Please turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis 49. This morning our reading is going to be quite a bit shorter than what we’ve had in the previous weeks. We will be reading just the first four verses. We’ve been covering whole chapters, but this morning we’re just looking over the first few verses of Chapter 49.
Last time we were together we looked at the previous chapter and it was that adoption ceremony. Jacob adopted his two grandkids (Ephraim & Manasseh). And we saw that during that ceremony he blessed them. In that blessing, we saw that these two kids of joseph were given the place of pre-eminence as the first born. They would be the ones who received the “double portion.” And we mentioned that in the later history, they would be given the greatest portion of the Promised Land. Their acreage was significantly larger than the rest of the tribes.
Well, in Chapter 49 the rest of the sons gather around Jacob. Jacob is about to die and he calls his sons together so that he can bless them and tell a little about their futures.
This morning we will look at the “blessing” of the firstborn, Reuben. I say blessing, but when you read it, you kind of wonder, what kind of blessing is this?
Well, let’s find out. Let’s read Genesis 49:1-4.
Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. 2 "Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. 3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it--he went up to my couch!
In 2004 the British multi-billionaire Leona Helmsley passed away. I recalled this story this past week when studying this passage because Helmsley’s last will and testament was so peculiar. The woman, who was known as “the Queen of Mean” certainly lived up to the nickname, as she bequeathed the majority of her estate to her two dogs.
One British newspaper mentioned that in her original will she had designated a good portion of the money to fight poverty. But she nixed the poor in a revision and left the hefty sum to her two pet pugs. Two of her four grandchildren were also cut from the inheritance. The other two got to share 10 million between them; a rather sublime haul, but certainly a far cry from the 8 billion that came into the possession of the pooches’ trust fund.
And yes, the dogs were forced to go into hiding in Florida as they had threats against them.[1]
Can you imagine being one of Helmsley’s kids or grandkids? Sure, you got a couple million dollars, but it had to be rather insulting it had to have been to have had a couple of mangy mutts given such favoritism. When you sat before the lawyer who read the will, you probably didn’t feel all that blessed when the official testament came down. They were blessed, but they were slighted too.
When we look at our passage this morning, and really, quite a bit of the chapter, what we find is that Jacob’s blessing of his children is like that. It is, at certain points, kind of insulting. And when we think of Reuben, the things that are said here, you get the idea that this is not the last will and testament that you may have expected.
In this passage Jacob speaks his last will and testament: It is a prophetic action. His words about the future based on the past. He calls to mind Reuben’s sin which occurred earlier in the book of Genesis, where he had sexual relations with Bilhah—who is, as you remember, one of his father’s 4 wives. It would be his stepmother.
At the time Jacob heard about what Rueben had done, but didn’t say or do anything about it. But here we see that his actions were not without their consequences.
And that’s what I’d like to dwell on this morning. As we look at this passage, I want us to think about the fact that sin has consequences. This passage shows us, in ever so clear terms, that a transgression against God is not a small matter. There are costs associated with sin—especially when we do not repent of it and seek to deal with it in the way God wants.
But I also believe there is much good news to be found in the message today. While this passage shows us the costs and consequence of sin, if we listen carefully and think rightly about the history of God’s people, we’ll hear a wonderful message of regarding the good news of the gospel. The Lord does not always treat his people as our sins deserve.
I. Sin has consequences
A. Sin has direct / Personal consequences –
Right of the first born was stripped away. We’ll have more to say about this as it affects the development of his family through history. But here we see that he loses his place of prominence and the nobility that is associated with it.
And while this is certainly a huge loss for him and for his family, what is perhaps more striking is the utter humiliation that he undergoes right here in front of everyone. When we read this you can’t help but sense the degrading shame that falls upon Ruben at this moment.
Here Jacob is, with some of his last breath in his chest. It has to be pretty horrific to know that these are your father’s dying words to you. If that were not bad enough, there’s the public nature of it. The whole family had gathered around Jacob and they were all there to witness this proclamation. And you have the expectation that Jacob is going to now give his last will and testimony. After the blessings that he just pronounced to the other to sons (Ephraim & Manasseh), you expect him to go on to detail all the other blessings that his sons will get. And here’s Ruben, the firstborn. Everyone anticipates that he will get all kinds of honors and favors. So the expectation is running high.
