INTRODUCTION:

1. Here in Genesis 49 we have Jacob’s last recorded words.  This chapter has been called a poem, and it has been called a prophecy.  It is both.
2. Genesis 49 begins with Jacob calling for his twelve sons, and it ends with Jacob yielding up the ghost and dying (49:1,33).
3. These last words of Jacob to his twelve sons mark the end of the patriarchal dispensation.  At this time, Jacob’s family was already developing into the nation of Israel.
4. Jacob called his sons unto him in order to tell them what would happen to them and their tribes in the latter days. 
5. In the Old Testament, the expression, “the last days” (49:1) can refer to the Messianic Kingdom.  For example, the prophets Isaiah and Micah prophesied that “it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it” (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1).
6. While Jacob does touch upon the Messianic Kingdom (cf. 49:10), most of his prophecy does not refer to any specific period of time but to the days to come after his death, leading up to the millennial kingdom.
7. Twice the aged patriarch said, “Gather yourselves together, and hear” (49:1, 2).  This double exhortation signifies that Jacob’s prophecy is doubly important.
8. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jacob was able to foresee and foretell the general course of events which was to happen to his sons and their descendants in the far-off future.
9. The Holy Spirit gave Jacob remarkable clarity and wisdom.
10. Jacob knew his sons well, and he had watched them closely for many years.  He knew their strengths and their weaknesses. And “now the Holy Spirit enabled Jacob to project the lines of their personalities into the future and predict their future as tribes. Each tribe would expand, amplify, and inherit the dispositional traits seen in its founder” (John Philipps, Exploring Genesis).
11. We have here in Genesis 49 a prediction of the results of character. It includes a review of the past, and a foresight of the future in the light of that past.
12. Jacob had much more to say to his sons Judah and Joseph (49:8-12, 22-26), so I will focus on them first.

I. JUDAH – PRAISE (49:8-12).

1. “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise…” (49:8). His name means, “Praise.”  When Judah was born, his mother Leah said, “Now will I praise the LORD.”  Genesis 29:35 says, “Therefore she called his name Judah.”
2. And not only would the tribe of Judah be noted for praise, but for dominion and sovereignty as well. It is from the tribe of Judah that we get the word “Jew,” and throughout history the words “Jew” and “Judaism” have come to represent the entire nation of Israel.
3. In chapters 43 and 44 we see that Judah had changed.  He had fully redeemed his character, and in chapter 46:28, we see that Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to show the way before him into Goshen.
4. By this time, Judah had emerged as the leader of the brothers, although he was the fourth son, after Reuben, Simeon, and Levi.
5. Therefore, it should not be surprising that Jacob didn’t say a word about Judah’s wicked sons Onan and Er, or the shameful story of Tamar because Judah had apparently repented of his sins and he had genuinely changed. God is gracious, and so Jacob did not mention his sins.
6. Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17 both say, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.”
7. Jacob brought up the ugly sins of Reuben, and Simeon and Levi because they did not repent.  But Judah repented.
8. And because Judah had fully redeemed his character, the future depicted for him is one of glory and blessing. From him was to come the promised Messiah, and thence would issue blessing to the world.
9. Judah would be the royal tribe, the tribe of David.  “Thy father's children shall bow down before thee” (49:8b).
10. “Judah is a lion's whelp…” (49:9a).  The lion is the king of the jungle, and Judah became the kingly tribe.  Revelation 5:5 says the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Lion  of the tribe of Judah.”
11. Hebrews 7:14 says, “For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah.”
12. Psalm 78:68 says God “chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved.”
13. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come” (49:10). During the period of the monarchy these words were abundantly fulfilled. King David and the succeeding kings all the way down the line to King Jesus all came from the tribe of Judah.
14. The sceptre represents kingly authority, and here the “sceptre” has specific reference to the Messiah. Hebrews 1:8 says, “But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom” (cf. Psalm 45:6).
15. “Shiloh” (Genesis 49:10) means “peace and rest.”  Ironically, one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles was the battle of Shiloh (also known as “the Battle of Pittsburg Landing’).  The battle started near a little log church called “Shiloh Church” (Methodist).
16. “Shiloh” (Genesis 49:10) means “peace and rest.”  Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
17. “Shiloh” here has reference to the second coming of Christ.  The Messiah is the “Rest-Giver” (49:10), who will establish His kingdom in Jerusalem.
18. “And unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” (49:10b).  This refers ultimately to the millennial kingdom, when Judah shall bind his foal to the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine (49:11, 12).

