Bible History of the Old Testament

No. 28

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The Last Blessing of Jacob  -  Death of Jacob  -  Death of Joseph 

It was the last for Jacob now, and he gathered his twelve sons by his bed.  The words which he spoke to them were of mingled blessing and prophecy.  It was as if before him unrolled a prophetic vision and he saw pictures of the tribes of which his sons were to be the ancestors.  Everything he saw he told them about it.  These were not representations of specific times, but descriptions that are given of prophetic visions generally.  They were pictures that Jacob saw without having any perspective of the time frame that went with them.  He could not discern the distance from what he saw right then to the distance of each thing as it actually happened. 

Also, in the "blessing" that he spoke over each son, the name that was given to each of them reflects the future character and history of that particular tribe.  And lastly, it seems that these words of blessing must have been spoken by Jacob himself.  Now we address ourselves to the words of blessing that Jacob gave to each of his sons:

REUBEN, my firstborn thou,

My might and the firstling of my strength,

Pre-eminence of dignity and pre-eminence of power ---

This should have been the position of Reuben as the firstborn, had it not been for his boiling passions and subsequent sins.  Because of this Jacob continues:

Upboiling like water,

Thou shalt not have the pre-eminence,

Because thou wentest up thy father's bed,

Then defiledst thou it ---

He went up my couch!

 

The sons next in age to Reuben were Simeon and Levi.  Jacob had recoiled with horror even on his death-bed at their wanton cruelty at Shechem.  This had made them companions in evil.  As they had united for evil, so God would scatter them in Israel, so that they should not form independent and compact tribes.  For a point of fact, we know that even at the second numbering of Israel that Simeon had sunk to be the smallest tribe.  In the last blessing of Moses, there is no mention made of Simeon at all.  This tribe also does not seem to have obtained any well-defined portion of the land, but just held certain cities within Judah.  Also, we know that the families of Simeon that did increase and become powerful, left the Holy Land and settled outside its boundaries. 

The tribe of Levi also did not receive any possession in Israel.  Their scattering, though, was changed from a cursing into a blessing by their election to the priesthood.  This scattering of two tribes was the significant answer which God in His righteous providence made to their ancestors' attempt at vindicating the honor of their race by carnal means and weapons. 

SIMEON and LEVI are brethren;

Instruments of violence with their swords;

Into their council come not thou, oh my soul,

Unto their assembly be not thou united, mine honour;

For in their anger they slew men,

And in their self-will they hamstrung oxen.

Cursed Be their anger, for it was fierce,

And their wrath, for it was cruel.

I will divide them in Jacob,

And scatter them in Israel.

 

The three older brothers were thus dispossessed, and Joseph received the twofold territorial portion, so the other privileges of the birthright were solemnly transferred to Judah.  He was to be the leader, "the lion."  As the lion is king of the forest, so was Judah to have royal sway, through David onwards to the Son of God Himself coming into the world as a babe.  He was to be known as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," and all nations would render homage and obedience to Him. 

Similarly, Judah was also to receive earthly riches as they would themselves be emblems of the spiritual riches that would be dispensed in the portion of Judah.  This whole description is full of Messianic allusions.  In the blessings upon Judah we note, for the first time, how the prophetic significance of the name unfolds and appears:

JUDAH thou! Thy brethren shall praise thee!

Thy hand in the neck of thine enemies,

Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee.

A lion's whelp is Judah;

From the prey, my son, thou art gone up:

He stoopeth down, he coucheth like a lion,

And like a lioness -- who shall rouse him?

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

Until SHILOH come,

And to HIM willing obedience of the nations!

He bindeth unto the vine his foal,

And unto the choice vine his ass's color;

He washeth his garments in wine,

And in the blood of grapes his raiment;

Sparkling his eyes from wine,

And white his teeth from milk.

 

For illustrations of this richness of the portion of Judah, the Bible talks about the best wine in Palestine grew near Hebron and Engedi (Numb. 13:23; Sol. Song 1: 14), and some of the best pastureland was south of Hebron, about Tekoa and Carmel (I Sam. 25: 2; 2 Chron. 26: 10; Amos 1:1).

