1 Chronicles 5:1–2

Jacob when dying said of Reuben, "You are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power." This is what he was as the firstborn. In himself he was "unstable as water," and he would not excel (Genesis 49:3-4). He forfeited his birthright for defiling his father's bed. It was given to Joseph, who in Ephraim and Manasseh had a double portion among the tribes (1 Chronicles 5:1). The law said that if a man's firstborn son was by a wife he hated, he must not put the son of another wife in his place. The firstborn must have a double portion of all that the man had, "for he is the firstfruits of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his" (Deuteronomy 21:16-17).

Reuben did forfeit his birthright, and it was entirely his own fault. He had gone up to his father's bed and committed adultery with Bilhah, his father's concubine. So he was deprived of his privileges (Genesis 35:22; Genesis 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2). The position linked with the birthright went to Judah, the fourth son of Leah. Simeon and Levi were passed over because of their violence against the inhabitants of Shechem (Genesis 34). The wealth linked with it went to Joseph, the first son of Rachel, the loved one. The firstborn was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance.

The one who dishonoured his father — and in a way not even found among the nations that do not know God — was forgiven. But he lost his birthright. He could have no pre-eminence, either now or when God's kingdom comes for the earth and Jesus is the head over all things heavenly as well as earthly.

The firstborn, or the one who stands in that place, ranks ahead of the whole family, and the main family line usually runs through him. But Reuben is set aside. The natural prominence of the birthright only sank him lower when he lost it. When did the natural order ever hold up under the righteous government of God? The order of nature is not God's order, and nothing can meet the wandering of nature but the sovereign mercy of God.

The birthright was his by right of birth, but it was taken from him (v. 1) and given to Joseph and his sons. As in all the rest of Scripture, Joseph is here a picture of the Messiah, rejected by his brothers and afterwards receiving dominion over the nations. But our passage (vv. 1-2) explains why he does not come first here. His place goes to Judah, the line of the kingship according to God's counsels: "Of him was the prince." Once again we see how Chronicles keeps to its purpose: to show God's counsels about the kingship.

In the wisdom of God the birthright and the chief rule are for a brief space separated. And necessarily so for the purposes of redemption. The birthright was Christ's when He came into the world; it belongs to Him personally. But if He had taken the chief rule then, it could only have been in judgment. If the Lord Jesus had taken the supremacy then, which is His by right of office, where would the cross be? Where would the glory of God be — the highest glory, the glory of His grace? Where would redemption be?

Then in 1 Chronicles 5 comes Reuben. We have had the purpose of God before us, so we are not taken back simply to the line of nature. Reuben falls into the second place… This is a kind of side note explaining why Judah is first among the tribes, and Reuben sinks into a secondary place.

Reuben did forfeit his birthright entirely through his own fault. He had gone up to his father's bed and committed adultery with Bilhah, his father's concubine. So he lost his privileges (Genesis 35:22; Genesis 49:3-4; 1 Chronicles 5:1-2). The position linked with the birthright went to Judah, the fourth son of Leah… But the wealth linked with it went to Joseph, the first son of Rachel, the loved one. The firstborn had a right to a double portion of the inheritance. Or rather it went to Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, whom Jacob had blessed earlier and more or less adopted as his own sons (Genesis 48).

We may note that Joseph is given two portions — Manasseh and Ephraim. This fulfils Genesis 48:5-6; and according to 1 Chronicles 5:1, the birthright forfeited by Reuben was given to the sons of Joseph. Since he has two portions the number of the tribes remains twelve, although Levi is not counted.

"Judah prevailed." What a gracious way of declaring God's pre-determined purpose! Look at his history: what did Judah do to gain this honour? He was one with his brothers in their hatred of Joseph. He shrank from shedding his brother's blood, yet he was the one who suggested selling him to the slave-trading Midianites, after Reuben had stepped in to save his life… Judah's prevailing is simply the will of God. He prevailed, not by his goodness. The Holy Spirit has given a sketch from his private life, and tells his character and sin plainly (Genesis 38). No other son of Jacob is brought into the light like this. What is more, his sinful relationship produced Perez, and the genealogy runs through him.

Psalm 78 shows us the Lord awaking. But it sets aside all rights of inheritance, and all witness to His earlier dealings with Israel. For (1 Chronicles 5) the birthright was Joseph's — "He CHOSE the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved. He CHOSE David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds."

The birthright was his by right of birth, but it was taken from him (v. 1) and given to Joseph and his sons. As in all the rest of Scripture, Joseph here is a picture of the Messiah, rejected by his brothers and later receiving rule over the nations. But our passage (vv. 1-2) explains why he does not come first here. His place is given to Judah, the stock of the kingship according to God's counsels: "Of him was the prince."

What wondrous truths are wrapped up in Joseph's dreams! Their fulfilment in Joseph himself is only a picture of a still more wonderful and blessed fulfilment in Him. In Him all the honours and glories of birthright and chief rule will be united. It was the will of God then to give the birthright to Joseph and the royalty to Judah. Therefore we read, "Judah prevailed above his brothers and of him came the chief ruler." For a brief space both are seen in Joseph.

The birthright and the first place belonged to the firstborn, but the title did not always mark who was born first. Joseph received the birthright, though Reuben was Jacob's eldest son (1 Chronicles 5:1-2). Solomon had the first place as king and heir, though he was one of David's younger sons. So the Lord was born late in the world's history, yet He could have, and does have, the place and portion of Firstborn.