve sons (vv. 1-2). Jacob did not prophesy by saying, “Thus saith the Lord.” Rather, he prophesied by being one with God to speak for God. Whatever Jacob spoke became God’s word. Jacob was God’s mouthpiece. The fact that Jacob could prophesy in such a way is a strong sign and manifestation that he was matured in life. God honored and fulfilled the prophetic blessing pronounced by Jacob upon his twelve sons.
Genesis 49 contains the essence of the entire Bible, and it is a summary of the history of Jacob’s twelve sons, the history of Israel, the history of the church, and the individual spiritual history of God’s people. Although this chapter is poetic and profound, it is rather brief. This chapter is all-inclusive; it includes the essence of the entire Bible. How wonderful it is!
Jacob prophesied that Dan would judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. After the Israelites entered the good land, the tribe of Dan brought in an idol and became one with God’s enemy, becoming a serpent in the way, a viper on the path, and bringing in a stumbling block to God’s people. Thus, they should have been terminated as a tribe. However, Jacob, not wanting to see one of his sons cut off, blessed him prophetically out of a loving heart by saying that Dan would still be a tribe judging his people. Although his name was omitted in the record in 1 Chronicles and Revelation, Dan will still be a tribe in the millennium because of his father’s blessing. Concerning Gad, Jacob prophesied, saying, “Gad, raiders will raid him, / But he will raid at their heel.” Concerning Asher, Jacob prophesied, saying, “Asher’s food will be rich, / And he will yield royal dainties.” Naphtali is a hind let loose. This prophecy concerns the resurrected Christ skipping on the mountaintops; nothing can frustrate Him, and no one needs to pave the way for Him. Concerning Joseph, Jacob said that he is a fruitful bough by a fountain, whose branches ran over the wall. He was not limited to the good land, but he ran over the wall to Egypt. This typifies the children of God spreading Christ over every restriction and magnifying Him in every circumstance. Opposers and the enemy have raised up walls to restrict the fruitfulness of God’s children, but the branches run over the wall every time. The combined blessings bestowed upon Joseph were of ten aspects. First, he was blessed with the choicest things of heaven; second, he was blessed with the dew; third, he was blessed with the blessing of the deep that lies beneath; fourth, he was blessed with the choicest of the crops of the sun; fifth, he was blessed with the choicest of the yield of the moons; sixth, he was blessed with receiving the top of the ancient mountains; seventh, he was blessed with the choicest things of the eternal hills; eighth, he was blessed with the choicest things of the earth and its fullness; ninth, he was blessed with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb, which relate to life; tenth, he was blessed with the favor of Him who dwelt in the thornbush. Concerning Benjamin, Jacob prophesied that he was “a ravenous wolf, / In the morning devouring the prey / And in the evening dividing the spoil.” This means that the ascended and exalted Christ is not only the overcoming One but also the tearing One, the One who eats His enemy. Genesis 49, which contains Jacob’s prophecies, is the essence of the entire Bible. It is a summary of the history of Jacob’s twelve sons, the history of Israel, the history of the church, and the individual spiritual history of God’s people. This chapter is poetic and very profound, yet it is rather brief. It is all-inclusive; it includes the essence of the entire Bible. How wonderful it is!
