20261011 Genesis 48:1-49:28 May the Lord Bless You

What does it mean to bless? When someone sneezes and you say, “Bless you,” or “God bless you,” what do you mean? Is it just an empty statement, or do you want something for that person? Do you wish them good health, abundance, comfort, and wealth? Why not?

My theory is that the biblically, blessing is what God offered in Eden. The Eden life is a blessed life. Pronouncing a blessing is the expression of a desire for Eden Life for a person. God's blessing to humanity in Genesis 1 was, "Be fruitful and multiply and rule or manage Edenic life!”

The Edenic blessings are what every human heart longs for. We want a world of abundance where we enjoy without overindulging. We long for intimate knowledge with no shame. We seek delight and beauty. Eden life is spiritual peace with God. It is personal peace within. It is relational peace with one another. It is cosmic peace with our environment or culture and the world around.

A blessing is the expression of a desire to see God offer and multiply Eden life in and through a person, that there would be more delight in God, more inner peace, more healthy relationships, more enjoyment of God’s gifts in creation. In a world of sin, a blessing is an expression of hope in God's redemption and in the New Creation. When God blesses, he offers this kind of life or he commits to work in someone to bring about this kind of life. When we bless, we express a longing that God would bless. More than this if we are sincere in our blessing, we commit to promoting Eden Life in the one we bless. Every time someone sneezes and you say, “Bless you!” may they not be empty words. Feel the weight of what you are saying!

In Genesis 48-49, Jacob words to his children are called blessings in Gen 49:28, even though they include curses, rebukes, and judgments. Jacob’s words are also prophetic and will come to pass in the life of the twelve tribes. We will see that these chapters fit in the framework of Edenic blessings. These closing blessings echo the opening blessings of Genesis 1-2. The blessing-bookends of the book of Genesis remind us of one of the book’s central themes. God will bless the world. The repeated theme of blessing in Genesis makes God's intent on blessing unmistakable. God will restore the world. As the blessing theme develops, the blessing grows in specificity. Gen 48-49 offer the clearest picture yet of how God will save the world and re-establish Eden on Earth.

Genesis 48-49 teaches how God will bless the world, through Israel and a Messianic King from the line of Judah who will rule like Joseph. We will look at (1) God’s blessings for the Nations, (2) God’s Blessing through Israel, (3) God’s blessing through a King of the line of Judah who rules like Joseph.

First, in Genesis 48, we see God’s Blessing for the Nations through Ephraim’s Blessing

Jacob’s blessing of his two grandsons in Genesis 48 reveals God’s blessing for the nations.

Genesis 48

The Adoption of the Nations

God’s plan is to bless the whole world. He is going to do it through the family of Jacob. Something incredible happens in Genesis 48. In a small way, Jacob brings the nations into Israel.

In Gen 48:3-4, Jacob remembers God’s promise to make him, “a company of peoples.” Then, in Gen 48:5, he adopts Joseph’s half-Egyptian children to inherit God’s blessing along with his children. Two of the half tribes of Israel, are half Egyptian. That is the equivalent of a whole tribe of Israel.

This inclusion of Egypt anticipates the prophetic words of Isa 19:16-25, “21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. …24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.”

The Blessing of the Nations

In Gen 48:9, Jacob tells Joseph that he wants to bless his two adopted sons. This means that through his two sons, Joseph receives a double portion of blessing. According to Gen 48:10, Jacob has become like his father Isaac. His eyes were dim (Gen 48:10//27:1) and he declares the younger to be greater than the older.[i] Jacob declares this blessing – “let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” “v.19 his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall fill the nations.” Joseph is exalted in such a way, that according to Gen 48:20, “Israel will pronounce blessings, saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh.”

This blessing of two half-Egyptian boys will play a role in the future blessing of the Nations. First, Ephraim will become the dominant tribe of the Northern Kingdom. He will be the most numerous tribe (Josh 17:14-18). Kings will come from both Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim will be so dominant, that “Ephraim” becomes synonymous with “Israel” or “the Northern Kingdom.”