But there’s none of that. Imagine how mortified he had to be to have this pronounced right there in the open. Imagine the shame and disgrace he must have felt to have what would probably have been a secret sin exposed before all. You can see the gaping expressions of the rest of the family members as they turn their heads and look at Ruben in disbelief. It had to be downright horrific experience.
This simply stands as a reminder to us that it is important to keep back from sin. Or, if we do sin, to confess it and make attempts to rectify it. The Bible tells us here and in many other places that our sins will be found out.
Jesus tells us in the gospel of Luke that “What is done in secret will be shouted from the housetops.”
There, of course, he is talking about the Pharisees and religious leaders. They were experts at hypocrisy and hiding their sins or doing them under the cover – be it in their homes or out of the public’s eye. Jesus says that these things may have gone unnoticed at first, but it will only be time before God pulls the covers off and it is shouted through a bull horn.
Just ask any politician and you will learn that this is true. They will tell you that all their backroom deals and their scandles that they sought to keep under wraps ended up being the headlines on the nightly news cycle. Somehow it ends up becoming a billboard that everybody and their brother hears about.
Matthew Henry says on another passage, “God sees what men do, and hears what they say, in secret; and, when he pleases, he can bring it to light by strange and unsuspected ways.”
The Lord sees everything and he knows everything. There’s nothing that is hidden from His all seeing eye. Even what you hold as the darkest secret, what you do behind closed doors and try to keep hidden, is all open to God. There are no secrets when it comes to God. And the warning of Scripture is that these sins will find you out. God will bring you face to face with it—and if need be, he will bring it out publicly, so that you recognize your need to repentance for it.
Granted, your sin might not be of this magnitude. It might not be the same as Ruben’s. But it is good to consider the principle. If we do not humble ourselves before God, we will be humbled before all. If you do not confess them and repent of them, you have to be aware that they very well could be plastered all over the public realm for everyone to hear about or see.
Sin has consequences, and if it isn’t dealt with properly, it may be dealt with publicly—just like Ruben experienced.
We can try and cover it up, or we can deal with our sin in a biblical way, and gain a greater covering in the blood of Christ. The gospel tells us that the Lord will cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. He will “remember them no more.” And never bring it up again. And that’s the good news. Sinners can have this relief if we deal with our sin biblically, confessing it to the Lord in true repentance.
The Bible talks about the atonement of Christ as a covering for sin. That means that God no longer sees them. In the cross Jesus bore that shame. He was stripped and publicly humiliated on a main highway outside Jerusalem. He bore the disgrace on your behalf. And thus, when you repent, your sins are blotted out. God no longer will bring it up to you or anyone else because Christ has dealt with its shameful consequences.
So I hope this is an encouragement to you, to be careful not to sin, or to be quick to repent when you do sin.
But as we look at Ruben, it is important that we not only see the personal effects of sin, but the generational consequences too.
B. Generational consequences
You’ve heard the expression, “The sins of the fathers visited upon the third and fourth generation.” That’s what we are talking about here. The act of the head of the family ends up bringing certain consequences and setting a trajectory that affects the family for hundreds and hundreds of years.
The opening words of this chapter remind us that what Jacob says is not so much for Ruben and the upcoming days and weeks. But rather, verse 1 says it is for the “days to come.” That is to say, the words of blessing and curse are words that will be carried on down through the succeeding generations; most especially as it pertains to the time when the Israelites come back to the land of Canaan.
Notice what Jacob says: Jacob calls Ruben someone who is “unstable as water.” We don’t know exactly what that means. The original language has the idea of frothing, like water that boils over. But the idea is that it is not stable.
Then, Jacob goes on to declare that Ruben will “not have preeminence.” that is referring to the fact that he will not have the firstborn’s portion of the inheritance (that was given to Joseph).
And when we look at Ruben’s tribe in succeeding generations, we see something of these characteristics manifested. It starts out well enough, in the book of Numbers we see that his clan is has over 43,000 fighting men. But in the second census, instead of a larger number and indications that the tribe is growing, we find a smaller amount of people. The tribe actually shrinks a bit in the wilderness.
