Genesis 49 (Bible Study)

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Now when you think of the Old Testament prophets Do you think of Jacob as being one of them?
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Has that thought ever occurred to you? Well, we're gonna see that he he is an
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Old Testament prophet. He's prophesying here in Genesis chapter 49, so we'll play that right after we pray
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Our gracious God we look to your word this evening and as we do it help us to hold it in the highest regard as the
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Inspired Word of God, which is profitable for doctrine reproof correction and Instruction and righteousness so Lord equip us in every good work give us understanding help us to make proper application and we just thank you for the opportunity to be here for all who have come out and Pray that you would give us a safe trip home later on.
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We pray all these things in Christ's name. Amen Genesis 49 and Jacob called his sons
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Gather together that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days
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Gather together and hear you sons of Jacob and listen to Israel your father
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Reuben you are my firstborn my might at the beginning of my strength the
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Excellency of dignity in the excellency of power Unstable as water you shall not excel
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Because you went up to your father's bed, then you defiled it.
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He went up to my couch Simeon and Levi our brothers
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Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place Let not my soul enter their console let not my honor be united to their assembly
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For in their anger they slew a man and in their self -will they hamstrung an ox
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Cursed be their anger for it is fierce and their wrath for it is cruel
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I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel Judah You are he whom your brothers shall praise
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Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies Your father's children shall bow down before you
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Judah is a lion's whelp from the prey my son you have gone up He bows down.
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He lies down as a lion and as a lion who shall rouse him
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The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet
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Until Shiloh comes and to him shall be the obedience of the people
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Binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine He washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes
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His eyes are darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk
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Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea He shall become a haven for ships and his border shall adjoin
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Sidon Issachar is a strong donkey Lying down between two burdens.
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He saw that rest was good and that the land was pleasant
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He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden and became a band of slaves
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Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel Dan shall be a serpent by the way a
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Viper by the path that bites the horse's heels so that its rider shall fall backward
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I have waited for your salvation. Oh Lord Gad the truth shall trample upon him, but he shall triumph at last
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Bread from Asher shall be rich and he shall yield royal dainties
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Naphtali is a deer let loose. He uses beautiful words
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Joseph is a fruitful Bob a fruitful bow by her well
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His branches run over the wall The archers have bitterly grieved him
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Shot at him and hated him But his bow remained in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty
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God of Jacob From there is the shepherd the stone of Israel By the
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God of your father who will help you and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above Blessings of the deep that lies beneath blessings of the breasts and of the womb
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The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors
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Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills They shall be on the head of Joseph and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers
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Benjamin is a ravenous wolf In the morning, he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide the spoil
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All these are the twelve tribes of Israel And this is what their father spoke to them and he blessed them.
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He blessed each one according to his own blessing Then he charged them.
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I am to be gathered to my people Bury me with my father's of the cave that is in the field to be from the
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Hittite in the cave That is in the field of Machpelah Which is before memory and the land of Canaan which
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Abraham fought with the field of Eve from the Hittite as a possession for a burial place
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There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife There they buried
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Isaac and Rebecca his wife And there I buried
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Leah The field and the cave that is there were purchased
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But they finished commanding his sons
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He drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last And was gathered to his people
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All right.
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So last time we saw how Israel in the last chapter he was very sick and now we see him on his deathbed so chapter 48
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Ended by saying then Israel said to Joseph behold. I am dying But God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers and then chapter 49 opens up with verses 1 & 2 and Jacob called his sons and said
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Gather together that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days
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Gather together and hear you sons of Jacob and listen to Israel your father
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So we get the picture of Israel on his deathbed and as people are known for doing when you're on your deathbed you
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Tend to tell the truth or say things that you have never said before now
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It's not that he was lying or anything But he's gonna come out with some things that I think he's been holding on to Marcus and police
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Testimony dying declarations That's interesting
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Yeah, is that's you know, they got to get it off their chest this is their last chance
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So you remember when his eldest son Reuben did what he did it said that in Israel Heard about it
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But it doesn't say he said anything about it or did anything about it. Well, it's gonna get brought up now
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But before we get into that there is an important phrase that we want to look at What does this mean when he talks about the last?
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Days so to understand what's happening in this chapter We need to know what
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Jacob refers to when he uses this expression So when we think of the last days when you hear that Christians typically will think of maybe the end times or the last days in the context of the
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New Testament Covers the time period we're living in now in between the first advent in the second advent of Christ So the last 2 ,000 years we can
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Call the last days But is that what Jacob means?
