Moments to Ponder

Episode 117: Tracing the Lineage of Hope and Salvation (Gen. 49)

• Betsy Marvin • Season 14 • Episode 117

Share episode

Thought to share? Send me a text...

What if ancient blessings could reveal profound historical truths? Join us on this captivating episode of Moments to Ponder as we unravel the final blessings Jacob bestows upon his sons in Genesis 49, uncovering the fascinating connections between these biblical prophecies and Egyptian history. Discover how an Egyptian vizier named Ankhu could be the very Joseph of the Bible, and delve into the archaeological discovery of a seal in Goshen that seems to tie directly to these ancient blessings. From Reuben's downfall to Judah's leadership, we explore the deeper meanings and the historical context behind each prophecy, providing fresh insights into these timeless narratives.

In the second half, we reflect on the messianic hope fulfilled in Christ. Allow this episode to inspire you to trust in God's salvation and the incredible gift of His love, knowing that the same God who brought Jesus from Judah is watching over you and has a hopeful future planned for you.

https://kankanjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The_Seal_of_Joseph_in_His_Palace_at_Tell.pdf

To read my blog, find out more about me, or to book a speaking engagement, head to
https://betsymarvin.com/

For access to past podcasts and transcripts, head to
https://betsymarvin.com/podcasts/

You can follow me on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/betsyjmarvin/
and Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/betsy.marvin.98

Speaker 1:

Hi friends, welcome to Moments to Ponder. This is a podcast designed to help you journey through God's Word, gain fresh perspectives and find meaningful takeaways to ponder throughout your week. I'm Betsy Marvin and this is episode 117. We're coming to the end of Genesis and the end of the account of Joseph's life in scripture. From a dreamer to a leader, we've seen him favored, sold, accused, imprisoned and lifted up to lead a powerful country. Sometimes, as I research scripture, I find myself going down bunny trails, and this chapter was one of those times. Chapter 49 surprised me. It's an accounting of the blessings of Jacob that he gives his sons, from Reuben to Benjamin.

Speaker 1:

But what I discovered fascinated the history buff in me. So bear with me as I share some of this with you. Here's a bit of what I found, and yes, I will destroy some of these Egyptian names, but bear with me. When you dive into some historical records, you discover that there was an Egyptian vizier. He was named overseer of the fields and he was responsible for the construction of many granaries. He lived in rose position under Amenhotep III and served through the reign of Sebokotep I. Now, during the reign of Amenhotep III, a canal was built that linked the Nile to the Fiomawasis. It was called the Joseph Canal and it was believed to have been built during a time of extreme famine. The vizier's name was Anahu, which, interestingly enough, is the Egyptian name given to Joseph. Why do I share all of that? Because I just love it when the Bible is shown in historical ways to be true here, proving the existence of Joseph. And what's even more fascinating is that David Rohl, an archaeologist. And what's even more fascinating is that David Rohl, an archaeologist, discovered a seal on a pillar in the area of Goshen. That directly relates to Genesis 49 and the blessings given by Jacob to his sons, which are later spoken of again by Moses in Deuteronomy 33.

Speaker 1:

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Three, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's dive into this chapter. Then Jacob called together all his sons and said gather around me and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come. Okay, here we go. Jacob is not only blessing them, he's speaking into their future, as God has shown it to him. He's speaking with confidence. As he says, this will happen to each of you in the days to come. All right, verse two Come and listen, you, sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father, to Israel, your father. Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You were first in rank and first in power, but you are as unruly as a flood and you will be first no longer, for you went to bed with my wife. You defiled my marriage couch. Even after all of these years, jacob has not forgotten what Reuben has done, and his descendants will be reminded of it every time they remember this blessing.

Speaker 1:

Verse 5. Simeon and Levi are two of a kind. Their weapons are instruments of violence. May I never join in their meetings. May I never be a party to their plans, for in their anger they murdered men and they crippled oxen, just for sport. A curse on their anger, for it is fierce. A curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob. I will disperse them throughout Israel. Now remember, simeon and Levi were responsible for the savagery done to the men of Shechem in the name of Dinah, their sister.

Speaker 1:

Okay, verse 8. Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. Judah, my son is like a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion, he crouches and lies down Like a lioness who dares to rouse him. The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes. His clothes are darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk.

Speaker 1:

We'll come back to this one. Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships. His borders will extend to Sidon. Issachar is a sturdy donkey resting between two saddle packs. When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor. Dan will govern his people like any other tribe in Israel. Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse's hooves so its rider is thrown off. I trust in you for salvation, o Lord. Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat. Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.

Speaker 1:

Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns. Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey. The foal of a wild donkey at a spring, one of the wild donkeys on the ridge. Archers attack him savagely. They shot at him and harassed him, but his bow remained taut and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob, by the shepherd, the rock of Israel. May the God of your father help you. May the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is prince among his brothers. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.

Speaker 1:

These are the 12 tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons goodbye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message. Then Jacob instructed them Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field Ephron the Hittite. This is the cave in the field of Melchippah, near Mamre in Canaan that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebecca are buried, and there I buried, leah. It is the plot of land in the cave that my grandfather, abraham, brought from the Hittites. Those last few verses we could unpack for a long time and all the history and time that has passed between Abraham and this time of Jacob. But we're going to take in the blessings today. Now imagine hearing these as the sons, because some are really good and some are harsh. I mean, reuben is continuing to pay for his poor choice. Simeon and Levi do as well, although Levi's descendants will become the order of priests scattered among all the tribes.

