Jacob’s Family

Jacob’s Twelve Sons and God’s Master Plan

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;
the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;
the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;
and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram
[Genesis 35:23-26 NKJV]

God has now set out His vision, and His visions always come to pass. Now that we have been given the blueprint, we can see where we came from, and more importantly, where we are headed.

Jacob’s family can be seen as God’s template for our walk of faith. This, as has been mentioned seems to fall into three phases, which can be described in terms of the three great feasts, although it can also be seen in other patterns.

PASSOVER (Accepted in His Family)
Reuben - Behold, a son - A place in God’s family.
Simeon - Hearing - The privilege of prayer.
Levi - Joined - Our ministry unto God.
Judah - Praising - Having a heart to praise The Lord

PENTECOST (Joined to The Holy Spirit)
Dan - Judgement - The gift of Spiritual Discernment.
Naphtali - Wrestling - Forming perseverance.
Gad - To assemble, Overcoming - Forming a many-membered son, possessing the land.
Asher - Happy, Blessed - Seeing that we are blessed in Him.

TABERNACLES (Growing into a full relationship)
Issachar - There is a reward - Working (travailling in the Holy Spirit) for creation.
Zebulun - Dwelling, God’s habitation - To be single-minded and in God’s habitation.
Joseph - Let God add - God’s promise.
Benjamin - Son of the Right Hand - Our destiny, to be eternally with Jesus at the right hand of the Father.

What a glorious path He has set out for us. And the beauty of His way is that it is undergirded by His lovingkindness and mercy. Hallelujah!

A question that arises from the birth of Benjamin is why Rachel died at this particular moment? All the indications from Scripture before and after the event leave a strong impression that the arrival of Benjamin was a time of conclusion, in the sense of a bringing everything together.

We see this in the journey to Bethel, the house of God; Ephrath, the place of fruitfulness; Jacob building a watchtower called The Tower of the Sheep, (or the Shepherd’s Tower), where the shepherd of the sheep would watch over the flock; the list of the sons and the mention of Padan Aram, meaning the field; and finally the death of Isaac, with Jacob by his side at Mamre, the place of fulness. All these suggest an ending, a line drawn under a special work of God ... ready for the next revelation, a new beginning to come forth.

The time had come for God to take Rachel to live with Him in His eternal house. She had reached the end of her journey (Rachel = a ewe, from ‘to journey’), and had remained faithful, fulfilling the part God had for her.

---

“Be Thou My Vision” - Nathan and Rebecca Pacheco

---

OSWALD CHAMBERS - RUN TODAY’S RACE
Friday 22nd May 2020
A self indwelt by Jesus becomes like Him.
“Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you”
Jesus has loved me to the end of all my meanness and selfishness and sin; now, He says, show that same live to others.

---