Writing Your Legacy
Genesis 49
My birth father passed away in December, and we just had the memorial service yesterday. He loved watching our Livestream and was a big supporter of our Word By Mail ministry.
Earlier this week, I was privileged to attend a large family gathering here in town to do what I could to help them through some back-to-back tragedies.
And through it all, I’ve witnessed legacies that have been written and legacies that are being written, and so I thought today we’d talk about you and I writing our legacy. There’s a history book being written, and you are writing it today. That book is permanent. One day it will be finished, and maybe, sooner than you think. For better or worse, right now, you are writing a legacy to be included in the history book of your life.
The good news is as long as you are still writing your legacy, you have the opportunity to either cement it or re-write it! In our text today, we get a glimpse of the legacy of Jacob and his twelve sons. Those twelve sons became the Twelve Tribes of Israel and through the legacies of these twelve sons – believe me – there will be much that we can apply to us writing our own legacy.
Let’s review how God brought into being the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
1). First, there was Abraham – the Father of the Faith
2). Then there was his son Isaac
3). Then there was Isaac’s son, Jacob
And the best way to describe the way Jacob wrote his own legacy is on a roller coaster. The name Jacob means “deceiver,” “conniver,” and he certainly started out that way. But even as “the Conniver,” Jacob fought to “hold onto” God. And because of his commitment to God, finally, Jacob had an incredible encounter with God. Finally, Jacob was broken by God finally, and God changed his name from Jacob – which means “deceiver,” “conniver,” to Israel, which means “Governed By God.”
Maybe that’s how you have begun writing your legacy. That is how Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, began writing his. But finally, Jacob was broken in a face-to-face encounter with God, and God changed his name and his legacy from “deceiver” to “Governed By God.” And if that is you, let me encourage you – get to the brokenness, fast so that God can change your name and you can change the legacy that you are writing today.
So, Jacob’s name (and legacy) was changed to Israel, and the story of the end of his life is a great one. And I’d encourage you to listen to our entire “Life of Joseph” series to learn all about it at wordbymail.com on the Word By Mail phone app in your app store.
But, for our focus today, we have to jump to the end of Jacob’s life and look at Jacob (who became Israel) write the legacies that his twelve sons (Twelve Tribes) would leave.
And I want to challenge you this morning to pick one of these Twelve Tribes of Israel that most closely matches the legacy that you are writing in your life today. Please have the courage to pick a tribe that best reflects the legacy that you are writing today that will be forever recorded in your history book.
Genesis 49:1–2 (NLT)
1 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.
2 “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
It is prophetic, but these fathers of these Twelve Tribes could have changed these legacies, the legacies that needed to be changed. We are going to see the legacy that each of the twelve sons of Israel is going to leave. And this is where we have to put ourselves in the story, and we have to decide to either keep writing or to repent and change the legacy we are writing.
I am going to give you some words to write in the margin of your Bible. Ask yourself (especially with the Tribe the Holy Spirit “pokes you” with) is this a legacy that I want to keep writing, or is it a legacy that I need God to change?
First is the firstborn – Reuben.
Write the word “Lust” in your margin. “Sexual sin.”
Genesis 49:3–4 (NLT)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.
4 But (not good) you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.
Reuben, the firstborn. He should have had the preeminent blessing. The firstborn would normally have a double inheritance. But Reuben lost the preeminence of his birthright because of sexual sin in his life. Reuben slept with one of Jacob’s concubines, Bilhah. Reuben chose lust and sexual sin over the legacy of his birthright. It cost him everything. God put him in the preeminent birth position. He traded it to satisfy his lust. If that is the legacy that you are writing today – change it. Repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy, just like he did with Jacob.
The next two oldest – Simeon and Levi – two of a kind.
Next to verse 5 in your Bible, write the words “Anger and Violence.”
Genesis 49:5–7 (NLT)
5 “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.
6 May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.
7 A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.
The legacy of Simeon and Levi was anger and violence. To Simeon and Levi, Jacob says they will be divided and scattered because of their anger and violence in attacking the men of Shechem, and by the time of the second census, these were the two smallest Tribes. And although the Tribe of Levi became the Priestly Tribe, they were also scattered into forty-eight cities throughout Israel.
