Part 21  Book of Genesis

 

 

 

Jacob’s tribal sayings or prophecies for the “latter days”

Note: The following prophecies can be interpreted in many ways. The thoughts below are thought provoking and possible when searching the scriptures for what happened to the ancient 10 northern tribes of Israel in their dispersal. There is much circumstantial evidence to the veracity of these ideas. Having said that, these ideas have nothing to do with our salvation. That comes through Yeshua only! The following is possible--but not required as a fundamental belief.

49.1-2 Then Jacob called his sons together to bless and tell them what would befall them in the “latter days.”

49.3-4 Reubenwas the eldest son of Jacob and Leah, and his descendants would ordinarily have received the “birthright” blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant. We learn a lot about Reuben in Genesis 37.12-35. Reuben did not participate in or consent to killing or selling Joseph into slavery when his younger brothers were plotting on what to do. This shows Reuben’s good intentions, but he lacked the follow through. He inexplicably wandered away from this urgent situation at a critical moment. He also joined in with his brothers in lying to Jacob that a lion had killed Joseph.
 

Reuben had great physical appetites, and had difficulty controlling his sexual urges. Genesis 35.22 tells us he committed adultery with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. She was the mother of Reuben’s half brothers, Dan and Naphtali. Genesis 49.2-4 tells us this episode moved Jacob to transfer the birthright promises from Leah’s first-born son Reuben, to Rachel’s first-born son Joseph.

The ancient Reubenites lived in Gilead, east of the Jordan River along with the tribe of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. They were carried into captivity by Assyrians years before the fall of Samaria. (2 Kings 10.33, 15.29, 1 Chronicles 5.26) To identify the Reubenites, we must rely on the clues of the prophecy in Genesis 49.3-4 “Reuben, you are my firstborn; my might and the beginning of my strength, Preeminent in pride and preeminent in power. Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.”

While Reubenites will have “pride and power” in the latter days, they will not have preeminence over the other tribes because they had lost the birthright to Joseph. The Reubenites will be a volatile, emotional people, boiling over like water (unstable). His lack of sexual restraint indicates a people known for relaxed sexual practices in the modern world.

What nation in modern Europe has substantial power and pride, but less power than the English, Americans, or Germans? France immediately comes to mind. They are the next most powerful nation in the western alliance and at one time had a substantial colonial empire of its own. The French have a tradition of military power as Napoleon was one of the world’s great generals, conquering much of Europe and led his forces all the way to Moscow. The French have and even today, contend with the British and Germans for leadership in European affairs.


49.5-7 Simeon and Levi  The Bible says these tribes would not have their own nations in the last days, but would be scattered among the other tribes of Israel. Genesis 49:5-7 addresses them jointly: “ Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.”

 

The reference to oxen should say, “maimed oxen just for fun.” The reference to killing men concerns the events in Genesis 34, when Simeon and Levi killed all the males of a town because one man had premarital sex with their sister Dinah, even though she had apparently consented to the sex. These two tribes had a propensity to violence, or in other words they would “shoot first and ask questions later.”

Genesis 49 implies that if God had allowed these tribes to become nations in the last days they would have been ruthless, militaristic nations. They are probably among the more patriotic and nationalistic members of nations in these days. Their inclination for violence could draw them into security, military, police, or criminal activity.

The Bible’s account of Joseph meeting his brothers who had sold him into slavery shows harsh treatment to Simeon. Joseph let Simeon languish in prison while the others returned to Canaan. Genesis 42:24 Joseph recalled that Simeon had been the leader of the effort to kill him before Judah convinced them to spare his life for profit. Gen 37:18-20

Simeonites have good qualities as well. Many of them moved to Judah to serve God when Israel had forsaken the Lord. 2 Chronicles 15:9 and 34:6 Simeonites were prominent in joining the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh to serve God, and in acting in concert with Ephraim and Manasseh exhibit a zeal for God. They will probably be found in significant numbers among the modern day tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.


