Turn to Genesis 49. The title
of this message is, The Sons of Jacob. Remember that verse? I quoted it, I believe, Sunday
night. I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. I want us tonight to look at
the sons of Jacob. and apply them to us as believers. Now, Jacob is ready to depart
out of this world and go to his long-awaited home in glory where
he is right now. He's there right now enjoying
the presence of our Lord. But before he goes, he's going
to tell his sons what shall befall them in the last days. Not necessarily them at that
particular time, even though a lot of this happened at that
time, but their progenitors, their posterity. What's going
to befall them in the last days. Only God can reveal to a man
what the future holds. Only God can do that. He has
determined the end from the beginning. It's already determined. Every
day's events are already determined. I like that. Now, did you know,
you really don't think about this, I didn't until I was studying
here in the last few days, we know the future. We know the
future. The world doesn't know it. The
world doesn't believe. This book means nothing to them.
They're wondering what's going to happen. Scientists are looking
at the skies and see if something's going to fall and hit us and
all that stuff. We know the future. We know that
Jesus Christ is coming again. We know that. I thought about
that today. When I thought of these things
today, I just sat back and I thought, take it easy. Don't worry, is
what I'm saying. Don't be anxious. We know the
future. We know that He's coming again, that He's going to dissolve
all this. We saw that in Hebrews. And He's
going to make all things new. I read to you in Psalm 37, the
meek shall inherit the earth. That's the new earth. We know
that. That's future. We know that we
shall ever be with the Lord. We know that's going to happen.
I'm standing here, that's going to happen. And we know that we
are going to be made like Him. There are many things that we
know that's going to happen. We know the future. God's people
know the future. And listen, it's a good future. We have a good end coming. We
have a good future coming. Now I know that we do not know
what is going to happen each day, and I'm glad we don't, because
the trials that come in our way would worry us to death. We knew
that. But we know the future, and we
know that our end is good. So I want us to look here now at these boys, these sons of
Jacob, and see if we can see ourselves. We will see in the
first three sons of Jacob human nature, our nature that we were
born with. We'll see it. Jacob starts with
Reuben, his firstborn. The firstborn had the birthright.
The firstborn had the priesthood. The firstborn had the kingdom.
He starts with his firstborn. And he says to Reuben, Reuben,
Thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength.
I bet you Reuben was going, you know, he's the firstborn. And
here dad is, you know, Jacob, you know, he's saying you are
beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity. You know,
Reuben is feeling good about right now. And the excellency
of power. This was the best that Jacob
could produce. This was his firstborn. And note
what it says about his best. The best that Jacob could produce.
You're unstable as water. I bet he just thought, what? You're unstable as water. The
best that this flesh can produce is unstable as water. This describes
human nature. We're this today and that tomorrow.
We're never the same. Never the same. And listen, you're
the best that I can produce, you're unstable as water, and
thou shalt not excel. No matter what flesh puts its
hand to, it shall not excel. Now that word, the translation
of that word, excel, means this, thou shalt not remain. You're
not going to remain, Reuben. You're going to be taken away.
That's what it means. Turn over to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. In verse 6, Isaiah 40, the voice
said, Cry, and he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass. From the president, from the
queen, all the way down to the pauper, it's all grass. And all
the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the grass. The
grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of the Lord
bloweth upon it. Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth,
the flower fadeth, but the Word of our God, what we've read tonight,
Psalm 37, wasn't that a blessing? That shall stand forever. That
shall stand forever. Well, he says, you shall not
excel, you're unstable as water. It also means someone who can
be bought. You can see that over in Judges
9.4. And it also means, has a reference to a fence straddler. You're
a fence straddler, Reuben. You're a fence straddler. You
can see that over in Zephaniah 3.4. But then he turns to Simeon
and Levi, and he puts them together. He puts them together. He says,
you're brethren. Now, they are brothers, but that's
not what he means. He means you're just alike. And
I'm telling you what, all flesh is just alike. You can clean
it up, you can educate it, but it's just alike. It's just alike,
instruments of cruelty. But he says here, Simeon and
Levi. And he puts them together because
they both fit together. And what are they? He says they
are instruments of cruelty. This describes human nature. This describes our nature as
we were born into this world. Instruments of cruelty. Is there
anything more cruel than a human being? to some of the things that men
have done to men, and people have done to each other in wars
and things. Oh, my, it's unbelievable. Instruments of cruelty. Remember
what they did back in Genesis 34? You remember that their sister, Dinah? I think her name's Dinah? Shechem
took her and lay with her. And then he, his father, he went
to his father and said, I want her, I want her to be my wife.
