A. GENESIS. 29-30—Natural order of the sons of Jacob according to their birth
This order speaks to us of man's plans acting according to his own thoughts outside the thoughts of God. We see these plans with Laban's giving his daughters to Jacob and with Rachel and Leah giving Jacob their maidservants. The order indicated here is as follows:
4 sons of Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah.
2 sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant: Dan, Naphtali.
2 sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant: Gad, Asher.
2 sons of Leah: Issachar, Zebulon.
2 sons of Rachel: Joseph, Benjamin.
B. GENESIS. 35:23—Order of the sons of Jacob dwelling in Canaan
The first three sons of Jacob had manifested themselves to be murderers and incestuous. Their only guarantee for entering into Canaan lies in the promise given to Abraham and in the free election of grace. Here we find these three guilty sons at the head of the list
6 sons of Leah.
2 sons of Rachel, to whom are joined, so to say, the 2 sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, and the
2 sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant.
In this way, Leah and Rachel are equal in number and possess the same privileges according to the election of grace.
C. GENESIS. 46:8-25—Order of the sons of Jacob at their entry into Egypt
We find the order of nature again here, but according to the wives. God has the upper hand in all that concerns the family of promise, but at the same time Leah and Rachel each reap the fruits of their own self-will. The order is as follows: 6 sons of Leah 2 sons of Zilpah 2 sons of Rachel 2 sons of Bilhah.
D. GENESIS. 49—Typical and prophetic order of the sons of Jacob
We will not enter into this very interesting subject which we have already dealt with elsewhere. Let us simply note: Among Leah's six sons, Zebulon and Issachar are transposed. Issachar represents Israel's servitude to the Gentiles before the appearing of Dan, the Antichrist.
Dan himself, the son of Bilhah, is completely out of place. He represents the Antichrist, and after him we find the prophetic history of Israel's restoration. Naphtali, Bilhah's second son, is again out of place and comes only after Gad and Asher, Zilpah's sons, because he represents the joyous final liberty of restored Israel.
Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Rachel, crown all this prophecy in a marvelous way as types of Christ.
E. Exodus 1:2-5—Order of the sons of Israel in relation to their sojourn in Egypt
This order differs from that of Numbers 2 and 3.
Joseph, type of Christ, who receives his brothers is entirely set apart from them.
Gad and Asher, sons of Zilpah, are placed last.
F. Numbers 1:5-16 - The tribes represented by their princes who assist in the numbering
Levi is omitted between Simeon and Judah, as not to be numbered. Asher and Gad are transposed. Ephraim and Manasseh replace Joseph. According to Jacob's prophecy (Gen. 48:14-22), Ephraim takes precedence over Manasseh.
G. Numbers 1:20-56—Order of numbering for combat
Gad, whose role is more than once to fill in the gaps, replaces Levi, who is absent from the numbering.
H. Numbers 2—Order of the encampment of the tribes
They are arranged under four heads: Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan. Levi is at the center, surrounding the tabernacle.
I. Numbers 7—Order of the princes of the tribes at the dedication of the altar
The same order as that of the encamping except, naturally, that Levi has disappeared.
J. Numbers 10:11-28—Marching order of the tribes
The tabernacle, taken down and borne by Gershon and Merari, two of the Levitical families, goes between Judah and Reuben. The sanctuary, borne by Kohath, the third Levitical family, goes between Reuben and Ephraim. The ark alone goes ahead a three days' journey to seek out a place of rest for the people.
K. Numbers 13:5-17—Order of the heads of the tribes to spy out the land
When it is a matter of spying out the land, all the tribes are deliberately mixed and mingled.
L. NUMBERS. 26—Numbering after the plague
This is like the numbering for combat, except that Manasseh here again takes his place in relation to Ephraim according to the order of birth, whereas for combat Ephraim occupies his place according to the election of grace. This fact is important: it is as though God were beginning anew under the high priest's administration in grace (see Num. 17) the history of the people in responsibility crossing the wilderness, so that He might bring them into Canaan.
M. Numbers 34:18-29—Order of the princes of the tribes for the division of the land
Here the order is absolutely outside that of nature. Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, having chosen their part beyond Jordan, are omitted. Moses, the only one in view previously as leader of the people, gives place to Eleazar (the priesthood) and to Joshua (Christ in the Spirit) leading the people and determining their inheritance.
N. Deuteronomy. 27—The tribes on Gerizim and Ebal
On Gerizim to bless: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, Benjamin.
All are the sons of the legitimate wives. This list moreover contains the names of those who are types of Christ: Levi, Judah, Joseph, Benjamin.
On Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali.
These, with the exception of Reuben and Zebulun, are the sons of the maidservants. Reuben and Zebulun are the firstborn and lastborn of Leah: they surround the sons of Zilpah. It is as though the curse were being pronounced by the representatives of the entire stock of the first wife and by all that is born of the flesh.
O. Deuteronomy. 33—Prophetic order of the tribes, not according to the aspect presented by Jacob's prophecy, but according to the blessings brought by God's government in grace, according to their faithfulness in the land and according to the faithfulness of Moses, type of the future King
Simeon is omitted, for Israel's history as a people in the flesh has been terminated from the outset on with Reuben (cf. Gen. 49:3-7). Then after Reuben, Judah the Lawgiver appears ¾ Christ. Levi occupies a place of separation among the tribes: his faithfulness has produced fruit: intelligence, consecration, teaching, intercession, and praise. Joseph, also separated from his brethren, has a double portion in the persons of Ephraim and Manasseh. According to the election of grace, Ephraim once again takes precedence over his brother. Judah, Levi, and Joseph are types of Christ. The tribes which then follow are the picture of the blessings of the age to come: activity and rest, virtue, strength, riches, spiritual blessings, eternal rest.