The next blessing also connects itself with the name of Zebulun, or "dwelling", though it must have not been intended as a literal prediction.  The possessions of the tribe of Zebulun, so far as we can judge from Joshua 19: 10 - 16 never actually touched the Mediterranean nor the Sea of Galilee, nor yet literally bordered on Zidon.

ZEBULUN -- by the coast of seas shall he dwell,

And that, by the coast of ships,

And his side towards Zidon.

 

The name of Issachar, "reward or hire", is also prophetic of the character of the tribe.  The land given to them was in the rich portion of Lower Galilee, and they seemed to prefer labor and quietness of life, not power and domination. 

ISSACHAR is a bony ass,

Crouching between the folds.

He saw rest, that it was a boon,

And the land, that it was pleasant,

And he bent his shoulder to bear,

And became a tributary servant.

 

The name of Dan meant "judgment".  Although he was only the son of a bondmaid, he was not to be behind his brethren, but "give judgment" to his people.  The reference here could be because such men as Samson were a part of this tribe, though maybe it was to the general character of the tribe.  There is another mysterious and really important allusion that is given in this blessing of Dan:

DAN shall give judgment to his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way,

An adder in the path,

Which biteth the heels of the horse

So that backwards falleth his rider.

 

There is no authoritative explanation that can really be given here comparing Dan to a serpent, and also to the kind of adder that is the color of the sand and remains unobserved until it has given its deadly bite.  It is possible that this might be an allusion to apostasy or to the Antichrist.  The reason for this might be that the name of Dan is omitted from the list of the tribes given in Revelation 7: 5 - 8.  It is also significant that Jacob burst forth in a prayer immediately after the mention of these contests in connection with Dan.  This may have been not only to express his own personal faith and hope, but to give his descendants confidence that no matter what happened, God would always be ultimately in control.

There is a threefold allusion to a kindred word that signifies oppression in reference to Gad.  To this, though, we cannot attach any definite historical fulfillment. 

GAD -- a press presseth upon him,

But he presseth on their heel.

 

In the case of Asher, the reference is evidently to the most fertile possession of that tribe, which extended from Mount Carmel to the land of Tyre - the district that was richest in corn and oil.

Out of ASHER fatness:  his bread ----

And he yieldeth royal dainties.

 

The allusion to Naphtali is to the graceful agility and fleetness of the people, and also to their mental ability and quickness.

NAPHTALI is a hind let loose ---

He uttereth words of beauty.

 

Jacob saved the sons of his beloved wife Rachel for the last two blessing/prophecies.  As he comes to Jacob, it seems as if his whole heart were overflowing.  First, he sketches his fruitfulness, and then he describes his strength as derived from God Himself.  Then lastly, he pours forth richest blessings that were far richer than any for the others.

Son of a fruit-tree (a fruitful bough) is JOSEPH,

Son of a fruit-tree by a well,

Whose daughters (branches) spread over the wall.

The archers harass him,

They shoot at him, and hate him;

But his bow abideth in firmness,

And the arms of his hands remain supple

From the Hands of the Strong One of Jacob,

From thence, from the Shepherd, from the Rock of Israel,

From the God of thy father -- may He help thee!

And from the Almighty -- may He bless thee!

Blessings of heaven from above!

Blessings of the deep that lieth beneath!

Blessings of the breasts and of the womb!

The blessings of thy father exceed

The blessings of my ancestors

Unto the bound of the everlasting hills --May they come on the head of Joseph,

And on the crown of the head of him who is separated among his brethren!

 

The blessing/prophecy for Benjamin was much different for the one that Jacob had just given to Joseph.

BENJAMIN -- a wolf who ravins:

In the morning he devoureth prey,

And at even he divideth spoil!

 

After the had spoken the last blessing/prophecies, Jacob once more told his sons that he wanted to be buried in the cave of Machpelah where his fathers were buried.  Then he gathered up his feet into the bed and lay down peacefully.  Without sigh or struggle, he died. 