The second way, Jacob’s blessing plays out is that Ephraim will fill the nations. Part of God’s judgment of sinful Israel is that he scatters them among the nations (Am 9:9). The scattering among the nations is a form of punishment but it is also a means of salvation for the nations. After the scattering of Ephraim among the nations, Ezekiel has the famous vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. Ezek 37:15-28 is about a vision of two sticks. One represents Judah and the other Joseph or Ephraim among the nations. The prophecy is that following the scattering among the nations, the two will one day become one again under the Messianic King. In the NT, the two becoming one in Christ refers to the Gentiles’ inclusion in the church (Eph 2:11-14). While Ezekiel says of the northern and southern kingdom in Ezek 37:22: “they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms,” Paul writes of Gentiles and Jews, in Eph 2:14 “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” It is like the arc of Ephraim’s story for God’s blessing of the nations was – God made them numerous. He scattered to punish them. In their scattering they assimilated to the Gentiles. Then as he restored them in Christ, they drew the Gentiles in with them to know Christ.

Application

So, what does Jacob's adoption of Egyptians or even his blessing of Ephraim have to do with us? We who are gentiles are proof that God blesses the world. The Blessing is Eden life in Christ for us who are part of the nations.

Because of sin we are deprived of the Eden life. We are deprived of a relationship with God, of inner peace, of grace-based relationships. We play God and exploit creation rather the being humble stewards. In Christ, the forgiveness of sins reconciles us to God. The forgiveness of sins comforts us and eases our shame. The forgiveness of sins is the basis for forgiving relationships. The forgiveness of sins turns us from exploiters to healthy stewards of the world around us.

This is God’s plan of redemption and God is for the nations. Egypt will one day be called "God's people" and they were the ones who held Israel under slavery. God's blessing for Egypt means God's blessing for all. If we believe in God’s blessings for the nations, Christians don’t have human enemies. We must be a people who loves all kinds of people. We must be a Church that not only announces God's blessing in Christ. We must also work to see God's blessing spread through missions.

As a church, 10% of the money that comes in, goes back out to support financially other Christian works. This is part of how we see God’s blessing of us overflowing to others. Our church supports a church plant in Romania, a French-speaking Christian ministry to university students, we have supported the Interaction Camps and a French language Christian Publishing House to help spread the gospel. An author once wrote, “It was a Jew who brought the Gospel to Rome; a Roman who took it to France; a Frenchman who took it to Scandinavia; a Scotsman who evangelized Ireland; and an Irishman in turn made the missionary conquest of Scotland. No people have ever received the Gospel except at the hands of an alien.”[ii] Many of us are foreigners engaging with foreigners. Our job is to love in Jesus' name with our words and our deeds. We promote Eden life - Peace with God, inner Peace, and relational peace.

Second, in Genesis 49, we see God’s Blessing Through Israel

Genesis 49 are Jacob’s words to his sons. Jacob begins in Gen 49:1 – “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come, or “in the last days.” Jacob’s words and blessings describe some of the history of Israel in Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, and even beyond the Babylonian exile. The big take away is that God works through Israel as a whole, not just the line of Judah, the line of the Messiah.

Genesis 49

The first three sons seem to be cursed rather than blessed. The reasons are for events that occurred in Gen 33-34. Rueben slept with his father’s concubine, and Simeon and Levi were exceedingly violent at Shechem.

Rueben surrendered his first-born right to a double portion of the blessing. In the whole OT, there is no major leader, king, or Judge from the line of Rueben. Simeon and Levi are scattered in Israel. Simeon will be absorbed in Judah's territory, while the Levites will serve as Priests in all the land.

Issachar, will enjoy a good land but will be frequently invaded.

Dan and Gad will also both have to fight against their enemies.[iii]

Asher is connected to royal delicacies, a word formed on the Hebrew Word, “Eden.” Asher will be famous for abundant olive oil (Deut 33:24). Naphtali will be blessed with strong warriors that help promote peace (Judge 4-5).

Then Joseph like Judah stands out with a longer blessing. Joseph's blessing anticipates Ephraim being the strongest tribe and the dominant tribe of the Northern Kingdom.

Finally, Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. The tribe of Benjamin will be renowned for fierce military skill (Jud 20:16; 1 Sam 9).

Application

I have to confess that before taking more time to study Genesis 49, I just cared about Jacob's words to Judah. I saw Gen 49 as the chapter that contains one of the greatest Messianic prophecies. I have neglected the rest.