And then perhaps you know the story of Korah’s rebellion. Well, along with Korah there are two other families involved. Dathan and Abriam, who were two of the leading Rubenite families. There’s a bit of that unstable, self asserting spirit.
If we fast forward to the settlement of Canaan, when we look at Ruben’s territory, we find that he gets an average size portion—certainly not the double portion of the firstborn. It is nothing compared to the portions of Ephraim & Manasseh.
What’s more, his territory struggles. It experiences a great deal of turmoil and seems to almost vanish. Throughout the Monarchy period that area is attacked by Moabites and Ammonites and other foreign nations. By the time you get to Jeroboam II, the area is no longer marked as a territory of Israel. It’s like they lost their portion in Israel.
But it all started with one sin. A father’s sin. That sin brought God’s curse and it set a trajectory for his family for generations to come.
Now, my family and I had opportunity this past week to talk about this idea—which we might call consequences of covenant headship. We talked about it this week because we’re looking at Adam and how his sin affected the rest of his children. We talk about Adam and Eve being our “first parents.” And Adam’s sin had ramifications for all his descendants.
And it was at this that my daughter said, “I really don’t like this doctrine. Because I have to deal with the mess you created.” Our conversation developed from there, but you know- she has a point. It may be one thing to hear that the sins of the fathers will be visited upon the third and fourth generation, but it is another thing to hear your very own flesh and blood express something of the real tragedy of it.
We’ve briefly talked about this kind of thing before, but I want to simply reiterate it again. As fathers, we need to be aware that our actions can have immense ramifications for our children, grandchildren, and on down the line. As church leaders, we need to keep in mind that our decisions and the things we do can be things that have serious impact upon those under us (or come after us).
And it demands we be circumspect as leaders.
My point though is that sin has consequences. It can have personal consequences, and it can have consequences for generations to come. Reuben’s sin is a sobering reminder that we should not be flippant or think that our sin can be swept under the rug. These words call us to a sober reflection about the things that we’ve done or the life that we will live in the days to come.
But I would be remiss if I ended the message there. For we need to recognize that this blessing is not just about sin and its consequences. We need to understand that this passage does proclaim a blessing; a blessing of Good news.
II. Lesson of God’s grace – God’s grace is magnificent; indulgent.
We should understand that what we read here is not just about sin and the disgust of a father. When we read this, we should understand that it tells us about the depths of God’s grace.
While these words may have some cutting edge to them—while Jacob’s words sting and likely surprise Ruben, we should understand that they are not as bad as the could be (or even should be).
Understand this: Ruben is removed from his place of prominence, but the good news is that he is not altogether disinherited. He doesn’t get the double portion, but he does at least get a portion in Israel. That, we should recognize, is grace.
Reuben shouldn’t have received anything! As a matter of fact, his sin would later in Israel’s history be characterized as a capital crime (Lev. 18:8; Deut 27:20). And make no mistake, this would have likely been the rule during his own lifetime. He should have been put to death. As such he should not have received any inheritance. That he was not struck down—that he was given something, rather than nothing, is quite a testimony to God’s kindness.
This is the nature of grace. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. Grace is getting to enjoy what you had really forfeited by virtue of your sin.
Certainly we may say that his getting any recognition and allotment is an expression of God’s indulgence. He may have lost his birthright, but by the grace of God he has not lost everything.
Let me tell you about Eric (it isn’t his real name). Eric used to be one of my students at the prison. He was a part of the first group that went through the program and he graduated. Eric is one of the most gentle and kind guys. He is a fellow who always demonstrates the most respectful and considerate temperament. I’ve always loved having him in class.
But one day we were talking after our study group had closed up for the night. I don’t remember what the conversation was about exactly; I think it may have had to do with certain privileges. But I vividly remember him saying, “I’m just glad for every day.”
At the moment I thought, “There he goes again. Just being so content with life. He’s so amazing that he can have that kind of ‘live in the moment and enjoy everything you got’ kind of attitude.” But later it sunk in what he really meant. You see, Eric had committed a crime of a rather serious nature; one that, according to Scripture, deserved death. And had he lived in another state, perhaps, he may have gotten the death penalty. It’s just in Ohio, the death penalty is only reserved for very specific cases and is relatively rare.
