Blessings Suitable for Him
Photo by Caley Dimmock on Unsplash
Don’t you wish you could know the future? I think all of us if given the chance would love even a glimpse or a hint of what is to come in our lives. But as many popular stories tell us, how that future gets to us is often very confusing.
Israel is about to die, but before he does, he is going to place his blessing on all of his sons. The last verse of our passage is going to reiterate that each blessing is “suitable” for each one, and we are going to see how that plays out for many of them here this morning. We will see that some of them, like Reuben, are getting “blessings” that are a result of what they have done. Some are getting blessings seemingly despite what they’ve done, like Judah. Others get blessings, but seemingly not the right ones, like Joseph. What are we to make of these things, how did they play out in history, and what does this mean for us today? We will tackle those questions as we look at our main point today: God’s blessings are suitable yet still need to be trusted.
God’s blessings are suitable yet still need to be trusted.
Looking at the order, there is something odd in how they are listed. They are mostly in birth order (except for Zebulun and Issachar), in starting with the sons of Leah, then moving to the sons of the concubines, starting with Rachels, then finishing with Rachel’s sons. No one is left out among the sons. It is true that Dinah isn’t included here, but that is because only sons could inherit. Anyone that has come from Israel’s seed is given a blessing here instead of just one son.
Now, that being said, not everyone is getting the same blessing. It appears that some are not getting the blessings that you would want because of their actions, specifically Reuben through Levi. That doesn’t mean things are unfair here. I’m reminded of a quote from RC Sproul who said something to the effect that, in our dealings with God everyone gets either mercy or justice. No one gets injustice. Even in the categories of justice amongst these sons, no one is getting tossed out of the family. Everyone is going to have a place in the land. Just not everyone is going to get the same amount of blessing while there.
That is true for us as well. Not every Christian is blessed in the same way. We don’t all have the same marriages, the same health status, the same amount of money, or really anything that is exactly the same. Some of those circumstance are purely by grace. Others of those circumstances are the results of decisions made, good or bad. Following after Christ does not eliminate consequences of decisions in the past or in the future. Being a Christian doesn’t put life in easy mode or give a license to disobey God’s commands. At the same time, being obedient to Jesus doesn’t obligate Him to give you the life you want. Look at the life of Job. He lived, according to God’s perspective, a righteous life! Yet, he was subject to horrible circumstances for reasons known only to God. Part of that suffering was to relieve the suffering of millions who have read the account of Job. And here in this passage, we are given a warning that our actions can have consequences that can impact generations.
Let’s look at Reuben as an example of this. Reuben’s sin in sleeping with his father’s concubine (a play for power in the family) is not forgotten when we get to this point. He was supposed to be the first born, the one who gets a double portion! But here, it is hinted that he has lost that portion, a hint confirmed by 1 Chronicles 5:1 “The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son;”
Simeon and Levi are another example. They are said to be scattered because of their actions. Simeon’s tribe will be small, and live in the desert, however the tribe of Levi is going to become the assistants in the temple because of their later obedience, even if they don’t get a specific portion of land in the nation of Israel (Belcher).
On the other end of the spectrum is Judah. Now, we remember Judah. Here lately he has been a star. He is the one who convinces Jacob to let Benjamin go down to Egypt so they wouldn’t starve. He is the one who is willing to sacrifice his life for his brothers in Egypt. He is the one who leads the way in restoring Jacob and Joseph together! But has everyone forgotten who’s idea it was to sell Joseph in the first place? Was it not Reuben who tried to rescue Joseph at the beginning? Was it not Judah who left the family, had three sons with a Canaanite, and accidentally slept with his daughter in law? Where’s all this, “Your descendants are going to rule over everyone else” coming from?
Grace. That’s where it is coming from. Judah is being shown grace here. Why? Not stated. While Reuben’s actions are cited as to why he isn’t being blessed, Judah’s actions are no where to be found. The text doesn’t say, “Because you have acted kingly, your descendants will be kings.” We assume that this is the reason, but God doesn’t tell us why. Judah cannot claim the throne on his own.
