Genesis 49, Deuteronomy 33
In the remarkable prophecy here uttered (Gen. 49), the dying patriarch and the last of the pilgrim fathers of Israel presents the great moral features of Israel’s history, from the rise in Egypt as a nation till her establishment in millennial glory, under the peaceful and righteous sway of the Messiah. “And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” For the professing church, “the last days” have already set in (2 Tim. 3), and very soon they will arrive for Israel. The figures here used are full of meaning, forcibly presented, and easily read.
Reuben, see a Son
Reuben sets forth the nation as in Exodus 4:22,22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: (Exodus 4:22) “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my Son, even my first-born.” In the Scriptures, “Son” is the expression of dignity, as in Psalm 89:27,27Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. (Psalm 89:27) and this place Israel ought to have occupied amongst the nations — ”the head, and not the tail”; but weakness and utter departure from God characterized that highly-favoured people, and for her sins the crown was plucked from her brow, and the regal power transferred to the Gentile (Dan. 2); henceforth she became the “tail,” and not as she was set to be, the “head,” amongst the peoples of the earth. By-and-bye, however, her sad condition will be reversed, the days of her captivity and mourning will be ended. Judah will acknowledge her offence and national iniquity, and return to the Lord. Then Zion shall become a “praise in all the earth,” served by nations and kingdoms; the Gentiles shall flock to her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising (Isa. 60).
Corruption of the truth, or idolatry, was the special feature of Israel’s early history. Abram, their great and justly celebrated progenitor, was an idolater in the land of Mesopotamia when called out by the God of glory (Josh. 24:22And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods. (Joshua 24:2)); and the people whose chief boast it was that they had Abram to their father (John 8:33,39,5333They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? (John 8:33)
39They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. (John 8:39)
53Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? (John 8:53)), were not a whit behind: for in Egypt, before their redemption, they had actually forgotten the name of their father’s God (Ex. 3:1313And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? (Exodus 3:13)); and even after their deliverance they carried out with them the gods of the country, Moloch and Remphan (Acts 7:4343Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. (Acts 7:43)). The “golden calf” too is a standing witness of the love of priest (Aaron) and people for that terrible sin (Ex. 32; Acts 7:40-4140Saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 41And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. (Acts 7:40‑41)). The wonders of Jehovah in Egypt and at the Red Sea; Divine grace and favour in the terrible wilderness; the majesty of God at Sinai; glory filling the land under Solomon; and the historical associations of Bethel, were actually used as occasions and places by the people for indulgence in their national iniquity. For this, God rent the kingdom in two; and for this he sent Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon.
Reuben, the first-born, to whom therefore pertained “a double portion,” besides certain other privileges (Deut. 21:1717But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his. (Deuteronomy 21:17)), was disinherited because of special sin (1 Chron. 5:11Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. (1 Chronicles 5:1)), and royalty conferred upon Judah (1 Chron. 5:1-21Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. 2For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:) (1 Chronicles 5:1‑2)), and priesthood upon Levi (Exodus 32:2626Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. (Exodus 32:26)). How true it is that nature cannot maintain itself in the place of blessing. Every human vessel has leaked and let out the blessing; but what God does, He does perfectly and forever. If grace conferred priesthood upon Levi, it is an everlasting one; and if royalty is transferred to Judah, it too is everlasting.
Simeon and Levi
Here we have other sad phases of Israel’s condition — the union of people (Simeon) and priest (Levi) in cruelty and violence. The craftily planned and cruelly executed murder of the Shechemites (Gen. 34), figures in certain respects that awful scene when priestly craft and human violence compassed the destruction of the blessed Son of God. “The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus” (Matt. 27:2020But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. (Matthew 27:20)). Priests and people were united in that terrible cry, “Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas” (Luke 23:13,1813And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, (Luke 23:13)
18And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Luke 23:18)). In Zech. 12:10-14,10And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (Zechariah 12:10‑14) we have a vivid picture of Israel’s national repentance. The king and the prophet, the priest and the people, are fully represented. David the king and Nathan, the prophet — the reproved and the reprover (2 Sam. 12) — are mourners in common. Levi, the priest and Shimei (or Simeon), the people — brethren united in cruelty — are weeping together, and all look upon Him whom they pierced.
