As we approach the end of Genesis, we have the account of the blessings Jacob pronounced on his sons after he had bestowed a special blessing on Joseph's sons, his grandsons Manasseh and Ephraim: “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel" (Genesis 49:2). He pronounced the longest and choicest blessings on two of his twelve sons, Judah and Joseph. Let's look at Joseph's blessing here:
“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his. He will tether his donkey to a vine, his colt to the choicest branch; he will wash his garments in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes will be darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk" (Genesis 49:8-12).
When reading any of the blessings, including Judah's, the reader is confronted with some thoughtful phrases filled with beautiful images and elegant words. Jacob must have given a lot of thought to what he said, and it seems he spoke in front of all the sons, not meeting with them one on one even if he did not have pleasant things to predict concerning their futures. Yet the only tribe that seemed to maintain their prominence into the times of Jesus were Judah, which was Joseph's and Mary's tribe, and Benjamin, which was the heritage of the Apostle Paul (the Levites also had a presence in the New Testament). It is interesting that the word concerning the tribe of Benjamin was fulfilled quite nicely in Paul's life as a missionary: “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, in the evening he divides the plunder" (Genesis 49:27). In a sense, Jacob wasn't just blessing his sons; he was prophetically addressing the good things to come from his bloodline in Christ.
Are you pronouncing blessings on your family and those closest to you? Do you spend time thinking about how you can bless them through written or spoken words? Are you watching and helping to guide the will and purpose of God in those you love? Do you see that God has an individual purpose for your family members and that you are to help foster and promote that purpose? What more can you do to declare beautiful blessings on others?
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