Genesis 49:1 - Meaning and Application

Here is the preface to the prophecy. First, Jacob calls the family together (Genesis 49:2): “Gather yourselves together.” He wants all his sons sent for from their work so they can see their father die and hear his last words. This comforted Jacob, who was dying, because all his children were around him and none were missing, even though he had once feared he had lost some of them. It was also good for the sons to be there in his final moments, so they could learn how to die as well as how to live. What he said to each one, he said in front of all the rest, because we can learn from reproof, counsel, and comfort that are mainly aimed at others.

His repeated call for them to gather also gave them a command to stay united in love. They were to keep together, not blend into the Egyptians, and not stop meeting together. It also pointed ahead to the fact that they would not be scattered like Abraham’s sons and Isaac’s sons, but would be joined into one people. Second, Jacob gives a general summary of what he is about to say (Genesis 49:1): he will tell them what will happen to their descendants in the later days. This would help those who came after them, strengthening their faith and guiding their steps when they returned to Canaan and settled there. We cannot tell our children what will happen to them or their families in this world, but we can tell them, from God’s word, what will happen in the last day according to how they live now.

Third, he asks for their attention (Genesis 49:2): “Listen to Israel your father.” Let Israel, the man who has prevailed with God, also prevail with them. Children should carefully listen to what godly parents say, especially when those parents are dying. “Hear, my children, your father’s instruction” carries both authority and affection (Proverbs 4:1).

The prophecy about Reuben comes next. Jacob begins with him (Genesis 49:3, 4), because he was the firstborn. But Reuben had sinned by lying with his father’s wife, bringing disgrace on the family he should have honored, and so he lost the rights of the birthright. His dying father now formally lowers him, though he does not reject him or cut him off. Reuben keeps a son’s place, but loses the honor of being firstborn. We have reason to think Reuben had repented and been forgiven, yet justice still required this public mark of shame, both to show hatred for such wickedness and to warn others.

Jacob first sets before him the honors he had forfeited, so all his brothers could see what he had lost and how evil the sin was. As firstborn, Reuben had been his father’s joy and, in a sense, the beginning of his strength. His very name, Reuben, means “See, a son,” showing how welcome he had been to his parents. To him belonged special dignity above his brothers, and some measure of rule over them. Christ Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers, and all the highest honor and authority belong to him by right. Through him, his church also becomes a church of firstborn.

Jacob then takes those honors away with one sentence, “You will not excel” (Genesis 49:4). He lifts Reuben up only to cast him down. He will remain a tribe, but he will not be excellent. No judge, prophet, or prince comes from that tribe, and only Dathan and Abiram stand out, both known for their wicked rebellion against Moses. That tribe, not wanting to excel, chose a low place for itself on the other side of the Jordan. Reuben himself seems to have lost the influence over his brothers that his birthright should have given him, because when he spoke to them, they would not listen (Genesis 42:22). Those who do not have the understanding or self-control to support their privileges soon lose them and keep only the name.

The mark placed on Reuben is that he was unstable as water. His character was unstable, because he did not govern himself or his desires. At times he was orderly, but at other times he followed the wildest paths. Instability ruins greatness. People do not prosper when they cannot stay fixed. His honor was unstable too. It slipped away from him, vanished like smoke, and was spilled like water on the ground. Those who throw away virtue should not expect to keep their good name.

Jacob points directly to the sin that brought this shame: “You went up to your father’s bed.” It had happened forty years earlier, yet it is still brought to mind. Time does not automatically remove guilt from the conscience, and some sins leave a stain on a person’s name that time will not erase, especially sins against sexual purity. Reuben’s sin left a lasting shame on his family, a wound that would not heal without a scar (Proverbs 6:32, 33). Let us never do evil, and then we will not need to fear being reminded of it.