He loved her. And so Simeon and Levi, with Jacob, made a pact that
if they would, now Jacob wasn't involved in her deception, but
he told him, he said, if all the males will be circumcised,
then we will give our sister to your son, Shechem. And then
after they had done that, and after three days, it says they
were sore, Simeon and Levi went in and killed the king, Hamer,
Shechem, and all the males in that city, and then took their
women and their children and the spoils and took them under
the guise of deception. And I thought, boy, they got
it from their father. That's all we can pass on. The
only thing we can truly pass on to our children by nature
is sin. It's sin. And he says, you're
nothing but instruments of cruelty. That's all you are. Now listen,
he says, don't associate with them. Listen, come not thou into
their secret. Don't company with them. He's
telling the rest of his sons, don't company with them. Don't
associate with them. Come not thou into their secret.
In their anger, they slew a man. They slew all those men in that
town. Listen, in their self-will, they
dig down a wall. You see, they got Jacob in on
this, and they made this pact, and Jacob was a man of his word.
He was going to do it. But they were deceptive about
it. They knew what they were going to do from the beginning. This describes human nature.
Angry and self-willed. Has there ever been a more angry
generation than the one we are living in? I don't think so. I doubt it. We can match them
anyway. Angry and self-willed. Now I
know that we all get angry from time to time. The Word of God
says in Ephesians 4.26, Be ye angry, And sin not. See, they could
have been angry over this and upset over this, but to do what
they did to murder that whole town was sin. He said, be angry and sin not.
Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, upon your anger,
because why? Here's what happens. Neither
give place to the devil. Anger, unchecked by grace, gives
Satan an avenue in which to work. Now this is something I want
you to get a hold of here. I never really thought much about
it until I was studying this. A believer knows that God is
the first cause of all things, right? Is God the first cause
of all things? If I stay angry, that anger is
directed at God. If I keep it, if I stay angry,
My anger is being directed at Him who's the first cause of
all things. That's why I said, if you're going to be angry,
it's part of us. But He said, let it go. Don't
let the sun go down on your wrath, because you're just going to
give the devil an avenue in which to work. If I stay angry, it's wanting
my will above God's will, who's the first cause of everything. Now Jacob pronounces a curse
on their anger. Why does he do this? Listen to
what James says over in James chapter 1. Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness
of God. Simeon and Levi, getting even
with them, was not working God's righteousness. They were just
upset and they were just going to take it out on those men. I'll tell you this, God would
have dealt with that. But they took it upon themselves to deal
with it the way they wanted to deal with it. And they were just
as rotten as the people they killed. Just as rotten. They were not concerned about
God's glory. I'll show you this here in a
minute. They were not concerned about God's glory, only their
self-will, pride. It was their sister. And I can
understand their anger. I can understand that. But they
were not... See, they gave their word. These
men are the ones who represent Jehovah. These men are the ones
who represent the God of Almighty God, the God of glory. They gave
their word. Jacob gave his word on it. And
what did they do? They went against their word. Let me show you something if
I can find it. I think it's in Psalm 15. Let me see if I can
find this. Lord, who shall abide in thy
tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walks uprightly, works righteousness, and speaks the
truth in his heart. He that backsbites not with his
tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach
against his neighbor, in whose eyes a vile person is contend,
but he honors them that fear the Lord. Now listen, listen. He that sweareth to his own hurt
and changes not. He keeps his word, even though
he swears and it turns out that it's going to hurt him. He's
going to think, I wish I hadn't have done that. Wish I hadn't
have swore that because I'm going to lose a lot of money here. But he says, this is the one
who swears to his own hurt, but he will not go back on his word.
Jacob gave his word. And they used it as a means of
deception. And that's what happened. And
then Jacob says this, My honor, now listen, My honor, be not
thou united to them boys. You know what that word honor
means? My glory. Who is Jacob's glory? Who is your glory? The Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, My glory. And he's speaking
of Christ. He's speaking of his God being
not united to them boys. Well, now he comes to Judah.
