Zebulun And Naphtali

Genesis 49:
" 1And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
And listen to Israel your father."

Jacob was about to die and be gathered to his fathers.  Just prior to his death, he called his sons (all except Joseph whom he blessed in chapter 48) to himself and spoke a blessing over each one, some of which seem more than a little strange. These blessings are all recorded In Genesis 49.  

(Follow this link for more on the blessings over Joseph and his sons, a study in and of itself in 9 parts:  

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2016/04/ephraim-and-house-of-judah-part-1-of-9.html)

If you look closely you'll notice there is something quite puzzling in not only the blessings themselves but the order in which he prays for them.  For instance, why, after blessing the 4th son, Judah, did he bypass the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th sons to bless Zebulun, #10 on the birth-order list?  Dan should have been next. What gives?     

The Holy Sprit is drawing pictures for us.  Hidden in the blessings of his sons are prophetic things about Jesus as well as the last days, as the passage indicates.  He hides nuggets of truth for us in scripture that, when we search them out, they are a blessing to us, too!

All throughout the Bible there are meanings hidden in stories, stories within stories and hidden meanings in both the Hebrew words and letters.  There are even meanings hidden in numbers, a phenomenon is known to the Rabbis as the "Gematria" (meaning of numbers).  For instance 10 is the letter "yod. [י]"  It can also refer to the law or the tithe.  5, the letter " hei [ה]," means grace.

Notice the name change?  The Holy Spirit uses Jacob's glorified name, "Israel," whenever he is acting in faith.  Jacob, lead by the Holy Spirit, took son #10, Zebulun, and gave him the #5 spot, blessing the 10th in place of the 5th.  Why?  Because He is indicating that Grace is replacing the Law!

You see, Dan would have been next in line but his name means "judgement."  Jesus, in His first appearing, did not come as judge; He came as the Lamb of God.  He came to save!  He came as Shepherd. 

 

When He returns, He'll be riding on a white horse with us, the Church, in tow as Judge, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  Make no mistake:  it is at that time that outside of Christ will be judged.....AND NOT ONE MINUTE BEFORE.  The door of salvation is still wide open and will remain so until the Father says so.  Salvation can be freely had by "whosoever will."  What is He waiting for?  The Father is delaying Jesus' return for as long as possible because He is willing that NONE should perish!

The whole point of blessing his sons in this order is to show us what's on God's mind:  His beloved Son Who came to bring GRACE! (John 1:17)

Zebulun means "dwelling place," in Hebrew.  The town of Nazareth, which was Jesus' "dwelling place" for most of His life, is in the region of Zebulun.  Back then, it was a rough, no-account backwater; a seedy little town to which He brought great grace and honor.  This place, which formerly had the worst of reputations, is now known as the town where Our Lord Jesus grew up.  From the lowest of places elevated high above all others!     

You see, Church, no matter where you've come from or what you did to mess up your life, Jesus loves you!  He came to redeem and elevate you to the highest place of glory and honor.  He takes great pleasure in using the "foolish" things in this world to confound the "wise."

Zebulun's mother, Leah, spoke this over him when he was born:
Genesis 30:19-20
"Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son {her 6th, Jacob's 10th}
20 And Leah said,“God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell {zebul} with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun."

Poor Leah! She was constantly plying for love and attention from her husband.  Now maybe he will "zebul-dwell" with her.  Nope.  Didn't happen.

She also said that God gave her a "good endowment." Interesting choice of words,b cause the word
for endowment in Hebrew is "zebed."  Remember this for later.

Here is the blessing spoken over Zebulun:
Gen 49:13
“Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon."  

James and John, the sons of "Zebed-ee" were from "Zebulun." Remember "zebed?"  And don't forget that Nazareth is located in the land of Zebulun.  Both Zebulun and Naphtali make up the entire region of Galilee. {See map}

This is the blessing spoken over Naphtali:  Genesis 49:21 “Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words."

What are the "beautiful words" of which is the Holy Spirit speaking?  He is describing Jesus' disciples here as well as the Church.  All of the disciples were from from Naphtali, with the exception of James and John who were from the tribe of Zebulun, and Judas who was from the same tribe as Jesus:  Judah.  The "beautiful words" are the words of the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel!  The disciples preached them and so do you and I!  

No wonder these men are like a deer let lose:  Nothing sets people free like the Gospel!

Isn't Gid cool?  I love that our wonderful Abba hides beautiful pictures of our altogether lovely Jesus in things like the blessings over these two sons of Jacob:  Zebulun and Naphtali.