Genesis 49:20-33

r.      Genesis 49:20 – Out of Asher his bread [shall be] fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

§        Asher à happy

§        Jacob prophecies:

o       Bread shall be fat à Plentiful food

·        Deuteronomy 33:24 - And of Asher he said, [Let] Asher [be] blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.

                                                                                                                i.     Moses affirms this blessing and extends it to include Ashers children being blessed

                                                                                                               ii.     Oil here refers to olive oil, not petroleum oil as some have suggested     

o       Yield royal dainties

·        Will produce foods fit for kings

·        Does not mention if the kings are Israelite kings or other nations’ kings

s.      Genesis 49:21 – Naphtali [is] a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

§        Naphtali à wrestling

§        Jacob prophecies:

o       Hind let loose

o       Giveth goodly words

·        Mathew 4:12-15 - Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, [by] the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

t.      Genesis 49:22 – Joseph [is] a fruitful bough, [even] a fruitful bough by a well; [whose] branches run over the wall:

§        Jacob closes with the blessing of his favored 2 sons, Joseph and Benjamin, from his beloved wife Rachel.

§        There is more written of Joseph than any of the other sons of Jacob

§        Deuteronomy 33:13-17 - And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD [be] his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits [brought forth] by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and [for] the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let [the blessing] come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him [that was] separated from his brethren. His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh.

§        Ephraim - אפרים 'Ephrayim, "double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful"

§        Such a healthy, thriving, fullgrown, well-supported, fruit-bearing vine well portrays the fruitful sturdy tribe of Joseph or Ephraim and Manasseh. Perhaps a play on words is here intended. For the root parah appears in Ephraim —the fruitful one. Leupold

u.      Genesis 49:23 – The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot [at him], and hated him:

§        Joseph endured many “arrows” from his brothers to Potiphar’s wife they attacked him because of his righteousness.

v.      Genesis 49:24 – But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty [God] of Jacob; (from thence [is] the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)

§        Joseph was armed with more than mere arrows, he was armed with the strength of his faith and his integrity, uprightness, faithfulness to God and most obvious his wisdom.

o       Ecclesiastes 9:18 - Wisdom [is] better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

§        The brunt of hostile opposition to Israel will have to be borne by Joseph, next to Judah. The three verbs indicate that he will have plenty of it. However "his bow stayed firm".  He, too, has a bow for defensive purposes when attacked. He uses it, and his hands do not weaken as they draw the tough bow again and again; it stayed "firm" —"as a strong one,”. The arms behind the bow are described thus, "the arms of his hands remained supple." Arms and hands are seen in quick movements, snatching the arrow from the quiver, placing it in position on the bowstring, bending the bow, steadying it for aim. Leupold

w.       Genesis 49:25 – [Even] by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:

§        God the Father will help thee

§        Blessings from heaven above

o       Rain

o       Sun

o       Wind

§        Blessings of the deep

o       תהום tĕhowm - deep, depths, deep places, abyss, the deep, sea, of subterranean waters

§        Blessings of the breasts and of the womb

o       Abundance of family offspring

o       Abundance in livestock offspring

x.      Genesis 49:26 – The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

§        Jacob acknowledges in humility that God has blessed him even more than He had blessed Abraham and Isaac

o       Progenitors - הרה harah, to conceive, become pregnant, bear, be with child, be conceived, progenitor NOT mountains

§        Isaac had but one blessing to give Jacob thus leaving Esau with a blessing considered inadequate for the firstborn, Jacob; however, had blessings for each of his son (though Judah and Joseph seemed to gain the lion’s share)

§        Jacob heaps blessing upon blessing on Joseph, if any of the sons deserved such honor, surely it was Joseph.

§        “Him that was separate” - נזיר naziyr, consecrated or devoted one, root of Nazarite

o       The one standing apart

o       The choice

o       The prince

§        The blessings and prosperity of the birthright remained with the tribes of Joseph, what nation(s) can clearly be seen as representatives of those tribes today?

o       What nations are the most prosperous over the past few hundred years?

y.      Genesis 49:27 – Benjamin shall ravin [as] a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

§        Benjamin à Son of my right hand

§        Jacob prophecies:

o      Ravin as a wolf

·        No criticism involved in the use of this comparison; it is complimentary

·        Benjamin was favored by Jacob yet this blessing does not appear to share a father’s tenderness for a favored son.  We can conclude that these blessings did not originate with Jacob, but were  of the Spirit speaking through Jacob to the twelve tribes of Israel.

o       In the morning shall devour prey

o       Night divide the spoil

·        Ehud (Judges 3:15)

·        Saul (1 Samuel 9:1)

·        Jonathan (1 Samuel 13:3)

·        Esther and Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7)

·        Paul  (Romans 11:1)

z.       Genesis 49:28 – All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel: and this [is it] that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.

§        Before receiving blessing à sons of Jacob

§        After receiving blessings à tribes of Israel

§        Though Reuben, Levi & Simeon seemed to get more correction than blessing they are considered blessed with the other brothers here.