You see, the first three represent flesh. Natural men. That's what we are by nature
in the way we were born. Now he comes to Judah. Now I'm
going to say more about Judah and Joseph in another message. You know, there's just too much
here to bring in at the night. From Judah through the rest of
Jacob's sons, good things are said. Good things are said. In the first three, we see ourselves
by nature. In the last nine, we see ourselves
in Christ. We see ourselves in Him. Now,
Judah's name means what? Praise. Praise. The believer
is one who praises God. He praises God for His salvation. He praises God for His grace. He praises God for everything
He has and everything He is. Paul said, I am what I am by
the grace of God. He praised God for it. A believer is one
who praises God. Our life, the life of a believer,
I'm not, listen, it shouldn't, it's not like it ought to be
a life of praise. It is. It is or you're not a
believer. It's just one or the other. It
is. And then Zebulun, his name means
dwelling. 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. He's a place of safety, a cove,
a place where the ships can come in and find safety, comfort,
and blessings. I'm telling you this, this describes
a believer. A believer is a blessing to others. A believer is a comfort to others. Paul said, comfort one another. You are a comfort to me. To hear
you pray for me. You are a blessing, that is,
and what a comfort that is. To pray for one another. The
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. He said, Elijah
prayed, and he was a man of like passions, and it didn't rain
for three and a half years. And he prayed again, and then
it rained. And that man was no different than us who believe
the Gospel. No different. A believer, he's a comfort, he's
a blessing. I tell you what, he's a place
of safety. Being around each other, I feel safe with you. I do. I tell you what, I've been
in business. And I've learned to watch for
all the angles and all the stuff and all the knives. You know
something about that. They're always working an angle. Man, with you, I don't feel like
I've got to watch to see what's going on. Not at all. And Issachar,
you know what his name means? Hire. Hire. Issachar is a strong
ass couching down between two burglars. And he saw that rest
was good, and the land, that it was pleasant. And he bowed
his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. He knows
something about burdens. Do you know something about burdens?
Do you know something about the burdens of this life? Do you
know something about the burden of sin, inward and outward? Do you know something about it? We're Issachar's. We know something
about this burden. But I tell you what, our Lord
has given us strength. He's given us strength to bear
these burdens. And He's one who helps others with their burdens.
He said He's like a strong ass's coat bearing burdens. Well, who's
that donkey bearing the burdens of? There's somebody else's. They put it on the back. We know
how to help each other. We know how to bear one another's
burdens. Scripture teaches us this. And we do it. We do it. Then His name means hire over
in Genesis 30. Oh, remember what happened? Over here in Genesis 30. Let me see here, verse 16. And Jacob came out of the field
in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou
must come in unto me, for surely I have hired thee with my son's
mandrakes. And he lay with her that night.
And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived and bared Jacob
the fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given
me my hire, because I have given my maiden to my husband, and
she called his name Issachar." You know, we've been bought with
a price. She said, I bought you. I paid a price for you. That's
why she named him that. I paid for you. The Scripture
says we've been bought with a price. Twice it says that in Scripture.
You're not your own, you've been bought with a price. But also
notice here, Issachar was born before Zebulun. But Jacob mentions
Zebulun's name first. First. You know why? Because
the only way that you can help others with their burdens is
if you first have found rest from yours. That's why he mentions Issachar's
name before he does Zebulun. Issachar saw, listen, it says
Issachar saw that rest was good. That it was good. When you see
that the rest that is in Christ is good, then you can help others
with their burdens. You can point them to Christ.
Who said, come unto me, all you that labor and heavy laden. I'll
give you rest." And he saw that the land was pleasant. He was
content with his lot. He didn't complain about it. Are you content with your lot? And he became a servant unto
tribute. He was glad to give back what the Lord had given
him. He was glad to give back. You
see, this tribe was one that stayed home. They didn't go out
to war. They stayed home and tilled and
they paid double tribute. Somebody's got to provide. Somebody's
got to pay the bills. You know, our pastor traveled
all over the place for years. Well, somebody's got to pay for
that. Somebody's got to pay tribute. And he was glad to do it. Glad
to do it. And then Dan, let me see, make
sure I got my names right, yeah. Dan, in verse 16, Dan shall judge
his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent
by the way and adder in the path that bideth a horse's heels,
so that his rider shall fall backward. Dan, his name means
judging, judging, discernment. God has given every one of his
children, whom he saved, discernment. You know when you hear the gospel
and you know when you're not hearing it. He's given you discernment. He's
given you good judgment. I trust the judgment of a child
of God. God's involved in it. Believers
are given discernment. It also means this, umpire. Umpire. You know what the responsibility
of an umpire is? Make the right call. Make the
right call. That's his old responsibility.
