Jacob's Blessing, Part 1

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Genesis chapter 49, as we slowly, but surely, work our way to the end of the Book of Beginnings.

It's appointed unto man once to die after death, the judgment. We know for certain that all of us are going to die, unless of course Jesus Christ returns before that happens. But if he doesn't, we're going to die, right? And maybe the Lord will allow us the opportunity to gather our children around and talk to them about those things that are of utmost importance to us. For the most part, we won't have the opportunity to gather our children around and talk to them about the things that we believe are important, so we need to live those things before them, right?

We need to live the truth, that they might see truth in us and learn to follow the truth of God as they see it lived out in our lives. David was a man who wanted to know his God, who spent his life seeking after God and serving God. In fact, the Bible says in Acts 13, verse number 36, the summation of David's life, that after David had served God's purposes in his own generation, he fell asleep among his fathers.

That's the epitaph on David in the New Testament. He served God in his own generation. We can't serve God in somebody else's generation. We can only serve him in our generation. And that's what David did. And the point being is that we need to be people committed to serving God, no matter what happens in our lives, and living for him and honoring him, seeking to know him and constantly pursuing our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our Lord. David would gather his son Solomon around and give him words of advice.

Jacob, he'd gather his 12 sons around, and the things he says are so insightful, are so inspirational, that if we understand them, the implications of them and the importance of them are great. And we want to be able to apply them to our lives today. And so Jacob gathers his sons around, and in chapter 49, verse number 1, this is what he says, then Jacob summoned his sons and said, assemble yourselves, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the days to come. So it's a broad prophecy. It spans thousands of years.

But it's all true. It all comes true. You see, if I was to gather my children around and speak to them, I would hope that my words would be motivating. I would hope that my words would be encouraging. And I would hope that my words would be ones that they would hang on to for forever. But they wouldn't be the word of God. Jacob's words were the inspired word of God. God would speak through him to show his sons the future of this great nation. And that's important. Because listen to what he says in verse number 28 of chapter 49.

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. Now you need to circle the word blessing, choose three times in verse number 28. Why is that? Because when you hear what I have to say today, you're going to say, wow, where's the blessing of all that? Because when you realize what Jacob does when he confronts his sons on their sin, you're going to say, wait a minute, is that a blessing?

Yes, it is. Because all of them receive the inheritance of the land. That's the blessing. But what he gives them are the words about their future. He says this in verse number two.

Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father. And the text says hear and listen.

A lot of us hear but never listen, right? The Bible is important enough for us to listen to. We need to be people who hear it and listen.

And how do you know you've heard the word of God today when you leave? Simply this. You know you've heard when you honor God's word, and you know you've listened when you live God's word. It's pretty simple, isn't it? We need to be the kind of people who hear what God has to say to us, right? We need to listen to what God has to say, to heed what the word of the Lord says. And the application of what Jacob says to his sons is so profound, is so important that we can't help but miss it. That's why we're going to spend some time here.

That's why we're not going to rush through the prophecy that's given. That's why we're not going to rush through what Jacob says, because what he says to each of these boys is significant for us to grasp, because there are lessons for us to learn. And we have come together this morning to hear what God says that we might learn from God.

That's why we're here. And the things I learned this past week helped me in my own life. They helped me stand up and take note of what's happening in my life, and I trust that we'll do the same for you. So what we're going to do is take each of the boys. So let's begin with Reuben. That's a good place to begin, because he's the firstborn, right? Now listen to this. Everybody look up here for a second.

Let's all imagine we're Reuben, okay? Think about what's going through Reuben's mind. He's the firstborn. He has the right to the inheritance. He has the right to the double portion. He's the firstborn. And so as Jacob gathers his sons around, he has already blessed Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob has already adopted those two boys as his own. We saw last week, as Reuben and Simeon are mine, so Manasseh and Ephraim are now mine. But Reuben, firstborn, listening intently to what Dad's going to say.

And let's look at it together. Verse number three, Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.

We'll stop right there. Think about Reuben. Yeah, Dad, I'm the firstborn. I'm the preeminent one. I'm the man of dignity. I'm the man of honor. I'm the man of... You're right, Dad. Say it again. Say it louder so all the brothers can hear you. And he begins, Jacob begins with the privileges. He says, I want to talk about your position, Reuben. You're the firstborn. And the firstborn has the position, right? Has the rightful position to the inheritance. And knowing that, you are preeminent in might and power.

Because with the firstborn responsibility comes power, comes authority. You become the leader, Reuben. You're the overseer, Reuben. I'm going to die, but you're next in line, Reuben. And Reuben, right about now, is thinking, this is great. I am so glad I'm here today. I'm so glad Dad's dying. I'm going to become the leader. I am preeminent. And Jacob goes from the privileges to the problem. Listen to the way he says, uncontrolled as water. In other words, as water boils up, it is uncontrollable. He says, Reuben, you are the man of power.