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We know his words are prophetic He's not just telling his sons about what will happen to them during their lifetime
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Rather he's speaking of their tribes. So the last days this is just The time the latter days from his future.
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So mainly this is focusing on Stuff you're gonna see in the Old Testament not end times or or the age we're living in So Genesis 49 he begins by speaking to his firstborn
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Reuben he says Reuben you are my firstborn my might and the beginning of my strength the
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Excellency of dignity and the excellency of power That sounds pretty good, right?
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until the next verse you're unstable as water and You shall not excel because you went up to your father's bed
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Then you defiled it. He went up to my couch.
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So we see that Sin has a long -lasting consequence
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This prophecy is very simple Reuben who is the firstborn he should have received the blessing his tribe should have been the tribe to excel but because of what he did and Disrespecting his father and committing fornication or really adultery his tribe
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Basically became insignificant Not a single judge not a single great ruler or Prophet came from the tribe of Reuben and then next we see the brothers
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Simeon and Levi Great sandwich, right? Absolutely.
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I think that's different from what we're talking The next are the brothers Simeon and Levi They're linked together
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Because of the crime that they committed together remember after their sister
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Dinah was Defiled instead of just seeking revenge and in killing the man who did it not that that would have been the right thing to do
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But they take it to the extreme and they kill all the men of the city.
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So because of that verse 5 Simeon and Levi are brothers instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place and then verse 7 cursed it cursed be their anger for it is fierce and their wrath for it is cruel and Jacob says
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I will divide them in Jacob or in Israel and scatter them well,
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I Will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. So Simeon became one of the
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Smallest tribes in Israel and later Simeon had to share land with Judah their
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Land was sort of in the middle of Judah's land Now that's not what you want.
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If you have a country, that's a small country within a country It's almost like it's not really a country
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So I think of today the the Vatican Vatican City. It's the
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Holy See it's known as the smallest Nation on earth and what it is.
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It's this tiny city within the nation of of Italy Well, it's almost like a joke.
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It's not really a country I mean it is a country technically, but it's it's not that's not what you want.
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So Simeon basically Kind of just faded away
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They were absorbed and they were in the south So when you think of the tribes to the south you think of who?
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Yeah, Benjamin Judah, it's almost like they don't even exist. So they inherited land kind of sort of but But it's like not really
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All right, and then of course Levi We know that Levi did not inherit any land.
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They had cities the Levites had cities So the the Levites literally were as Jacob said the
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Levites were just scattered everywhere all throughout all throughout Israel, however with Levi we do see something we see a picture of God's grace that they were given the privilege of being the the priestly tribe and of course
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Moses came from what tribe? Levi so Moses and Aaron came from Levi so that is a
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Something they didn't deserve. So it's a picture of God's grace. I think Marcus.
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Yeah And Then next
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Verse eight. Yes Well, that's a good question, does anyone know off the top of their head
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Right, yeah, we'll have to check that out and get back to it All right next you have
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Judah and Judah and Joseph are kind of the One the most is devoted to them and they seem to have the greatest blessing
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But Judah in verse 8, he says Judah you are he whom your brothers shall praise
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Judah is of course pictured as a lion and we think of the lion as you know, the the king of the jungle, right?
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well Judah's a lion we think of Christ is the lion from the tribe of Judah.
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So the Kings come from Judah verse 10 Israel says the scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes and To him shall be the obedience of the people.
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So this is kind of one of the more obvious Prophecies that speaks of Judah as the tribe that first David the great king of Israel was from Judah and then the
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Kings after him and That means the Messiah came from the tribe of Judah as for the scepter that's mentioned
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You remember what Hebrews chapter 1 verse 8 says? God the Father speaking to God the
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Son says your throne Oh God is forever and ever in a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your
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Kingdom, so Judah is the is the kingly tribe So the priests came from Levi The Kings come from Judah now,
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I'm sure there's a lot of other things we could look at here There's a mention of a donkey
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Also, he washed his garments in wine the blood of grapes You know, like what does this mean?
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There's actually a lot of things in this chapter make it kind of scratch your head But what's what's this all about?
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How is this fulfilled and Some of it. I have no idea but I think of Jesus came from the tribe of Judah.