The Levites were originally given 48 cities to live in throughout the Kingdom of Israel before the separation. They were the priests who interpreted the law and performed the sacrificial rites in the Temple. When Jeroboam 1 of Israel rejected God’s laws, the Levites moved into the kingdom of Judah. 2 Chronicles 11:13-17 Many Levites were affiliated with the Jews in Asia and some accompanied Ezra and Nehemiah in rebuilding the Temple and Jerusalem. Ezra 1:5, Nehemiah 7:39-45


Many Levites remained in the Parthian Empire and some of them may have been the Magi who visited Jesus as they were a “hereditary priesthood. Today Levites are scattered among the Jews and the nations of the ten tribes of Israel.


The Levites also had a capacity for violence and a zeal for God. Exodus 32 records the Levites executing the Israelite leaders who sinned idolatrously with the golden calf in the wilderness. The Levites were not squeamish people and were the perfect choice for butchering the animal sacrifices.


Finally, Levites also had a special gift for music and entertainment. 1 Chronicles 15:14-28, 2 Chronicles 5:12-13

The clear indication is that one clan of Levites possessed superior musical, artistic, and creative skills. So it would make sense that many Levites are in the music and entertainment world today.


49.8-12 The tribe of Judah came to be known as the Jews. 2 Kings 16:6 Judah was originally one of the largest tribes of Israel, but is now one of the smaller Israelite tribes in the modern age. Since the Jews were a stateless people until 1948, and given the depopulation of the Jews in World War Two, they have had little chance for their population to grow. The fact that the Jews were a stateless people for two thousand years supports their identification as the tribe of Judah.

When the united kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon split into two nations, the term Judah or House of Judah, referred to the southern nation with its capital at Jerusalem. The northern kingdom of Israel, inhabited by the ten northern tribes, had its capital at Samaria and was known as Israel. 1 Kings 11 and 12 The kingdoms of Judah and Israel fought many wars with each other. In 2 Kings 16:5-6, Israel made war against the Jews. Israelites and Jews were two different people living in separate kingdoms.

The ten tribes of Israel did not return to live in their ancient homeland. A portion of them had, however, temporarily reoccupied it during the reign of King Josiah, when the Scythians ruled briefly from 40 BC to 37 BC. Remember the Scythians were composed of the ten tribes of Israel with the name of Isaac upon them. God promised that the tribe of Judah would produce a permanent dynasty of rulers (kings) in Genesis 49:10: 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.

The word Shiloh means Messiah and this is a latter day prophecy about the tribes of Israel, so it indicates that there must still be a ruling dynasty of Judah reigning on earth today. The nation of Israel today has no king, so this king has to be ruling somewhere else. The term “divine right of kings” may have originated in a long-forgotten awareness that many European rulers were descended from King David. David’s descendents really do possess a “divine right” to rule based on God’s promises in the Bible.


The Bible reveals that Judah had a very sharp mind, was very detailed, and could apply his knowledge to real life situations. In Genesis 44:14 thru 45:8, Judah made an impassioned speech to Joseph for the lives of his family that brought Joseph to tears.

This trait of thinking in a precise, legalistic manner has been apparent throughout the history of the Jews. The Jews of Jesus’ time had built a “wall” of extra rules around God’s Torah (law) to prevent them from breaking the law! Jesus indicted them for being too legalistic and obscuring the wisdom and love of the original Torah laws. This detailed, legalistic nature also served a very great purpose in preserving the Old Testament. Romans 3:1-2 No other tribe had the ability to preserve laws, customs, and tradition over two millennia. ( Note: The Levites were part of Judah )

Further prophecy concerning Judah in the latter days is noted in Genesis 49:8-9-(12): “ Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up.”

Judah is depicted as a warlike nation in the latter days. The Israelis have been militarily successful in their Mideast wars with the help of God, fulfilling this prophecy of a lion killing it’s prey. In Zephaniah 2:7 we also see Judah re-established as a nation, free from captivity. This prophecy refers to the Jews as the “remnant of the house of Judah” without mentioning Israel. Finally, the tribe of Judah is likened to a lion’s whelp. They are a young country and they are bold like a lion, even predatory, in their military approach. It is easy to locate the tribe of Judah in modern times.

Next: Part 22 Tribes Continued