And then listen. Dan was the first son born from
a concubine. Billa. And I thought of this. This is
the first thing that hit me. In Christ there is neither bond
nor free, circumcision or uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, All are
one in Christ. All are one in Him. Dan is no
less a son because his birth is from a handmaid than Joseph
who was born from Rachel. Dan may have been born from a
handmaid, but his judgment is just. All who are born of God are born
of the same Spirit and then dwelt by the same Spirit. It doesn't
matter if you're born from a poor family or a rich family. They're
one in Christ. And when the gospel is preached
by God's Dan's, listen to him. Listen to him. Don't write a
man off because of his birth or education. If he's God's man,
listen to him. And then Gad, Gad, his name means
troop or company. Now listen, verse 19, Gad, a
troop shall overcome him. And he shall overcome at the
last. He will get knocked down. Have you ever been knocked down?
I mean knocked down. He says he'll get knocked down,
but he will not stay down. He will overcome in the end.
I asked Mike to sing this song tonight. Cast down, but not destroyed. That's Gad, a bunch of Gadites
in here. In Christ we are more than conquerors. In Romans 8.37, Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. More
than conquerors. Asher, verse 20. Out of Asher his bread shall
be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. You know what his name
means? Happy. Happy. Blessed is the man. Happy is
the man to whom the Lord imputes not iniquity. Happy. And whatever he does shall
prosper. You know that everything you
have done is prosperous. There's a spiritual prosperity
in it somewhere. Somewhere there's a spiritual
prosperity. In Christ, now I'm telling you
the truth, in Christ we always prosper and we are truly happy. That's right, if you're in Christ,
you are. Nestali. Nestali. His name means wrestling. Wrestling. It signifies struggles. Struggles. Yet, he's free. This is what it says, Naphtali
is a hind let loose, he giveth goodly words. We struggle with
indwelling sin, we wrestle with principalities and powers in
high places, yet we are free in Christ. Whom the Son sets
free, He is free indeed. It says in Galatians 5.1, Stand
fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Corinthians
3.17. Now the Lord is that Spirit,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty. There's
liberty. And He giveth goodly words, words
of grace, words of truth, gospel. Gospel. This is Naphtali. Then Joseph, and I'm only going
to say a few things here, just a thing or two about Joseph,
because that's for another message. But his name means adding. I
tell you what, the Lord has given to us far more in Christ than
what we ever had in Adam. We have a whole lot more given
to us in Him than we ever had in Adam. But he says here, he
is a fruitful bough. That describes a believer. You don't feel it, do you? You
don't feel fruitful. Galatians 5, 22, 23, But the
fruit of the Spirit is love. You don't feel like you really
love much, but you do. Joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.
Oh, you're fruitful alright. Fruit of the Spirit abounds in
you. In the believer now. I'm talking about those who believe
the gospel. And then we come to Benjamin. His name means son
of the right hand. He says, Benjamin shall raven
as a wolf. In the morning he shall devour
the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. Benjamin has
an appetite. He says here, Benjamin shall
raven as a wolf. He has an appetite. What is it you have an appetite
for? Look over in Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. Look in verse 6. Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. You
have a hunger and a thirst after His righteousness. You have a
hunger and thirst after the Word of God. You need it. You need it. And a wolf is an
animal that is strong and courageous. Even though God's people are
called sheep, God's people are strong in the Lord, and they
boldly preach the gospel in the face of danger. Look at Paul. Look at the Apostle Paul and
many others who were martyrs. Boldly preached the gospel in
the face of danger. And they shall have the victory.
They shall divide the spoils with all who will come. I wish
this room was full tonight. I'd love to divide the spoils
of the gospel to all who would listen, all who would have it.
But of course, this also fits Christ, who is strong and courageous.
He defeated Satan, sin, and death, and He's divided the spoils with
us. Now, closing. This truly describes us. Doesn't
this describe us? We are sinful by nature, deceitful,
cruel by nature. That's the way we are. However,
in Christ, our anger, our enmity has been turned into praise.
We are a comfort to one another. We love to serve the Lord. We
have been given discernment. We understand the gospel. We
know the gospel when we hear it. We shall overcome at last. If we get knocked down, we're
going to overcome at last. And we are happy, truly happy,
in the Lord Jesus Christ, yet we wrestle with indwelling sin
every day. But we're still fruitful, we're
still fruitful, bearing the fruit of the Spirit. And we have goodly
words to give, gospel words, and we have an appetite for the
Word of God, the sons of Jacob. Okay, Mike.