Eric knew the real power of God’s grace. He may be behind bars—he may have been stripped of a lot of good things in life and not have access to certain privileges or freedoms, but he was still living and enjoying a relatively good life—at least by comparison. Eric was glad for every day, because every day was a distinct grace from God.
And if we would remember that this is just as true for us, as it was for Eric and Ruben, that might change the way we look at the blessings and privileges of life. We have to remember that the penalty for sin is death, we will remember that today is a huge blessing.
But there’s another thing I want you to notice about God’s gracious dealings with Ruben. It isn’t necessarily in this passage though. I’d like you to turn with me to Ezekiel 47-48. These two chapters are a vision that Ezekiel has of a future, glorified kingdom. I cannot go into all the details. There are lots of different interpretive questions. But these two chapters talk about a new division of the land. It is a vision of the ultimate inheritance, so to speak. And in 47:13 it says that each tribe gets an equal portion. Ruben ends up getting just as much as Ephraim & Manasseh.
And what’s more, chapter 48 tells us that all the tribes are given new places. The tribes are each given strips of land and the order and location is all different than what it came to be in the original allotment. And what you find is that the temple is right central in the midst of this new allotment. And Judah, being the messianic line, is right there by the temple. But you know who comes in right behind him? It’s Ruben. Ruben is experiencing some pre-eminence, in that he has a closeness to the temple & to the Redeemer who lives in the Temple.
Now turn to Revelation 7. Here again you find a vision of the future kingdom. This is that passage that talks about the 144,000 that are sealed. That’s a passage of Scripture that has its own controversy. But look at verses 5f. It lists the different tribes. And it says that there are 12,000 people from each of the tribes. It lists first Judah, and right behind him is Ruben.
Now, I believe both of these passages (Ezk. & Rev.) are not necessarily dealing with the bloodlines of each of the tribes. I think that the tribes are being employed symbolically as an indication of all of God’s people. But that it uses the name Ruben and puts him in such a place of prominence in each one is an indication that our God is a God who draws sinners unto himself. He’s a God who welcomes those who are fallen sinners. He pardons those who, like Ruben, have done evil and broken faith with God.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/03/usa
Last time we were together we looked at the previous chapter and it was that adoption ceremony. Jacob adopted his two grandkids (Ephraim & Manasseh). And we saw that during that ceremony he blessed them. In that blessing, we saw that these two kids of joseph were given the place of pre-eminence as the first born. They would be the ones who received the “double portion.” And we mentioned that in the later history, they would be given the greatest portion of the Promised Land. Their acreage was significantly larger than the rest of the tribes.
Well, in Chapter 49 the rest of the sons gather around Jacob. Jacob is about to die and he calls his sons together so that he can bless them and tell a little about their futures.
This morning we will look at the “blessing” of the firstborn, Reuben. I say blessing, but when you read it, you kind of wonder, what kind of blessing is this?
Well, let’s find out. Let’s read Genesis 49:1-4.
Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in days to come. 2 "Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father. 3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father's bed; then you defiled it--he went up to my couch!
In 2004 the British multi-billionaire Leona Helmsley passed away. I recalled this story this past week when studying this passage because Helmsley’s last will and testament was so peculiar. The woman, who was known as “the Queen of Mean” certainly lived up to the nickname, as she bequeathed the majority of her estate to her two dogs.
One British newspaper mentioned that in her original will she had designated a good portion of the money to fight poverty. But she nixed the poor in a revision and left the hefty sum to her two pet pugs. Two of her four grandchildren were also cut from the inheritance. The other two got to share 10 million between them; a rather sublime haul, but certainly a far cry from the 8 billion that came into the possession of the pooches’ trust fund.
And yes, the dogs were forced to go into hiding in Florida as they had threats against them.[1]
Can you imagine being one of Helmsley’s kids or grandkids? Sure, you got a couple million dollars, but it had to be rather insulting it had to have been to have had a couple of mangy mutts given such favoritism. When you sat before the lawyer who read the will, you probably didn’t feel all that blessed when the official testament came down. They were blessed, but they were slighted too.
When we look at our passage this morning, and really, quite a bit of the chapter, what we find is that Jacob’s blessing of his children is like that. It is, at certain points, kind of insulting. And when we think of Reuben, the things that are said here, you get the idea that this is not the last will and testament that you may have expected.
