Job had once said, "Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? Does not the ear test words and the mouth taste its food? Wisdom is with aged men, and with length of days, understanding." (Job 12:9-12) That definitely described Jacob. ...the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years. (Genesis 47:28) God had blessed him with long life and wisdom, which he would share with his twelve sons regarding their futures and the futures of their descendants.
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it— he went up to my couch. (Genesis 49:3-4) We mentioned it repeatedly throughout the study of Jacob and his sons, that Reuben lost his firstborn and oldest sons birthrights because he went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. (Genesis 35:22) Even though his father allowed him to stay with his family, Reuben and his descendants would have to deal with the consequences of his actions, which was that he would lose his inheritance of land in the promised land.
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. Let not my soul enter their council; let not my honor be united to their assembly; for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. (Genesis 49:5-7) Remember when their sister, Dinah was raped by the prince of the land, but he really did love her, so he and his father came to Jacob to ask if he could have her as his wife, and he was willing to do anything they asked. (Genesis 34)
Jacob's sons said, But on this condition we will consent to you: If you will become as we are, if every male of you is circumcised,... (Genesis 34:15) After the prince Shechem and his father, Hamor convinced all the men in the land to get circumcised, so that Jacob's sons and daughters would marry their sons and daughters, it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males. And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and plundered the city, because their sister had been defiled. They took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, what was in the city and what was in the field, and all their wealth. All their little ones and their wives they took captive; and they plundered even all that was in the houses. (Genesis 34:25-29)
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I.” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a harlot?” (Genesis 34:30-31) Even though they felt justified for doing what they did, Jacob understood that “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30) During that time, it would have been better for Dinah to become the wife of the man who had raped her than to have been defiled and not be able to become anyone's wife afterwards, especially since the man did love her. We should notice that Dinah nor any other daughters Jacob may have had received any blessing of an inheritance.
Reuben and Simeon didn't just lose their inheritance as the oldest sons in the promised land, but Jacob gave it to Joseph's sons previously when he said, ...your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours;... (Genesis 48:5-6) Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.” (Genesis 48:21-22)
“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. (Genesis 49:8-12)
Jacob spoke this prophecy about the coming of Shiloh, meaning the Messiah. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah,... (Hebrews 7:14) Christ Jesus would be a descendant of Judah. (read "The Genealogy of Jesus, the Christ") Judah's descendants received the blessing that the oldest sons should have received, but Reuben, Simeon and Levi could not because of what they had done. Even when Jacob had sent his sons to Egypt to buy grain when the famine had started, he would not trust to send Benjamin with Reuben to see Joseph (Genesis 42:37-38), but finally agreed when Judah asked. (Genesis 43:1-14)
“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall adjoin Sidon. (Genesis 49:13) “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens; he saw that rest was good, and that the land was pleasant; he bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, and became a band of slaves. (Genesis 49:14-15) “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider shall fall backward. I have waited for your salvation, O Lord! (Genesis 49:16-17) “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, but he shall triumph at last. (Genesis 49:19) “Bread from Asher shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties. (Genesis 49:20) “Naphtali is a deer let loose; he uses beautiful words. (Genesis 49:21) “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” (Genesis 49:27) We will study more about these sons descendants when we study about the children of Israel in future lessons.
“Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), by the God of your father who will help you, and by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers. (Genesis 49:22-26) God had and would continue to bless Joseph and his descendants, even after leaving Egypt and returning to the promised land of Canaan.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing. (Genesis 49:28)
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