Israel’s Blessing

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Introduction

We have spent several weeks looking at the life of Joseph—from the favoritism shown by his father and the dreams given by God to his rise to power in Egypt. Our last lesson focused on the forgiveness that Joseph extended to his brothers, as well as the continuation of the promise.

• What promise have we been tracking as we follow these accounts through Genesis? The promise given to Abraham of a land, a nation and an Offspring (Seed) who would bless all nations. That promise extends even further back to God’s curse on the serpent, promising a Seed who would bruise/crush the head of the serpent.
  • Write on the board, “Which son received the Seed promise from Israel?”
  We are not even out of the book of Genesis in our chronological walk through the Bible, but we have already seen many examples of God’s faithfulness to his promises, his sovereignty over all of his creation, including man, and how he uses people to accomplish his will in the world.

  Today, we will be wrapping up the book of Genesis and leaving behind Israel and his family, but not the promise. We are going to look at the final days of Israel and his blessing of his sons. As Israel and Joseph exit the pages, we will see how God’s plan continues.

Israel Blesses His Sons

When we left off in chapter 47, all of Israel’s family had moved to Egypt, to the land of Goshen, to endure the last five years of the famine. As Israel’s life neared its end, Joseph promised to bury his father in Canaan with his fathers (47:29–31). Before Israel died, Joseph went to him with his sons for a blessing. Israel recounted the promise God had given him (48:3–4). As we have seen many times, Israel blessed Ephraim, the younger, before Manasseh, as well as blessing Joseph. Further, Israel bestowed on his two grandsons a section of land in Canaan (48:17–22). All of this is described in Genesis 48, but we are going to look more closely at chapter 49.

Let’s read Genesis 49:1–2 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• Who was speaking here? Jacob/Israel.
• What does verse 2 remind us about Jacob’s past? God had changed his name to Israel.
• Whom did Jacob call to himself? His sons.
• What is the purpose of Jacob calling his sons together? He intended to tell them what was going to happen in the future. He was going to prophesy over them.

While all of these men are important, we are going to focus on the blessing of Judah in verses 8–12, for reasons that should become clear in a moment. We’ll come back to the others in our activity. Have someone read Genesis 49:8–12.

• What type of literature is this passage? Poetic. Many couplets and repeated ideas appear throughout the chapter.
• How is that indicated in your Bible? In most Bibles, the text will be in a different typeface or paragraph structure.
• Is each of these ideas talking about Judah himself? Not necessarily, but they refer to his descendants, the tribe that will come from his lineage.
• What was promised to Judah in the first line of verse 8? His brothers would praise him. This is actually a poetic play on his name since his name means “praise.”
• What did the prophecy indicate about Judah’s relationship to his enemies? The idiom “your hand shall be on the neck” indicated Judah’s military prowess and how he would hold the life of his enemies in his hand.
• What relationship would Judah have with his brothers? They would bow down before him, indicating Judah would be a ruling tribe.
• What does the imagery in verse 9 tell us about Judah? The imagery of a lion indicates strength and is associated with kingship.
• What is a scepter (v.10)? A scepter is a rod held by a ruler or king to indicate authority.
• Verse 10 presents a bit of a challenge. Does anyone have a different translation? Have other translations read. The NASB, NKJV, and some other translations say “until Shiloh comes.” This is often understood to be a title of the coming ruler, but the exact rendering has been disputed. Others render it “until he comes to whom it belongs.”
• Regardless of exactly how we translate that phrase, what does this tell us about Judah? Judah would be the source of a ruler. This ruler would be given honor and tribute.
• What would the reign of that ruler be like? The text indicates that it would be an extended reign since the scepter and rod would not depart from between his feet.
• What would be the extent of Judah’s reign? The text says he would have obedience from all peoples. This could be hyperbole, or it could be referring to the leader alluded to.
• What does the imagery of verses 11–12 indicate about Judah? This is imagery of abundance and health. If donkeys are allowed to eat your choice vines, you must have an abundance of food. Dark eyes and white teeth would be signs of healthy vigor when contrasted to weak eyes and discolored teeth.

