Jacob Blesses His Sons
Read Genesis 49:1–28. What is the spiritual significance of Jacob’s
blessing on his sons?
Beyond the prophecies concerning the immediate history of the
tribes of Israel, Jacob sees the Messiah and the ultimate hope of salva-
tion. This hope already is indicated in Jacob’s opening words that use
the expression “in the last days” (Gen. 49:1), a technical expression
that refers to the coming of the Messianic King (Isa. 2:2, Dan. 10:14).
The text then goes through the future line of each of these men.
These are not predestinated fates, as if God willed that each of these
would face what they faced; rather, they are expressions of what their
characters and the characters of their children would bring about. God’s
knowing, for instance, that someone will kill an innocent man is a radi-
cally different thing from God’s having willed that the killer do it.
Read Genesis 49:8–12. What prophecy is given here, and why is it
important?
Over and above human free will, God does know the future, and He
had arranged that it would be through Judah that the Messiah would
come. Judah (Gen. 49:8–12), who is represented by a lion (Gen. 49:9),
refers to royalty and praise. Judah will not only produce King David,
but also the Shiloh; that is, the One who will bring shalom, “peace”
(Isa. 9:6, 7), to Him “shall be the obedience of the people” (Gen. 49:10,
NKJV).
The Jews have long seen this as a Messianic prophecy pointing to the
coming Messiah, and Christians, too, have seen this text as pointing to
Jesus. “Unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10),
which is, perhaps, a precursor to the New Testament promise “that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:10).
As Ellen G. White wrote: “The lion, king of the forest, is a fitting sym-
bol of this tribe, from which came David, and the Son of David, Shiloh,
the true ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah,’ to whom all powers shall finally bow
and all nations render homage.”—Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 236.
Why should we be rendering homage to Jesus now, even before
all nations will do it?
