#126 Pending Genesis 49

Genesis 49: 13 - 21

13 “Zebulun will live by the coast.

He will have ships by the coast.

His border will go as far as Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,

lying down between the saddlebags.

15 When he sees that his resting place is good

and that the land is pleasant,

he will bend his back to the burden

and will become a slave laborer.

16 “Dan will hand down decisions for his people

as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 Dan will be a snake on a road,

a viper on a path,

that bites a horse’s heels

so that its rider falls off backwards.

18 “I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Lord.

19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,

but he will strike back at their heels.

20 “Asher’s food will be rich.

He will provide delicacies fit for a king.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free

that has beautiful fawns.

The blessing accorded to Zebulun has raised some bit of controversy with scholars over the years. The allotment on some maps does not place the tribe directly on either sea, but as the Hebrew preposition can also be read as towards, it does place the tribe in an ideal trade situation. History would suggest, from both a liberal and conservative scholarly view point, that trade was a primary occupation for the tribe. Later maps, during the time of Solomon, place the tribal border to the Mediterranean Sea, and during Roman rule it would appear that the tribe also wandered and inhabited land around Galilee.

12 Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;

13 And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:

14 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15 The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Matthew 4: 12-16

Issachar, some interpret this as prophecy relating to the time before the Judges Deborah and Barak. They would attest to this based upon the throwing off of the Canaanite burden under their leadership. It is suggested that this indicates a failure upon their part to initially drive out the Canaanites. I have to say, that so far, it is a bit vague for me. So, I will leave it with this: it appears that he is a good laborer. 

It appears that when he comes into the land and sees how good it is, that he settles down. He becomes either a slave to the land, or possibly one of forced labor. 

40 Also, their neighbors from as far away as Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali came bringing food on donkeys, camels, mules and oxen. There were plentiful supplies of flour, fig cakes, raisin cakes, wine, olive oil, cattle and sheep, for there was joy in Israel. 1 Chronicles 12:40

27 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddoand their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asherdrive out those living in Akko or Sidon or Ahlab or Akzib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres,Aijalon and Shaalbim, but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond. Judges 1: 27 - 36

The above passage lends more to the Canaanites being put under forced labor by several of the tribes. There were those cities that held tribes like Dan back for a time. 

Dan's most famous offspring has to be Samson. Dan is described as handing down decisions for his people or providing justice. Dan was small but very dangerous, and yet later reprimanded by Deborah for not participating in the war. Dan also failed to drive out the Canaanites and lost a great portion of their original inheritance. The blessing ends with a prayer, "I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Lord." In light of Deborah's song, and the report of Numbers, it would seem that there is a common thread in relation to the tribal inheritance and that which was actually taken by faith. 

So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 33"There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Numbers 13: 32&33

The eyes of the tribes are fixed upon the natural obstacles, and not upon God. What they were given, they seem often unable to receive. It appears, that it was often easier to just settle, and when they were strong of military might, they did not want to drive out the inhabitants completely. They saw, in their physical might, the ability to obtain free labor. It never seems to work out well for them, and the hope of their strength often fails, and they become more like their captives until they become the captives themselves. In this way they have not been a blessing, nor have they accepted the God of their fathers. Their children will one day see the true inheritance, yet there will be no beauty that they should desire Him.