In Genesis 49:1, Jacob gathers his twelve sons together to “tell you what will happen to you in days to come.” And like Jesus describing the seven churches in the book of Revelation, Jacob highlights the strengths and weaknesses of their personalities.
It seems like a strange thing for Jacob to do, though, having his sons hear about each other so publicly, much of which wasn’t that complimentary either. But here it is in Scripture for us to read, and for millions of people through the ages to read, so is there something jolly useful here, that not only illustrates God’s immense patience with such a crew as Jacob’s sons to fulfill his purpose through, but also – in seeing perhaps a bit of ourselves in the personalities of these twelve sons – realize that God can fulfill his purpose just as well through the likes of us too?
Take Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn son, for instance. Reuben had everything going for him. As the firstborn male he was entitled to “excel in honour and power,” Genesis 49:3. In Jacob’s eyes his firstborn son was the amplification of his own vitality and strength (3). And on Jacob’s death (or incapacitation) Reuben would inherit a double portion of his father’s estate, making him a rich landowner, along with the high office and huge privilege of being the new chieftain of the growing clan of Israel, with God personally blessing him too.
He would also inherit his father’s authority and responsibility as priest and king in their family, so by birthright alone Reuben was destined to become a highly respected influence for good, whose name could well go down in history for the noble service he performed. He had great potential, and great opportunity, therefore, to be a really good man.
Unfortunately, just like his uncle Esau, Reuben “despised his birthright” (25:29-34), and for the same underlying reason too: Esau was sexually immoral (Hebrews 12:16-17), and so was Reuben, for having sex with Bilhah (Genesis 35:22, 49:4). Bilhah was his mother Rachel’s handmaid, given to Jacob by Rachel when she couldn’t bear children. Bilhah then became the mother of Reuben’s brothers Dan and Naphtali, and was treated by Jacob like a wife, which meant Reuben had sex with the equivalent of his step mother, and in his father’s bed too (Genesis 49:4).
What on earth made Reuben do such a foolish act, that also led to the loss of everything he was entitled to? His father gave us a clue in verse 4: “Reuben: turbulent as the waters”….(next blog)
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