P. Joshua. 15-21—Order of the tribes entering into possession of the land
This is a spiritual order. In first place are Judah, Joseph, and Benjamin, types of Christ; only Joseph is represented by Ephraim, the object of the election of grace, and by the half-tribe of Manasseh, which excludes the order according to nature, the other half-tribe having remained beyond the Jordan. Simeon, who according to natural order should be in second place (Josh. 19:1) does not take his place until the spiritual order (Josh. 15-18) is exhausted, so to speak. Dan (Josh. 19:40) occupies the last place.
Q. 1 Chron. 2:1-2
Already cited at the beginning of this chapter of these Meditations. Instead of order, there is apparent disorder, all being equally the objects of the purposes of God in grace.
R. 1 Chronicles. 2:3-8:34—The genealogical order of the tribes in relation to the kingship
The kingship is established according to God's counsels, the character which it always bears in Chronicles. Judah, from whom comes the Lawgiver, is presented first. But Judah is chosen by pure grace; his history teaches us this here. His wife, a Canaanite, gives him a first-born, Er, whom the Lord slew on account of his wickedness. Thus, just as in 1 Chron. 1, we find the natural man here first, the man whose whole history begins with the fall and judgment. Nonetheless, God gives Judah the preeminence because according to His counsels the Prince is to come forth from him (1 Chron. 5:2), and not for any other reason. Also from the beginning of this chapter we see Judah's posterity traced down to David, the Beloved (1 Chron. 2:13-17). In the enumeration of the other tribes, Levi occupies an important place (1 Chron. 6) on account of the major and indispensable role given him under the kingship for the worship and the service of the temple.
Reuben, the firstborn, has lost all preponderance, not only because this is given to the royal tribe of Judah, but also on account of his sin (1 Chron. 5:1-2) which relegates him to a place even after that of Simeon, his brother (1 Chron. 4:24). Besides, we are told that Joseph had the birthright, except for Judah's right to the kingship (1 Chron. 5:2). It was becoming that he who had been rejected by his brethren should have the first place as head of the family of Israel. The tribes of Dan and Issachar are passed over in silence. This latter feature shows us that in Chronicles we are dealing with an incomplete and even fragmentary genealogical order. 1 Chron. 2 demonstrates this in more than one place.
S. 1 Chronicles. 12:23-27—The order according to which the tribes come to submit themselves to King David
This doubtless depends in part upon their distance and the difficulty or ease of their journey to come to David at Hebron. Thus it is that the two and a half tribes beyond Jordan arrive last. However, Judah, the royal tribe, comes first. followed by Simeon and Levi who in large part depend upon him, and Benjamin, inseparable from Judah and Jerusalem. Benjamin is mentioned three times in this chapter.
T. 1 Chronicles. 27:16-22—Order of the tribes according to their princes
Here again, the order in which the tribes are mentioned is different from the others. Aaron, the high priest, occupies a place apart in the tribe of Levi and Zadok is the prince of the priesthood. He is "the one who shall walk before [Jehovah's] Anointed" forever and who exercises the priesthood, not only during Solomon's reign, but also during Christ's millennial reign. Joseph, type of the rejected suffering Son, has three princes: one for the tribe of Ephraim, one for each of the half-tribes of Manasseh. Dan comes last for the above-mentioned prophetic reason about the millennial reign. Gad and Asher are missing. Their omission seems to be explained by 1 Chron. 27:23-24. There we see that David's thought at the time of his failure was to number Israel, not only the men of war, but also all the people from the age of twenty years and under. Thereafter he does so no more, for his past action was, perhaps without his realizing it, an act of rebellion against the Lord; something all the more serious since all his life long he was able to experience that his only safeguard was to trust in the Lord. This time he does not number the people "for Jehovah had said He would increase Israel as the stars of heaven" (1 Chron. 27:23). He even sets Gad and Asher completely aside, just as Joab was once unwilling to number Levi and Benjamin.
U. Revelation. 7—Order of the tribes sealed by grace
In this prophetic and symbolic picture every distinction is effaced except that Judah occupies the first place, for in Revelation it is a matter of God's government and of Christ's millennial reign. Here we no longer find the half-tribes of Manasseh. Levi is sealed like the other tribes. Joseph replaces Ephraim. Dan is entirely omitted ¾ he is judged according to Jacob's prophecy; the Antichrist and his people, represented by Dan, cannot be sealed.
V. Ezekiel. 48—Order of the tribes established on the millennial earth
Here the temple and the city, the priests, Levi, and the Prince form the center of the land and their position determines the order of the tribes. The position of the latter starts from both sides of this center northward and southward. It is to be noted that the sons of the legitimate wives are closest to the sanctuary, and those of the maidservants at the most distant extremities. Judah and Benjamin, the "Lawgiver" and the "Son of my right hand," occupy the places closest to the sanctuary, to the north and to the south; because here it is a matter of government, of which they are representatives. There follow on the one side and on the other Reuben and Simeon who thus lose their rights according to nature. Levi belongs in the center: he is connected with the temple, as the "Prince" is with the city. Issachar and Zebulon, sons of Leah, to the south, correspond with Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Rachel, to the north. Ephraim is nearer the sanctuary than Manasseh. Then come the sons of the maidservants. Gad, the son of Zilpah, to the south has, as usual, a place somewhat apart (see F). He corresponds to Naphtali, son of Bilhah, in the north. Dan, the last tribe to the north, as far as possible from the sanctuary, once again occupies the place he has always occupied in the distribution of the land. This is perhaps the reason why Asher who, according to a symmetrical plan should be found after Gad to the south, is added to the north, thus accentuating the distance to which Dan is relegated.
David's Last Instructions
1 Chronicles 28-29