  Let’s look at some other passages of Scripture that might help us get a better understanding of what Israel was prophesying of Judah and his tribe. Remember that one of the keys to understanding these ideas is to let Scripture interpret Scripture as we look at things in their given context. We know this is a prophetic blessing that looks forward. Since we have the benefit of God’s complete revelation, we can look ahead and see how these ideas are used later.

Let’s look together at Revelation 5:5–8. Assign a reader.

• Who is being referred to as the one who can open the scroll in Revelation 5:5? The elder speaking is referring to Jesus as the one who takes the scroll from the Father seated on the throne.
• What three names are given to him (vv. 5–6)? Lion of the tribe of Judah, Root of David, the Lamb.
• How does this lion reference relate to the passage in Genesis 49:9–10? It is relating Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the language used in Israel’s prophecy.

We need to look at another passage to help us understand the connection to David. You may have a footnote in your Bible or study notes that points back to 1 Samuel 17:12. Have someone read the verse.

• What do we learn about the connection between David and Judah? David was in the tribe of Judah.
• How is Jesus connected to David? Joseph and Mary were both from the tribe of Judah and the line of David (Luke 3:31 and Matthew 1:6). This explains the reference to the Root of David in Revelation 5.

Discover the Truth

We know that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob a land, a great nation, and a Seed who would bless all nations. Of all of Jacob’s sons, we might have expected the Seed, the Messiah, to come through the line of Joseph. But that is not the case. Here we have clear indication that it was through Judah that the Messiah would come. Additionally, as we move forward through history, we will see that Judah becomes the tribe that rules over the nation from Jerusalem. Indeed, Judah was established as the ruling tribe.

But we know that David’s kingdom ultimately fell—there is no man on his throne today (since 607 BC). So how is God’s promise in effect? Through the one who would come. The one to whom tribute would come. The one to whom all nations will bow, who will rule over all people. It is through Jesus, the Messiah, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, that the promise remains. He is seated right now at the Father’s right hand, ruling from heaven. And one day, he will return as King of kings to rule all nations. This is the Consummation (recall the 7 C’s of History) which we eagerly await.

As Jacob blessed his sons, he prophesied over them. God revealed some elements of the future to Jacob and his sons through this blessing. Some of the blessings were related to events from the past and continuing discipline for the sons’ disobedience, and others bestowed favor for no apparent reason. There is clear judgment on Reuben, Levi, and Asher, but Judah was not an innocent man. He had defiled himself and dishonored God and his family by sleeping with his daughter-in-law, Tamar. But he seems to have had a change of heart, seeking to be an honorable man later. The fact that God chose Judah’s line to both rule over Israel and produce the Messiah is a reminder of God’s mercy and grace—we don’t always get what we deserve. Here is another reminder that God works according to his plans, not ours, and that he uses cracked and broken vessels to dispense his grace.

Blessing the Tribes Activity

We are going to look ahead a bit to get a “preview” of how God brought his promise of a land and a nation to each of these tribes. In your Student Guide, you will find the Twelve Tribes activity. Use that activity in conjunction with Numbers 34:13–35:3 and a map of the promised land to connect God’s promise to its fulfilment. You can probably find a map of the Twelve Tribes in your Bible around Joshua 13 or in the map section of your Bible. Have the students work in groups to complete the activity in their Student Guides. If you are not using the Student Guides, print the activity and pass it out. You may wish to print copies of the Twelve Tribes Map for each group.

Connect to the Truth

As we peek into the future, we can see that God kept his promise. You can ask the students if they had any difficulty identifying the passages in Joshua or finding them on the maps. The passages are indicated below, but you can move to the questions. The details of the land distribution can be found in Joshua 13–21.

Which tribe received two sections of land? Manasseh received both an eastern and western portion.

Which brothers had no territory? Explain why? Joseph had no tribe named after him as his birthright was conveyed to his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Levi had no specific land, but was scattered through the land and given the role of priests.