In this passage Jacob speaks his last will and testament: It is a prophetic action. His words about the future based on the past. He calls to mind Reuben’s sin which occurred earlier in the book of Genesis, where he had sexual relations with Bilhah—who is, as you remember, one of his father’s 4 wives. It would be his stepmother.
At the time Jacob heard about what Rueben had done, but didn’t say or do anything about it. But here we see that his actions were not without their consequences.
And that’s what I’d like to dwell on this morning. As we look at this passage, I want us to think about the fact that sin has consequences. This passage shows us, in ever so clear terms, that a transgression against God is not a small matter. There are costs associated with sin—especially when we do not repent of it and seek to deal with it in the way God wants.
But I also believe there is much good news to be found in the message today. While this passage shows us the costs and consequence of sin, if we listen carefully and think rightly about the history of God’s people, we’ll hear a wonderful message of regarding the good news of the gospel. The Lord does not always treat his people as our sins deserve.
I. Sin has consequences
A. Sin has direct / Personal consequences –
Right of the first born was stripped away. We’ll have more to say about this as it affects the development of his family through history. But here we see that he loses his place of prominence and the nobility that is associated with it.
And while this is certainly a huge loss for him and for his family, what is perhaps more striking is the utter humiliation that he undergoes right here in front of everyone. When we read this you can’t help but sense the degrading shame that falls upon Ruben at this moment.
Here Jacob is, with some of his last breath in his chest. It has to be pretty horrific to know that these are your father’s dying words to you. If that were not bad enough, there’s the public nature of it. The whole family had gathered around Jacob and they were all there to witness this proclamation. And you have the expectation that Jacob is going to now give his last will and testimony. After the blessings that he just pronounced to the other to sons (Ephraim & Manasseh), you expect him to go on to detail all the other blessings that his sons will get. And here’s Ruben, the firstborn. Everyone anticipates that he will get all kinds of honors and favors. So the expectation is running high.
But there’s none of that. Imagine how mortified he had to be to have this pronounced right there in the open. Imagine the shame and disgrace he must have felt to have what would probably have been a secret sin exposed before all. You can see the gaping expressions of the rest of the family members as they turn their heads and look at Ruben in disbelief. It had to be downright horrific experience.
This simply stands as a reminder to us that it is important to keep back from sin. Or, if we do sin, to confess it and make attempts to rectify it. The Bible tells us here and in many other places that our sins will be found out.
Jesus tells us in the gospel of Luke that “What is done in secret will be shouted from the housetops.”
There, of course, he is talking about the Pharisees and religious leaders. They were experts at hypocrisy and hiding their sins or doing them under the cover – be it in their homes or out of the public’s eye. Jesus says that these things may have gone unnoticed at first, but it will only be time before God pulls the covers off and it is shouted through a bull horn.
Just ask any politician and you will learn that this is true. They will tell you that all their backroom deals and their scandles that they sought to keep under wraps ended up being the headlines on the nightly news cycle. Somehow it ends up becoming a billboard that everybody and their brother hears about.
Matthew Henry says on another passage, “God sees what men do, and hears what they say, in secret; and, when he pleases, he can bring it to light by strange and unsuspected ways.”
The Lord sees everything and he knows everything. There’s nothing that is hidden from His all seeing eye. Even what you hold as the darkest secret, what you do behind closed doors and try to keep hidden, is all open to God. There are no secrets when it comes to God. And the warning of Scripture is that these sins will find you out. God will bring you face to face with it—and if need be, he will bring it out publicly, so that you recognize your need to repentance for it.
Granted, your sin might not be of this magnitude. It might not be the same as Ruben’s. But it is good to consider the principle. If we do not humble ourselves before God, we will be humbled before all. If you do not confess them and repent of them, you have to be aware that they very well could be plastered all over the public realm for everyone to hear about or see.
Sin has consequences, and if it isn’t dealt with properly, it may be dealt with publicly—just like Ruben experienced.
We can try and cover it up, or we can deal with our sin in a biblical way, and gain a greater covering in the blood of Christ. The gospel tells us that the Lord will cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. He will “remember them no more.” And never bring it up again. And that’s the good news. Sinners can have this relief if we deal with our sin biblically, confessing it to the Lord in true repentance.
