Brief Remarks on Genesis 49, Deuteronomy 33.
In the first of these two portions of scripture we have the general prophetic blessing of Jacob's sons, on which we may say a few words. As the blessings allude to the history of the twelve heads of the nations, so naturally we have the future that awaits the tribes of Israel. But, as this is a matter of tolerably widespread knowledge amongst Christians, there is no need for much to be said about it.
“Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it; he went up to my couch. Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; into their assembly, mine honor, he not thou united; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:3-7).
Reuben is the starting-point, and alas! it is, like man always, corruption. It was the first mark of evil in the creature. The second is no better—rather worse it may be in some respects—violence. Simeon and Levi were remarkable for the latter, as Reuben for the former—a sorrowful vision for Jacob's heart—to feel that this not only had been, but was going to be; for undoubtedly he knew, as he says, that what he then uttered would sweep onward and befall the people “in the last days.” This did not hinder his beginning with the history of Israel from his own days. Corruption and violence, as they had been the two fatal characteristics of his three eldest sons, so would stamp the people in their early history. Israel under law broke the law, and was ever leaving Jehovah for Baalim; yet the sons would be no better, rather worse, than the father; but the grace of God would interfere for the generations to come, as it had for their father Jacob, and the last day would be bright for them as in truth for him.
Then Judah comes before us. It might be thought, that surely there will be full blessing now. “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah 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? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the peoples be. Binding 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; his eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk” (vers. 8-12).
Yes, Jacob speaks of Shiloh. But Shiloh was presented to the responsibility of the Jew first; and consequently all seemed to break down, and in one sense all really did. “To him shall the gathering of the peoples be"; and so certainly it will be, but not yet. Shiloh came; but Israel were not ready, and refused Him. Consequently the gathering (or the obedience) of the peoples, however sure, is yet in the future. The counsel of God seemed to be abortive, but was really established in the blood or the cross, which unbelief deems its ruin. It is postponed, not lost.
Zebulon gives us the next picture of the history of Israel. Now that they have had Shiloh presented but have refused Him, the Jews find their comforts in intercourse with the Gentiles. This is what they do now—seeking to make themselves happy, when, if they weigh their own prophets, they must suspect fatal error somewhere in their history. They have lost their Messiah, and they court the world. “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon” (ver 13).
The consequence is that the Jews sink under the burden, falling completely under the influence of the nations. This is shown by Issachar— “a strong ass couching down between two burdens. And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute” (vers. 14, 15).
Then we come to the crisis of sorrows for the Jew. In Dan we hear of that which is far more dreadful than burdens inflicted by the Gentiles, and their own subjection, instead of cleaving to their proper and distinctive hopes. In the case of Dan there is set forth the power of Satan. “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse's heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah” (vers. 16-18). We see here the enemy in the serpent that bites, and the consequent disaster to the horseman. It is the moment of total ruin among the Jews, but exactly the point of change for blessing. It is then accordingly we hear the cry coming forth— “I have waited for thy salvation, O Jehovah.” It is the sudden change from the energy of Satan to the heart looking up and out to Jehovah Himself.
From that point all is changed. “Gad, a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the last” (ver. 19). Now we have victory on the side of Israel.
This is not all. There is abundance too. “Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties” (ver. 20).
Again, there will be liberty unknown under law —impossible when merely dealt with under the governing hand of God because of their faults. “Naphtali is a hind let loose; he giveth goodly words” (ver. 21). What a difference from him who was bearing like an ass two burdens! But more than that, we have Joseph. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the bands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel), 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, 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. Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil” (vers. 22-27). Here then, we have the glory in connection with Israel; and finally power in the earth: Joseph and Benjamin are now, as it were, found together. What was realized in the facts of the history at last terminates in the blessedness—the predicted blessedness—of Israel. “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.” In Deut. 33 the blessing is altogether in reference to the land which the people were on the point of entering. This is perhaps the chief difference as compared with Jacob's blessing. In the latter case notice was taken of the tribes from the beginning of their history to the end, and apart from their possessing the land or not; whereas the blessing that Moses pronounces here is in the strictest subordination to the great object of Deuteronomy. From first to last the point of the book is God's bringing His people into the land, and putting them into a relationship as immediate with Himself as was consistent with “the first man.” This we have systematically and always; so the blessing here is suitable to it. Moses does not therefore show us historically the course of things as when Jacob prophesied, but a more specific benediction of the people in view of their place in relation to Jehovah in the land.
“And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said...” “Let Reuben live and not die, and his men be few'' (vers. 1, 6).
The next, though a singular choice in appearance, is ordered in divine wisdom, was to bring forward that tribe which would take the place of Reuben, politically soon, but eventually according to the counsels of God. For of Judah Christ was to be born after the flesh. “And this is for Judah; and he said, Hear, O Jehovah, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people; let his hands be numerous for him, and be thou an help from his adversaries” (ver. 7). We know that the Jews have long had a separate place; but the day is coming when Judah and Israel shall be joined in one people according to the expressive symbol of Ezekiel, which may illustrate the language of Moses.
His own tribe has then his blessing. “And of Levi he said, Thy Thummim and thy Urim are for thy holy [i.e., pious] one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; who said of his father and of his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor know his own children; for they kept thy word, and guarded thy covenant. They shall teach thy judgments to Jacob, and thy law to Israel; they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt-offering upon thine altar. Bless Jehovah, his force, and accept the work of his hands; strike through the loins of those that rise up against him, and of those that hate him, that they rise not again” (vers. 8-11). Thus, if Simeon disappear, Levi gains a good degree by fidelity at the severest crisis in the desert history of Israel.
The blessing of Benjamin alludes to Jehovah's dwelling there; for Jerusalem was within the limits of that tribe which Judah just skirted. “Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell in safety by him; he shall harbor him all the day, and he shall dwell between his shoulders” (ver. 12). Joseph has his full twofold portion in the land. “And of Joseph he said, Blessed of Jehovah be his land for the precious things of the heavens, for the dew and for the deep couching beneath, and for the precious things brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things driven out by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, and the good pleasure of him that dwelt in the bush; let it come on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. The firstborn of his herd is honor to him, and his horns the horns of a buffalo; with them he shall push peoples together to the ends of the earth; and they are the myriads of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh” (vers. 13-17). Zebulun's blessing is rather without, Issachar's within. “And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. They shall call the peoples to the mountain; there they shall sacrifice sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck the abundance of the seas, even treasures hidden in the sand” (vers. 18, 19). Gad's haste to get rich appears, though he shared the trials of the people. “And of Gad he said, Blessed is he that enlargeth Gad; he dwelleth as a lioness, and teareth the arm, also the crown of the head. And he provideth the first part for himself, for there is the portion covered by the lawgiver; and he came with the heads of the people; he did the righteousness of Jehovah, and his judgments with Israel” (vers. 20, 21). Dan's warlike impetuosity is noted; Naphtali's peaceful satisfaction with his portion! and Asher's acceptance among his brethren, and abundant resources and vigor. “And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp; he shall leap from Bashan. And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with good will, and full of the blessing of Jehovah, possess thou the west and the south. And of Asher he said, Asher, blessed among sons, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and dip his foot in oil; thy shoes iron and copper; and thy strength as thy days” (vers. 22-25). W.K.