Read Revelation 7:4–8. Which tribe is added? Which tribes are missing? Joseph is included, and Dan and Ephraim are missing.

As we look at the Bible, we can see that the idea of the 12 Tribes is present from the beginning to the end. As we move through biblical history, this idea will come up over and over again. It is not necessary for us to memorize each group or their territories, but understanding this concept will be key in examining both the Old and New Testament books. So, we will be referencing these tribes often in the future.

• Ephraim (Gen. 48:15–22) Num. 34:24
• Manasseh (Gen. 48:15–22) Num. 34:14, 23
• Joseph (Gen. 48:15–16, 49:22–26) Num. 34:23 (but no chief named since his sons got the inheritance)
• Reuben (Gen. 49:3–4) Num. 34:14
• Simeon (Gen. 49:5–7) Num. 34:20
• Levi (Gen. 49:5–7) Num. 35:2–3 (receiving cities and portions of land within the other tribes’ boundaries)
• Judah (Gen. 49:8–12) Num. 34:19
• Zebulun (Gen. 49:13) Num. 34:25
• Issachar (Gen. 49:14–15) Num. 34:26
• Dan (Gen. 49:16–18) Num. 34:22
• Gad (Gen. 49:19) Num. 34:14
• Asher (Gen. 49:20) Num. 34:27
• Naphtali (Gen. 49:21) Num. 34:28
• Benjamin (Gen. 49:27) Num. 34:21

Israel Enslaved

As I mentioned earlier, we are going to make a transition today from Genesis to Exodus.

Listen to the final verses of Genesis 50. Read Genesis 50:22–26 aloud.

God’s promise to grow Israel’s descendants into a great nation is about to be fulfilled, but there is another promise God had made. Let’s read Exodus 1:1–14 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• What is the literary function of verses 1–6? These verses serve as a connecting device, pointing back to what happened in the final chapters of Genesis.
• What type of literature is this section? Historical narrative.
• How does verse 7 relate to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15? God had promised to give Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5–6).
• What function does verse 8 serve? This creates a potential conflict since Joseph was the reason that the Israelites had received favorable treatment in Egypt.
• Does the text give any indication of the amount of time that has passed? There are no explicit statements, but Genesis 50 told us Joseph was 110 when he died. Since he was 39 when Israel moved to Egypt, it has been 70 years plus more time for the new king to have forgotten Joseph.
• What might the term “arose” imply about this new king? He may have been the first in a new dynasty, having risen to power. This also makes sense as he would not necessarily have the historical connection to Joseph.
• How did the new king refer to the people? He called them the “people of Israel.” This is the first instance of Israel being viewed as a distinct people or nation.
• How did the king describe the Israelites in verse 9? He said they are “too many and too mighty” in the eyes of the Egyptians.
• What was the king’s fear? If there was a war, the Israelites were so numerous that they could join the enemy and overthrow the current king, even escaping from the land.
• What plan did the king implement to deal with the threat? He enslaved them, setting taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens in order to control their numbers.
• How did the plan work out? The more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied.
• What word is used twice in verses 13 and 14 to describe how the Egyptians treated the Israelites? They treated them ruthlessly.
• What projects did the Israelites build? The cities of Raamses and Pithom.

• Slide #19

  Slide #20
  Not only did God fulfill the promise to grow them into a great nation, but there was another promise. What is the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 15:13–16? God told Abraham that his descendants would serve in a foreign land for 400 years.
• What would happen after this period? They would come out of the land with great possessions as the enslavers were judged.
• What land is in view in the phrase, “they shall come back here” (v. 16)? Abraham was living in the land of Canaan at this point, so it is the promised land.
• What other time marker is given? The fourth generation.
• Why was God delaying their return? The iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete, so God must intend to judge the Amorites. This is a foreshadowing of what will happen during the conquest of the promised land.

Discover the Truth

We can see that God was still at work among Abraham’s descendants. But just as we have seen in the past, it wasn’t necessarily an easy path. Joseph had been given the favor of God through the Pharaoh, but the new Pharaoh was oppressing them in an attempt to minimize their influence in Egypt.