The Bible talks about the atonement of Christ as a covering for sin. That means that God no longer sees them. In the cross Jesus bore that shame. He was stripped and publicly humiliated on a main highway outside Jerusalem. He bore the disgrace on your behalf. And thus, when you repent, your sins are blotted out. God no longer will bring it up to you or anyone else because Christ has dealt with its shameful consequences.
So I hope this is an encouragement to you, to be careful not to sin, or to be quick to repent when you do sin.
But as we look at Ruben, it is important that we not only see the personal effects of sin, but the generational consequences too.
B. Generational consequences
You’ve heard the expression, “The sins of the fathers visited upon the third and fourth generation.” That’s what we are talking about here. The act of the head of the family ends up bringing certain consequences and setting a trajectory that affects the family for hundreds and hundreds of years.
The opening words of this chapter remind us that what Jacob says is not so much for Ruben and the upcoming days and weeks. But rather, verse 1 says it is for the “days to come.” That is to say, the words of blessing and curse are words that will be carried on down through the succeeding generations; most especially as it pertains to the time when the Israelites come back to the land of Canaan.
Notice what Jacob says: Jacob calls Ruben someone who is “unstable as water.” We don’t know exactly what that means. The original language has the idea of frothing, like water that boils over. But the idea is that it is not stable.
Then, Jacob goes on to declare that Ruben will “not have preeminence.” that is referring to the fact that he will not have the firstborn’s portion of the inheritance (that was given to Joseph).
And when we look at Ruben’s tribe in succeeding generations, we see something of these characteristics manifested. It starts out well enough, in the book of Numbers we see that his clan is has over 43,000 fighting men. But in the second census, instead of a larger number and indications that the tribe is growing, we find a smaller amount of people. The tribe actually shrinks a bit in the wilderness.
And then perhaps you know the story of Korah’s rebellion. Well, along with Korah there are two other families involved. Dathan and Abriam, who were two of the leading Rubenite families. There’s a bit of that unstable, self asserting spirit.
If we fast forward to the settlement of Canaan, when we look at Ruben’s territory, we find that he gets an average size portion—certainly not the double portion of the firstborn. It is nothing compared to the portions of Ephraim & Manasseh.
What’s more, his territory struggles. It experiences a great deal of turmoil and seems to almost vanish. Throughout the Monarchy period that area is attacked by Moabites and Ammonites and other foreign nations. By the time you get to Jeroboam II, the area is no longer marked as a territory of Israel. It’s like they lost their portion in Israel.
But it all started with one sin. A father’s sin. That sin brought God’s curse and it set a trajectory for his family for generations to come.
Now, my family and I had opportunity this past week to talk about this idea—which we might call consequences of covenant headship. We talked about it this week because we’re looking at Adam and how his sin affected the rest of his children. We talk about Adam and Eve being our “first parents.” And Adam’s sin had ramifications for all his descendants.
And it was at this that my daughter said, “I really don’t like this doctrine. Because I have to deal with the mess you created.” Our conversation developed from there, but you know- she has a point. It may be one thing to hear that the sins of the fathers will be visited upon the third and fourth generation, but it is another thing to hear your very own flesh and blood express something of the real tragedy of it.
We’ve briefly talked about this kind of thing before, but I want to simply reiterate it again. As fathers, we need to be aware that our actions can have immense ramifications for our children, grandchildren, and on down the line. As church leaders, we need to keep in mind that our decisions and the things we do can be things that have serious impact upon those under us (or come after us).
And it demands we be circumspect as leaders.
- Making sure we do not sin
- Being diligent to repent of our sin when we fall into it.
- Prayerfully seeking God’s mercy that he would spare our children and keep our grandchildren from having to suffer the consequences of our foolish mistakes.
- Asking God to help us see where we are blind and being protected from evil.
My point though is that sin has consequences. It can have personal consequences, and it can have consequences for generations to come. Reuben’s sin is a sobering reminder that we should not be flippant or think that our sin can be swept under the rug. These words call us to a sober reflection about the things that we’ve done or the life that we will live in the days to come.
But I would be remiss if I ended the message there. For we need to recognize that this blessing is not just about sin and its consequences. We need to understand that this passage does proclaim a blessing; a blessing of Good news.