You are the man of prestige. You are the man of position. Those are your privileges. But I want to let you know something. You're undisciplined. You're uncontrolled. You are reckless. He goes from the problem to the prediction. Somebody says, you shall not have preeminence. Could you imagine his heart shattered, broken? Oh, Dad, I'm not? No, you're not. You want to know why? I'm going to tell you. Because you went up to your father's bed. Then you defiled it. He went up to my couch. Now, think about this.

This is so unbelievable. It has been over 40 years since this event took place. 40 years. That's a long time, isn't it? As far as Reuben's concerned, it's over. It's done. I mean, Dad's 147 years old. How is he going to remember 40 years back? He's old. He can't see. He's senile. He's not going to remember those things. But Jacob remembers. In fact, I want you to remember with me. So turn back with you to Genesis chapter 35. I want you to see it. And I want you to be able to read it with me. Because this becomes very important.

And you will see at the end of our sermon today. Okay, here it is. Verse number 22, Genesis 35. And it came about while Israel was dwelling in the land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard of it. There it is. Right there. That's it. Listen.

One verse. One. A moment of passion. A moment of lust. A moment where the undisciplined life fell into sin. Big sin. In our eyes. God's eyes too. The Bible says in Hebrews 13, 4, that the marriage bed is undefiled and honorable.

But fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Proverbs chapter 6, verse number 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Or can a man walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So as the one who goes into his neighbor's wife, whoever touches her will not go unpunished. Will not. Reuben's thinking, it's been a long time. A long time ago. Surely dad doesn't remember any of that. I'm not even sure Reuben knew his dad knew. The Bible says that Israel heard of it.

But it doesn't say that Reuben knew that Israel knew. So maybe he's thinking dad never knew. And the brothers, did they know? We don't know. But today they know. The sin has been uncovered. The sin has been exposed. Be sure your sin will find you out. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But someday. And for Reuben it was 40 years later. It's not necessarily because of what you did. Because he says you're unstable as water. There's something about your character. There's something about your character, Reuben, that caused you to do that.

That caused you to go that way. That caused you to sin as you did, Reuben. It's the character that's uncontrolled, that's undisciplined, Reuben. That's what happened. You know the Bible just kind of glosses over just one verse real quick. But just to let you know that even though you might think what you did was minimal, not important, in order to lead the people of God, you've got to live a clean life. And Reuben didn't. You see, leading the people of God is not about your credentials. It's about your character, right?

It's about who you are on the inside. So there's a principle you need to understand. That the consequences of sin detract from the prominence of God's servants. They do. He lost the opportunity to lead. And that should speak to all of us, shouldn't it? We need to realize what God says.

If you're here today and you're dabbling in sin, stop. Stop. If you're flirting with your secretary at work, if you're flirting on the internet with things you shouldn't be watching, if you're doing things that you shouldn't be doing, you need to stop it today. You need to ask God to give you power over those things. Because there are consequences for your sin, grave consequences in Reuben's case. And you know what? While I'm here, I got to let you know something as parents. Because I is one. You know what I'm saying?

And to realize that what happens with our children while they're home is so important. Turn back with me, if you would, to Genesis chapter 30. You know, Jacob worked 14 years for Rachel. I love my wife. But if my father-in-law, before he was my father-in-law, came to me and said, you know, you're gonna have to work seven years to get Lori as your wife. I'd say, you know what? I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna do that. I mean, I love her today. But at that time, I would never have done that. And then on top of that, to work seven years for her and then not get her and have to work another seven?

I love you, babe. But I'm not sure I'd have been like Jacob. Jacob, man, he really went after Rachel. He really wanted this woman. And then the whole scenario about conceiving children, having kids. And Rachel couldn't do it. So she gave her maidservant to Jacob so that she could have a child through him. And Leah saw that. So she gave her maidservant to Jacob so she could have a child through him. And, you know, Jacob had all these women after him. See, I say all that to say this, Reuben's watching.

Leah, Rachel, Bill Hall, Zilpah, Barter, Bargan, and Bicker for this man, Jacob. He's watching it all. He's soaking it in. He's saying, man, they really want my dad. And my dad, he's not that even good looking. But they all want him. They all want to be a part of the plan. They want to be a part of the process. And he's watching. He's taking all this in. And that's influencing his thinking to some degree. It has to, right? All that to say this as parents. What are we doing that's influencing our children's thinking?

