Gen 49 vss 5-7 Post 217 -- Friends Sharing Scripture

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Subject: Gen 49 vss 5-7 Post 217

Author:
Hillbilly

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Date Posted: 09:38:14 09/14/12 Fri

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 honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged 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.

Simeon and Levi are the 2nd and 3rd sons of Leah. Reuben was her firstborn and as Reuben their "blessing" contains a curse. The instruments of cruelty were the swords they used to murder The men of Shechem. Jacob clearly does not want to be associated with the actions of Simeon and Levi. "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united:"

Their retribution went far beyond the punishment of Shechem for taking their daughter and forcing her in the field. They killed Shechem, his father Hamor and all the men of the city but they didn't stop there. They went on to spoil the city. Take captive all the women and children and take all their goods unto themselves. "In their selfwill they digged down a wall". The digging down of the wall is a reference to tearing down the defenses of the city and spoiling it.

Jacob stops short of cursing his two sons and curses only their anger which went far beyond justice in the matter of Dinah. Jacob understood they acted on "selfwill" and it was their desire for revenge instead of justice that drove them to their acts. The other men of Shechem along with the women and children did the two no harm nor did they have any part with the act against their sister. Their actions are on a par with what we are witnessing in Egypt, Libya, Yemen etc. today. Some people are looking for an excuse and are not interested in doing what is right.

"I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel." Here we should take notice how that Jacob now assumes the voice of God in his prophecy. "I will divide---and scatter". At this pronouncement Jacob was on his deathbed and had no power to do anything concerning the future of the two sons. He was pronouncing what God was giving him to pronounce. Had Jacob done this on his own one has to wonder if they would have been anything more than just ramblings of a dying man.

By the time of the Exodus and just prior to the entering of the "promised land" Simeon was the least populated of the tribes. The census of the tribes is given in numbers 26 for those who are interested. Simeon's inheritance was the least of the tribes Because of the smallness they inherited within the bounds alloted to Judah and didn't have a "stand alone" inheritance. In Deut. 33 when Moses blesses the tribes of Israel before his death he completely leaves out Simeon. Simeon is not even mentioned in the entire blessings of Deut. 33.

As to the tribe of Levi which becomes the priest tribe there is no inheritance. The Lord is their inheritance but if it had not been for the actions of Phinehas (a Levite grandson of Aaron) it is doubtful if Levi would have received a blessing. God sent a plague on Israel for committing whoredom with the daughters of Moab. Israel joined herself to the gods of the Moabites and the anger of God was kindled against Israel to the tune of 24,000 dieing in the plague God sent. The plague was only stayed when Phinehas took a javelin and thrust through an Israelite and the woman of the land he had taken to himself.

In the days of the inheritance the tribe of Levi was scattered throughout the land of Israel probably as much because they had no land to hold them together as a tribe as the others did. Thus us fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob on Simeon and Levi.

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[> Subject: This one was a little hard to decpher....
Author: dori [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 19:55:02 09/14/12 Fri Until the last line. These old blood feuds seem dry and same ol same ol, until you realize this accounting is showing the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jacob. Sure glad you're explaining. That would have gone right over my head. LOL!