II. Lesson of God’s grace – God’s grace is magnificent; indulgent.
We should understand that what we read here is not just about sin and the disgust of a father. When we read this, we should understand that it tells us about the depths of God’s grace.
While these words may have some cutting edge to them—while Jacob’s words sting and likely surprise Ruben, we should understand that they are not as bad as the could be (or even should be).
Understand this: Ruben is removed from his place of prominence, but the good news is that he is not altogether disinherited. He doesn’t get the double portion, but he does at least get a portion in Israel. That, we should recognize, is grace.
Reuben shouldn’t have received anything! As a matter of fact, his sin would later in Israel’s history be characterized as a capital crime (Lev. 18:8; Deut 27:20). And make no mistake, this would have likely been the rule during his own lifetime. He should have been put to death. As such he should not have received any inheritance. That he was not struck down—that he was given something, rather than nothing, is quite a testimony to God’s kindness.
This is the nature of grace. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. Grace is getting to enjoy what you had really forfeited by virtue of your sin.
Certainly we may say that his getting any recognition and allotment is an expression of God’s indulgence. He may have lost his birthright, but by the grace of God he has not lost everything.
Let me tell you about Eric (it isn’t his real name). Eric used to be one of my students at the prison. He was a part of the first group that went through the program and he graduated. Eric is one of the most gentle and kind guys. He is a fellow who always demonstrates the most respectful and considerate temperament. I’ve always loved having him in class.
But one day we were talking after our study group had closed up for the night. I don’t remember what the conversation was about exactly; I think it may have had to do with certain privileges. But I vividly remember him saying, “I’m just glad for every day.”
At the moment I thought, “There he goes again. Just being so content with life. He’s so amazing that he can have that kind of ‘live in the moment and enjoy everything you got’ kind of attitude.” But later it sunk in what he really meant. You see, Eric had committed a crime of a rather serious nature; one that, according to Scripture, deserved death. And had he lived in another state, perhaps, he may have gotten the death penalty. It’s just in Ohio, the death penalty is only reserved for very specific cases and is relatively rare.
Eric knew the real power of God’s grace. He may be behind bars—he may have been stripped of a lot of good things in life and not have access to certain privileges or freedoms, but he was still living and enjoying a relatively good life—at least by comparison. Eric was glad for every day, because every day was a distinct grace from God.
And if we would remember that this is just as true for us, as it was for Eric and Ruben, that might change the way we look at the blessings and privileges of life. We have to remember that the penalty for sin is death, we will remember that today is a huge blessing.
But there’s another thing I want you to notice about God’s gracious dealings with Ruben. It isn’t necessarily in this passage though. I’d like you to turn with me to Ezekiel 47-48. These two chapters are a vision that Ezekiel has of a future, glorified kingdom. I cannot go into all the details. There are lots of different interpretive questions. But these two chapters talk about a new division of the land. It is a vision of the ultimate inheritance, so to speak. And in 47:13 it says that each tribe gets an equal portion. Ruben ends up getting just as much as Ephraim & Manasseh.
And what’s more, chapter 48 tells us that all the tribes are given new places. The tribes are each given strips of land and the order and location is all different than what it came to be in the original allotment. And what you find is that the temple is right central in the midst of this new allotment. And Judah, being the messianic line, is right there by the temple. But you know who comes in right behind him? It’s Ruben. Ruben is experiencing some pre-eminence, in that he has a closeness to the temple & to the Redeemer who lives in the Temple.
Now turn to Revelation 7. Here again you find a vision of the future kingdom. This is that passage that talks about the 144,000 that are sealed. That’s a passage of Scripture that has its own controversy. But look at verses 5f. It lists the different tribes. And it says that there are 12,000 people from each of the tribes. It lists first Judah, and right behind him is Ruben.
Now, I believe both of these passages (Ezk. & Rev.) are not necessarily dealing with the bloodlines of each of the tribes. I think that the tribes are being employed symbolically as an indication of all of God’s people. But that it uses the name Ruben and puts him in such a place of prominence in each one is an indication that our God is a God who draws sinners unto himself. He’s a God who welcomes those who are fallen sinners. He pardons those who, like Ruben, have done evil and broken faith with God.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jul/03/usa