Speaker 1:

Now, using a Bible map, if we look forward, we can see how the 12 tribes settled into the promised lands hundreds of years later. These words of Jacob carry influence where each will settle. Reuben and Gad will settle by the east side of the Jordan, along the borders of Ammon and Moab, which will be, of course, rough. Now, ammon and Moab are the descendants of Esau and Ishmael. Zebulun, a harbor for ships, and Issachar, a beautiful countryside, will settle next to each other, not far from Galilee and Asher, the producer of fine food, will settle along the northern border by the Mediterranean Sea, a beautiful area to grow Naphtali, a doe bearing beautiful fawns. Well, naphtali will contain Galilee and the fertile countryside around it. The tribe of Benjamin will settle in an area that contains Jericho and Bethel. Joseph's blessings speak to what will come for Ephraim and Manasseh, as they are the double portion, these two tribes become strong warriors and on a map you can even see that there is much land given to these two tribes.

Speaker 1:

In 1997, david Rall, who I mentioned earlier, brought attention to an archaeological site around Goshen which, if you remember, is where all of the Israelites came to settle during the famine. David Rall found a small palace belonging to a high-ranking official. What he found was that it originally had 12 columns. What he found was that it originally had 12 columns and later it seemed to have been expanded into two sets of identical living quarters in front of the original structure. Did you know that Joseph's son took over his job after his death? Carrying on their father's position, the vizier Anakou was followed by his two sons, who both became powerful viziers in their own right, lemuru and Reseneb. On the palace grounds they discovered 12 prominent tombs, 12 graves for men of seniority, and they were all identified as Semitic or Israelite burials. Among these vaulted tombs was a single grand pyramid tombs, and by this tomb was the remains of a three meter high broken statue of a Semitic lord who had a rich, multicolored coat. This is believed to depict the famous vizier, anakou, joseph.

Speaker 1:

David Rohl also discovered a seal among that grand Egyptian-style palace, and it's what connects us to Genesis 49. If you're curious to what all of this seal looks like, what the layout of those 12 graves looked like, I have linked his archaeological paper in the show notes so that you can see it Now. As Rowe put the seal alongside Genesis 49, he found that the symbols on the seal directly represented the 12 tribes of Israel, even though it's probably most likely created by the descendants of the original tribal fathers. This palace, with its 12 pillars and 12 graves and 12 symbols it provides the first indirect evidence for the lives of those 12 founding men, the tribes of Israel, and also gives us a great insight into where Joseph lived and where his sons continued.

Speaker 1:

The seal, amazingly, in age order, has images that correspond to each of the blessings Jacob spoke over his sons the floodwater of Reuben, the walls of Shechem. For Simeon, levi a bird of prey. The lion of Judah, dan, a snake to bite horses' heels, the ships of Zebulun and Issachar's pleasant land, seen through mushrooms interestingly enough, gad's fertility, asher, rich in the oil of olives. Naphtali as a deer. Joseph has two symbols on the seal. Joseph has two symbols on the seal the first as a bull, a mighty ruler who is over all of them. The second as a one with a scepter in his hand, standing on the hills that depict Shechem, which Jacob gave to Joseph In Deuteronomy 33, they're called the bounty of age-old hills. Benjamin is represented in this as well. In Deuteronomy, moses refers to Benjamin as resting between the hills, but it could also refer to the dividing of plunder that is spoken of by Jacob.

Speaker 1:

This fascinates me, the link to archaeological information and connection to scripture. I just love how it all fits together. It's like God is saying see, this is real. And for me, when I ask what does this matter and how do I apply a blessing like this? For me the application is the awe and wonder of scripture how, thousands of years ago, a seal was created that celebrated all of these men and how the blessings of Jacob became their identity, and they were lived out for hundreds of years that followed. It shows us how God put in place Jacob, and then Joseph's part in the whole of it, to save them all, and then, of course, the key son in the line, judah. So let's look closer at Judah. Judah's tribe covered a large area of land from Jerusalem. South Simeon's tribe actually is surrounded by Judah's area, and the blessings of Judah is one that only God could have placed over him.

Speaker 1:

In the blessing of Judah, do you see it? Jacob is already speaking of Jesus, the one who will come, the ruler of all. This is why it matters. The genealogy of Jesus has begun in Judah, whose mother was Leah. Judah is the son that changes her, and God has set in motion a Redeemer, one who would come to save us all, the true Lion of Judah. In verse 10, the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from his descendants no-transcript until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor, that is Jesus. But what's interesting is in verse 11, he says he ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. Jesus will ride the colt of a donkey. And then it says he washes his clothes in wine which would make them purple, his robes in the blood of grapes, the royal purple that we see placed on David. And later we know our King, jesus.

Speaker 1:

The Israelites, the Jews, waited thousands of years for their Messiah and they missed him. They look to this blessing given to Judah and they don't see how it is fulfilled in Christ. Oh, may we not do the same. May we recognize that this is pointing to Jesus, the one to whom it all belongs. And God knew, way back, with Jacob and Leah and Judah, that this would come to pass. Oh, dear one, as Jacob says halfway through the blessings, may we wait in hope of his salvation. Says halfway through the blessings, may we wait in hope of his salvation. May you wait in hope of what he has for you, no matter the situation you find yourself in today. The one who brought hope to Jacob and brought Jesus out of Judah is the same God that sees you, has a hope for your future, because he loves you. May you rest in that incredible gift today, amen.