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Bible Reading Notes
Untitled Document
May 2008
Tuesday, May 27th – Genesis 49: 16, 17
Verses 16, 17 speak of Dan and prophesy that his tribe will be judges among the people of Israel. The most notable judge from Dan’s tribe was Samson (Jud. 13:1-5,24). In the arrangement of the tribes of Israel when they camped, Dan is the standard-bearing leader of the three north-side tribes (Num. 2:25-31). We should note the enabling grace and exalting power of God when we see how the descendants of Dan, the son of a concubine, participate in the covenant nation of Israel not only as full members but also as leaders of God’s covenant people. Likewise for us, the Lord’s grace incorporates us fully into the church and by the gifts and calling of His Holy Spirit we serve in ways far beyond our natural endowments or merits.
Wednesday, May 28th - Genesis 49: 16, 17
The tribe of Dan is likened to a serpent in v.17. This could be a note of censure for a tendency toward cowardly cunning in that tribe. However, as godly judges are guided by godly wisdom, we should probably understand this analogy in a more positive way, as when our Lord tells His disciples to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves (Mt. 10:16). By its shrewd ways, a small snake can overthrow a large horse and its rider. By their dependence upon the truth of God, the Danites would have great effectiveness against the enemies of Israel. We also can have such effectiveness if we ask our God for wisdom and use it for His glory (Jas. 1:5).
Thursday, May 29th - Genesis 49: 18
At this point Jacob inserts in his prophetic blessing of his sons an exclamation of his patient dependence upon the Lord for his own salvation. The placement of this exclamation at this point has puzzled many. To some, it appears more fitting that it should have been put after the reference to Shiloh (vv.10-12). Yet, it makes sense that immediately after the prophetic words regarding the judging and wisdom of the tribe of Dan there should be a clear expression of the patriarch’s waiting for the salvation of the Lord. Even the godly wisdom and judgment of the faithful are not the foundation but rather the imperfect fruits of salvation that adorn and bless the Church in this life. Therefore, this verse makes a distinction between the instrumental lamps of salvation and the perfect and effective light of salvation. We may edifyingly use the former but we can only rightly depend fully upon the latter.
Friday, May 30th - Genesis 49: 18
It may seem curious that the aged Jacob, who is about to die, should speak of his patiently waiting for salvation of the Lord. However, although he has clear assurance that he is about to appear personally in the nearer presence of the Lord and of the souls of just men made perfect, yet he knows and he testifies that the perfect consummation of divine salvation does not come until the day of final judgment when the dead are raised and the redeemed receive their spiritual bodies and reign in glory with Christ forever. Until that day, even the souls of those in heaven with the Lord must wait for the full salvation of the Lord (Rom. 8:22-25; Rev. 6:9-11).
Saturday, May 31st - Genesis 49: 19
Gad is foreseen to be a tribe vulnerable to the raids of Israel’s enemies. As a consequence, the men of Gad would be required to raid in return those who would raid them so that the Gadites could recover what the raiders had stolen from them. This brief prophecy probably refers to the exposed position Gad would have, along with the tribe of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh, east of the Jordan in and after the days of Joshua (Josh. 1:12-15). The men of Gad desired that territory because it appeared to them to be more suitable for their livestock than any of the land within Canaan proper (Num. 32). Yet, here they are forewarned of the thorns that would surround the roses upon which alone they focused. Whenever we think that we can choose more wisely than our God, we shall live to regret the payment of a bitter price for our folly.
Sunday, June 1st - Genesis 49: 20
The name, Asher, means bliss and felicity. Bountiful food of a quality fit for kings is here promised to this tribe. We cannot find in Scripture any clear reference to the fulfillment of this prophecy, but the silence of God’s Word on this point does not indicate any failure of this gracious promise. Whereas Gad would suffer raids (v.19), Asher is promised comfortable living. Our Lord teaches us all to ask Him for our daily bread (Mt. 6:11), but he reserves the sovereign right to give earthly comfort and a larger portion of worldly provision to one of His children, while ordaining that another should feed on adversity. All of our Lord’s giving is gracious and for our good. If we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we shall be satisfied whether we abound or are abased (Mt. 5:6; Phil. 4:11-13).
