Genesis
49:13 ¶ Zebulun shall dwell at the haven
of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto
Zidon. 14 Issachar is a strong ass
couching down between two burdens: 15
And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and
bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. 16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the
tribes of Israel. 17 Dan shall be a
serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that
his rider shall fall backward. 18 I have
waited for thy salvation, O LORD. 19
Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,
and he shall yield royal dainties. 21
Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Zebulun’s
border of Zidon, also spelled Sidon, was an ancient Phoenician city, north of
the famed Tyre, that led a nearly worldwide trading empire. Controversial
authors have claimed that the Phoenicians of trading fame were Jews. Later, in
Exodus we will explore the origin of words written with letters rather than
pictures as being delivered to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. History tells us
that the so-called Phoenicians spread the alphabet.
Sidon
was a son of Canaan in Genesis 10:15. Tyre and Sidon are mentioned together
several times in the New Testament. Is it possible that the glories given to
the ancient Phoenicians for a trading empire that finds hotly contested authors
claiming that Phoenician coins were found in Brazil, tin mines in England, and
that they circled around Africa in their quest for markets should be attributed
to Hebrews or at least a Hebrew influence rather than Canaanites? Does not the
accolades given to Phoenicia as a trading empire go along with our stereotypes
regarding the Jewish people as excelling in business? Carthage, Rome’s mortal
enemy until destroyed, saw 300 babies sacrificed to Baal’s superheated arms in
one day to try to placate the Devil and end a Roman siege while musicians
blared drums and horns to drown out the screams of the agony of the infants.
Carthage was a colony of Phoenicia. Could there have been a strong Hebrew
influence? We know that many of the Hebrews would eventually descend into Baal
or Devil worship from the Bible.
Issachar
is linked with Zebulun’s trading efforts later by Moses.
Deuteronomy
33:18 ¶ And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice,
Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. 19 They shall call the people unto the mountain;
there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the
abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.
Perhaps
Issachar’s people will work with Zebulun in selling goods imported by the
latter tribe. Zebulun goes out but Issachar stays on land. It is also suggested
that Issachar will be an agricultural laborer in a fruitful land and have the
burden of tribute or taxation. Perhaps the two burdens mentioned have to do
with their subordinate position as a laborer and taxpayer. It is interesting to
note that the laboring classes in England suffered heavily under the rigors of
taxation. The working class has always been the one carrying the greatest
burdens. But, there are many opinions on the meaning of these verses regarding
Issachar.
Dan
is likened to a lion cub in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy
33:22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a
lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.
The
tribe of Dan falls into idolatry as we will see in Judges 18. Some commentators
have spoken of this as a reference to Samson, the judge, who was of that tribe
and made trouble for the Philistines not through open battle but through the
vexations he caused them, like a poisonous serpent biting a horse and causing
its rider to fall.
Judges
16:30 And Samson said, Let me die with
the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell
upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he
slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.
Matthew
Henry said that verse 18 is interjected by a dying Jacob and is not part of the
prophecies of his sons. This verse has special significance, though, as the
words of a dying man.
Hebrews
11:13 These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded
of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. 14 For they that say such
things declare plainly that they seek a country. 15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that
country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have
returned. 16 But now they desire a
better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called
their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Let
us remember that these fallible, sinful men have their names inscribed on the
gates of that city.
Revelation
21:12 And had a wall great and high, and
had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three
gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
And
what is Jacob waiting for in verse 18?
Isaiah
59:2 But your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he
will not hear.
Psalm
79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of thy name: and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for thy
name’s sake.
Psalm
130:7 Let Israel hope in the LORD: for
with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. 8 And he shall redeem Israel from all his
iniquities.
Matthew
1:21 And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their
sins.
Gad
became a warlike tribe, some underscore, but weren’t all the tribes warlike?
Yet, there seemed to be something peculiarly fierce about this tribe.
1Chronicles
12:8 And of the Gadites there separated
themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of
war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were
like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; 9 Ezer the first, Obadiah the second, Eliab the
third, 10 Mishmannah the fourth,
Jeremiah the fifth, 11 Attai the sixth,
Eliel the seventh, 12 Johanan the
eighth, Elzabad the ninth, 13 Jeremiah
the tenth, Machbanai the eleventh. 14
These were of the sons of Gad, captains of the host: one of the least
was over an hundred, and the greatest over a thousand. 15 These are they that went over Jordan in the
first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all
them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west.
Asher
is said to become a provider of gourmet food items for the kings. And, after
all, the king was served from the field in an agricultural society.
Ecclesiastes
5:9 ¶ Moreover the profit of the earth
is for all: the king himself is served by the field.
Naphtali’s
promise, John Gill wrote, was a thinly veiled reference to the events of
Christ’s time. He referred to;
Matthew
4:12 ¶ Now when Jesus had heard that
John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; 13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in
Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and
Nephthalim: 14 That it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of
Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16 The people which sat in darkness saw great
light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung
up. 17 From that time Jesus began to
preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Which
contains a reference to this passage;
Isaiah
9:1 ¶ Nevertheless the dimness shall not
be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land
of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict
her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen
a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them
hath the light shined.
In
any event, these prophecies given by Jacob are obscure to us, in the main, and
subject to much varying interpretations which must not slow us down as we move
forward. But, clearly they will become apparent and obvious when we are
instructed by our Lord directly upon our meeting with Him in Heaven.
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