Again we learn the solemn and deeply humbling lesson, that every union (Levi means joined or united) short of what God has formed, will be broken up — ”though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished” (Prov. 11:2121Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. (Proverbs 11:21)). The prediction has been strikingly verified, “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.” Simeon and Levi were punished (and are so still) with a perpetual dispersion among their brethren; they were not only separated as tribes, but Simeon, the least of the tribes who entered Canaan, was incorporated in the tribe and inheritance of Judah (Josh. 19:1-91And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah. 2And they had in their inheritance Beer-sheba, or Sheba, and Moladah, 3And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem, 4And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, 5And Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah, 6And Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages: 7Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: 8And all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. 9Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. (Joshua 19:1‑9)). The Hebrews were accustomed to regard almost all scribes and schoolmasters as Simeonites. Levi, on the other hand, the least of the tribes who left Egypt (Num. 3:3939All that were numbered of the Levites, which Moses and Aaron numbered at the commandment of the Lord, throughout their families, all the males from a month old and upward, were twenty and two thousand. (Numbers 3:39)) were scattered throughout all Israel. Joshua, in dividing the land, “gave none inheritance” to Levi (Josh. 13:1414Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them. (Joshua 13:14)), but set apart for them forty-eight cities, with their suburbs, throughout the country (Josh. 21). Thus the dispersion of this tribe amongst all Israel, although the direct fruit of their own sin, was yet used of God to the blessing and profit of His people, as, thus scattered, they became the religious instructors of the people, and judges in their civil causes and matters. Hence piety and righteousness were in a measure, and for a time at least, preserved in the land through this general dispersion of the Levites (Deut. 17:8-138If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; 9And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment: 10And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: 11According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. 13And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously. (Deuteronomy 17:8‑13); 2 Chron. 19).
Judah
(Gen. 49:8-128Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. 9Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. (Genesis 49:8‑12)).
In this tribe, from whence sprang the Messiah, we have royalty and majesty, making good blessing in Immanuel’s land and amongst Jehovah’s people. The correct reading of and a little explanation may remove the difficulty of some in regard to Genesis 49:1010The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10)―”The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be.” The “sceptre,” or rather “rod,” denotes the tribal character, characteristic of Israel; “Shiloh” signifies rest or peace; “gathering” means obedience; “people” is in the plural, hence it should be peoples, that is, the Gentiles or nations. We might paraphrase the verse thus: — ”The tribal character would not cease from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh, or the Prince of Peace, come, and to Him shall the Gentiles yield obedience.” Israel refused to be gathered in the days of the Messiah’s humiliation (Luke 13:3434O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! (Luke 13:34)), who in grace “came unto His own (things), and His own (people) received Him not” (John 1:1111He came unto his own, and his own received him not. (John 1:11)). But who can frustrate the counsels of God? Delayed they may be until Jehovah gets His people morally ready, but every counsel and purpose of God shall stand. The holy basis on which these counsels of grace and glory rest have been laid in the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus; their fulfilment will be accomplished by the power of God. “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet” (Isa. 28:1717Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. (Isaiah 28:17)); then will be introduced the era of glory, when the hidden thoughts, as well as the revealed counsels, of our God will be made good in power by Israel’s once-rejected Messiah. The latter clause or part of Genesis 49:1010The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10) goes into the millennium, the reference to Christ being distinct and clear. As the “Lion,” His royal power and majesty are set forth (see Rev. 5:55And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5)), also the rest and peace subsequent to the exercise of His power and majesty as “Shiloh.”
Zebulun, dwelling
Idolatry in Reuben is followed by violence and murder in Simeon and Levi, and rejection of the Messiah in Judah. Israel, having refused Christ and killed her Messiah, although God used it as the ground of far deeper and richer blessing to both Jews and Gentiles, is yet scattered world-wide in judgment, accomplished by the Romans in the year 70. The sorrowful thing in this brief and graphic account of Israel’s present condition amongst the nations is, that she is content to dwell amongst the Gentiles for mere money-making and gain; yea, becoming the center and spring of Gentile commercial life and greatness: “he shall be for an haven of ships.” All this has been wonderfully verified in the past and present history of Israel among the Gentiles. Their wealth, commercial importance, shrewdness, and sagacity in business are proverbial. Their political importance, in a monetary point of view, has been admitted and practically recognized by perhaps all European governments; and as their wealth is allowed to accumulate or laid out in movable property, they can always command any amount of ready money. The part of Canaan allotted to this tribe was so situated that she richly benefited by the commerce flowing up the Mediterranean — ”his border shall be unto Zidon” — besides driving a strong inland trade (Josh. 19:10-1610And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid: 11And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam; 12And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia, 13And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah; 14And the border compasseth it on the north side to Hannathon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el: 15And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. 16This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages. (Joshua 19:10‑16)). Zebulun, therefore, true to her derivation, sets forth Israel, after the rejection of her Messiah, dispersed among the Gentiles, dwelling amongst them, and amassing wealth — being also the center of the world’s commerce.
