Genesis

Chapter 49

Jacob’s Blessings to Joseph &Sons

• The Blessing of God Almighty• God’s promises• Reuben and Simeon became 2 of the 12 tribes.• Jacob’s crossed his hand to bless the boys• Jacob’s acknowledge of God as his Shepherded

and redeemer• Ephraim received the blessing before Manasseh• Manasseh (Become a people)• Ephraim (Become a multitude of nations)• Jacob’s vision into the promised land

Jacob’s Revelation

• Gen 49:1• Gather together, that I may tell you what shall

befall you in the last days• Matt 24:3• The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age • Matt 24:29• The Coming of the Son of Man • Matt 25:31• The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

• Gen 49:4

• You shall not excel,

• Deut 33:6

• "Let Reuben live, and not die,

• Nor let his men be few."

Firstborn

• Ex 4:22-23• 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the

LORD:"Israel is My son, My firstborn . 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn ."'"

• Rev 1:5• 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn

from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.• NKJV

• Exodus 32:9• 9 And the LORD said to Moses,"I have seen this

people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! • Jeremiah 17:23• 23 But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but

made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

• Acts 7:51• "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart

and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.

• John 14:23-24• "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;

and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.

• NKJV

• John 15:5-8

• 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

• NKJV

Simeon and Levi

• Gen 49:5• Simeon and Levi are brothers;• Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

St. Ephrem the Syrian:

There are figures to Satan and death

St. Ambrose:

From Simeon come the scripes and from Levi come the chief priests who together killed the Lord.

• Det 33:8

• Acts 6:7

• 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith

• The story of St. Makarious and the pagan’s priest.

The Lion

• Brothers= Apostles• Gen 49:9• 9 Judah is a lion's whelp;• From the prey, my son, you have gone up.• He bows down, he lies down as a lion;The Lion= The Father The Lion’s whelp= The SonBoth are from the same natureAlso equality He called him twice a Lion

• Gal 4:4-7• 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His

Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

• 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

• Rev 19:10• 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me,"See that

you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

• Shiyloh

• He whose it is, what belongs to him, tranquility

• Abraham

• Issac

• Jacob

• 12 tripes

• Moses

• Judges

• Kings

• 2 Kingdom• Northern (10 tribes) Southern (2 tribes)

• First Captivity 722 BC Assyria • Second Captivity by Babylon 586

• The Return from captivity• Greek 300 BC• Romans 50 BC• Herod the Great

• Genesis – Jacob’s told when?• Isaiah – How• Isa 7:14• 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you

a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

• Daniel When• Hosea - where

• Dan 9:24

• 24 "Seventy weeks are determined • For your people and for your holy city,• To finish the transgression,• To make an end of sins,• To make reconciliation for iniquity,• To bring in everlasting righteousness,• To seal up vision and prophecy,• And to anoint the Most Holy. • NKJV

• Matt 11:28-30

• 28 Come to Me , all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

• NKJV

• Colt = Choice Vine• Donkey = Vine• Garments ?• Blood of Grapes• Luke 22:17-22• 17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it

among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

• 19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

• 20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. 21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table. 22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"

• NKJV

• Rev 7:13-14

• 13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?"

• 14 And I said to him, "Sir, you know."

• So he said to me,"These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

• NKJV

• Matt 11:22

• 22 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.

• NKJV

• The Phoenician woman

• The feeding of the 4000

Issachar

• He likened Issachar to a strong donkey; as that tribe used to work as farmers, characterized by patience. As the land was fertile,

• He was satisfied with agriculture, and did not care, except rarely for politics, and was accordingly exposed to paying taxes.

DAN

• Judg 13:2

• 2 Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children.

• Samson – Judges for 20 years

Dan

• St. Erinaos says that the anti-Christ will come from the tribe of Dan; a view accepted by several fathers, and supported by St. Hypoletes, by quoting the prophet Jeremiah, “The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan. The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones. For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it., the city and

• those who dwell in it. ‘For behold, I will send serpents among you, vipers which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you’ “ (Jeremiah 8: 16, 17);

• “A lions whelp; He shall leap from Bashan” (Deuteronomy 33: 22).

• As the Lord Christ came out of the tribe of Judas, the anti-Christ will come out of the

tribe of Dan.• That would surely be realized in the tribe

of Dan; from which would come a tyrant, a king, a fearsome judge -- a son of Satan.

• (St. Hypoletes, the Roman)

• 2 Thess 2:3-4• 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that

Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

• NKJV

• John 17:12

• 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled

• NKJV

• Dan 7:25

• 25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,And shall intend to change times and law.

• Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time and times and half a time.

• Rev 7:4-8• 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and

forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:

• 5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed; • of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed; • 6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed; • 7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed; • 8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;• of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed.

• Gen 3:15

• 5 And I will put enmity

• Between you and the woman,

• And between your seed and her Seed;

• He shall bruise your head,

• And you shall bruise His heel."

• NKJV

• Rev 12:9-11

• 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

• 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

• 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

• KJV

• Rev 7:9-10

• 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

• 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

• KJV

Gad

• “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him; But he shall triumph at last”

• (Gen. 49: 19)• The tribe of Gad chose the region, east of the

Jordan as its portion; after vowing to the prophet Moses to cross, with the rest of his brothers, over the Jordan, and fight together with them, until all the enemies are driven out of the promised land (Numbers 32).

