GENESIS 49
Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.2 “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father.3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch! 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. 6 Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger, they killed men, and in their willfulness, they hamstrung oxen.7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you.9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him;[a]and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
– Genesis 49:1-12
GENESIS 49 JACOB DECLARES PROPHECY & CURSES ON HIS DEATHBED
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
On his deathbed, Jacob finally declares all thoughts he had on his sons
He began to declare all things that he had kept quiet for many years
The Spirit of the Lord was upon Jacob as he wisely utters prophetic words
One among four was blessed but the rest received curses from Jacob.
It was finally on his deathbed when Jacob spoke of his son’s sins. He can now finally speak of the prophetic vision that the Lord showed him, just before he breathed his last. Even though he kept silent about all the evil deeds his sons did, he spoke of the consequences of those sins they committed. Only Judah seemed to be blessed among the first four sons of Jacob. It was from him that David will come forth and so will the Messiah as well
REFLECTION
- Why do you think Jacob kept his mouth shut all those years his sons sinned?