Issachar, hired
These two tribes — Zebulun and Issachar — set forth the present state of Israel from the rejection of the Messiah. Not only have we Israel, the active spring and center of commerce, but in Issachar her degradation is lower still: she is content to be beneath the heel of the Gentile; to bear any burden and pay any tribute, if only allowed to rest in her exile. What forgetfulness of Jehovah and her hopes and glorious destiny! The most peaceable and industrious subjects of any kingdom are the Jews; and yet they have been universally oppressed, pillaged, robbed, and ill-treated. Even in this free country, it is in the recollection of many when certain civil disabilities, resting for centuries upon that people, were abrogated. For nearly 2000 years they have patiently suffered the most unheard of cruelty and oppression. It is doubtful if a clear case can be established of a rising of that much-persecuted people against their Gentile oppressors. In their land they were troublesome enough, and probably cost their Roman masters more treasure and blood to keep them in due subjection than any other of the subject provinces of the empire; but since their exile they have become the least troublesome of any people — paying tribute to any amount if only allowed to dwell quietly. Many an impoverished exchequer has been replenished by the taxes levied upon the Jews. What is here prophesied of these two tribes is fulfilled before our eyes to the very letter.
The following extract shows the position of this tribe in the land; “Issachar stayed at home and attended to husbandry, the taking care of and feeding cattle, in which employment the tribe was most prosperous. Being delighted with the tranquillity of an agricultural life, and content with its fortunes, the tribe was not desirous of enlarging its borders by war, nor of increasing its wealth by the hazardous speculations of commerce, or the toils and dangers of a maritime life. The people of the tribe were willing to give a large portion of the abundant produce of their land, that they might enjoy the remainder free from strife and contention.” In Issachar then we have subjection to the Gentiles, and in Zebulun commerce with them.
Dan, a Judge
Here we have Israel energized by Satan. The ‘Serpent’ is the well-known and familiar expression of satanic power and influence, hence the application is direct and positive to that solemn crisis, yet future in Israel’s history, when the full power of satanic evil will rise to its height in Judea (Matt. 12:4545Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:45)). The nation restored in unbelief will receive “the man of sin,” “whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” A remnant or faithful few in midst of these scenes of abounding iniquity is intimated in Genesis 49:18: “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord.” This rapid transition from Satan and his power, to Jehovah and His salvation is very beautiful. This coming period of Israelitish history is not far distant. Soon the Jewish people will become all-important in a political point of view, as now they are commercially. Satan’s power and diabolic energy will, for a short time, be paramount in the land trod by the feet of the blessed Son of God, afterward, Jehovah’s salvation will be known in Zion, for it is written: “Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted” (Isa. 49:1313Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13)). It is a generally accepted tradition among the Jewish doctors that the “Antichrist to come” will be of this tribe. Certain it is that idolatry — Satan’s master-piece — was introduced into Israel by Dan, and further, that in the city of Dan, Jeroboam set up one of his golden calves (1 Kings 12:2929And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. (1 Kings 12:29)). The tribes of Dan and Ephraim, both notoriously guilty of idolatry, are omitted in the enumeration of the tribes sealed in Revelation 7, but both are remembered in the future millennial settlement of the land — Dan being first named (Ezek. 48).
Gad, a troop
“Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.” Here the Jewish remnant in “the day of Jacob’s trouble” come publicly into view. Many of these Jewish confessors will swell the noble army of martyrs (Rev. 15): others will have to flee for their lives (Matt. 24:1616Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: (Matthew 24:16)), for there “shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be” (Mark 13:1919For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. (Mark 13:19)). The blood of these beloved Jewish saints will be shed as water in the streets and environs of Jerusalem (Psa. 79:1-31<<A Psalm of Asaph.>> O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. 2The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. 3Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them. (Psalm 79:1‑3)) — the remnant will be “overcome.” But the victory of the enemy is not final, and his triumphing is but short-lived, for after the divinely appointed period of distress, which God will shorten for the preserving of life (Matt. 24:2222And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:22)), victory will be claimed by the remnant of Judah, and a remnant will emerge out of “the great tribulation” conquerors at last.
