Jacob's body is doomed to decline, but his spirituality is getting stronger and stronger. He worships God infinitely, worships God at the bedside with a stick, and points to his children and grandchildren to show them what will happen in the future.
Blessed are the descendants of Israel, because they can learn true piety from Jacob and hear the wise words of God from Jacob.
In chapter 48, section 1, Yue Se was told that your father was ill.
In the original Bible, this means that Jacob's health is worse than before, not that he is seriously ill.
Jacob, Isaac, his father, and Abraham, their ancestor, were all specially protected by God, and they were not seriously ill until their death.
Before we explain Jacob's prediction for future generations, we should pay attention to several details in this passage shared today.
1. In Genesis chapter 48, section 3, Jacob said to Yue Se that Almighty God appeared to me in Lu Si in the land of Canaan, referring to what happened in Genesis chapter 35. To view it, please click the corresponding link at the bottom of the article.
2. In Chapter 48, verses 5-6, many people will think that Jacob's expression is not smooth. Jacob actually said to Yue Se:
The sons of Yue Se, Ephraim and Manasseh, will surpass their brothers of the same age, and they will share the inheritance with their parents.
3. In Genesis chapter 48, section 1 1, Jacob said: I didn't expect to see your face, but God made me see your son.
He has lived in Egypt for 17 years, so he can't have never seen Yue Se's children. In fact, this poem means:
Unexpectedly, God was very kind to me and allowed me to see my grandchildren-Ephraim and Manasseh-before I died.
4. Manasseh is the eldest son and Ephraim is the second. It stands to reason that the eldest son has more blessings and greater glory. But Jacob is more likely to give up these stubborn ideas. Because he himself is the second son, but God surpassed his brother Esau and chose Jacob to inherit the promise of glory.
Jacob knew that God's grace was often inconsistent with common sense.
Grace is the so-called grace. Grace often makes self-righteous people get nothing, but makes people who feel that they don't deserve anything get God's blessing.
Although Yue Se carefully prepared two sons and placed the eldest son at the right hand of his father Jacob, Jacob made a blessing according to the will of God and the touch of the Holy Spirit.
5. Gen 48: 20 The Israelites will bless you and say, May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh. This has become a common saying in Israel, and it is often used to bless others.
It means: although you are not the eldest son, you should surpass your brothers; Moreover, your brothers will get the same blessings and enjoy the same glory as their parents.
6. The most difficult thing to understand in the whole chapter 48 is section 22. Jacob said to Yue Se, "I have given you all the land I took from the Amorites with my bow and sword, so you can get one more point than all your brothers.
When did Jacob fight for a piece of land?
We only remember that when he came back from Bataan Aram, he bought a piece of land outside Shechem with money. Jacob has never fought in his life. Why did he and I take that land from the Amorites with bows and knives? ...
The biggest obstacle to understanding this passage is the word "once upon a time", which is a serious mistake in the translation of the combined Bible.
In the original Bible, the word is "future perfect tense", not "past perfect tense".
In other words, verse 22 is a prophecy made by Jacob, which means that the land he once bought in Shechem will be taken back from the Canaanites by the Israelites in the future, and the land will belong to Yue Se.
He compared himself to Israel and regarded the war that Israel would fight in the future as his own business. The fulfillment of this prophecy is recorded in Joshua 24: 32.
Now let's look at Jacob's prediction of his 12 sons before his death.
1. About his eldest son Reuben, he said: If you indulge your lust and boil like water, you won't be in the first place.
Some people will say: What a pity. If Liu hadn't committed a crime, he would be the first of the brothers.
This understanding is superficial and ridiculous. Because even if Reuben is not the eldest son, he should not sleep with his father's concubine. More specifically, we don't commit crimes to get respect and rank first, while saints don't commit crimes because they love God.
2.3. Jacob accused Simeon and Levi in front of everyone because they shed blood and acted rashly, killing all the men in Shechem. In the future, God will let them live in Jacob's house and be scattered in Israel.
And Jacob said, My spirit, do not conspire with them, and my spirit, do not contact with them.
The human body is a tent and a tool, which does not determine the quality of the essence; The inclination and position of the soul hidden deep in our bodies will determine our evil and good.
What Jacob means is that he didn't acquiesce in the massacre. In that case, his body has done nothing wrong and his soul has done nothing wrong.
May we be kept by God and not be guilty of willfulness, and may we dedicate ourselves to God and use our bodies and souls as "slaves of righteousness".
Jacob blessed his fourth son, Judas, saying that all your father's sons will bow down to you. This means that after the establishment of stability in Israel in the future, the kingship will always be in the tribe of Judah.
Guiyu never leaves Jude, and her staff never leaves her feet. Guiyu and the staff refers to the staff that guides the people and is a symbol of power.
