An Historical Perspective for the Book of Mormon ~ The Blessings of Jacob

The Blessings of Jacob

 

 

The Book of Genesis tells us: And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.  Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. (Genesis 49: 1-2)

 

These are the blessings by birth order:

• Reuben:  Though he was the firstborn and, by rights, should have had the birthrights, he "defiled" his father's bed and showed himself to be unstable, and therefore he lost that right.
• Simeon and Levi are the next sons, brothers of the same mother.  They showed themselves to be angry and cruel men, even by killing a man.  As a result, Jacob said they would be "scattered in Israel."  It is interesting that the Levites were scattered in Israel and had no land inheritance, although, through the loyalty of Moses and his brother, Aaron, they were trusted with the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood.
• Judah was called "a lion's whelp," and he was promised that from his lineage would spring the rulers of Israel and that the other houses of Israel would "bow down before [them]."  King David was from the House of Judah as was his son, Solomon.  They were to rule in Israel until "Shiloh" comes - Shiloh meaning peace or prince of peace.  Unto Him would Israel be ultimately gathered.  The Prince of Peace is, of course, Jesus Christ, who was also born of David's lineage and was a Prince of Judah.
• Zebulon was promised an inheritance by the sea.  His final place in the land of Israel was not directly on the sea, but close to it.
• Issachar was compared to a strong beast of burden and was told that he would be a servant because his shoulders could bear up under the burdens placed upon it.
• Dan would be a nation of judges.  The Books of Joshua and Chronicles talk of Danites also being great warriors.  Samson was a famous judge in Israel and also a Danite.
• Gad's descendants would be warriors.
• Asher would be prosperous.
• Naphtali would be a tribe that went where it please, but gave good counsel.
• Benjamin was called a ravenous wolf, but after he conquered, he would share the spoils.

I've saved Joseph for last, even though he was the eleventh son of Jacob and the elder son of Rachel, Jacob's most beloved wife (the other son being Benjamin.)  Joseph's blessing is of particular interest because it is Joseph who ultimately received the birthright blessing.  While he was not the eldest of all the sons, he is the eldest son through the one wife whom Jacob loved the best.  Joseph also proved himself to be a faithful, strong, and worthy representative of his father's family by the way he handled his enslavement, imprisonment, rise to power, and ultimate complete forgiveness of his brothers.

 

These are three of Joseph's blessings as they are recorded in Genesis:

• Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
• The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
• The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. (Genesis 49:22-24, 26)

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. (Genesis 49:28)

 

Let us return now to yesterday's narrative.  When the Jews were led captive into Babylon, they remained a cohesive group.  By God’s grace, the Babylonians didn’t follow the practices of the Assyrians and send people hither and yon.  In fact, the Babylonians selected bright young Jewish men to train who became part of the government leadership (Daniel being the prime example). After Persia conquered Babylon, the Persian King, Darius, sent the Jews back to Jerusalem with his support to rebuild the city and the temple.

 

Now let's tie this into the blessings.  If you’ll recall, Judah was promised that the Messiah would be born of his descendants.  Jesus could not have been born in Judah some 500 years later if the Jews had been scattered and lost like the other tribes!  God knew Darius before he was born and inspired him to allow this remnant of Judah to return to Jerusalem (about 530 B.C.)

The other important blessing was the one Jacob gave to his son, Joseph.  Joseph, he said, would be a “fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall.” (Genesis 49:22)  Tomorrow, we will see this promise was fulfilled in the family of a prophet named Lehi.

Text copyright June 2013 Gebara Education

Picture of Jacob blessing his sons from www.lds.org

Picture of Darius the Great of Persia from www.4.wittenburg.edu