Genesis 49:1-28

God may not reveal your future but he can restore it.

Outline

  • First, God blesses undeserving people (49:1, 28, 2-7, 13-28)
  • Second, God blesses undeserving people with unexpected promises (49:8-12)
    • The unexpected promise of a warrior (49:8-9)
    • The unexpected promise of a king (49:10)
    • The unexpected promise of a conqueror (49:11-12)

Christ Connections

  • Can there still be a blessing from God for a person like you? All of us are under the curse of the law because of our sin but Jesus takes on the curse on the cross so that, just like Jacob’s sons in Genesis 49, we might experience the blessing of Abraham. So that we might receive the gift of the Spirit through our faith in Christ.
  • We learn much about God from Joseph’s blessing:
    • When Jacob describes God as the “Mighty One of Jacob”, it points forward to Mary’s praise of her pregnancy in Luke 1 as she celebrates God as the “Mighty One.” 
    • When Jacob describes God as the “Shepherd”, it points forward to the way Jesus later depicts himself in John 10 as “the good shepherd [who] lays down his life for the sheep.” 
    • When Jacob describes God as “the Stone of Israel”, it points ahead to Jesus who is described in 1 Peter as “the stone that the builders rejected” who becomes the “cornerstone”
    • The blessings that come from Israel to his sons anticipate the blessings that will come through the True Israel to us
  • Judah’s blessing makes three promises about Christ:
    • The unexpected promise of a warrior: Jacob describes the coming deliverer as a warrior whose hand will be on the necks of his enemies as he brings about surrender that causes even his father’s sons to bow down. In Revelation 5:5, we see this unexpected promise of a warrior becoming true in Jesus Christ. Judah’s blessing will come through battle a warrior who will come who is as mighty as a roaring lion to rescue his people from their enemies.
    • The unexpected promise of a king: Jacob uses royal language to anticipate an eternal king, a victorious king, and a universal king that is fulfilled in Christ.
    • The unexpected promise of a conqueror: While the passage images a mighty conqueror, Jesus will come into the world as the poor son of a carpenter. He thus experiences no abundance or prosperity from a worldly standpoint. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he is now seated at the right hand of the Father in the place of abundance. And like a conqueror who disburses the plunder of the victory to his people, Christ the warrior King pours out the victory gift of the Spirit upon the church.

Applications

  • Blessing means to provide, be filled with strength, experience abundance. To bless someone is to speak a promise of God’s future provision over their lives.
  • Do you see yourself in one of these brothers? Maybe you are like Reuben running after pleasure has caused you to reject God’s plan. Maybe you are like Simeon & Levi your anger gets the best of you and now you worry if you’ve lost out on God’s best of you. It doesn’t matter how far away your sin has taken you from God, Jesus can bring you back.