Slices
Prepare
‘Your kingdom come, your will be done’ (Matthew 6:10). Pray for God’s will to be done in situations that are of particular concern to you.
Bible passage
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 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.
Explore
Addressing them in order of age, the ailing Jacob speaks prophetically to his sons (v 1). He starts with Reuben, who as firstborn would normally have expected a significant blessing. Surprisingly, however, like Simeon and Levi, he will find his future determined by the mistakes of his past (v 4). Instead of a blessing he receives a curse (v 4).
In Reuben’s place, Judah is promoted as head of the next generation (v 8). Judah’s blessing will have significance way beyond his own lifetime, and way beyond the Promised Land. Judah’s symbol of authority will be kept for ‘he to whom it belongs’ and, when he arrives, he will rule over the nations (v 10).
We can see the fulfilment of this prophetic blessing in Jesus. Judah features in Jesus’ family tree (Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:33) and Jesus himself is described as the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah’ (Revelation 5:5), after the lion of verse 9.
Neither Jacob nor Judah could have known how his blessing would be fulfilled centuries later in Jesus. We see how the invisible hand of God is guiding history to bring it to his desired conclusion.
Respond
‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed…’ (Revelation 5:5). How does the presence of Jesus, ‘the Lion’ in heaven, affect your view of the events happening in the world?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Leviticus 27; Numbers 1; Acts 13
Pray for Scripture Union
As the weekly football sessions at Red House grow, please pray for more volunteers to come forward and help Jen, John and Nikki to run them. (Today's prayer relate to this article.)