Guys, if you are writing a legacy of anger and violence today, there is still time to change your legacy. Repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy just like he did with Jacob.
Next, son number four, and the first positive legacy being written. The Holy Spirit doesn’t list the sons in birth order but instead lists them in “intensity” order.
Next to verse 8, write “Leadership.”
Genesis 49:8–10 (NLT)
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you (Judah means praise). You will grasp your enemies by the neck (you’ll be victorious). All your relatives will bow before you. (you’ll be a ruler)
9 Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. (That is the LION of the Tribe of Judah – The Messiah)
Judah’s legacy is leadership, victory, and honor. And the scepter of Leadership would not pass from Judah all the way to the ruling of The Messiah. And IF God has called you to be a leader or to raise up leaders, then hold on to your legacy. Keep writing it. (Don’t give up – don’t give in.)
Be a godly leader and raise up godly leaders and stay strong till the end.
Next is actually son number ten – Zebulun.
At verse 13, write the word “Productive.” (You don’t want to write the word “success” because you can be productive and very unsuccessful.)
Genesis 49:13 (NLT)
13 “Zebulun will settle by (toward) the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
Zebulun was to be a productive Tribe, and they would be very successful in commerce. Sidon was not on the sea but on the pathway to the sea where the ships would come in, but the caravan route of the East passed right through Zebulun, coming and going from the Harbor of Sidon, making the Tribe of Zebulun very successful merchants.
Is that your legacy? Has God called you to be productive and successful in commerce? If so, then do it with all your heart – but do it all to God’s glory! Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, verses 19-21.
Matthew 6:19–21 (NLT)
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth . . .
20 Store your treasures in heaven . . .
21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Then, son number nine – Issachar.
Next to verse 14, write the word “Strong.”
Let me tell you a story. We were ministering in Menifee, and it was hard, and we were young and making a lot of mistakes. And a guy that was our first worship leader came to my house one night (this was before we came here to Nuevo). He said, “Dave, God showed me in a dream something, and I need to share it with you.” I said, “Yeah?” He said, “You are the thighs of the church.” I’m like, you’re kidding me, right? You drove all the way over here to tell me I am the thighs of the church?” (He’s talking about 1 Corinthians 12 and how the Body of Christ works together.). He says, “Yeah. You are the thighs of the church. You hold up the church.” And I never knew what he meant until I came here. My family and I have had to have some pretty strong thighs here in Nuevo.
Genesis 49:14–15 (NLT)
14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks. (he’s a work mule)
15 When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.
Issachar became strong (and stubborn) workers – the Tribe does. They put their shoulder into the load and worked hard. And maybe you that – “I work hard. That’s what I do.” And praise God for hard workers. But unfortunately, there’s an inference in the language that they may have actually become “slaves” to their work.
So, if you are writing a legacy of hard work, then work hard. But be careful not to become a slave to your work. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 6, verse 24, No man can serve Two Masters – You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
Then son number five – Dan.
Write the word “Serpent.”
Genesis 49:16–17 (NLT)
16 “Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.
From Dan came the Judges of Israel. Dan means – “God is My Judge.” And God called them to judge righteously. But they became like a snake, like a viper along the path that brings death and destruction. The Tribe of Dan introduced idol worship into the Northern Tribes of Israel. They led ten of the Tribes of Israel away from the True God. And some think the antichrist may ultimately come from this Tribe.
God called them to judge righteously – but instead, they were used by the enemy to bring idolatry into God’s house and to God’s people.
And listen, in the final list of the Twelve Tribes in Revelation Chapter 7, the Tribe of Dan is NOT LISTED with the other Tribes (at all). Do NOT be like the Tribe of Dan! Do NOT lead others into idolatry and away from God.
We can do that, can’t we? We do something stupid. And then people get turned off from God by it. Right? I think I’ve probably told some jokes that have fallen in that category. But when you kind of look in the mirror and say something I did caused that person to doubt God or get angry at God, or maybe leave the church (or maybe not), but somehow be drawn away from God – be afraid. And repent.
Repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy, just like he did with Jacob.
Then, son number seven – Gad.