This marked the end of Jacob, who was the most pilgrim-like of all the pilgrim fathers.  His last wishes were obeyed to the latter.  After Joseph had had his time of mourning for his father, he commanded that his father be embalmed.  The process lasted for 40 days, and for 70 days the Egyptians mourned.  At the end of that period Joseph could not go to Pharaoh in person because he was still wearing the garb of mourning, but he sent the servants to ask him to give permission for himself and his family to go up and bury his father in Canaan to comply with his last wishes. 

Pharaoh consented, and the funeral procession included Joseph and all his house, his brothers and their houses, and also "all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt."   All the principal state and court officials went along under a guard of both chariots and horsemen.  Since there were so many influential people in the caravan, they would have naturally avoided any territory held by the Philistines.  This would have been the direct route, but they took  a circuitous route through the desert and around the Dead Sea.  This was also  the same basic route that the Israelites took many years later as they were leaving the bondage of Egypt. 

The account of the funeral and embalming is strictly in accordance with what we have learned from Egyptian monuments and history.  The custom of funeral processions existed in every province of Egypt, and their representations are seen on the oldest of tombs.  Naturally, the inhabitants of the district that they crossed would have wondered what was going on.  Since this was a commonplace thing, people started to call it the "mourning of the Egyptians."  When the procession crossed into the land of Canaan, though, the Egyptians did not go any father and let only Joseph and his extended family go the rest of the way.

When everything was finished concerning the burial, they all returned to Egypt.  Uneasy doubts started to come into the minds of the brothers, that now that their father was dead, Joseph might try to get revenge on them for what they had done to him all those  years before.  They did not his heart, or appreciate his motives, though.  The thought of their even thinking such thoughts moved them to tears.  He told them that even though they had meant to do him harm, God had meant it for good and had blessed him tremendously more than he could ever have imagined.  He lovingly assured them that he would care for them and their little ones, and finally their fears were appeased.

Joseph lived another 54 years in Egypt.  He had the joy of seeing his father's blessing start to be fulfilled.  Ephraim and Manasseh's grandchildren were "brought up on his knees", and he lived to the good old age of 110 years.  As he felt death approaching, he gathered his family around him. 

He was full of honors in Egypt; he had founded a family that was highly revered in all the land.  Yet his last act was to disown Egypt and choose the lot of Israel.  He renounced the present in order to cleave to the future.  It was a most noble act of faith, and just like that of his fathers.  His last words were these:  "I die:  and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which He sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."  His last deed was to take a solemn oath of the children of Israel, to carry up his bones with them into the land of promise.  Thus, even after Joseph was dead he spoke to Israel by telling them that they were only temporary sojourners in Egypt, that their eyes must be turned away from Egypt and to the Promised Land, and that in patience of faith they must wait for that hour when God would certainly and graciously fulfill His own promise to them. 

In the time of Abraham, God had spoken several times to him personally and reminded him of the covenant that he had made with him.  Also God had done that for Isaac and Jacob, but not as often as with Abraham.  From the time that Jacob had paid his vow in Bethel, no personal manifestation of God was any more given except on his entrance into Egypt, and then it was for a special purpose only.  We do not read of God manifesting Himself in any way to Joseph personally, even during all his many trying times and everything bad that happened to him. 

Now there were centuries to follow with utter silence on God's part in connecting with man in any way.  During all that weary period, with the misery of the Israelites in Egypt and the temptation of idolatry constantly increasing around them, God did not speak to them, warn them of anything, or cheer them on in any way.  All they had to sustain them was what God had spoken to them in the past with all the promises that He had made them.  All that had to be sufficient for them during these trying years. 

Joseph's life had formed a great turning-point in their history, and it was surely significant that God did not physically speak to him a single time in all his life.  As God was ceasing His communication with man during this time, the Israelites were to go through one of the very darkest times in their history.

For more information from this book, go to the Archives Page at my site   www.cathydeaton.com     There are other articles of interest there also.

This text is taken from the book Bible History Old Testament written by Alfred Edersheim.  This book has been used by permission.