Genesis 49:13-21 – Leaving a legacy behind

Genesis 49 contains Jacob’s final words to his sons. So far we have covered words he had pronounced over his first four sons, namely: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. The words he had for the first three sons were not at all positive. Reuben as we have discovered forfeited his inheritance as the firstborn because he attempted to usurp his father’s power by committing incest with his father’s concubine. His indiscretion had caused his tribe to lose their leadership. Simeon and Levi received their negative assessment because of a lack of self-control. They committed mass murder and killed all the men of Shechem. Hence, Simeon’s inheritance will be absorbed into the tribe of Judah, while Levi would not have any inheritance at all. The tribe of Levi ended up assigned to play the priestly roles and was not given any land to own. They ended up taking care of refuge cities scattered all over Canaan. Of the first four, Judah had the best. His tribe was given the kingly role. It was through this tribe that the Messiah came. 

In verses 13-21, Jacob continued to pronounced suitable words on six other of his sons, namely: Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher and Naphtali. Jacob only declared over each briefly in the order of their birth. In verse 13, he spoke about Zebulun being a commercial and seafaring tribe. Sidon, in the coastal Phoenicia, would be its border. It would be an excellent place for ship and commerce. Zebulun encompassed Galilee, a place of refuge, where Jesus often sought refuge in His day.

Of Issachar, Jacob declared that while they were tugged in fertile ground, they chose the path of servitude. They would rather not work in less fertile areas. They chose the humiliating path of servants rather than their liberty. The words Jacob gave to Dan are found in verses 16 and 17. Jacob said that they would be a sly and crafty people. In battle, the descendants of Dan would do well because they were sly and crafty. This was attested to in the life of Samson who hailed from the tribe of Dan. In verses 19-21, Jacob pronounced what the next three tribes, Gad, Asher and Naphtali would experience. He gave them a message of hope. These three tribes would experience more victories and prosperity.  

Jacob saw the future of his children’s descendants through the character of each of his sons. It reminds us that our posterity will take on what we have imparted to them. They become what we are. Like it or not, what we do now will impact our subsequent generation. Hence, we must choose what we should do so as to leave behind a rich legacy. So let’s live in such a way that we will leave behind a generation of effective followers of Christ, and not a bunch of wishy-washy believers without firm conviction. We must live our best, learn our most, love as much as we can, and leave behind a rich legacy.