The blessing to the other tribes have a lot of value for us in the church. The Messiah does not just fulfill God’s blessing to Judah. The Messiah is like a diamond who embodies Israel in her fullness. The Messiah will be a King like David from the line of Judah. Jesus also takes on the priestly role of Levi. He is part of blessing the nations that happens through Ephraim. The Nation of Israel as a whole was chosen to be a Kingdom of Priests. Together, they were to be God’s servant, and God’s agent to announce salvation to the world. The nation as a whole is important, even if the Messiah will come through Judah.

Sometimes in the church we may think in terms of important and not important. We may think of some roles as important and others less so. The truth is that God gives everyone gifts to build his church, so everyone is important. Moses, Aaron, Samuel, and John the Baptist were Levites. Joshua and Deborah were Ephraimite. Samson was from Dan. Gideon was from Manasseh. Anna in Luke 2:36 is from Asher.

We all have a role to play. All of Israel had a role to play for the blessings of the nations, so do we now in the church. For those of us who did not grow up in church, what we remember most about the first time we went to church, is not the sermon, but the person who greeted us and welcomed us. We all have an important role.

Third, in Gen 49:8-12, we see God’s Blessing Through a King from Judah who will rule like Joseph.

Now we focus on Judah’s blessing. Joseph has been the hero of the last section of Genesis. However, Judah has also been significant.

In Genesis 37, Judah schemed to sell Joseph as a slave. Genesis 38 dedicated a whole chapter to Judah's unfaithfulness and deceit. Then, in Genesis 44, Judah offered to be a substitute for Benjamin. This self-sacrifice revealed real change. Now, Gen 49:8-12 sets him apart from his brothers. We will look at Jacob’s blessing to Judah phrase by phrase.

Genesis 49:8-12

Gen 49:8 reads, “Your brothers shall praise you.” This is a play on Judah’s name which means, “Praise”. The next phrase, “Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies” echoes the promise of the Messiah in Gen 3:15 to connect Judah with the savior of the world. The hand on the neck is like a heal on the head. The next phrase, “Your father’s sons shall bow down before you,” should surprise us. In Joseph's dream, the brothers bow down to Joseph. This blessing merges Judah and Joseph to show, the Messiah from the line of Judah will rule like Joseph in Egypt. Like Joseph, the Messiah will be chosen. He will go through a test. He will pass the test, be betrayed, go through a deadly pit, before being exalted to rule and save the world.

Gen 49:9-10 refer to Judah’s might, rule, and judgment over the nations. The blessing for the nations through Abraham will come through a righteous ruler. The lion imagery of Gen 49:9 speaks to this king’s power. In Gen 49:10, the scepter and the ruler’s staff refer to this king’s reign and judgment over the nations. This scepter will not depart from the line of Judah until the Messiah comes.

In Gen 49:11-12, the Messiah’s reign is depicted with Eden language. In Gen 49:11, donkeys are tied to vines. No one does this because a vine is precious and a donkey could ruin it. This picture of tying a donkey to a vine speaks to the abundance in the Messianic Age. The garments are washed in wine would give it a royal purple color. In Gen 49:12, the dark eyes and the white teeth are pictures of health, strength, and wealth.

Combined with Gen 3:15, the promise of the snake crusher, this blessing in Gen 49:8-12 is a foundational Messianic prophetic text. In Num 24, Ballam prophecies in the last days, that one with a royal scepter will come from Jacob. He will crush the heads of Moab. This prophecy has Genesis 3 and 49 language. In Deuteronomy 31-33, Moses also offers a speech of blessings and speaks of the last days. He also includes lion imagery, crushing enemies, but this time God is King. What is attributed to a human Messiah is also attributed to God.[iv] Already in the books of Moses we have this idea of a human/divine King who will come in the last days. Later Messianic prophetic texts build on these previous prophecies. According to Psalm 2:8, the Messiah from the line of Judah will reign over the nation. In Dan 7:13-14, the Son of Man receives authority over all people. Rev 5:5 refers to Jesus as "The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David who purchased men for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation." Isa 63:1-6 borrows the image from Gen 49:8-12 of the garments washed in wine. In this prophetic text, the wine on the garments become the blood of the ungodly, so speaks to the Messiah reign and victory. This picture is repeated in Rev 19:11, 13 where Christ the rider of a white horse is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. This imagery all began in Genesis 49 in anticipation of the reign of the Messiah.

