The Book of Genesis
Part 99
Chapter 49:8-33
Fulfilled prophecy is only one of the many proofs of the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures, but it is a very fascinating one. A servant of Christ, in response to a challenge that he prove the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, asserted that this he could do in one word, and that word was Jew. Of course, he thereby implied fulfilled prophecy in regard to the Jewish people.
As has been noticed, the predictions of both Jacob and Moses relevant to the tribes of Israel in great part have been fulfilled during the intervening centuries.
Zebulun
Jacob’s words to Zebulun implied that his part of the territory was to be on the sea coast, and that he was to have havens of rest for ships. Zebulun, it will be remembered also provided an asylum for Joseph, Mary, and the little Lord Jesus (Matt. 2:1923), for Nazareth was in Galilee of the Gentiles, part of which was within the borders of Zebulun. Here also were Caperanum, Chorazin, and Cana, places in which our Lord ministered in both word and deed. From the land of Zebulun He called several of His disciples, as for example, Philip, Andrew, and Peter. It was from Zebulun that the Lord sent Jonah, who lived in Gath Hepher in Galilee.
It is felt by some that there is in the words of Moses some intimation of the apostolic commission given centuries later by the Lord Jesus. “Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out.” It was on a mountain of Galilee that the Lord sent forth the Apostles, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Issachar
Issachar’s territory was between Zebulun, the maritime tribe, on the north and Manasseh on the south. From the words of Jacob one pictures Issachar as an agricultural people. The marginal reading of verse 14 suggests that Issachar bowed himself between two sheepfolds, as a shepherd watching while resting. As the ass in the Middle East is considered a patient burden-bearer, this adds to the picture of this tribe as an agricultural shepherd community. The land finally allotted by Joshua to Issachar is very fertile.
There are those who believe that this tribe contributed extensively from the plains of Esdraelon food for the royal household, in this manner it was under tribute.
Dan
Both Jacob and Moses picture Dan as fierce and ruthless. Jacob likens him to a reptile, and Moses likens him to a fierce animal. Dan in his movements was as subtle as a serpent and as strong as a lion. He would therefore be a dreadful enemy. Perhaps these are the characteristics that made him so insubordinate and independent and that eventually led him away from God and into idolatry. Judges 18 relates a very sad chapter in the history of this tribe.
When Jeroboam began to reign over the ten tribes which had seceded from the house of David, he set up a golden calf in the city of Dan in the north of the country. This city, because the tribe had found itself cramped in the territory assigned by Joshua, was captured, its inhabitants slain, and its area possessed and peopled by Danites.
In the Book of Revelation chapter seven where the servants of God are sealed in the forehead, 144 thousand out of each tribe in Israel, the name of Dan is omitted from the list. On this account some have assumed that the Anit-Christ, the leader in the national idolatry of the future, will arise from this apostate tribe. If this be so, then we have another proof of the grace of God in the recovery of His own for Ezekiel describes Israel in a day yet to come as a united nation in proper relationship to the Holy City, the millennial capital, and the name of Dan holds a prominent place.
The account of the life of Samson, one of Dan’s greatest sons, apparently epitomizes the history of the entire tribe in its unfaithfulness to God and His testimony. He had a good beginning, a boastful ascendancy characterized by departure from the Lord, divine discipline, and then finally gracious recovery.
Well might Jacob exclaim as he foresaw the general history of this descendant, “I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord!” Only God could deliver from such a decline and from such an evil influence.
Gad
The predictions concerning this tribe are both interesting and instructive. Gad is visualized as an overcomer. True, there were occasions when he would be overcome, but finally he would be victorious. The history of man collectively and individually is made up of defeats and triumphs.
According to the blessing of Moses, Gad was to expand, not by his own ability (the arm) or his own wisdom (the head), but by realizing that in order to provide for himself he had to reserve a portion for the Lawgiver.
Furthermore, because of his close association with the heads of the nation, Gad was to engage in the executing of the righteous judgments of Jehovah. What commendable prophecies!
That Gad was true to this preview is well attested in Scripture. When David was pursued by Saul we read, “And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and ‘buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; … These were the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand.”