Next to verse 19, write “Wrong Side.”
Genesis 49:19 (NLT)
19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.
When Joshua conquered the Promised Land, actually two and a half Tribes stayed on the wrong side of the Jordan River. Gad stayed on the East side of the Jordan (the wrong side). This is so important. They were separated from the family of God. (“I don’t need to go to church. Me and God have our own thing going on.” – No, you don’t. You need to be together with the Believers.) That choice left Gad separated and alone, and they were continually raided and attacked. And so, they learned to continually raid and attack back.
Is that the legacy you are writing? Have you been raided and attacked so much that you’ve just learned to raid and attack back? You attack me – I’ll attack you back – DOUBLE. You hurt me – I’ll hurt you – DOUBLE. IF that legacy fits you, God wants to heal you, and he wants to give you a new legacy to write.
And son number eight – Asher.
Write the word “Faithful Servant.”
Genesis 49:20 (NLT)
20 “Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.
The name “Asher” means “happy,” and they were given very fertile soil on the Northern shores of the Promised Land. God gave them so much, and they used it to produce much. They were faithful with what God had given them; they produced food fit for a king. If God has given you much, be faithful with it. Use it for good. Use it to God’s glory. Use it to write a godly legacy.
And son number six – Naphtali.
Next to verse 21, write “Beautiful Offspring.”
Genesis 49:21 (NLT)
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
The legacy of Naphtali was to “yield beautiful offspring.” And here is how big of a deal that is. Eleven of the Twelve Disciples (except Judas Iscariot) came from the Land of Naphtali (in the Galilee).
This is Pam and I’s top prayer. We pray that in our legacy there would be written, they yielded beautiful offspring.
Next comes the incredible Tribe of Joseph – son number eleven.
This is a phenomenal legacy and a legacy that each one of us can write. You and I have a choice, and we can write this same legacy in our lives.
Next to verse 22, write, “Double Blessing.”
Joseph got a double blessing.
All Joseph did to write this legacy was choose to do what was right before God – regardless of his circumstances and choose to live in full trust in God and divine forgiveness.
There is some difficulty translating the Hebrew here, so I’m going to use the ESV.
Genesis 49:22–26 (ESV)
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough (branch or vine), a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
23 The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
All Joseph did to write this great legacy was choose to do what was right before God – regardless of his circumstances and choose to live in full trust in God and in divine forgiveness.
And you and I can write this same legacy in our lives.
Finally, Jacob’s last son, number twelve – Benjamin.
Write “Always Fighting” next to verse 27.
Genesis 49:27 (NLT)
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”
Benjamin became a Tribe of Fighters, always fighting, continually conquering all those around them. In fact, in Judges 20 and 21, there are incredible battles between Benjamin versus the other Tribes of Israel. They fought their own, and they did great damage to their fellow Tribes of Israel. Benjamin fought his own family.
Is that the legacy you are writing? I pray it is not. Remember who the real enemy is. It is not your family, and it is not your church family. If that is you, repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy – just like he did with Jacob.
Genesis 49:28 (NLT)
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.
Twelve Sons. Twelve Tribes. Twelve Legacies. But really, only one of two types of legacies – good and evil. Positive and negative. And right now, today, you are writing your legacy to be recorded in the history book that you are part of.
Did you pick a Tribe of Israel that was most like the legacy you are in the process of writing?
Notice:
The fathers of six Tribes wrote negative legacies
The fathers of six Tribes wrote positive legacies
At the very least, today, we must decide which two types of legacies we are writing.
Rueben – LUST
Simeon – ANGER
Levi – VIOLENCE
Judah – LEADERSHIP
Zebulun – PRODUCTIVE
Issachar – STRONG
Dan – SERPENT
Gad – WRONG SIDE
Asher – FAITHFUL SERVANT
Naphtali – BEAUTIFUL OFFSPRING
Joseph – DOUBLE BLESSING
Benjamin – ALWAYS FIGHTING
We finish in Genesis 49, verse 33.
Genesis 49:33 (NLT)
33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.
And so, Jacob’s legacy and the legacies of his twelve sons is written … and now it is forever recorded in history. And right now – today – you are writing your legacy. And there’s a day coming when your legacy is going to be finished and recorded, and we must have the courage – now – to say, “What legacy am I writing?”