Monday, June 2nd - Genesis 49: 21
Of Naphtali Jacob prophesies in short but sweet and beautiful words. This tribe is likened to a doe that has not been slain but rather released by hunters. The reason for this release is found not in the mercy or sentimentality of the hunters, but rather in their being persuaded by the sweetly reasonable words that the members of this tribe would characteristically speak. Barak, who served the judge Deborah, was of this tribe. He defeated Sisera with his 900 iron chariots using only foot soldiers, all because he believed the beautiful words of the Lord (Jud. 4:6,7,14,15). We can neither hear nor speak more beautiful nor powerfully prevailing words than those of our Lord.
Tuesday, June 3rd – Genesis 49: 22-27
As the Lord always saves His best wine for last, so Jacob, being inspired by God here at the time of his death, reserves the best wine of his prophetic blessing for his two favorite sons. Joseph and Benjamin, though they come last in their reception of blessing from their father, are placed first in terms of the plentiful and precious quality of their blessing. These two sons were the fruit of the purest loving intention of Jacob, as they were borne to him by Rachel, the only wife Jacob really wanted and the one he loved most. Although these two sons were the ones specifically loved by their father, they were afflicted by their brothers and by men of the world. Yet, the father’s love will not fail to find its true mark in the end. So, too, we who are the beloved of God in Christ, though we face tribulation in the world and opposition from false and less faithful brethren, will find our Father’s glorious blessing to be far beyond all comparison with our sufferings (Rom. 8:18).
Wednesday, June 4th - Genesis 49: 22
Joseph is declared to be abundantly fruitful. As a tree growing to great height, he is said to overcome the limiting nature of walls that would enclose him, towering above them with branches that extend above and beyond them. The towering height of the tree and its great luxuriance of foliage result from the spring of water that feeds it. This verse is both descriptive of the person of Joseph and is also prophetic with respect to the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh that would issue from him. The walls of his brothers’ jealousy and hatred, as well as the many walls of Joseph’s afflictions in Egypt threatened to enclose and imprison him in dejection and despair. Yet, he overcame all of these obstacles, towering above them and triumphing over them. The key to his exalted standing was his drawing his encouraging hope and enabling power from the Lord by faith. We, too, become firmly planted and fruitful ones who overcome all things arrayed against us when we by faith trust in and rely upon the Lord in all circumstances (Ps. 1:1-3).
Thursday, June 5th - Genesis 49: 23
In v.22 the towering and triumphant character of Joseph’s person is noted. Here in v.23 Jacob speaks of the persecution he suffered as well as the preservation he experienced in his tribulations. His brothers, as well as Potiphar’s wife and Potiphar himself, are likened to archers who aimed to destroy him. They persecuted him precisely because of his strong faith in the Lord, and we are warned in Scripture that all who desire to live the sort of godly life he lived will also be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12). Persecutions and afflictions are not a sign of one’s unrighteousness and the curse of God, as Job’s friends wrongly supposed, but such persecutions indicate wicked arrows shot at the righteous and, paradoxically, the blessing of God upon His afflicted people (Job 2:3; Mt. 5:10-12). Joseph’s persecutions were the dung that fertilized his growth in grace and godliness.
Friday, June 6th - Genesis 49: 23, 24
In v.23, Joseph’s persecutions are represented in the image of attacking archers. In. v.24, we are told of Joseph’s preservation from all evil amid the hail of deadly missiles fired at him by his brothers and by his enemies in Egypt. The first part of v.24 shows Joseph standing firm as he towers above his persecutors. He was circumstantially wounded by their persecutions, but he avoided the fatal wounds that would have resulted not from their shots but rather from his own sins. Although the archers shot at him with the aim of killing him, their arrows merely harassed him. Such harassment served only to strengthen Joseph in his faith in the Lord. Hence, his bow was drawn by his strong arms, and was ready not feebly to annoy, but effectively to ward off all that came against him to destroy him. We, too, are by God’s grace enabled to stand strong in the Lord (Eph. 6:10ff).