• Their choice of the east of Jordan, made their land a battle field between Aram and Israel (2 Kings 10: 33),

• Some Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the wilderness; and were described as, “mighty men of valor, men trained for battle, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were a swift as gazelles on the mountains, ... the least (of them) was over a hundred, and the greatest was over a

• thousand” (1 Chronicles 12: 8, 14).

Asher“Bread from Asher shall be rich; and he shall yield royal dainties’• (Gen. 49: 20)• Jacob prophesied the prosperity of Asher; and the prophet Moses

said that he will “dip his foot in oil” (Deuteronomy 33: 24). • The two prophesies were realized, as the tribe of Asher• enjoyed fertile lands, rich in olive trees from which oil was extracted.

The produce of their land was so abundant, that their bread was described as rich; and they used to export to the other

• tribes. • Their dwelling close to the sea, also enabled them to import foreign

items, then sell them to the other tribes; so it was said that they “yield royal dainties” ...

• That tribe referred to abundance of grace in the life of spiritual strifers.

Naphtali

• “O Naphtali, (a doe) satisfied with favor; and full of the blessing of the Lord”• (Gen. 49: 23)• That tribe, in its love for freedom, simulated a female gazelle running free in

an open wilderness, and in a valley with no obstacles; roaming swiftly wherever it chooses. Yet that freedom was not an excuse for wickedness and corruption, but this tribe had been committed to good relationships with the rest of tribes, offering “full blessings of the Lord”.

• And in the Book of Judges, Deborah, the prophetess sang, saying: “Zebulun is a people who jeopardized their life to the point of death; Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield” (Judges 5: 18);

• probably in reference to their strife in wars. The prophet Moses blessed them before his death, saying: “O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of blessing of the Lord; Possess the west and the south” (Deuteronomy 33: 23) ...

• Naphtali came to represent the soul, which, because of its tender relationship with its brothers, it enjoys the blessing of the Lord.

Joseph

• Joseph, the “man of dreams”, the firstborn of Rachel, was praised more than all his brothers;

• having been honest in his relationship with God, and loving all, as a son, a brother, a slave, a prisoner, or a leader in a palace ... That is why his father called him, “a fruitful bough” , repeating it twice, as a reference that its fruit is that of love; and because the figure 2, as said by

• St. Augustine, refers to love, making two into one. Joseph was a bough that produced a

• heavenly fruit, exalted high, not hindered by the wall of events nor surrounding circumstances,

• Joseph represents the human soul, honest to God, that does not cease to offer spiritual love, despite numerous oppressions and fierce spiritual wars. That soul keeps on being a fruitful bough , connected to the origin, according to the words of the Lord: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15: 5).

• It is the bough that is attached to the well of the water of the• Holy Spirit, that grants it life and fruits; to grow to becomes like

“branches run over the wall” of time, set forth toward heaven. Through abiding in Christ, and enjoying the work of the Holy

• Spirit, the soul faces from Satan and his hosts “the archers”, a bitter war, which would justify him and reveal, the more, his conquest.

• Ps 1:1-3

• Blessed is the man • Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,• Nor stands in the path of sinners,• Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; • 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,• And in His law he meditates day and night. • 3 He shall be like a tree • Planted by the rivers of water,• That brings forth its fruit in its season,• Whose leaf also shall not wither;• And whatever he does shall prosper. • NKJV

• John 15:1-8

• "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

• 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

• NKJV

• Judg 9:8-13

• 8 "The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.• And they said to the olive tree,• 'Reign over us!' • 9 But the olive tree said to them,• 'Should I cease giving my oil,• With which they honor God and men,• And go to sway over trees?'

• 10 "Then the trees said to the fig tree,• 'You come and reign over us!' • 11 But the fig tree said to them,• 'Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,• And go to sway over trees?'

• 12 "Then the trees said to the vine,• 'You come and reign over us!' • 13 But the vine said to them,• 'Should I cease my new wine,• Which cheers both God and men,• And go to sway over trees?' • NKJV

• John 15:26-27

• "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.

• NKJV

The Mighty

• Isa 40:11

• 11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;

• He will gather the lambs with His arm,

• And carry them in His bosom,

• And gently lead those who are with young.

• NKJV

BLESS

• Barak.

• When God is said to bless his people. Without doubt the inferior is blessed by the superior. When God blesses, he bestows that virtue, that efficacy, which' renders his blessing effectual, and which his blessing expresses.

• His blessings are either temporal or spiritual, bodily or mental; but in every thing they are productive of that which they import.

• God's blessings extend into the future life, as his people are made partakers of that blessedness which, in infinite fulness, dwells in himself

Benjamin

“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil”

• (Gen. 49: 27)• The prophecy refers here to the courage of the

tribe of Benjamin and its might in war; It was• said of them: “Every one of them could sling a

stone at a hair’s breath and not miss”• (Judges 20: 16).

• St. Hypoletes, the Roman, says that the prophecy here refers to King Saul who was from the tribe of Benjamin, who was threatening to devour King David like a wolf.

• St. Jerome presented us with the same thought, saying: [Paul, the persecutor of the Church, the

• wolf coming out of the tribe of Benjamin to devour a prey, bows his head before ‘Ananias’, one of Christ’s flock, to have his eyes healed, before the medicine of Baptism (Acts 9: 17, 18)].