City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come.

² “Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob,
    listen to Israel your father.

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might, and the firstfruits of my strength,
    preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
⁴ Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence,
    because you went up to your father’s bed;
    then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
    weapons of violence are their swords.
⁶ Let my soul come not into their council;
    O my glory, be not joined to their company.
For in their anger they killed men,
    and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.
⁷ Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce,
    and their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
    and scatter them in Israel.

Genesis 49:1-7 (ESV)

While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

Genesis 35:22 (CSB)

⁹ The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

Joshua 19:9 (ESV)

³ For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴ For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance.

Joshua 14:3-4 (ESV)

Reflection

Jacob had finished blessing the sons of Joseph and now turned to all his other sons to provide parting words before his death. Even though Jacob was never called a prophet, the words he spoke to his sons were prophetic and held significant meaning.

The consequences of the actions for Jacob’s three oldest sons now come to head. Earlier in Genesis, one may be frustrated by the lack of action that Jacob had, and we may never know why the Bible didn’t address the reasons behind this. Why, for example, would Jacob not cast out his oldest son Reuben from his family for sleeping with his concubine Bilhah? The mother of Reuben’s own stepbrothers! Reuben tried to take over the family from Jacob but failed to gain support for doing so. Now, Jacob mentions this in his prophet words to him in front of everyone. The consequences of Reuben’s actions means that the messianic blessing that God gave Abraham will not go to him as the firstborn.

The second and third born sons were Simeon and Levi. They could have been the next line for the blessing of Abraham, but their hands were bloody from the murders committed at Shechem. Not only did they lose their chance to carry the royal line, but they would not get their own portion of the promised land. Simeon’s descendants were granted cities within the boundaries of Judah and were eventually swallowed up by Judah itself. Levi became the tribe of priests who were given no land, but only cities, and were scattered across Israel.

The sins of the three oldest brothers made way for Judah to be the next in line and the one who carried the royal lineage and messianic blessing. The section of prophecies that will be the focus for the next passage of scripture.

Application

Reuben, Simeon, and Levi acted out of anger, jealousy, and pride. Their sins lost them their identity and a chance to carry on the messianic lineage that would one day lead to Jesus. I’m sure if they had another chance, they would not do the actions that they did, but that’s not how the story unfolds. God knew what He was doing when picking Judah and prepared Him for that moment.

When we sin out of anger, take revenge, or take what God has not given us, we will have to bear the consequences. Maybe not right away, but the consequences do come, and it may affect generations to come. One study showed that actions by one ancestor affects up to six generations after. What we do has significant ripple effects that we may not see.

We are free to act, but we are not free from the consequences of these actions.

Prayer

Father in heaven, help me to understand the importance of my actions in this life. These actions have consequences, even though You are gracious to forgive me. Let me not be a stumbling blocks for others and act out of anger and jealousy. Instead, let me act out of love and to heal rather than destroy. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.