Saturday, June 7th - Genesis 49: 23, 24
The source of Joseph’s enduring power is identified in the second half of v.24. He was strong in the Lord and in the strength of Almighty God. Hence, we learn that Joseph endured and triumphed over his deadly trials not by his own merit or might, but rather by the enabling and prevailing power of the Lord. We also note that Joseph’s trust in the Lord’s almighty power did not lead him to be a man of sluggish and passively presumptuous disposition. Rather, he is pictured as a strong, bold, and prevailing warrior. Our trust in our Lord’s strength inclines and enables us to grow strong as we work out our salvation by the enabling grace and power of the Lord who works in and through us (Phil. 2:12,13).
Sunday, June 8th - Genesis 49: 24
This verse not only identifies the sources of Joseph’s enduring power, it also expresses three prominent and significant things about the Almighty God in whom Joseph trusted and by whom he triumphed over all of his foes. The first thing said of the Lord is that He is the Mighty One of Jacob. The sinful supplanter, Jacob, was empowered by God’s grace to prevail with God through his faithful wrestling with the Lord (Gen. 32:24-30). Similarly, Joseph was empowered to prevail over all things because he, too, cleaved by faith to the Lord and would not let the Lord go until He blessed him. Such precious faith is ours, too.
Monday, June 9th - Genesis 49: 24
The second designation Jacob uses for the God who empowered him and his son Joseph is the Shepherd. Jacob had previously referred to the Lord as the One who had been his Shepherd all of his life (Gen. 48:15). Now the patriarch declares God to be the supreme Shepherd who protects and provides for His people in a way that will ever keep them from all evil (Gen. 48:16). Because of his trust in and obedience to the ultimate Shepherd, Joseph was made to be an instrumental shepherd to his family. He was not only a survivor by his faith in the Good Shepherd, but he became a saving shepherd to his father and brothers through that faith. May we become such instruments of protection and provision to others as a consequence of our faithful union with Christ, our Good Shepherd.
Tuesday, June 10th - Genesis 49: 24
The third designation Jacob uses to describe the Lord in His relation to Joseph is the Stone of Israel. This image brings to our attention the solid and immoveable foundation that the Lord is to His people. Those who build their lives upon this foundation become themselves immoveable, despite the storms (Lk. 6:47-49) or even the demons of hell (Mt. 16:16-18) that come against them.
Wednesday, June 11th – Genesis 49: 25, 26
In these verses, Jacob opens the abundant fountain of the infinite and eternal blessing of God. The divine blessings that Joseph already possessed and that Jacob alluded to in vv.22-24, as great as they were, are shown to be but tokens of the fullness of divine blessings that here are conveyed to Joseph. Such tokens of blessing are ours in Christ now through the ministry of His Holy Spirit who has been given to us as the pledge of the inconceivable fullness of every spiritual blessing that we have in heaven (Eph. 1:3,13,14).
Thursday, June 12th - Genesis 49: 25
In this verse, the infinite and eternal God is shown to be the source of Joseph’s blessing. The help Joseph had received and would hereafter receive from the Lord is without limit. The power of God is almighty; the blessings He showers upon His people are as high as heaven, as deep as the oceans, and as warm and intimately satisfying as the nourishing love of one’s mother. In all of the blessings of creation, whether those blessings issue from the sublime heights or the inscrutable depths or the tenderly familiar, they come to us from the sovereign and saving hand of the Lord. We believers are in Christ more secure and richly blessed than we can perceive, think, or imagine.
Friday, June 13th - Genesis 49: 25
If God is for us, everything in creation is allied with us and orchestrated by the hand of the Lord for our blessing. The vast expanse of the universe, the remote and hidden depths of the seas, and the nurture of human companionship and love, are all by our God made to work together for our good (Rom. 8:28).
Saturday, June 14th - Genesis 49: 25, 26
In v.25, the limitless magnitude of the blessings of God is set before us. In v.26, the progressive application of those infinite and eternal divine blessings is acknowledged. The blessings of Jacob upon Joseph are declared to be greater than the blessings that Isaac had conveyed to Jacob, or than Abraham had conveyed to Isaac. This is so because in the divine economy of the accomplishment and application of redemption, the closer in time the people of God lived to the coming of Christ, the clearer and more complete was the Scriptural record of the person and work of the Savior. How greatly blessed are we who have, in addition to the various portions of divine revelation contained in the Old Testament, the final and full revelation of God is His Son (Heb. 1:1-4).
