Genesis 49:28

Now at the age of 147 he called for all his sons to tell them their future. That future reached much further than any of them would live to see. It applies to each tribe, and goes on to "the last days" (v. 1). For each tribe borrows its character from the character of its head. Jacob's failing eyesight did not deceive him, unlike his father Isaac's (Gen. 27:1-25).

Verse 28 closes the account of Israel blessing each of the tribes. It may not sound as though Simeon and Levi were blessed (vv. 5-7). But the honest exposure of their sin is itself a blessing, if they would accept it and judge themselves.

But someone may ask: where is Reuben's blessing in all this? The verse says of all of them, "each with the blessing suitable to him" — that is, whatever would be a blessing in his own case. For Reuben, it must be found, then, in this very deprivation of his. When the will accepts its humiliation — when we say, though for a different reason than the Lord had, "Not my will, but Yours"! — then it is blessed, and its glory returns to it.

The closing scene of Jacob's life comes near, and I know few things in the Bible more moving. It is a complete moral restoration. It is not only a picture of what Israel will be later; Jacob's own soul is what it never was before. No moment in his past life is as bright as his deathbed.

In Genesis 49, we find Jacob still presented to us as a man of faith. He called his sons together to pronounce a blessing on them. He knew that in doing so he was speaking as a prophet, foretelling what would happen to them in the last days. So we are on safe ground when we take his words to refer to "the last days," and not just to the nearer future of the tribes.

Here you have the blessing of the tribes of Israel — a general prophetic view of their history. Reuben, Israel's firstborn, fails. Simeon and Levi stand for corruption and violence, the failure of those who try to hold their rights by natural force. Judah has strength and honour. But it all goes on until failure is complete... Then there is turning to the Lord for salvation, and all is changed. "I wait for your salvation, O LORD." Faith waits until God steps in... in Joseph, a rejected Christ exalted.

Jacob gives the history of what his sons did, some of it sad and shameful. Moses, on the other hand, presents what divine grace did, whether in them or toward them... Jacob sees his sons in their personal history. Moses sees them in their covenant relationship with the LORD. Jacob shows us human failure, weakness and sin. Moses shows us God's faithfulness, goodness and steadfast love.

It may be instructive to compare the case of Levi as an instance of God making His judgment an occasion of blessing. Genesis 49:7 says, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." But in Deuteronomy 33:10 we see how God overrules that dividing and scattering, so that they teach "Jacob your rules, and Israel your law" more effectively. "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more."