PERPETUAL BLESSINGS AND CHARACTERISTICS IDENTIFY NATIONS

Genesis 49:1-2 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. 

(2)  Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.

Notice that the blessings are to be perpetual to the “last days”.

 

Genesis 49:3-4 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:

(4) Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou went up to thy father's bed; then defiles thou it: he went up to my couch.

          RUBEN is recognized as modern day FRANCE. Southern France, settled by the descendants of Javan (ancient Greeks), is Gentile. A democratic country, that is unstable, yet sets the styles for the world, has the form of real excellency, and has the same sexual proclivities as Ruben.

We are all familiar with the phrase, “finding romance in Paris, the city of love.”  Just this year they demonstrated how they have their priorities wrong with the unpreparedness for the prevention of a tragic massacre and lax attention to the threat of terrorism living in their own back yards.

Their tendency to be “laid back” is evident with things like Napoleon. He takes them over in the Napoleonic war. In the 1800’s at war with England, as the firstborn of Israel’s they lose the birthright to Napoleon.

Deuteronomy 33:1 And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

Of all the western nations, France has the lowest birthrate, although they outnumber England nearly 6 to 1.

 

Genesis 49:5-7 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 

(6)  O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will, they dig down a wall. 

(7)  Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

            These two are lumped together and are scattered among the other nations of Israel. They are never assigned a portion of land for their inheritance because of their lack of anger management among their brethren.

          SIMEON. His people are scattered. They are among all the modern nations of Israel without specific identity. In fact, Moses does not even mention them as a tribe! Because God inspires Jacob to pronounce they are to be scattered among Israel. This happens when Israel splits into two major factions. They are in Palestine south of Judah, but when the split happens they leave with the other 10 tribes of Israel.

           LEVI. This is the priestly tribe, and is also to be scattered throughout Israel. They are never assigned land as an inheritance. The name Levi, Levy, and Levine are found in the tribes of Judah a lot. Also, Cohen and its variations. In Hebrew Kohan means priest and is translated 723 times that way. They are mainly scattered among Judah because they lose their priestly functions in Israel almost totally. Jeroboam causes that when he is king.

1Kings 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.

 

Genesis 49:8-12 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. 

(9)  Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 

(10)  The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

(11)  Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

(12) His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

         JUDAH. Not to be confused with the term JEWS. Perhaps this is a good place to explain the difference in Judah and Jews. Jews is the name first applied to the people who dwelt in ancient land of Judah! This was when Israel divided into two kingdoms of Israel and Judah. After the 70 year of captivity all the descendants of Abraham were called “Jews”.

The term Jews is applied in the New Testament for all Israelites oppose to the “Gentiles”.

In modern times Jews, have become known as those who do not accept Jesus Christ has come as the Messiah. Since the Jewish leadership were hostile toward Jesus’ ministry, they are sometimes confused with the ethnic label of the people called Jews who were God’s chosen people. Paul refers to the Jews in this manner when speaking of the person who is pleasing God. In that sense, he was identifying the difference between Jews and pagans. All the apostles eventually adopt the term “Israelites” to mean followers of Judeo/Christian teachings. In the early days of the church, most congregations were made up of believing Jews mixed with Gentile peoples. Especially in Paul’s missionary travels. Some accept Christ others denying the Messiah has come yet. 

In these modern times, many see Israel as Jews. It is now a religious term for the faith of the people of Israel. The people are often referred to as Israelis.  In modern times, there are few ethnic people of Judah in Israel. There are some in Denmark and a lot of them migrated to England.

The Hapsburgs and the royal line of Queen Elizabeth are from the lineage of Judah.

 

Genesis 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.

      ZEBULUN. His people settled in HOLLAND (Netherlands). They are a colonizing people dwelling at the “shore of the sea”.

 

Genesis 49:14-15 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:

(15) And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.

       ISSACHAR Probably the people of FINLAND. They are a hardworking people. They have paid off a huge debt to Russia over the years. Their wealth comes from fishing and glass making.