Is THIS what I want recorded?
Is THIS what I want remembered?
The legacy that you are writing today can set or change the course of the history you are part of.
We see it in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Twelve bothers. Twelve Tribes. Twelve legacies set by the actions of the fathers.
Six for GOOD – Six for EVIL
Either way, our choices, and our decisions become our legacy. Our legacy is not written after we die. Our legacy is being written now.
Today – you and I are writing our legacy.
Earlier this week, I was privileged to attend a large family gathering here in town to do what I could to help them through some back-to-back tragedies.
And through it all, I’ve witnessed legacies that have been written and legacies that are being written, and so I thought today we’d talk about you and I writing our legacy. There’s a history book being written, and you are writing it today. That book is permanent. One day it will be finished, and maybe, sooner than you think. For better or worse, right now, you are writing a legacy to be included in the history book of your life.
The good news is as long as you are still writing your legacy, you have the opportunity to either cement it or re-write it! In our text today, we get a glimpse of the legacy of Jacob and his twelve sons. Those twelve sons became the Twelve Tribes of Israel and through the legacies of these twelve sons – believe me – there will be much that we can apply to us writing our own legacy.
Let’s review how God brought into being the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
1). First, there was Abraham – the Father of the Faith
2). Then there was his son Isaac
3). Then there was Isaac’s son, Jacob
And the best way to describe the way Jacob wrote his own legacy is on a roller coaster. The name Jacob means “deceiver,” “conniver,” and he certainly started out that way. But even as “the Conniver,” Jacob fought to “hold onto” God. And because of his commitment to God, finally, Jacob had an incredible encounter with God. Finally, Jacob was broken by God finally, and God changed his name from Jacob – which means “deceiver,” “conniver,” to Israel, which means “Governed By God.”
Maybe that’s how you have begun writing your legacy. That is how Jacob, the father of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, began writing his. But finally, Jacob was broken in a face-to-face encounter with God, and God changed his name and his legacy from “deceiver” to “Governed By God.” And if that is you, let me encourage you – get to the brokenness, fast so that God can change your name and you can change the legacy that you are writing today.
So, Jacob’s name (and legacy) was changed to Israel, and the story of the end of his life is a great one. And I’d encourage you to listen to our entire “Life of Joseph” series to learn all about it at wordbymail.com on the Word By Mail phone app in your app store.
But, for our focus today, we have to jump to the end of Jacob’s life and look at Jacob (who became Israel) write the legacies that his twelve sons (Twelve Tribes) would leave.
And I want to challenge you this morning to pick one of these Twelve Tribes of Israel that most closely matches the legacy that you are writing in your life today. Please have the courage to pick a tribe that best reflects the legacy that you are writing today that will be forever recorded in your history book.
Genesis 49:1–2 (NLT)
1 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.
2 “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.
It is prophetic, but these fathers of these Twelve Tribes could have changed these legacies, the legacies that needed to be changed. We are going to see the legacy that each of the twelve sons of Israel is going to leave. And this is where we have to put ourselves in the story, and we have to decide to either keep writing or to repent and change the legacy we are writing.
I am going to give you some words to write in the margin of your Bible. Ask yourself (especially with the Tribe the Holy Spirit “pokes you” with) is this a legacy that I want to keep writing, or is it a legacy that I need God to change?
First is the firstborn – Reuben.
Write the word “Lust” in your margin. “Sexual sin.”
Genesis 49:3–4 (NLT)
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.
4 But (not good) you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.
Reuben, the firstborn. He should have had the preeminent blessing. The firstborn would normally have a double inheritance. But Reuben lost the preeminence of his birthright because of sexual sin in his life. Reuben slept with one of Jacob’s concubines, Bilhah. Reuben chose lust and sexual sin over the legacy of his birthright. It cost him everything. God put him in the preeminent birth position. He traded it to satisfy his lust. If that is the legacy that you are writing today – change it. Repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy, just like he did with Jacob.
The next two oldest – Simeon and Levi – two of a kind.
Next to verse 5 in your Bible, write the words “Anger and Violence.”