§        Whether we are rebuked or blessed by God’s Word as long as we remain His, we should count it all as blessing.

II.            Jacob Repeats Instructions for His Burial and His Death

a.      Genesis 49:29 – And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

§        Though death separates us from those we love in this world, we are reunited with those who have passed on before us

§        Jacob is not necessarily concerned with the physical aspects of being buried next to his fathers and their wives as much as it is the promise of God, that Canaan should be a possession to his children so he wishes to be buried in the “promised land”.

b.      Genesis 49:30 – In the cave that [is] in the field of Machpelah, which [is] before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a burying place.

c.      Genesis 49:31 – There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.

§        Note 1:The five individuals listed below were buried in this cave, followed by Israel (Jacob)

§        Note2: Hebrew is read from right to left

§        ישראל Yisra'el

ישראל  

                                     יצחק     Yitschaq – Isaac

                                      שרה   Sarah – Sarah

                                     רבקה   Ribqah - Rebekah

      אברהם   'Abraham – Abraham

            לאה   Le'ah – Leah

 

d.      Genesis 49:32 – The purchase of the field and of the cave that [is] therein [was] from the children of Heth.

§        Even so near death Jacob is very cognizant of the intricate details of the location and the details of the purchase by Abraham. 

e.      Genesis 49:33 – And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

§        Jacob completed both the blessing and the charge to his sons and willingly yielded his spirit back to the Father

§        “Gathered unto his people” - Apparently, the expression is then equivalent to the one used Ge 15:15, "to go to one’s fathers." Those who have gone on before in death are regarded as a people still existing. This is a clear testimony to the belief in a life after death on the part of the earliest patriarch. Though no specific revelation on the subject seems to have been given to these patriarchs, faith in the Almighty God drew its own proper conclusions as to whether God would ultimately let his children perish, and its conclusion was correct: He cannot. This passage confirms that conclusion. If Scripture is to be explained by Scripture, then Heb 11:13-16 offers the fullest confirmation of our interpretation. Therefore the prevalent expositions which aim to deny the possibility of faith in a life after death on the part of the patriarchs will all have to be discarded. Leupold

Genesis 30:34-31:12

I.     Genesis 30:34 – And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according to thy word.

§        Laban thinks he is getting a deal

J.     Genesis 30:35 – And he removed that day the he goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were speckled and spotted, [and] every one that had [some] white in it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave [them] into the hand of his sons.

§        Ringstraked – עקד `aqod, streaked, striped, marked with stripes

§        Spotted – טלא tala', to patch, spot, be spotted, be colored, having large spots like patches on a garment

§        Speckled – נקד naqod, speckled, marked with points

§        Why is it distinguished that the male goats he removed were ringstraked and spotted, but the female goats he removed were speckled and spotted? Did he leave behind the male goats that were speckled? Or the female goats that were ringstraked? This may be key to some of the upcoming verses

§        All the brown/black sheep were Jacob’s

§        Was this Laban putting the goats and sheep into the hands of his sons or Jacob putting them in the hands of his sons?

o       V. 32 Jacob says HE will pass through the flock removing…, in v. 34 Laban said basically to do what he said.  So it appears here that Jacob passed through the goats and the sheep and gave them to his sons and not Laban’s.

K.     Genesis 30:36 – And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

§        This “he” appears to be Laban, and it seems that Laban may have not taken any goats or sheep.

§        This appears to be more evidence that all of the goats and sheep remained in close proximity and not 3 days away with Laban, for why would Laban simply make an exchange and tend all of Jacob’s flocks while Jacob tended all of Laban’s? That doesn’t make any sense?  Wouldn’t they each just take care of their own flocks?

L.    Genesis 30:37 – And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which [was] in the rods.

§        Green poplar

o      לח lach - moist, fresh, new

o       לבנה libneh - a tree which exudes milky-white gum, white poplar

§        Hazel – לוז luwz, almond tree, almond wood

§        Chestnut – ערמון `armown, plane-tree as stripped of bark

§        Pilled – פצל patsal, verb, to peel

§        Strakes – פצלות pĕtsalah, noun, stripe, peeled spot or stripe or strip

§        White – לבן laban

§        If Jacob’s sons were tending his flocks nearby, this elaborate explanation of peeling branches could just be Jacob building a corral that lead Laban’s white she-goats to where a spotted he-goat was waiting near the watering trough.

§        What else could this have been, we know that white goats don’t give birth to spotted goats just by looking at peeled sticks.

M.     Genesis 30:38 – And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

§        The only time that the flocks would have been together would have been when they were getting water

§        Jacob was ensuring that when the she-goats bred with the multi-colored he-goats.

N.     Genesis 30:39 – And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

O.    Genesis 30:40 – And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.

P.    Genesis 30:41 – And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

§        Conceive among the rods – it takes two to conceive, was the male speckled or white

§        We are told earlier that all of the speckled and spotted cattle were removed and went with Laban’s sons

§        If both parents were white how would they give birth to spotted kids?