The exposed position of this tribe brought them at one time into thorough subjection to their enemies for eighteen years (Judg. 10:88And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. (Judges 10:8)). Historically, the Gadites were overcome by bands or troops of robbers, but the tribe “overcame” at last, as Judges 11 shows.
Asher, blessed
“Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.” After the latter-day conflicts are over, the earth shall yield its rich and abundant increase to victorious and blessed Israel; even the tops of the mountains, where vegetation is almost unknown, shall be covered with fruit both rich and abundant (Psa. 72). “And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine (‘bread’ and ‘dainties’) and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel,” i.e. restored and happy Israel (Hos. 2:21-2221And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; 22And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel. (Hosea 2:21‑22)).
Naphtali, wrestling
“Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.” In Gad we have victory; in Asher fruitfulness; while in Naphtali we have liberty. Israel from the time she bartered the liberty of grace in which she stood before God as a redeemed people, for the acceptance of law as the ground of her blessing (Ex. 19:88And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord. (Exodus 19:8)), came under a yoke of bondage which neither they nor their fathers were able to bear. Ere the law was given, they were sinners, under it they became transgressors, and by the gospel, they are proved to be enemies of God and of Christ. Israel’s indictment was proclaimed by Stephen, and written out by Luke in Acts 7:51-5351Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. (Acts 7:51‑53). The testimony of the Holy Spirit resisted; the prophets persecuted and slain; the just One betrayed and murdered; and the law, although received by the ministry of angels, broken. What a solemn charge! When restored to their land, effected by the powerful aid of a certain maritime people (Isa. 18), they will suffer under the righteous government of God. Stephen’s charge against them will again be preferred, and God will demand an answer. “His blood be on us, and on our children” was the cry of all the people, and so God will answer the cry in the coming crisis of woe. But the blood of their Messiah, so cruelly and wantonly shed, was the blood of atonement on God’s part, and so the very sin of shedding it will be wiped out, and they shall look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn (Zech. 12:10-1410And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 11In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. 12And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; 14All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (Zechariah 12:10‑14)); then will have arrived the true day of atonement for Israel; then will the people pass into the blessed liberty of grace. “Naphtali is a hind let loose,” is the striking figure employed by the Holy Spirit to set forth Israel’s deliverance and liberty when under the terms of the new covenant, the old being superseded and set aside forever (Jer. 31:31-3431Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: 33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:31‑34)). Saved and liberated, Israel will then sing her songs and celebrate the works and ways of Jehovah; “he giveth goodly words.”
Joseph, God shall add
(Gen. 49:22-2622Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24But 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:) 25Even 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: 26The 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. (Genesis 49:22‑26)).
Christ is here seen (for Joseph is the most perfect type of the Lord in the pages of the Old Testament) the heir of all things, the center of all blessing, heavenly and earthly, with power to hold the blessing forever. He is strengthened by the “mighty God of Jacob,” that is, He will take all and hold all for the glory of His people — Israel. Christ personally will uphold the glory and blessing of millennial days, as it was prophetically announced, “they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.” Thus the glory and blessedness are taken and held in connection with, and on behalf of, Israel.
Benjamin, son of the right hand
Here again we have Christ personally, but as victorious on Israel’s behalf. Glory is witnessed in Joseph, power in Benjamin, but both center in Christ. Thus the history (Gen. 43) and the prophecy correspond. Joseph (Christ glorified) cannot make himself known to his brethren till Benjamin (Christ in power) be brought to him. As the two brothers were associated, so we have the union of glory and power, in order to secure the blessing of Israel on earth. It is Christ glorified in whom we find our deepest, richest blessings. We are blest now with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Eph. 1:3-53Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (Ephesians 1:3‑5)), but the Jew will be blest on the earth; hence power will be needed to clear the scene of evil, and thus we get the union of Joseph and Benjamin — glory and power — in connection with Israel and earthly blessing.
Brief Summary
Past History of the Nation.
Reuben The early history of the nation, exhibiting instability and idolatry.
Simeon and Levi People and priest united in cruelty and wickedness.
Judah Royalty and majesty established in Christ.
Present History of the Nation.
Zebulun Israel the center of commerce in the world.
Issachar Israel content to pay tribute, and in subjection to the Gentiles.
Future History of the Nation.
Dan The power and energy of Satan, and the cry of the remnant in the coming crisis.
Gad The remnant “overcome” in the tribulation, but at last “over-comers.”
Asher The earth yielding its increase to victorious Israel.
Naphtali The liberty of grace enjoyed and victory celebrated.
Joseph and Benjamin Personal types of the Lord in glory and power united for Israel.