 

Genesis 49:16-18 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 

(17)  Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that bite the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. 

(18)  I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.

       DAN. DENMARK and the DANES! The ancient tribe of Dan was originally divided into two parts, one about Joppa, a seaport, and the other in the north of Palestine. Dan ruled his own people independent of Israel’s kings. Down through history they acquired the lands of Virgin Islands, Greenland, Iceland, and other islands in their “hey day”.

 

Genesis 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

       GAD. Modern day SWITZERLAND. The only nation where every man is mobilized for defense. They are a nation of troops. It is no accident that the Geneva Conference is there.

 

Genesis 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.

       ASHER. Modern day BELGIUM. ASHER is sometimes confused with ASSHUR. The twin brother of ARPAXPHAD in history.

From ASHER’S lineage, we have the finest Flemish paintings, the royal tapestries which grace the halls of kings, fine out diamonds, porcelain and Belgian lace.

Deuteronomy 33:24-25 And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. 

(25)  Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

Because of oil reserves and huge Uranium deposits, Belgium is wealthy and will continue to prosper and grow as a nation. Could be why so many of the current day ISIS terrorist “cells” hide out there to form operations.

 

Genesis 49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.

       NAPHTALI is modern day SWEDEN. From SWEDEN come the Nobel prizes in token of great world accomplishments. She is renowned for sending emissaries to speak words of peace and conciliation.

 

Genesis 49:27 Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning, he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

        BENJAMIN is modern day NORWAY and ICELAND. The smallest of the tribes and this is still true today. There are fewer Norwegians than any other group today.     

 

Genesis 49:22-26  Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 

(23) The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 

(24)  But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 

(25)  Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:  (26)  The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

       JOSEPH is a whole different story when it comes to the tribes of Israel. This is because of how he is separated from his brethren because of the favor of God upon him and the jealousy of his brethren. This gives Joseph pre-eminence above the other Israelites nations even to this day. He represents in modern times both ENGLAND and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The national blessings are bestowed upon Joseph’s two sons; EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH.

 

Genesis 48:3-20 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

(4) And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 

(5)  And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine. 

(6)  And thy issue, which thou begot after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 

(7)  And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem. 

(8)  And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, who are these? 

(9)  And Joseph said unto his father, they are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 

(10)  Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 

(11)  And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed. 

(12)  And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 

(13)  And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 

(14)  And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. 

(15)  And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my father’s Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

(16) The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my father’s Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.  (17)  And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. 

(18)  And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 

(19)  And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 

(20)  And he blessed them that day, saying, in thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

It is significant that the firstborn receives the birthright blessings of the family.  But in many cases throughout the bible we see the birthright transferred for various reasons. This is also the case with Ephraim and Manasseh.

       In the playing out of these blessings to our recent world history guess who is the Nation on whom the sun never set on their territories and resources? Great Britain! “his seed shall become a multitude of nations” Only until shortly after the post-World War Two era the Brits are the largest one nation of nations on the earth. Today this is not true. Sadly, they have fallen into the same apostasy as their fore fathers, Israel, often did and lost their favor in the eyes of God. No other country fits this scenario but England, or once known as Great Britain. Therefore, EPHRAIM is modern day ENGLAND our longest and closest ally.       

This leaves the first-born brother MANASSEH. This must be AMERICA. He is also destined to become a great nation.  America sets on the most diverse and bountiful natural resources of any other nation or country in the world! America’s rise to power has made us the “go to nation”, most “looked up to for world leadership” country in the world. We are the most powerful nation in the world, post-World War Two.

Sadly, this is becoming no longer true. We have allowed our founding principles to be compromised and diminished to the point of indebtedness to many other nations.

What God warns ancient Israel would happen if they forsake Him is happening to America. Our money still says “In God We Trust” but our culture and political correctness speaks louder and louder each day. We tolerate other cultures to the extent that our own identity as Americans is threatened. That is a story for another book.

       Many of the ancient nations retain their original names. Nations such as Egypt, Libya, Ethiopia, and Greece just to name a few.