Genesis 49:5–7 (NLT)
5 “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.
6 May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.
7 A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.
The legacy of Simeon and Levi was anger and violence. To Simeon and Levi, Jacob says they will be divided and scattered because of their anger and violence in attacking the men of Shechem, and by the time of the second census, these were the two smallest Tribes. And although the Tribe of Levi became the Priestly Tribe, they were also scattered into forty-eight cities throughout Israel.
Guys, if you are writing a legacy of anger and violence today, there is still time to change your legacy. Repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy just like he did with Jacob.
Next, son number four, and the first positive legacy being written. The Holy Spirit doesn’t list the sons in birth order but instead lists them in “intensity” order.
Next to verse 8, write “Leadership.”
Genesis 49:8–10 (NLT)
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you (Judah means praise). You will grasp your enemies by the neck (you’ll be victorious). All your relatives will bow before you. (you’ll be a ruler)
9 Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor. (That is the LION of the Tribe of Judah – The Messiah)
Judah’s legacy is leadership, victory, and honor. And the scepter of Leadership would not pass from Judah all the way to the ruling of The Messiah. And IF God has called you to be a leader or to raise up leaders, then hold on to your legacy. Keep writing it. (Don’t give up – don’t give in.)
Be a godly leader and raise up godly leaders and stay strong till the end.
Next is actually son number ten – Zebulun.
At verse 13, write the word “Productive.” (You don’t want to write the word “success” because you can be productive and very unsuccessful.)
Genesis 49:13 (NLT)
13 “Zebulun will settle by (toward) the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.
Zebulun was to be a productive Tribe, and they would be very successful in commerce. Sidon was not on the sea but on the pathway to the sea where the ships would come in, but the caravan route of the East passed right through Zebulun, coming and going from the Harbor of Sidon, making the Tribe of Zebulun very successful merchants.
Is that your legacy? Has God called you to be productive and successful in commerce? If so, then do it with all your heart – but do it all to God’s glory! Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 6, verses 19-21.
Matthew 6:19–21 (NLT)
19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth . . .
20 Store your treasures in heaven . . .
21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
Then, son number nine – Issachar.
Next to verse 14, write the word “Strong.”
Let me tell you a story. We were ministering in Menifee, and it was hard, and we were young and making a lot of mistakes. And a guy that was our first worship leader came to my house one night (this was before we came here to Nuevo). He said, “Dave, God showed me in a dream something, and I need to share it with you.” I said, “Yeah?” He said, “You are the thighs of the church.” I’m like, you’re kidding me, right? You drove all the way over here to tell me I am the thighs of the church?” (He’s talking about 1 Corinthians 12 and how the Body of Christ works together.). He says, “Yeah. You are the thighs of the church. You hold up the church.” And I never knew what he meant until I came here. My family and I have had to have some pretty strong thighs here in Nuevo.
Genesis 49:14–15 (NLT)
14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddlepacks. (he’s a work mule)
15 When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.
Issachar became strong (and stubborn) workers – the Tribe does. They put their shoulder into the load and worked hard. And maybe you that – “I work hard. That’s what I do.” And praise God for hard workers. But unfortunately, there’s an inference in the language that they may have actually become “slaves” to their work.
So, if you are writing a legacy of hard work, then work hard. But be careful not to become a slave to your work. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 6, verse 24, No man can serve Two Masters – You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
Then son number five – Dan.
Write the word “Serpent.”
Genesis 49:16–17 (NLT)
16 “Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.
From Dan came the Judges of Israel. Dan means – “God is My Judge.” And God called them to judge righteously. But they became like a snake, like a viper along the path that brings death and destruction. The Tribe of Dan introduced idol worship into the Northern Tribes of Israel. They led ten of the Tribes of Israel away from the True God. And some think the antichrist may ultimately come from this Tribe.
God called them to judge righteously – but instead, they were used by the enemy to bring idolatry into God’s house and to God’s people.
And listen, in the final list of the Twelve Tribes in Revelation Chapter 7, the Tribe of Dan is NOT LISTED with the other Tribes (at all). Do NOT be like the Tribe of Dan! Do NOT lead others into idolatry and away from God.