Sunday, June 15th - Genesis 49: 26
The blessings of God invoked here upon Joseph and his descendants are not only infinite in their extent, they are also eternal in their duration. They exceed the height of the earth’s summits and they endure beyond the time of the seemingly everlasting majesty of earth’s mountains. Heaven and earth will pass away, but not one of the infinite and eternal blessings of the Lord will so much as fade in the slightest degree.
Monday, June 16th - Genesis 49: 26
The vast, precious, abundant and eternal blessings of God are not scattered to the winds but are concentrated as a crown and placed with deliberate divine intention upon the head of Joseph. It is this crown so strongly grasped by Joseph’s exemplary faith and so sovereignly bestowed by the Lord’s grace that distinguishes Joseph from his brothers and exalts him above them. They, too, were crowned with saving divine grace, but the trials of Joseph’s humiliation, the glory of his exaltation, and the graciousness of his forgiving his brothers’ heinous sins against him and his mercifully saving them—all serve to manifest the crown of salvation most clearly and fully set upon Joseph. His crown of salvation betokens and foreshadows the helmet of salvation that not only protects but also adorns the heads of all who are in Christ.
Tuesday, June 17th - Genesis 49: 27
Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob and the only full brother of Joseph, receives his prophetic blessing in this verse. As Judah was likened to a lion, Issachar to a donkey, and Naphtali to a doe, so here Benjamin is likened to a wolf. In particular, he is likened to a hungry wolf, whose appetite leads him to succeed in securing the prey that will feed him. This prey is, however, divided between Benjamin and another. In the future development of the nation of Israel it becomes evident that Jacob here is prophesying Benjamin’s faithfulness to Judah when the ten northern tribes rebelled against the legitimate king of Judah. Therefore, Benjamin’s hunger and thirst for righteousness led to the satisfaction of that tribe’s sharing the blessings of God’s approbation upon the kings and kingdom that pointed to Christ, the King of kings.
Wednesday, June 18th - Genesis 49: 27
Benjamin was close to his brother, Joseph, who not only saved him with the rest of his brothers, but who also lavished preferential treatment upon him. In later years, the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to Judah, the tribe from whom Messiah would come. Such faithfulness to these shadows of salvation, and to the substance of salvation to whom they point, is the key to Benjamin’s victories and prosperity. Scripture records for us several wise and victorious sons of Benjamin: Ehud the judge (Jud. 3:15); Saul the king—at least for a time (1 Sam. 9:1,2); Esther and Mordecai (Esther 2:5-7); and Paul the apostle (Phil 3:4,5). All who follow the faithfulness of Benjamin will devour the prey and divide the spoil.
Thursday, June 19th - Genesis: 49: 28
The sinner Jacob had lived to be transformed by the Lord into the saint Israel. As a man possessing saving faith, Israel lived to receive the blessings of the living God and to pass them on to his sons. The blessing of the numerical growth of the families of his sons is anticipated in this verse by the reference to the tribes of Israel. They were to grow not only as a numerically great people but also as a greatly blessed people. The form of much of what Jacob said to his sons in this chapter is prophecy. Yet this verse emphasizes the point that such prophetic revelation from God through Israel would serve to bless the people of Israel. As they experienced the fulfillment of these prophetic words, their trust and confidence in the Lord as well as their gratitude to the Lord would grow. They would increasingly perceive the Lord’s grace, love, wisdom, and justice as He portioned out His blessing to each son and each tribe according to what would be appropriate for their highest good. Our God continues to pour His blessing upon us according to the measure of His sovereign grace, infallible wisdom, and holy love.
Friday, June 20th - Genesis 49: 29-32
In these verses we have the account of Jacob charging his sons with respect to how they were to deal with his mortal remains after his death. As Jacob had lived in faith, so he now dies in faith (Heb. 11:13). Therefore we may find instruction and comfort from the Lord as we study how this faithful man glorified God in his dying as he had done in his living. We, too, are called and equipped to live and die as more than conquerors in Christ to the glory of our saving God.