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Okay, the donkey you you can make a connection there He rode into Jerusalem on on the donkey and in Revelation It says that Jesus had a robe that was dipped in blood
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Well here he says Jew your garments will be dipped in wine the the blood of grapes
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So are they connected? I don't know. It's just a Just a thought now there is one phrase that a lot of people have debated and what does this mean?
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What's that? What am I referring to? Until Shiloh comes
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Right. Okay. That's kind of the key phrase. What what does that mean until Shiloh comes?
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What's Shiloh? Messiah, okay Alright any other answers?
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Savior, okay So there's some uncertainty about this phrase
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Shiloh did become an important city in Ephraim. That's where the tabernacle was
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Set up. That's where the Ark of the Covenant was housed. So this was a very important worship site in Israel So is he saying until Shiloh comes referring to the city?
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You know that doesn't doesn't really seem to fit So as you guys said the short answer as far as what this refers to That until Shiloh comes is until the
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Messiah comes till Christ comes. Why is he called Shiloh? We don't really know one
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Scholar said that Shiloh means rest, but there's some debate about this
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So the simple answer refers to the Messiah. Okay. Amen Alright, let's go with that So we're not going to go too in -depth and cover
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Every single statement or even every single brother because again, there's a lot of things that are confusing
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Did everyone get the sheet where it has a little write -up about each son? Well, if you didn't you can grab one on your way out
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So look at verse 13 Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea and In the book of Joshua when they were casting lots to see which tribe got which piece of land
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The lot was cast and guess what? They got a northern Plot of land that was near near the sea just a coincidence, right?
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I mean, it's just the way it worked out. No, of course Jacob as I said, he's acting really as a prophet
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He is prophesying what will happen to his sons or to the their descendants remind of Proverbs 16 verse 33
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Says the lot is cast into the lap But it's every decision is from the
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Lord and If I can paraphrase that that nothing is by coincidence
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Marcus Well that yeah that may be
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But They were they were giving given a territory to the north, you know
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Not directly on the seacoast so It's a car is
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Right. Well, that's that's the confusion. That's what I'm leading up to. So it's a car in Zebulun while they were not directly
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Located right on the coast right on the shore many believe that they benefited greatly from Trade with sea merchants and then that's the tie -in not to say that that's the best port in Israel But there is a connection there at least that's our best guess again
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There's some of these things that you're trying to piece it together and how it was fulfilled and we just don't have answers
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For every single thing any other questions or comments? Okay, moving on verse 16 this one's interesting
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Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel So we've talked a little bit about the tribe of Dan.
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What do we know about? Dan well, let's start with this. What is Dan me? Yeah, God is my judge so Dan actually means judge
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So this tribe we see had a fierce reputation verse 17
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Dan shall be a serpent by the way a viper by the path that bites the horse's heels so that its rider
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Shall fall backward now who's the most well -known? judge or at least one of the most well -known judges in the
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Old Testament who had a reputation as a fierce warrior right
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Samson so Samson is without question the most well -known Danite If not the most well known of of all the judges, so Samson was a great warrior
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And then the tribe of Dan eventually they migrated North so they ended up being the most north point in Israel So you've heard the expression from Dan to bear
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Sheba Right so when people say from Dan to bear Sheba They're talking about the most northern point of Israel all the way to the southern most point like we say
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From New York to LA that spans east to west Dan to bear
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Sheba spans north to south Now unfortunately
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Dan although they were a great tribe in many respects They became known for something they became infamous really and most
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Christians today know them for what? Dan is known for their idolatry
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You could read about this and judges chapter 18 And it's believed that Because the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in the book of Revelation when it lists the twelve tribes
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Dan is absent and Joseph Takes over of Joseph and Manasseh or is it
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Joe? Yeah, so Dan seems to kind of get cut out of the whole equation.
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Why well the best Understanding is that because of their idolatry They were they were judged for that and This may be referring to this in verse 18 of chapter 49
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Israel says I have waited for your salvation So that could be a reference like saying, you know, they need to be saved as a tribe perhaps
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Now I gave you the chart and I'll just read from some of it
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In regards to Gad Asher and Naphtali It says Gad who is a son of Zilpah was to be a victim of invaders
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But they would triumph or ultimately triumph their inheritance was east of the
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Jordan and subject to plunderers Asher also the son of Zilpah would enjoy prosperity and the blessings of God Naphtali son of Bilhah This tribe would be free and prosperous and later
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They were privileged that the Messiah would begin his ministry in their region and the light would dawn in Matthew chapter 4
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Jesus says the people who are this is a fulfillment of scripture the people who sat in darkness
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Had seen a great light and that's in the land of Naphtali, which is where Jesus began his his ministry
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All right, and then starting in verse 22 We see the blessing offered to Joseph so who gets the best blessing
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I said well Joseph is blessed more than the rest, but I thought well, you know,
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Judah is Pretty close. I mean the the Messiah comes from Judah. What do you think who gets the greater blessing?