Application

Why is this good news for us? Following sin in Genesis 3, Abraham was the answer. In Abraham, God promised to reverse the consequences of Genesis 3. This occurs through Abraham's offspring. This offspring is the one who crushes the head of the devil. This offspring comes through Isaac, Jacob, and now through Judah. Genesis 49:8-12 teaches us how to respond to Jesus. He is the one who brings Edenic Blessings. He Reigns. He will be victorious over his enemies. He will punish the wicked. In the face of this King's judgment, we must repent from our sins. In face of King Jesus' reign, we must submit and obey his law. In the face of this King's invitation to enjoy Edenic gifts, we enjoy peace with God, inner peace, deep friendships, and live in this world for God’s purposes.

Conclusion

I want to conclude with a geeky insight that yields a lot of devotional dividend. As we end the book of Genesis, we can wonder how the author is trying to tie then end of Genesis to the beginning. I found this insightful.

Genesis begins with, "in the beginning." Now Genesis 49 ends the book by telling us about the last days. The word, "beginning" in Genesis 1:1 is not the most obvious word choice to speak of the beginning. The word the author chooses is often paired with the word, "end." Like "from the beginning to the end" in Deut 11:12. The phrase "In the Beginning, God created the heavens and earth," should lead one to wonder, "what happens at the end?" Gen 49 answers that question. It’s like in English, when we hear, “once upon a time,” we wait for – “and they all lived happily ever after.” So it is with this word for beginning that expects the end.

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and made mankind to rule. Following our sin, we wait for what God will do in the last days. In the beginning God created the Heavens and earth, but in the last days according to Gen 49, the Messiah comes. In the last days, according to Numbers 24, the Messiah Comes. In the last days, according to Deuteronomy 31-31, the Messiah comes and conquers his adversaries, and God will be King. The book of Genesis and the books of Moses are designed to orient the reader to think about the last days and expect the coming of the Messiah to save the world and restore Eden.

Genesis is a Christian book. According to Gen 3:15, an offspring will one day crush the devil. Through this offspring of Abraham, all the families of the earth will be blessed. According to Gen 15:6, the blessing is received by faith apart from works. According to the repeated pattern the savior of the world will be exalted, betrayed by brothers, he will endure a death-like event, before being exalted to bless the world. According to Gen 49, a lion-king from the Tribe of Judah will demonstrate God's saving reign.

The Bible began with blessing, God is continually offering Eden life and a way to enjoy it and multiply it. We see God wants this Eden blessing for the nations, as he works through the nation of Israel, and particularly through the one from the line of Judah who will reign like Joseph.

When someone sneezes, and you say, God bless you, we can do this, knowing that Genesis 49 is fulfilled in Christ for us to enjoy the blessing of Eden life today that we want for all people. By faith in Christ, we enjoy the forgiveness of sin, which leads to peace with God, inner peace, peace with others. This is the blessing we want for the world.

 

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[i] This is the seventh time in Genesis that there is an inversion of the order of blessing. 7th time inversion of order. 1. The land beasts and humans 2. Cain and Abel 3. Japheth,Ham, and Shem 4. Haran, Nahor, and Abram 5. Ishmael and Isaac 6. Esau and Yaaqov 7. Manasseh and Ephrayim

[ii] Tan, P. L. (1996, c1979). Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : A treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers. Garland TX: Bible Communications.

 

[iii] The wording of their blessings echo Gen 3:15, the promise that a descendant of Eve would crush the devil. In between both of their blessings, Gen 49:18 reads ““I wait for your salvation, O Lord.” The blessing to Dan refers to a snake who bites the horse’s heel. The word to Gad in verse 19 also includes fighting that targets the heels. In the ESV, both Dan and Gad are snakelike targeting the heel, but the Hebrew could have been translated to make them like the seed of the woman who uses the heel to crush snake-like enemies. In stead of “Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward” could have been “May there be a judge of the snake on the path.” The same for Gad, instead of “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels”, could be “By he shall raid with his heels.”

[iv] Sailhamer, The Meaning of the Pentateuch, 471.