Zebulon and Issachar aren’t given a lot of fanfare. One gets access to the coast, and the other ends up under slavery in a pleasant land, and that’s exactly what we see later (Belcher).
One scholar had something interesting to say about Dan. He is said to judge the people and be compared to a snake, an animal known for being solo, not traveling in a pack. Ultimately, Samson comes from this line, the judge who acts alone and judges his people (Belcher)!
The next three are given much shorter blessings. Gad will get raided but will fight back, as they later do. Asher does in fact end up in a very fruitful area of the land, and Naphtali will get lots of space to roam around in like a deer (Blecher).
And now we get to Joseph, and it would seem at first that he should be getting the blessing of ruling! If there was anyone who could claim the throne it would be Joseph! He wasn’t just acting kingly, for all intents and purposes, he was! He has wisely administrated every single thing he was ever put in charge of. He would report on his brothers, he would run Potifer’s house like never before, goodness! he even ran the prison well, while being a prisoner! Do I even have to mention what he has done for the entire nation of Egypt and by extension the rest of the world? Yet all of that was grace as well, and Joseph told us as much when he stood before Pharaoh all those years ago.
Yet, it is not as if Joseph is getting nothing, He gets a lot here, and through his two sons, he is getting a double portion. We saw last week how both Manasseh and Ephraim will be great people, and Ephraim most of all. He will become practically synonymous with Israel, to the point that when God will speak of Israel, He can use that name. Hosea 5:3–4 “I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.” Yet, the Lord has compassion, for later in that same book Hosea 11:8–9 “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my burning anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.”
Joseph will have his portion, but it is all of grace.
But I mentioned there some hints of judgment to come. How does that square with these blessings? All of these promises that God makes look like they are going to fail at some point (sometimes multiple points) in redemptive history. Almost every time you think you know what God is doing and where He’s going with this, you’re wrong.
Let’s just take Judah’s promise. Here he is told that his descendants are going to rule. You know what happens for 400 years after that? Slavery. I wonder how that tribe felt about bringing up those promises during the slave years? Ok, Moses is coming! He is going to lead the people out! What a leader! There’s a son of Judah if I ever saw one! What? He’s from the tribe of Levi (Exodus 2:1)! What about Joshua? Ephraim (Numbers 13:8). Line of Joseph. We got Achen coming from the line of Judah, but his claim to fame was when he disobeyed God after Jericho, brought trouble on the whole nation, and execution site set up as a warning for future generations (Joshua 7)! Ok, let’s skip to when the nation is finally organized. Who is the first king? Saul. Tribe? Benjamin. Benjamin?! That’s not how it is supposed to work! Yes, things finally improve under David, also from the line of Judah, and his son Solomon in which the wealth and prosperity of united Israel lasts for all of eighty years total before the nation is split after Solomon, leading Jereboam (from the tribe of Ephraim) to lead ten of the tribes under him! Judah is the smaller one! Yes, Israel finally gets conquered by the Assyrians for their apostasy, but Judah itself is conquered by the Babylonians for the same sins! Even when we get to the time of Christ, the tribes are united but ruled by the Romans, ultimately, and ruled locally in Jerusalem by a descendant…of Esau!
Except for a few bright spots along the way, if you were to flip through the Old Testament and put your finger down, it looks like the promises of God aren’t doing so well. We can either say that Joseph is a better administrator than God, or we can relook at those promises. Ultimately, this promise of an eternal Kingship is pointing to Jesus. Even then, for most of His life, He was a carpenter! Yes, He starts healing people and multiplying food, but He ends up being executed on a cross! The most shameful way to die reserved for prisoners and enemies of state! But then He rises from the dead! Does He establish His kingdom then? Nope! He ascends into heaven and commissions fishermen to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, and we could go on and on.
God’s ways are unexpected even when He tells you what He is doing. We never look to our present circumstances to determine God’s faithfulness to us. If you do, you will most likely be either delighted or despairing. Instead, look not to the present but the Person for your confidence. We trust in who is helping not what is happening on any given day. We trust in the character and nature of God, who we can see is faithful to His people down through the ages. He is worthy of trust.