In yesterday's study Jacob gave prophecies about the future of his four eldest sons and their tribes. Today we take a look at the prophecies regarding his remaining eight sons. I had hoped to complete this section today but as I worked with it I decided it needed to be divided in two, so we'll conclude it in Wednesday's session. I don't want to have to cut any of the information short in order to make room on this page for the remaining eight prophecies.
"Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon." (Genesis 49:13) The portion of the promised land given to the tribe of Zebulum was located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. It was near the ancient and prosperous port cities of Tyre and Sidon. This was an area in which the children of Israel failed to finish driving out the Canaanite tribes as instructed by God, so the tribe of Zebulun had a great deal of contact with these pagan people. However, during the time of King David, men of the tribe of Zebulun stepped up and supported him 100% and made up a large part of his army.
"Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down among the sheep pens. When 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." (Genesis 49:14-15) At one time Issachar was the third largest tribe of Israel which ought to have made them militarily invincible, but they too failed to drive out all the heathens from their portion of the promised land. The land was so pleasant and the life there was so good that they didn't mind the idolatry in their midst. They just made enough room for themselves to move in and were content to have pockets of pagan idolaters living all around them. Nothing in the Bible speaks about them being slaves of forced manual labor, but the wording Jacob uses may be symbolic. From 1st and 2nd Chronicles we glean the information that the tribe of Issachar became a scholarly people and advisers to kings and officials, so perhaps their servitude was not manual labor but as "wise men" to those in authority. Maybe they weren't physically forced to serve but through their laziness and complacency they drifted into work that was not God's will for them. Jacob's words don't make it sound as if someone conquered them and made them work as slaves; his words sound as if they willingly sold out somehow because he says Issachar "will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit".
"Dan will provide justice for his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan will be a snake by the roadside, a viper along the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider tumbles backwards." (Genesis 49:17) Samson, one of the Bible's best-known judges, will be of the tribe of Dan. This is why Jacob makes reference to this tribe providing justice for his people. But like Samson himself who gets out of the will of God, the tribe of Dan will be the first to fall into idolatry. The tribe of Dan will introduce wicked pagan practices to the nation of Israel and in that sense is a serpent (a tempter) and a trickster and deceiver, like a snake in the grass. The tribe of Dan won't even be mentioned in the list of Israel's twelve tribes in the book of Revelation but we will find Dan's name replaced by the name of Manasseh, one of Joseph's sons. Some scholars believe the descendants of Dan, in the days of Revelation, will rebel entirely against God to the point that the name of Dan is stricken from the list of tribes, but we can't say for certain if that is the reason for the omission of Dan's name. Other scholars suggest that the Antichrist of the book of Revelation will be from the tribe of Dan but I'm doubtful of this since the small bits of information we're given about this person indicates he will be a Gentile.
Jacob seems to interrupt his own narrative here to cry out to God for help. "I look for Your deliverance, Lord." (Genesis 49:18) Could it be that the weight of these prophecies are burdening his heart and he cries out to the Lord for the heart to continue on? Is it that he sees hard times for the tribes of his sons but that he also foresees the deliverance of the coming King and Messiah? Is it that he is so near death that he has to pause here and ask the Lord for the physical strength to finish the prophecies? I'm not sure but it wouldn't harm any of us if, from time to time throughout our day, we stopped what we were doing and called out to the Lord. Whatever Jacob's purpose is for this pause, it's a hopeful pause. He looks for the Lords deliverance in an expectant attitude. King David will have that same attitude when he describes his daily morning prayer time, saying, "In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait expectantly." (Psalm 5:3) Jacob cries out to the Lord in verse 18 not because he thinks the Lord might help him, but because he knows the Lord will help him. You and I are to approach the Lord in prayer with this same attitude. Our God is willing and eager to hear us and help us.
Let's take pauses today and pray for our world and its current crisis. Let's lay our requests before the Lord and wait expectantly for His help.
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