{"id":16777,"date":"2021-07-22T22:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T05:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_48_1-22-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-07-16T22:44:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T05:44:16","slug":"genesis_49_1-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/genesis_49_1-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Communicating God\u2019s Heart To Those You Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Genesis 49:1-17Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 49:1-17.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:1-2 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-2:\u00a0\u00a0Nearing his death, Jacob gathers his sons and begins to prophesy over his sons.\u00a0\u00a0What is prophesy?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Simply put, prophesy is declaring God\u2019s heart and God\u2019s plans to God\u2019s people.\u00a0\u00a0Based on this definition of prophecy, I believe every parent has a prophetic role to play in the lives of their children and every leader has a prophetic role to play in the lives of those they lead.\u00a0\u00a0We are to communicate God\u2019s heart to the people we are leading.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut how I do know what God\u2019s heart, promises and plans are for the people in my care?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Draw near to God.\u00a0\u00a0Meditate on His Word.\u00a0\u00a0More and more He will give you a sense of His heart for the people He has called you to lead.\u00a0\u00a0When you speak in faith those prophetic pictures and images God places in your heart for the people in your care, the results will be powerful.\u00a0\u00a0That is what Jacob is about to do in the verses that follow.<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:3-4 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 3-4:\u00a0\u00a0Jacob first speaks about his firstborn Reuben.\u00a0\u00a0Jacob begins by praising Reuben\u2019s past excellence, how he used to excel in honour and power (v3).\u00a0\u00a0However Jacob ends by proclaiming that Reuben will no longer excel because he defiled Jacob\u2019s bed by sleeping with Jacob\u2019s concubine Bilhah (Genesis 35:22).\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0We can severely compromise a good reputation and past glory which took years to build through momentary lapses of judgment where we give into lust and temptation.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0The pleasure lust offers is fleeting and never worth it.\u00a0\u00a0You\u2019re guaranteed to lose when you give into lust.<\/p>\n

From another angle, Reuben\u2019s sleeping with Jacob\u2019s concubine was possibly an attempt by Reuben to prop himself as being equal to his father Jacob.\u00a0\u00a0If that is the case, a lesson here is that\u00a0whereas sedition and pride will tempt us to grasp power for ourselves and rebel against those God has placed over us, sedition and pride will eventually lead to our downfall<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:5-7 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Simeon and Levi are brothers– their swords are weapons of violence.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Let me not enter their council, let me not join their assembly, for they have killed men in their anger and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.<\/em>
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Cursed be their anger, so fierce, and their fury, so cruel! I will scatter them in Jacob and disperse them in Israel.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 5-7:\u00a0\u00a0Jacob then shifts his attention to Simeon and Levi who in Genesis 34 massacre an entire town that Shechem lived in by putting all the men in that town to the sword.\u00a0\u00a0They did this as retaliation for Shechem raping their sister Dinah.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jacob rebuked Simeon and Levi back then (Genesis 34:30) and now curses them here.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Revenge and retaliation never give us the satisfaction we are looking for.\u00a0\u00a0If you have been hurt, instead of looking for revenge, forgive and trust God to avenge you (Romans 12:19-21).<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genesis 49:8-12 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You are a lion’s cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness–who dares to rouse him?
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-12:\u00a0\u00a0Judah made some very public mistakes.\u00a0\u00a0You would be hardpressed in fact to find any other character in Genesis who made more public mistakes than Judah.\u00a0\u00a0It was Judah who first proposed that his brother Joseph be sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37:26-27).\u00a0\u00a0It was Judah who refused to give his son Shelah to his daughter-in-law Tamar in fulfillment of the law of Levirate marriage.\u00a0\u00a0It was Judah who impregnated a prostitute, who unbeknownst to him happened to be his own daughter-in-law Tamar (Judah 38:26).\u00a0\u00a0It was Judah who upon discovering that Tamar had become pregnant by prostitution, hypocritically threatens to have her burned to death.<\/p>\n

