Genesis 49:13-21 Jacob’s Prophecies, Part 2 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

The prophecies concerning these sons of Jacob reveal more about the pre-millennial layout of the Bible and the course that God takes in dealing with the Jews than it does about the specific details of the individual tribes.  Although we certainly learn some things about the individual tribes, we learn more about Israel’s future.  From these prophecies, we see Israel’s early dependence upon a navy, their eventual tribute under foreign enemies, the attack of the antichrist, the future invasion of the world’s nations, the final victory over these armies, and the eventual prosperity under the rule of the Lord Jesus Christ in the millennium.  Here are the prophecies:

Zebulon (13)

Most maps that show Zebulon’s inheritance place Zebulon in the interior of Galilee, without access to the Mediterranean Sea.  However, his prophecy reveals that his inheritance would run up to Zidon on the Mediterranean Sea coast, and that he would be a haven for ships.  Thus, most of the maps are wrong.

In 1 Ki. 9:26-27, Solomon had a navy that sailed out of the Red Sea.  Hiram, who was from Tyre, just south of Zidon on the Mediterranean Sea, sent men to sail with Solomon’s men because they had knowledge of the sea.  In 1 Ki. 5:8-9, Hiram used floats or barges to ship timber down from Lebanon to Judah for Solomon to build the Temple.

Issachar (14-15)

Issachar’s prophecy is of a strong, hard-working people (1 Chr. 7:5) who would bear the burden of working the land because it was good land and would enjoy the rest from their labors (Ecc. 5:12; Lam. 3:27).  However, in the end, all of this work would benefit somebody else because they would serve under tribute.  That is, they would have to pay somebody else from the fruit of their labors because they would be under control of another nation (i.e., 2 Ki. 23:33-35; 2 Ki. 15:19-20).  Israel was eventually overrun by Assyria and Judah by Babylon.

Dan (16-18)

Dan’s prophecy points to the antichrist who works under the control of the devil.  Notice, he is a serpent (Rev. 12:9) and he bites the horse heels causing the rider to fall (Gen. 3:15).  Dan earns this negative prophecy beginning in Judges 17 and 18, when they add Laish to their inheritance.  They steal a priest who is not a son of Aaron and set up a graven image and a molten image to worship (Ex. 20:3-5).  Later on, when Jeroboam, king of Israel, set up golden calves in Israel to keep his people from going to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, he set one of them up in Dan (1 Ki. 12:28-30).  Consequently, during the tribulation, when the 12 tribes are marked for protection against the plagues, Dan is left out (Rev. 7:4-8).  Their only solution would be “thy salvation, O Lord.”

Gad (19)

Gad’s name means a troop (Gen. 30:11).  However, during the tribulation, Israel is nearly destroyed by the troops of the nations who come against them to wipe them out (Lev. 26:25, 37-39; Rev. 16:16).  But in the end, God fights for the Jews and defeats their enemies and they overcome at the last (Zeph. 3:8; Zech. 12:3, 9).

Asher (20)

The fat bread and royal dainties of this prophecy point to the feast that we will enjoy with the Lord upon Jesus’ return and the great productivity of the land during the millennium (Lk. 14:15-24; Rev. 19:9; Amos 9:13-15).

Naphtali (21)

A hind is a female red deer and this one is let loose, no longer in captivity but free.  Of course this will be the condition of the Jews during the millennium.  And there will be “goodly words” because the “Word of God” will be ruling over all the kingdoms of the world (Is. 14:1-3; Jn. 8:32-36; Is. 9:6-7).

So, from these prophecies we glean what will happen to the Jews from the time their kings begin to rule in the land of their possession all the way to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Everything is laid out in perfect order.