II. JOSEPH – FRUITFUL (49:22-26)

1. The blessing of Joseph may be summed up in the word “fruitful” (49:22). Joseph named his second son “Ephraim” because he said, “God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (41:52).
2. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh realized the blessings here predicted for their father Joseph. Ephraim was the leading tribe for at least three centuries, and his land afterwards became the center of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
3. Throughout the Old Testament, the name “Ephraim” often refers to the entire Northern Kingdom, not just the tribe of Ephraim.
4. “Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well…” (49:22).  Our Lord said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
5. God wants us to be fruitful, and God will make us fruitful if we abide in Him. Fruit is the natural and necessary expression of the spiritual life. Believers who are like Joseph, and who are true to God, will always bring forth fruit.
6. Philippians 1:11 says, “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”
7. Galatians 5:22, 23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
8. After referring to Joseph’s fruitfulness, Jacob spoke of Joseph’s foes – “The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him” (49:23).  Joseph was hated by his brothers. 
9. Three times in Genesis 37 it says, “they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him…and they hated him yet the more…” (37:4, 5, 8).
10. After Jacob died, the brothers were afraid that Joseph would bring this up, but Joseph assured them that they were forgiven (50:15-21).
11. In addition to Joseph’s fruitfulness and his foes, Jacob spoke of Joseph’s faith – “the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob” (49:24).  One cannot have Joseph’s strength without having faith in Joseph’s God.
12. Ephesians 6:10 says, “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”
13. Joseph’s strong faith carried him through all of his trials and troubles – being thrown into a pit by his brothers; then being sold into slavery; than being falsely accused by Potiphar’s wicked wife; than being put into prison, etc.
14. In addition to Joseph’s fruitfulness and his foes, and his faith, Jacob spoke of Joseph’s fullness – the words “bless” and “blessings” are used six times in verses 25 and 26 in reference to Joseph.