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Judah Yeah We do Yeah, I mean if the
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Messiah comes from Judah it's hard to hard to top that impossible but notice what said to Joseph verse 22
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Joseph is a fruitful bow a fruitful bow by a well his branches run over the wall
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The archers have bitterly grieved him shot at him and hated him But his bow remained in strength in the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty
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God of Jacob from there is the Shepherd the stone of Israel so we could take from this obviously
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Joseph is blessed Obviously he went through a great deal of adversity
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But through it all he trusted in God. He triumphed he trusted in God's sovereignty and his tribe would be numerous and blessed
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Above the others because the blessing remember and was at the last chapter The chapter before when the two sons were blessed.
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So Joseph's tribe ended up being made two tribes
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Ephraim and Manasseh and they were some of the biggest tribes of all so very blessed as the the tribe of Joseph and who are some of the great men that descended from Joseph or Ephraim and Manasseh, there's two in particular
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Does it say on the chart? You can look at you cheat and look okay, so Samuel was from Ephraim and Then Gideon was from the tribe of of Manasseh So to have some of these great
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Rulers some of these great Bible characters from your tribe That's a pretty big deal.
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If you have nobody significant from your tribe You know that that kind of says something
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So next we have who? All right, Benjamin verse 27
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Jacob says Benjamin is a ravenous wolf in The morning he shall devour the prey and at night he shall divide
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The spoil so what does that tell you about the tribe of Benjamin? Yeah, they're again fierce warriors sort of like Dan The tribe of Benjamin.
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I just want to read one commentator said this the warlike nature of the small tribe of Benjamin became well known as Exhibited in their archers and slingers.
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Okay, that's mentioned and their brazen defense of their wickedness in Gibeah now, that's not a great story that reflects positively on that But they were great warriors judges 19 and in 20 you could read about that And then
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King Saul King Saul the first king of Israel was a great warrior himself
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He won many military victories and he is one of the most well -known men from the tribe of Benjamin, but who probably would say tops
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Saul Yeah, the other Saul Saul of Tarsus So the
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Apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin and by the time we get to the New Testament we see that the tribe of Benjamin is seen as if not the most respected tribe in Israel certainly
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Probably number two because in Philippians 3 when Paul talks about How he could boast in the flesh now he wasn't going to boast in the flesh, but if he could remember what he said
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He says what sir? yes circumcised the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a
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Hebrew of the Hebrews like I'm I'm like really
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Hebrew. I'm from the tribe of Benjamin like I'm Important I'm somebody so verse 28 says and all these are the twelve tribes of Israel and This is what their father spoke to them, and he blessed them and he blessed each one according to his blessing
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Now when I read that I thought well some of these things don't really sound like blessings to me
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Right, I mean Reuben. How is that a blessing I? Reuben Simeon Levi doesn't exactly sound like a blessing, but it is because they all
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Inherited something they all got land they all had an inheritance so each one received
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According to what God had purposed and allotted to each one of them, so they they were blessed
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Really you could say that some of them didn't deserve anything at all and they they still were made great
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So what is Jacob doing here Jacob is prophesying About what will happen to the tribes that his sons?
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Represent what will happen to them in the latter days and again? that's the latter days from his perspective not from our perspective and Then verse 29 then he charged them and said to them.
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I am to be gathered to my people Bury me with my father's in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the
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Hittite in the cave That is in the field of Machpelah Which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan which
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Abraham? Bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place
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There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife there They buried
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Isaac and Rebecca his wife and there I buried Leah The field in the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth one final comment notice that Jacob really knows his history
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This is early enough to where this probably wouldn't have been written down anywhere
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He just knows all of this from memory and of course you know your history
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It's not hard to look back on your life and remember the people and the events
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But Jacob's history is also the history of what the people of God So I would challenge each and every one of you know by memory the history of the people of God You're not going to know every detail or remember everything but know from memory
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Their history because really the history of the people of God that we're reading about in a sense that that is our history verse 33 and when