• How is God’s faithfulness evident in this passage? As they lived in the land, they prospered and grew as God had promised. They also found themselves enslaved as God had promised.
• What other attributes of God do you recognize in his promise to Abraham and what we have read here in the opening verses of Exodus? Discuss various answers, including his justice in judgment of both the Egyptians and the Amorites (though still to come), his mercy in providing relief for the Israelites, his grace in giving hopeful promises, his wisdom and sovereignty in working out these things over hundreds of years, and others.

  As we leave Israel in this dark place, we know that God is faithful to bring about his promises to them, but we will have to wait a couple of weeks to continue looking at how that happened.

Application

The ending of Genesis and the transition into Exodus provide us with quite a turnaround. While we see the events in the world changing, we know that God is not changing. His character is consistent. And because we know he never changes, we can trust that he will fulfill the promises he has made. Joseph knew this to be true, and he experienced it in his life. And the same can be said of Israel. They trusted in God and followed him as they walked through life.

But that isn’t always the case—with us that is. Even though we know we can trust God, we often forget that truth. When we allow doubt about his goodness or begin worrying about the future, we show that we are not trusting him in that moment. That is why it is good for us to continue to immerse ourselves in God’s Word every day and to keep in community with other believers. Both can remind us of who God is and why he is worthy of our trust.

Let us make sure that we think of how we can apply these ideas as we leave and go out into the world we live in. We want to make sure that we are not merely hearing the Word, but seeking to be doers of what we read in it.

• Slide #21

  Slide #22

  Slide #23

  Slide #24

  Slide #25
  At this point in our study of redemptive history, where are we in seeing the promise made to Abraham of a land, a Seed, and a nation? Discuss each of these three areas: With respect to the land, the Israelites are now all outside Canaan and experiencing slavery in Egypt. The land promise has not been fulfilled; the promise of a Seed continues through the line of Judah, but we don’t know exactly how; the promise of a great nation is being realized as the Israelites have multiplied in Egypt, even under oppression.
• Have you ever heard that the Israelites were responsible for building the pyramids? Does the text tell us that they were? How would we go about answering this question? While this is a common claim and presented in virtually every visual presentation of the exodus, there is nothing in the text about pyramids. The text points to building storage cities and working in other ways, but says nothing about pyramids. To answer this, there would have to be clear evidence from archaeology or other written sources that indicates that they were involved in pyramid construction.
• While Israel was blessing his sons, he was announcing things about the future. How can we know that he was accurately prophesying over them? Without the rest of the Bible, we may not know. However, we have the record of each of these tribes over hundreds of years and can see how his prophesies were accurate. They must have come from God since he is the one who knows and guides the future. Similarly, we can evaluate supposed prophecies today by comparing them to Scripture and seeing if they actually come to pass (cf. Deuteronomy 18:20–22).
• Consider this from our study so far: Abraham died. Isaac died. Israel died. Joseph died. But God’s plan marches on. How does this help you understand your place in God’s plan? We are not here by accident, but God has a purpose for each of us (Ephesians 2:8–10). Seeing how God has used many people throughout the ages to accomplish his plans, we can see that we are involved, but it is God who is constant. We can remember that God is the one who deserves the praise and honor. We can encourage one another to love and good deeds, knowing that God is using each of us to work in the world.
• Many people doubt that the Israelites were ever in Egypt or that they were there in such significant numbers. While we trust the Bible, what if we never find archaeological evidence that Joseph was the vizier or that there were over a million Hebrews in Egypt? Discuss various ideas, reminding students that we do not trust the Bible because it can be proven with archaeological evidence. The evidence from so long ago is fragmentary and must be interpreted. Even if strong evidence is never found, we must trust God’s Word as truth. The absence of archaeological evidence is not proof that some event did not take place. We know that the cities and other aspects of the account are consistent with Egyptian history.

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his faithfulness to us through all generations.
• Ask God for patience to trust his timing in fulfilling his promises.
• Thank God for revealing his future plans to us as we look forward to the Consummation.