The Last Blessing of Jacob - Death of Jacob - Death of Joseph

(GENESIS 49:1)

THE last scene had now come, and Jacob gathered around his dying couch his twelve sons. The words

which he spake to them were of mingled blessing and prediction. Before him, in prophetic vision, unrolled,

as it were, pictures of the tribes of which his sons were to be the ancestors; and what he saw he sketched in

grand outlines. It is utterly impossible to regard these prophetic pictures as exact representations of any one

definite period or even event in the history of Israel. They are sketches of the tribes in their grand

characteristics, rather than predictions, either of special events, or of the history of Israel as a whole. And to

them applies especially the description which one has given of prophetic visions generally, that "they are

pictures drawn without perspective," - that is, such that you cannot discern the distance from you of the

various objects. Two other general remarks may be helpful to the reader. It will be observed that, genera lly,

in the "blessing" spoken, the name of the ancestor seems to unfold the future character and history of the

tribe. Secondly, as against all cavilers, it may be said deliberately, that these words of blessing must have

been spoken by Jacob himself. When we attempt to imagine them as spoken at any other period in the

history of Israel, we find ourselves surrounded by insuperable difficulties. For these words can only apply

to the tribes as Jacob viewed them. They could not have been written at any other p eriod, since in that case

every later writer would have said something quite inapplicable to one or other of the tribes, so that he could

not have used this precise language concerning them all. With these brief prefatory remarks we address

ourselves to the words of "blessing:"  84

Reuben, my firstborn thou,

My might and the firstling of my strength,

Pre-eminence of dignity and pre -eminence of power -

Such should have been the position of Reuben, as the firstborn, had it not been for the "upboiling" of his

passions and his consequent sin. Hence Jacob continues:

Upboiling like water,

Thou shalt not have the pre -eminence,

Because thou wentest up thy father's bed,

Then defiledst thou it -

He went up my couch!

The sons next in age to Reuben were Simeon and Levi. Their wanton cruelty at Shechem, from which Jacob

recoiled with horror even on his death-bed, had made them "brethren," or companions in evil. As they had

united for evil, so God would scatter them in Israel, so that they should not form independent and compact

tribes. In point of fact, we know that even at the second numbering of Israel (Numbers 26:14), Simeon had

sunk to be the smallest tribe. In the last blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33), no mention at all is made of

Simeon. Nor does this tribe seem to have obtained any well-defined portion in the land, but only to have

held certain cities within the possession of Judah. (Joshua 19:1-9) Lastly, we know that such of the families

of Simeon as largely increased and became powerful, afterwards left t he Holy Land, and settled outside its

boundaries. (1 Chronicles 4:38-43) The tribe of Levi also received not any possession in Israel; only that

their scattering was changed from a curse into a blessing by their election to the priesthood. This scattering

of two tribes was the significant answer which God in His righteous providence made to their ancestors'

attempt at vindicating the honor of their race by carnal means and weapons.

Simeon and Levi are brethren;

Instruments of violence are their swords;