Q.       Genesis 30:42 – But when the cattle were feeble, he put [them] not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

R.      Genesis 30:43 – And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

§        Man – Jacob

o       Cattle – צאן tso'n, small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks

o       Maidservants – שפחה shiphchah, maid, maid-servant, slavegirl

o       Menservants – עבד `ebed, slave, servant

§       Increased Exceedingly à Just as God promised him

Chapter 31 

I.            Jacob Plans his Departure (Genesis 31:1-21)

A.     Genesis 31:1 - And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, Jacob hath taken away all that [was] our father's; and of [that] which [was] our father's hath he gotten all this glory.

§        Did they actually say this within earshot of Jacob?

§        How childish it is to covet material things of this earth rather than rejoice with those who are blessed.

o       Proverbs 27:4 - Wrath [is] cruel, and anger [is] outrageous; but who [is] able to stand before envy?

§        Glory? Jacob had a bunch of sheep and goats far from what should be considered glory

B.     Genesis 31:2 – And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, behold, it [was] not toward him as before.

§        Psalm 118:6 – The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

§        Proverbs 23:6-7 - Eat thou not the bread of [him that hath] an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so [is] he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart [is] not with thee.

§        How often did they see each other? No mention of how often Laban made the three day hike back to Jacob, couldn’t have been too often Laban was at least 140 years old.

C.     Genesis 31:3 – And the LORD said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.

§        LORD - יהוה Yĕhovah

§        Jacob was becoming quite content working for Laban and building his wealth, but Jacob “waited” on the Lord to tell him when to leave Haran.

§        Psalm 121:8 - The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

§        No mention of a dream here, did the Lord speak audibly to Jacob?

§        No condition placed on this promise other than for Jacob to return to the land.  Even though this doesn’t seem like much how many would be obedient here?  This would be a tremendous undertaking today to pack up and move to another region, but how much more difficult would it have been then? Its hard to leave a known for an unknown, Jacob knows Esau is still waiting back in Canaan.

§        Jacob’s oldest son Reuben is at most 13 years old, so some of the boys are now old enough to be influenced by the example of Laban’s household.

D.    Genesis 31:4 – And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock,

§        He called Rachel and Leah “to the field” an open area.  Was Jacob leery of spies?  Jacob was taking extra precautions to ensure that Laban would not find out about his intentions.

§        This was very wise of Jacob (maybe the wisest thing he’s done yet) to make sure that he and his wives were in agreement (Happy wife happy life!)

§        Note that he did not consult with Bilhah and Zilpah

E.     Genesis 31:5 – And said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it [is] not toward me as before; but the God of my father hath been with me.

§        Laban is beginning to look at Jacob with contempt

§        Jacob states that God has been with him, tying Laban’s contempt for him as the result of God blessing him

F.     Genesis 31:6 – And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.

§        Jacob has a clean conscience, he gave Laban all he had regardless of how he was treated

G.    Genesis 31:7 – And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

§        The only recorded change was giving Leah instead of Rachel, Jacob states here that there were at least nine other occasions where Laban did not live up to his end of the bargain.

§        Compare this to Jacob who when asked of Laban “what shall I give thee?” he responded , nothing.  Jacob earned what he was given and did not want to be indebted to Laban for anything.
§        Another parallel to the Exodus of the nation of Israel from Egypt in that after 10 plagues did the Israelites leave Egypt so to after 10 changes to the original terms of the agreement did Jacob exit Haran.  Showing that Laban was “plagued” by God’s blessings upon Jacob so much that he was forced to change the wages and prolonging his bondage.

§        Notice how Jacob patiently explains all of these events to give background and prove to his wives that God has protected him and bless him from their father.  He doesn’t just state, “God has told us to go we need to go!” But he patiently brings them along to the point of this realization.

o       This method should be employed by Christians today.  Rather than just spout off that “God told me this” A process should be given as to how they arrived at that conclusion and what circumstances surrounded the event. 

H.    Genesis 31:8 – If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages; then all the cattle bare speckled: and if he said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy hire; then bare all the cattle ringstraked.

§        Jacob is understanding how God blesses him, and his argument is a good one, “what could I do? God will bless me no matter what the arrangement is between Laban and I”

I.       Genesis 31:9 – Thus God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given [them] to me.

§        Proverbs 13:22 - A good [man] leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner [is] laid up for the just.

J.      Genesis 31:10 – And it came to pass at the time that the cattle conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the rams which leaped upon the cattle [were] ringstraked, speckled, and grisled.

K.    Genesis 31:11 – And the angel of God spake unto me in a dream, [saying], Jacob: And I said, Here [am] I.

§        Angel of God -אלהים 'elohiym מלאך mal'ak, messenger of the divine ones

L.     Genesis 31:12 – And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle [are] ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for I have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee.

§        Confirmation that God told Jacob what he was to do in the previous chapter to increase the speckled goats and it was by the hand of God that they multiplied

§        Jacob was acting in obedience in whatever it was that he did to cross the white goats with the speckled.

§        God records the injustices done to his children and though He is often slow to act, He will rise up to defend His own.