by
CGG Weekly, September 9, 2011


"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."
Albert Einstein


Previously, we saw how the promises God made to the patriarchs are ready-made search criteria that point to modern-day Israel. Even more can be gleaned from the record of the patriarchs when we also examine the detailed and prophetic blessings that they bequeathed on their descendants.

The patriarchs granted these blessings in faith, as Hebrews 11:20 (speaking specifically of Isaac) attests: "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come." These blessings have the force of prophecy, and therefore become further identifiers of Israel. Isaac's blessing of Jacob is important for two related reasons:

1. God renamed Jacob to Israel. The children of Israel were literally just that, the descendants of Israel, through his twelve sons. In renaming Jacob, God identifies Israel's principal characteristic—when she is faithful to God.

2. Jacob's blessing concerns "things to come." It is prophetic, looking forward to Israel's future.

This blessing is recorded in Genesis 27:28-29. Isaac says:

Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!

Notably, this blessing includes wealth and power. Israel would be served by peoples and nations, and her posterity would have a preeminent place among the nations.

There is something else. Jacob's mother had only two sons, Jacob himself and Esau. Yet, Isaac, speaking to Jacob, uses the word "sons," plural, as if Jacob had more than one brother. God's Word says nothing of Rebekah having three or more sons. This perplexes us as it must have perplexed Jacob when he heard these words. Why does Isaac use the language he does?

Clearly, he is speaking of Abraham's extended family. The word "brethren," an old plural of "brother," refers to all the descendants of Abraham, those through Hagar and Keturah, as well as the descendants of Esau. Jacob's "mother's sons" refers to all the progeny of Rebekah. "The blessing here rises to the idea of universal domination" (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch, p. 276). Therefore, the blessing points to future generations, not just to the lifetime of Jacob himself. Its thrust is for the Israel of a future time.

Like his father, Jacob was a prophet with insight into the nature of Israel's future. Genesis 49:1-27 records a number of prophecies concerning his sons "in the last days" (verse 1). Since these prophecies refer to the end time, we are on solid ground in adding them to our list of search criteria pointing to modern Israel. Though all the blessings are significant, a few are especially noteworthy due to how they fit into the identification of the modern nations of Israel:

  • Verses 2-4: Reuben, "unstable as water," would "not excel," because of his sexual depravity. Although the firstborn, he did not receive the birthright blessing, as we will see later on.
  • Verses 5-7: Simeon and Levi, treated together, would be "divided" in Jacob, "scattered" in Israel, because of their "fierce" and "cruel" anger (see Genesis 34.)
  • Verses 8-12: About Judah, Jacob asserts, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes." Judah was to remain the princely tribe.
  • Verses 16-18: Dan would judge, though he would have to wait for his salvation. He is also described as a viper that lies in wait, biting "the horse's heels so that its rider shall fall backward." Snakes leave markings as they crawl over the ground. Everywhere Dan has traveled, he has left his name as a marker.
  • Verses 22-26: Jacob devotes quite a few words to Joseph, "who was separate from his brothers." He will become "a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall." Although he would be "bitterly grieved" in war, his strength would be made strong "by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob." Joseph would be blessed "up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills."

Finally, the blessings that Israel (Jacob) bestowed on Joseph's two boys, Ephraim and Manasseh, generate some firm search criteria pointing to the whereabouts of Israel today, especially the part of Israel that descended from the two brothers (see Genesis 48:14-20). Israel did not bless his grandsons in this way simply because they were "nice boys." Rather, he had come to understand the substance of the promises God had given him, his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham. Accordingly, he blessed the boys, as Hebrews 11:21 states, "by faith." His conviction that those promises were sure led him to bless his grandsons as he did.

It is important to understand the first part of the blessing. Israel granted none of his own sons the birthright blessing; it went to Joseph's sons instead. Thus, he goes out of his way to inform Joseph, "Your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt . . . are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine" (verse 5). As part of the blessing, he plainly stipulates that the brothers are to bear the name of Israel: "Let my name be named upon them" (verse 16). This is significant: Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt (Genesis 41:50-52). Jacob wants to establish legally that they were not Egyptians, but were of the family of Abraham and therefore part of the structure of promises that God gave to the patriarchs.

With that vital legality out of the way, Jacob continues to bless his grandsons. He blesses Manasseh, the firstborn, with greatness; he blesses Ephraim, the younger boy, by saying that he would be still greater, not only a people but a multitude of nations (Genesis 48:16, 19).

Much to Joseph's consternation, Jacob crosses his hands, placing his right hand on the head of the younger boy, Ephraim, and his left hand on the head of the older boy, Manasseh (verse 14). This was unusual, as the right hand, signifying the greater blessing, generally was placed on the head of the older son. Jacob refuses to realign his hands, telling the concerned Joseph that his actions were no mistake. He had "guid[ed] his hands knowingly" (verse 14) when he placed them on the boys' heads. Jacob deliberately bestows the greater blessing on the younger son, Ephraim, reserving a lesser blessing for Manasseh, the firstborn. This crossing of the hands is very important to the understanding of the whereabouts of modern-day Israel.

God's promises to the patriarchs, as well as the blessings those patriarchs bestowed in faith on their sons, describe Israel. Considered in aggregate, the promises and blessings provide a good part of the information necessary to identify Israel throughout history. However, God has provided more. Next time, we will see the impact that the covenant God made with the Israelites at Mount Sinai had on the fulfillment of His promises and the patriarchal blessings.