The whole of Chapter 49 deals with Jacob blessing all his sons –
In v1-2 “Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days.””
I believe this is the first conscious prophecy spoken by man in the Bible. There were many pronounced by God e.g. Genesis 3:15.
Jewish traditions consider that Jacob was about to bless his sons and tell them ‘the great secret concerning the end of time.’ But at that moment the Glory of God visited and left just as quickly, taking all trace of the knowledge of the great mystery, so he couldn’t tell them.
If you have time read through the list and you will see that many of them came to pass but some remain a bit unclear, and it may well be that we will only see their fulfilment in a coming day. I find much of this very difficult to understand and I am not going to try to explain it.
I will mention just two – Benjamin – the tribe of Benjamin became important. Descendants of Benjamin are often mentioned. King Saul, Israel’s first king, was of the tribe of Benjamin, and last man was Saul, who became the apostle Paul. Who persecuted the people of the Way, later called Christians, who was amazingly converted on the Damascus Road, and became the most eminent, devoted follower of Christ, authoring a large portion of our New Testament.
The other, Judah – “You are he whom your brothers shall praise….as a lion…. the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet….to him shall be the obedience of the people.”
Judah wasn’t a completely exemplary character. He suggested a profit motive in getting rid of Joseph (Genesis 37:26). He did not deal faithfully with his daughter-in-law Tamar (Genesis 38:26) and he had sex with her as a prostitute (Genesis 38:18). But he did shine when he interceded and offered himself as a substitute for Joseph (Genesis 44:18-34). Overall, this blessing is an example of the riches of God’s grace.
In Revelation 5:5 Jesus is called The lion of the tribe of Judah. Our Lord Jesus was of the tribe of Judah.
49:10 “Until Shiloh comes” (KJV) – The people of Israel wanted a king, and they chose Saul of the line of Benjamin – going against the words of Jacob. But God planned David of the line of Judah. The prophecy took some 640 years to fulfil in part (with the reign of David, first of Judah’s dynasty), and some 1600 years to fulfil in Jesus. Shiloh “He whose right it is”, a word of uncertain meaning but held by Christians and Jews to mean the Messiah. Shiloh means ‘Man of peace’ the word Shalom derives from it. So, Judah would hold the throne until Shiloh comes. When he comes, he will hold the sceptre and reign. Peace is not the absence of war. There’s peace in a cemetery but nothing else. It means putting peace into someone’s life. Jesus brings peace which you and I can never bring – peace with God, a peace which is beyond our understanding. He is also going to bring peace among the nations. He didn’t do it when he first came but he will second time. How we need it desperately. How we need the Prince of Peace.
The chapter ends eventually with Jacob dying. And chapter 50 begins with – ‘they embalmed his body to preserve it for burial in Canaan as Joseph promised.’
