In this message we come to the third group of Jacob's twelve sons. As we have seen clearly, the prophecy with blessing in Genesis 49 portrays not only the lives of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, but also the spiritual life of Christians in the New Testament. This is based on the principle that the twelve tribes of Israel are a type of the church with all the believers. Thus, everything in chapter forty-nine is a type, a shadow, a picture, and our experience today is the reality, the fulfillment, of Jacob's prophecy with blessing.
The prophecy with blessing uttered by Jacob is poetry. It is difficult to understand the language of poetry. Poetic language is meaningful and descriptive, but it is not easy to probe the depths of its meaning. If you are able to probe into the depths of the poetic language in this chapter, you will realize how meaningful, rich, and profound it is.
There is another reason many readers of chapter forty-nine have difficulty understanding it, and that reason is the shortage in their Christian experience. Even if we are able to understand the poetic language in this chapter, we may lack the experience necessary to know how to make the application. In order to understand such a prophetic record, we must know the language in black and white, we must know the history of the twelve tribes of Israel, we must know the significance of the poetic figures, and we must have experience. Jacob used many poetic figures in this chapter: a young lion, a couching lion, a lioness, a foal, a young donkey, wine, the vine, garments, the haven, ships, the serpent, and the horned snake. In order to know the significance of these figures and to know how to interpret all these types and apply them to our situation, we need experience. The reason this chapter has been closed for centuries is this lack of experience.
More than fifty years ago, I sat at the feet of a great Brethren teacher. He gave a number of messages expounding Genesis 49, showing us how these prophecies were fulfilled in the following books of the Bible. However, he had a great shortage in the matter of experience. All he had was the knowledge of the language in black and white. But because he did not know the spiritual significance of the figures, he did not apply any of them to today's Christian experience. Therefore, I did not receive from him any help in life or spiritual experiences. Nevertheless, I still thank God that I heard from him the interpretation and exposition of this chapter in a historical and scriptural way. Later, by putting this chapter together with my spiritual experience, I was able to get into the depths of the significance of this prophecy with blessing.
This record concerning Jacob's twelve sons begins with Reuben, a sinner. No one has been more sinful than Reuben. Although Paul said that he was the chief of sinners, I would say that Reuben was actually the foremost sinner, more sinful than Saul of Tarsus. What a terrible sin he committed! At the beginning of our Christian experience we also were sinners. How we thank the Lord for His mercy! Although I was once a Reuben, now I have been saved. Although this prophecy with blessing begins with a sinner, it ends with the two beloved sons of Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin. It begins with a sinner and ends with a king, a reigning one, one in power and authority. Between Reuben and Joseph we have Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.
We have seen that this prophetic record begins with a group of sinners, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Reuben's sin was lust, and the sin of Simeon and Levi was the anger that issued from their disposition. Matthew chapter five also speaks of the sins of lust and anger. After this group of sinners, who were filled with lust and anger, Christ came in as the lion. Judah is Christ as our glad tidings. Following him is Zebulun, the haven for shipping out the gospel, and Issachar, the enjoyment of the church life. How wonderful! Are there still some Reubens among us today? We have to declare that in the church there are no Reubens and no Simeons and that all the Levis have become priests. Thus, there are no more sinners. Christ is here and He is everything. Because Christ is here, we have the glad tidings that are shipped out through the preaching of the gospel, and we have the church life. Hallelujah, we are no longer sinners! We are in the church life. On the one hand, we are the haven to ship out Christ; on the other hand, we are the tents to stay with Christ in the full enjoyment of Him.