Saturday, June 21st - Genesis 49: 29
Behold how a faithful man views his own death. Jacob does not lament and cry out that he was leaving his sons and being torn from the delights of life in this world and from the delicacies of Egypt. He does not even say that he was dying, as he had done in Gen. 48:21. Instead, he testifies to his faith in the promises and power of his redeeming and resurrecting God when he declares that he was about to be gathered to his people. Death may separate us from those who remain living in this world, but at the same time it reunites us with those of the family of faith who have died before us. For the Christian, to die is great gain (Phil. 1:21).
Sunday, June 22nd - Genesis 49: 29
Jacob anticipates his death as a grand reunion with his people. Death for him, while it was the last enemy, was something that would not separate him from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:38,39). Therefore, he rightly apprehended that he would be, at the moment of his death, not thrust into a dark, strange, and terrifying condition, but rather be gathered by the God whom he had by faith known, loved, and served throughout his life and gathered to a people he regarded as his own. When the believer dies, he leaves the world of strangers, shadows, and suffering to enter into the world of his true, loving family and to dwell with them in eternal light, love, and delight. For the Christian, to die is great gain (Phil. 1:21).
Monday, June 23rd - Genesis 49: 29
Who are those to whom Jacob was gathered at his death? The patriarch refers to them as my people. We might naturally take this to refer to his natural relatives who had predeceased him, and this would be true but not exhaustively so. The people to whom Jacob refers are all who during their lives had shared with him like precious faith in the Lord. Blood may be thicker than water, but spirit is thicker than both.
Tuesday, June 24th - Genesis 49: 29
Jacob anticipates not a mere reunion with those believers he had known in his life. Rather, he rejoices in the thought of his being gathered together with all who had lived and died in faith. He would have fellowship with his father, Isaac, his mother, Rebekah, his wives, Rachel and Leah, his grandparents, Abraham and Sarah—all in the incredible wonder of their souls and relationships being made perfect (Heb. 12:23). He would also have fellowship with Noah, Seth, Adam and Eve, and many others whom he had heard of only by oral tradition or never heard of at all, and there would be only a perfect, loving, and holy familiarity between Jacob and all of those made to be his people by the saving grace and perfecting power of God. For the Christian, to die is no death but is a passing into eternal life (Jn. 5:24), and into the great gain and glorious joy of his true home (Jn. 14:1-3) and of his true family (Jn. 17:20-26).
Wednesday, June 25th - Genesis 49: 29-32
After revealing to his sons (and to us) the view his faith gave to him of his death, Jacob gives instructions for the burial of his mortal remains. The faithful patriarch’s joyful anticipation of his glorious translation from this world does not make him heedless of the respect he should have for the body that his God had made and for the world in which his God had promised to accomplish redemption for His people through the incarnation, perfect life, and redeeming death of Christ. Accordingly, Jacob charges his sons to bury him with the mortal remains of his faithful fathers in the Promised Land that betokened the eternal celestial city. As his soul would soon be gathered to his people, so he would have his body to be committed to the earth in proximity to the mortal remains of his fathers in the sure and certain hope of their resurrection together on the final day. Faith prompts us to regard the unseen, eternal realities above all things (2 Cor. 4:16-18), but it also prompts us to have due respect for our bodies which our God will raise from the dead (Jn. 5:24-29; Rom. 8:11).
Thursday, June 26th - Genesis 49: 33
The believer is immortal until his work on earth is finished. Thus, Jesus declared at His death: It is finished (Jn. 19:30), as did His Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 4:7). Jacob was not killed by Esau’s murderous hatred, nor by the rigors of his flight from Esau, nor from the famine in Canaan. Nothing killed him, but he drew up his feet upon which he had limped after his having wrestled with God, and he breathed his last breath of air in this world of shadows and suffering, and thereafter experienced the fruition of his faithful expectation to be gathered to his people. And with his death he fulfilled his final prophecy that pertained to his own great and glorious gain that he possessed as he passed through the portal of death and entered life eternal and unspeakably glorious and joyful. For the Christian, the experience of death will result in similar great and eternal gain (Phil. 1:21).
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