III. THE OTHER TEN SONS

1. Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn, but he was “unstable as water” (49:3, 4).  Therefore, Jacob said, “thou shalt not excel” (49:4). Reuben never did excel, and the tribe of Reuben never rose to prominence.
2. No prophet, no judge, or no king came from the tribe of Reuben.
3. Reuben was an immoral man.  He lacked character, and though over forty years had passed, Jacob had not forgotten Reuben’s terrible sin (49:4).
4. It is interesting that after rebuking Reuben directly, “thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou,” Jacob then says to his other sons, “he went up to my couch” (49:4).
5. Perhaps this was the first time the other brothers heard about Reuben’s sin.  Genesis 35:22 says, “that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it,” but the Bible does not say if Reuben’s brothers heard about it.
6. It is very likely that Jacob strongly rebuked Reuben because Reuben never repented of his sin.
7. The second son was Simeon, and the third was Levi.  They are grouped together because they were partners in crime when they massacred the Shechemites.  Simeon and Levi were “instruments of cruelty” (49:5).
8. Jacob condemned them for their fierce, murderous anger; their self-will; their cruelty, etc. (49:5-7).
9. Many years had passed, but Jacob never forgot their treachery and their fierce violence to their peaceful and harmless neighbors.
10. Simeon and Levi had never repented of their massacre in Shechem.  When Jacob rebuked them, they justified their treachery by saying, “Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?” (34:31).
11. Genesis 49:7 says, “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel,” and that is precisely what happened.  Simeon and Levi were scattered. Simeon became the smallest of the tribes, and was eventually absorbed into the tribe of Judah. 
12. In Deuteronomy 33, when Moses came to bless the tribes of Israel, he did not mention Simeon at all.
13. When Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me,” all the sons of Levi stood with him (Exodus 32:26).   So, the Levites redeemed themselves and became the priestly tribe.
14. And so, when you study the Bible, you see that Simeon is scattered in judgment, and Levi is scattered in blessing.
15. From the tribe of Levi have come some of the great names of the Bible, including Moses, Aaron, Phinehas, Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and John the Baptist.
16. After blessing Judah, Jacob moved on to Zebulun (49:13). “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea…” It is not clear if Zebulun’s borders ever touched the Sea of Galilee or the Mediterranean Sea.
17. Jacob said to his sons, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days” (49:1), so this prophecy may have a future fulfillment.
18. Furthermore, there is no record of his border reaching “unto Zidon” (49:13).  Therefore, this prophecy will probably be fulfilled during the millennial kingdom.
19. Before moving on, it should be noted that our Lord performed many mighty miracles in Zebulun (cf. Matthew 4:13-16).
20. Next comes Issachar (49:14, 15).  “Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens” (49:14). An ass is a stupid beast of burden.
21. “And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute” (49:15).  He was complacent and rather indolent. Issachar succumbed to the temptation of an easy life, and that led to servitude.
22. The next son was Dan (49:16-18). “Dan shall judge his people.”  Samson was from the tribe of Dan, and he judged Israel for 20 years.
23. Dan is described as a serpent, biting and causing trouble. The subtlety of the serpent is proverbial, and goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
24. Genesis 3:1 says, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.” Perhaps it was with the serpent in mind that Jacob cried out, “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD” (49:18).  
25. Genesis 3:15 is the first Messianic prophecy in the Bible.  The LORD said that He would put enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between the devil’s seed and the woman’s seed (Christ).
26. Christ shall bruise the serpent’s head, and the serpent shalt bruise his heel.
27. In the Book of Revelation, chapter 7, when the 144,000 from the twelve tribes of Israel are listed, it is said that 12,000 from each of the tribes will make up the 144,000 Israelites who will be our Lord’s witnesses during the coming tribulation.
28. But the tribe of Dan is missing.  Why?  Many say because the tribe of Dan was the first tribe to fall into idolatry.
29. Some Bible teachers (Merrill Unger, John Phillips) teach that the coming antichrist will be from the tribe of Dan, but the Bible isn’t clear on that.  We don’t even know if the antichrist will be a Jew or a Gentile.
30. Interestingly, when you look at Ezekiel chapter 48, which describes the land being divided during the millennial kingdom, verse 1 says, “Now these are the names of the tribes….”  Twelve tribes are listed, and the tribe of Dan is mentioned first.
31. Gad is described as being overcome by a troop (49:19). But he shall overcome at the last.
32. Revelation 21:7 says, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
33. Asher is next (49:20).His name means “Blessed,” and blessedness is one of the marks of the godly life. “His bread shall be fat (rich)….”
34. Moses said, “Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil” (Deut. 33:24).
35. Several of the sons of Jacob are likened to animals – Judah is a lion; Issachar is a strong ass; Dan shall be like a serpent; Benjamin is a wolf; and “Naphtali is a hind let loose” (49:21).  This signifies activity, and vitality, and agility.
36. W.H. Griffith Thomas said, “The active life is always the happy life, and the easy-going life is always the dangerous life” (Genesis).
37. After Joseph comes Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob’s twelve sons (49:27). Benjamin is compared to a wolf, ready both morning and evening to go after his prey (49:27). Benjamin was the smallest of the tribes, and yet the Benjamites became prominent for their courage, fierceness, and power.
38. The apostle Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin, and he told young Timothy, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (II Timothy 4:2).
39. Like his fellow Benjamites who in the morning devour the prey, and at night divide the spoil (Gen. 49:27).

CONCLUSION:

1. After Jacob was finished with his speech, he blessed his sons – he “blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them” (49:28).
2. Jacob had had to bring up the sins of some of his sons, nevertheless, each son was blessed with his own special blessing.
3. Then, after the blessing came the charge. Jacob commanded them to bury him in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, back in the land of Canaan (49:29-32).
4. Then Jacob “gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people” (49:33). “Gathered unto his people” means Jacob believed that though his “people” (Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Rachel and others) were dead, he would be reunited with them in heaven.
5. Do you have this assurance?