Despite all these mistakes Judah made, here Jacob has nothing but a magnificent blessing to declare over Judah\u2019s life.\u00a0\u00a0When Jacob says, \u201cJudah, your brothers will praise you\u201d (v8), this is probably a play on words since Judah\u2019s name itself means \u201cpraise\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Jacob describes Judah as an irresistible and powerful lion (v9), a ruler and king (v10).\u00a0\u00a0The picture in verse 11 of tying (\u201ctethering\u201d) his donkey to a vine speaks of peace, prosperity and possibly royalty (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:2).\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The picture in verse 11b of washing his robes in wine speaks of how prosperous Judah would be, with wine being so plentiful that it could be used as water.\u00a0\u00a0His eyes being \u201cdarker than wine\u201d and his teeth \u201cwhiter than milk\u201d (v12) also speak to prosperity and joy.<\/p>\n

Why does Jacob reserve such a great and expansive blessing for Judah despite all the mistakes Judah made?\u00a0\u00a0It could be because Judah eventually repented of his sin against Tamar (Genesis 38:26).\u00a0\u00a0It also could be because Judah would eventually offer himself as a slave to Egypt in place of Jacob\u2019s youngest son Benjamin (Genesis 44) and hearing about this must have touched Jacob\u2019s heart.\u00a0\u00a0But beyond all this, I believe\u00a0by far the biggest reason why Jacob would bless Judah is because Jacob foresaw that one day an everlasting king would descend from Judah\u2019s line, one \u201cwhose scepter will not depart from Judah\u201d (v10).\u00a0\u00a0This descendant is Jesus Christ.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The picture in verse 11b of him washing his robes in wine may also foreshadow the idea that Jesus\u2019 shed blood brings about clean robes.<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:13 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 13:\u00a0\u00a0Jacob\u2019s prophetic words about Zebulun living by the seashore and becoming a haven for ships would be fulfilled when centuries later, after the Israelites have taken over the promised land of Canaan, Zebulun would be allotted a land who\u00a0extend to the Mediterranean Sea on the west and the Sea of Galilee on the east (Joshua 19:10-16).<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:14-15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.<\/em>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-15:\u00a0\u00a0What is that supposed to mean?\u00a0\u00a0Jacob\u2019s prophecy over Issachar is not a pleasant one.\u00a0\u00a0Jacob describes Issachar as a rawboned donkey who is tired and worn out from much labour.\u00a0\u00a0Despite having a pleasant inheritance, Issachar will be ruled by others, Jacob says in verse 15.\u00a0\u00a0These words would come true later as Issachar\u2019s land would often live under the threat of invasion by foreign armies.<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:16-17 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Dan will be a serpent by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that its rider tumbles backward.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-17:\u00a0\u00a0Jacob proclaims a strong calling for Dan as a provider of justice for his people (v16) and as a powerful snake whose bite causes enemies much bigger than him to tumble (v17).\u00a0\u00a0Yet it is questionable whether Dan and his descendants lived up to this high calling, as the people of Dan would be known as much for their idolatry (Judges 18:30).\u00a0\u00a0What\u2019s the lesson here?\u00a0\u00a0God has a high calling for your life, but whether or not we live up to that calling will depend on how we choose to live and whom\/what we choose to worship with our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, through the help of Your Holy Spirit, I pray that I would wisely and effectively discern and communicate Your heart for my children and the people in my care.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that though Judah made more public mistakes than his brothers, You had mercy on Judah and used him in a powerful way to bring forth Jesus into this world.\u00a0\u00a0Though I\u2019ve made mistake after mistake, thank You that Your mercy is greater than my mistakes, and that You can use my life to show Jesus to this world.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Genesis 49:1-17.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Genesis 49:1-2 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.<\/p>\n

On verses 1-2:\u00a0\u00a0Nearing his death, Jacob gathers his sons and begins to prophesy over his sons.\u00a0\u00a0What is prophesy?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Simply put, prophesy is declaring God\u2019s heart and God\u2019s plans to God\u2019s people.\u00a0\u00a0Based on this definition of prophecy, I believe every parent has a prophetic role to play in the lives of their children and every leader has a prophetic role to play in the lives of those they lead.\u00a0\u00a0We are to communicate God\u2019s heart to the people we are leading.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cBut how I do know what God\u2019s heart, promises and plans are for the people in my care?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Draw near to God.\u00a0\u00a0Meditate on His Word.\u00a0\u00a0More and more He will give you a sense of His heart for the people He has called you to lead.\u00a0\u00a0When you speak in faith those prophetic pictures and images God places in your heart for the people in your care, the results will be powerful.\u00a0\u00a0That is what Jacob is about to do in the verses that follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16779,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16777"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16778,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16777\/revisions\/16778"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}