When Shiloh comes, all nations will submit.
Shiloh refers to the person who is coming. He will save his people from sin, and he will give us innocent peace from God.
All peoples should obey, that is to say, all peoples and nations on the earth will turn to God through the Savior born from the tribe of Judah. His arrival is not only beneficial to the Israelis.
5. Jacob blessed his son Zebulun, saying that he would live in Haikou and his territory would expand to Sidon.
This is not a prophecy if future generations do the same when they own land, because Jacob said and gave it to the tribe of Zebulun in Sidon. When we study Joshua in the future, we will find that the industrial distribution of twelve tribes is determined by drawing lots. So the Hebrews really came to Tyre and Sidon, and lived by the sea.
6. Jacob blessed his son Issachar. The key is that he will become a slave. Whether they like to do these heavy jobs or are forced to work hard, they can't get rid of them, and their predictions will come true.
7. Jacob blessed his son Dan, saying that he would become a snake on the road, a slug on the road, and bite a horseshoe ... which means that there will be some heroes who can always win by surprise in his descendants.
Later, a hero named Samson appeared in the tribe of Dan, and his deeds were recorded in Judges 13.
Samson defeated the Philistine army many times and crushed countless enemies with his own strength, just like a poisonous snake can kill a powerful enemy many times bigger than himself.
Genesis 49: 18, Lord, I have been waiting for your salvation.
Usually we don't take this sentence as Jacob's blessing to any son.
This is Jacob's confession to God when his body is extremely weak. He didn't bless his sons until he died. At that time, he was extremely weak. He called on God, hoped that God would have mercy on him, finally used him and brought him back! Because he has been waiting for God's salvation all his life!
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8. Gad tribe, Gad, means army.
This group of people who are good at fighting is indeed unmatched by many tribes in Israel (Chronicles of the Past Chronicles 12:8).
9. Bless his son Asher: He will produce rich and delicious food for the king. This is obvious, so I won't say much.
10. Naphtali, maybe this child is introverted, so compare him to a deer. God bless that he will be released in the future. He is a doe, his heart will be released, and he will become detached and alert in the future.
But be careful: Jacob said that Naphtali would say beautiful words, because he had to thank God and couldn't help it.
We can't understand that this tribe will speak for the God of Israel ... This understanding is too much.
1 1. He blessed his son Yue Se.
The "outside the wall" mentioned in chapter 49: 22 refers to the Shur wilderness. For Canaan, Egypt is a world outside the wall. To reach Egypt, you must cross the huge Shur wilderness wall (the Israelis compare the huge and terrible Shur wilderness to a high wall).
Jacob said, I didn't expect God to lead him out of the land of Canaan and cross the wall to Egypt before us, so that our lives could be saved.
Verse 26 says that Yue Se is different from his brother, which means that Yue Se is obviously different from other brothers.
Some people say that Jacob didn't point to Yue Se and say what would happen in the future, but when we think about it carefully, everyone else became a tribe by themselves, and only Yue Se's two sons will inherit the property with their parents. This is the future he points to, and it will certainly come true.
12. The last son, like Yue Se, was born to Jacob's favorite Rachel.
But he said to Benjamin, "He is a hungry wolf. He will eat what he catches in the morning and divide what he catches in the evening. " .
The last thing Jacob wants is for his youngest son to encounter a war! However, he must tell the public what God has clearly shown him.
Later, in the 12 tribe, although there were not many people fighting in Benjamin, almost all the warriors who were good at left-handed fighting in Israel came from Benjamin, which was a remarkable thing.
Thus Jacob said to his twelve sons, Give them a blessing according to their blessing.
What does it mean to bless them according to their blessings? Who gave them this blessing?
Yes, it was God who gave everyone a cup according to his good pleasure, without Jacob's own stimulant.
One day we will all grow old.
It is possible that we are as loyal to God as Jacob. It is also possible to worship God with a stick at the bedside like Jacob. Like Jacob, pointing to his children and grandchildren is a bit unpredictable.
We won't spend too much time persuading unconvinced people to balance their mentality.
As the sons of Israel, twelve people have different experiences, and God has different blessings for them ... We are so different from Jacob in many ways, how can we be used by God when we are old?
Some people say that God is unfair. Why can't I be like him?
In fact, what he pursues is not fairness, but average. He wants everyone to get exactly the same income, but he doesn't want everyone to be very different. If things develop as he thinks, it will be the biggest injustice in the world.
There are serious problems with this mentality.
God is just and fair. Can't we see that God has given thousands of people in Qian Qian the same salvation, the same reward and the same ending?
This is God's greatest righteousness!
Although destined to be different from Jacob, we are still full of joy, because at least, we can be like Jacob in his last days:
Teach future generations what is the right way.