What are we not doing that's influencing their way of thinking? That is so crucial for us to get. We have to understand that the things we say, the things we do, the things we watch. What are we letting our children watch on television? What movies are we letting them see? What video games are we letting them play? Who are we letting them associate with? All those things help formulate their way of thinking. And as their parents, we need to have biblical input into their lives. We need to lead the kind of lives that glorify the Lord.

So our children see something about us that's different than the world. What is it Ruben would see about Leia and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah that would be different than the world? See, that's what we need to understand. In a moment of passion, in a moment of lust, he defiles his father's bed. That's Ruben. And Jacob says, Ruben, you're uncontrolled as water. I know what you did, son. I know what you did. And therefore, you will not have preeminence. You will not. And you know what? He never did.

He never did. There is no one in the Bible that stands out as a preeminent character for the tribe of Ruben. Isn't that amazing? So now we go on to Simeon and Levi. And these are brothers. Simeon's thinking, I'm mixing the line, man. If Ruben's not going to get it, it must be me. And so Jacob lumps Simeon and Levi together. That doesn't make Simeon very happy. But listen to what Jacob says to Simeon and Levi. He says, Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council.

Let not my glory be united with their assembly. Because in their anger, they slew men. And in their self-will, they lain oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce. And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. Whoa, Jacob. He's up on Simeon and Levi, will you? But boy, he lumps them together. He addresses their problem right off the bat. He goes from their problem to the prediction. He says, listen, you guys are violent men. You're violent men. You're angry men.

And twice he talks about their anger. Once he talks about their wrath. He talks about the cruelty. What's he referring to? Way back in Genesis 34, when a man named Shechem would come and take their sister Dinah, who was somewhere between the ages of nine and 11. Take her for his own, he'd rape her. And the sons of Israel were not happy. But Shechem would come with his father. And they would go to Jacob and say, you know, can I have your daughter's hand in marriage? Simeon and Levi, they are beside themselves.

Who is this guy to come in here and want to marry our sister after what he did to her? After all, they are uncircumcised men. Oh, that's a good idea. I'll tell you what, all you guys get circumcised. And if you're all circumcised, then you can marry our sister. Okay, so they were all circumcised. And on the third day, when they are in the most amount of pain, what happens?

Simeon and Levi, they got their sword and they kill all the men of the village. Every one of them, they slaughter them all. Instead of returning good for evil, they return evil for evil. Jacob says, you're angry, you're angry men. You're cruel men. In fact, he says this. He says, in their self-will, they lamed oxen. It's a word that means in their delight and in their pleasure. You know what they did? They lamed the oxen. They slaughtered the livestock and they like doing it. They love to kill the animals.

And Jacob says, you're men of violence. You're men of anger. You're men of war. You know what? You will be dispersed in Jacob and scattered throughout Israel. Now that's important. Why? Because it was Simeon who was dispersed in Jacob and it was Levi who was scattered in Israel. Why the name change? Because the name Jacob means supplanter, right? And Simeon would be scattered throughout the land and in so doing, they would be absorbed in the tribe of Judah. They'd be supplanted. Levi, they'd be scattered throughout Israel.

Israel meaning God's warrior or God would strive with them and they would become the priestly tribe. They were different. Their dispersion was different than Simeon's dispersion. Why is that? Because in Exodus chapter 32, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and they had that image of the golden calf, Moses said these words, who is on the Lord's side? And the tribe of Levi said, we are. We are. We're on God's side. And the principle of giving is that God always relents with those who repent. Always.

And they became the priestly tribe. Although they didn't inherit a land for themselves, they were in charge of 48 cities and dispersed in those cities and became the priestly tribe for the nation of Israel. But notice what it says.

It says this, verse six, let my soul not enter into their council. Let not my glory be united with their assembly. That's a play on words. Because Simeon's name means to hear. And so Jacob says, the one whose name means to hear, don't listen to his council. And the one whose name means to be joined to, that's Levi, don't unite yourself with him. Don't do that. He's telling the brothers, don't listen to their council and don't unite yourself together with them. Why? Because you know what? If a man is given to anger, if a man is out of control, if a man is a violent man, don't listen to him and don't unite yourself with him.

And that was Jacob's advice to his, to their brothers. So now you come to Judah. And by the way, out of Levi, tribe of Levi came Moses, came Aaron, came Eli, came some great, great men of God. But notice this, the next man lines Judah.

Now you got a picture to see him again. Judah's listening to all this. He's thinking to himself, wait a minute, wait a minute. If my memory serves me correct, while there was one verse in the Bible about Reuben, there is a whole chapter in the Bible about my sin. Genesis 38. And Judah's thinking, oh my, if dad is going to bring up Reuben's sin, that was one verse, what on earth is he going to do with mine when mine took up a whole chapter? When I would not fulfill my word to my daughter-in-law, when she would pose as a prostitute and I would have sex with her and I would lie about that and she would catch me in the lie.

What is my father going to say about that? So here's the thing. I wasn't there, but I can imagine how it was. Judah says, okay dad, say it. I know what you're going to say. I know what I did to Tamar was wrong and I know you're going to bring it up and I know I'm going to lose blessings. I know I'm not going to have this. I know I'm not going to have that. So go ahead, go ahead and say it dad. Go ahead. I'm listening. And listen to what Jacob says. Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Picture this.

They'll what? They'll praise you. Say that one more time dad. They're going to do what? They're going to praise you. Praise you. Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies. Your father's son shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion's wealth. From the prey of my son you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, as a lion who dares rouse him up. The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

He ties his fold to the vine, and the donkey's coat to the choice vine. He washes his garments with wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are full or dull, excuse me, from wine, and his teeth are white from milk. That's all he says. Jacob began to speak and Judah hears, your brothers shall praise you. You're going to praise me? You're going to be powerful. Powerful? Not only are you going to be powerful, you will become the preeminent one. Me, preeminent? And not only that, you are going to prosper.

You are going to be so prosperous, Judah. You now become the kingly line. Wow. Nothing. Nothing. What do you expect? Nothing. You want to know why? Sure you do. That's why you're here. And me, my sin with Tamar was gross. But his dad never even mentions it, never even brings it up, never even hints to it. You want to know why? Simply this, is that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That's why. This is Jacob's judgment seat. He is passing judgment on all of his boys and declaring to them their future.

Reuben, we have no record of him confessing his sin. The only thing we know is that Israel heard of it, but we don't know if Reuben ever talked to him, confessed it, got right with his dad because his dad brings it up on his deathbed. So we are led to believe that Reuben never addressed the issue, never went to his father and said, Dad, forgive me. I was wrong. I want to confess my sin. I want to get right with you. I was wrong. No record of that whatsoever. But with Judah, we had that. With Judah, we have a man who repented of his ways.

We have a man who understood that he had violated the law of God and that he was wrong and he repented of his sin. And he even offered his life for Benjamin's life so that Benjamin could go back to his father. He understood his relationship to his dad. Where Reuben never got that, he confessed his sin. It was over. It was done. Never to be brought up again. And isn't that the way it is with Jesus Christ, our Lord? That when we repent of our sins and confess our sins to him, he doesn't bring them up again.

He doesn't. The Bible says that, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every man may receive that which is done on his body, whether it be good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5, verse number 10. Every one of us will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. If you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, guess what? There will be no recollection of your past sins. God's not going to bring them up. He'll say to you, enter into the joy of the Lord. Well done, thy good and faithful servant. That's what you're going to get. But if you never confess your sins to Jesus Christ, repentant of your ways, you will stand before the great white throne judgment of God. He will open the books.

And in that book will be a record of every one of your sins. Every one of them. And you can stand there and you can plead your case all you want. But the only thing you're going to hear is depart from me. I never knew you. And the only place available for you is what is called the lake of fire. That's it. Because you refused to get right with God. You refused to confess your sin. You refused to admit that you were a sinner. You refused to say, God, be merciful unto me a sin. But for those who have, you enter into the joy of the Lord.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Isn't that good? And Judah stood there, heard what his dad said. His dad said, you know what? You're the kingly tribe. The scepter will never depart from Judah until the one to whom it belongs shall come. He said, Judah, you're in the Messianic line. Messiah is going to come through you. And you know what? Judah was the preeminent tribe. They were the kingly tribe. Remember who the first king was of Israel?

Saul, right? People said, we want a king. God says, I'm your king. Not good enough. We got to have a king that we can see, that we can touch, that we can see smile, that we can wave to. We got to have a king like everybody else has got a king. That's the kind of king we want. God says, okay, choose your king.

Oh, we'll take Saul. God says, okay, you got Saul. But David was God's man. David was God's man. And when Saul was unable to lead, when Saul disqualified himself from leadership, as God knew he would, David was laying in the wings. And the son of David is the Messiah coming from the tribe of Judah. And so he hears that day, this will be the kingly tribe. And it's said they will never depart from Judah until Shiloh comes, the one to whom it belongs. Who's that? The Messiah. King of kings and Lord of lords.

Judah received the ultimate blessing. That's why we tell you, he who covers his sins shall not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes his sins shall find mercy. Proverbs 28, 13. Don't cover your sins. Don't do that. Don't try to hide them because they're going to be exposed. If not in this life, in the life to come. Confess your sin. Forsake your sin. And find the mercy of God embracing your life and relish in the forgiveness of God Almighty. Let's pray.