We can do that, can’t we? We do something stupid. And then people get turned off from God by it. Right? I think I’ve probably told some jokes that have fallen in that category. But when you kind of look in the mirror and say something I did caused that person to doubt God or get angry at God, or maybe leave the church (or maybe not), but somehow be drawn away from God – be afraid. And repent.
Repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy, just like he did with Jacob.
Then, son number seven – Gad.
Next to verse 19, write “Wrong Side.”
Genesis 49:19 (NLT)
19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.
When Joshua conquered the Promised Land, actually two and a half Tribes stayed on the wrong side of the Jordan River. Gad stayed on the East side of the Jordan (the wrong side). This is so important. They were separated from the family of God. (“I don’t need to go to church. Me and God have our own thing going on.” – No, you don’t. You need to be together with the Believers.) That choice left Gad separated and alone, and they were continually raided and attacked. And so, they learned to continually raid and attack back.
Is that the legacy you are writing? Have you been raided and attacked so much that you’ve just learned to raid and attack back? You attack me – I’ll attack you back – DOUBLE. You hurt me – I’ll hurt you – DOUBLE. IF that legacy fits you, God wants to heal you, and he wants to give you a new legacy to write.
And son number eight – Asher.
Write the word “Faithful Servant.”
Genesis 49:20 (NLT)
20 “Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.
The name “Asher” means “happy,” and they were given very fertile soil on the Northern shores of the Promised Land. God gave them so much, and they used it to produce much. They were faithful with what God had given them; they produced food fit for a king. If God has given you much, be faithful with it. Use it for good. Use it to God’s glory. Use it to write a godly legacy.
And son number six – Naphtali.
Next to verse 21, write “Beautiful Offspring.”
Genesis 49:21 (NLT)
21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
The legacy of Naphtali was to “yield beautiful offspring.” And here is how big of a deal that is. Eleven of the Twelve Disciples (except Judas Iscariot) came from the Land of Naphtali (in the Galilee).
This is Pam and I’s top prayer. We pray that in our legacy there would be written, they yielded beautiful offspring.
Next comes the incredible Tribe of Joseph – son number eleven.
This is a phenomenal legacy and a legacy that each one of us can write. You and I have a choice, and we can write this same legacy in our lives.
Next to verse 22, write, “Double Blessing.”
Joseph got a double blessing.
All Joseph did to write this legacy was choose to do what was right before God – regardless of his circumstances and choose to live in full trust in God and divine forgiveness.
There is some difficulty translating the Hebrew here, so I’m going to use the ESV.
Genesis 49:22–26 (ESV)
22 “Joseph is a fruitful bough (branch or vine), a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall.
23 The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely,
24 yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 by the God of your father who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of my parents, up to the bounties of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the brow of him who was set apart from his brothers.
All Joseph did to write this great legacy was choose to do what was right before God – regardless of his circumstances and choose to live in full trust in God and in divine forgiveness.
And you and I can write this same legacy in our lives.
Finally, Jacob’s last son, number twelve – Benjamin.
Write “Always Fighting” next to verse 27.
Genesis 49:27 (NLT)
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”
Benjamin became a Tribe of Fighters, always fighting, continually conquering all those around them. In fact, in Judges 20 and 21, there are incredible battles between Benjamin versus the other Tribes of Israel. They fought their own, and they did great damage to their fellow Tribes of Israel. Benjamin fought his own family.
Is that the legacy you are writing? I pray it is not. Remember who the real enemy is. It is not your family, and it is not your church family. If that is you, repent – turn the other direction. Let God change your name and your legacy – just like he did with Jacob.
Genesis 49:28 (NLT)
28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.
Twelve Sons. Twelve Tribes. Twelve Legacies. But really, only one of two types of legacies – good and evil. Positive and negative. And right now, today, you are writing your legacy to be recorded in the history book that you are part of.
Did you pick a Tribe of Israel that was most like the legacy you are in the process of writing?
Notice:
The fathers of six Tribes wrote negative legacies
The fathers of six Tribes wrote positive legacies
At the very least, today, we must decide which two types of legacies we are writing.
Rueben – LUST
Simeon – ANGER
Levi – VIOLENCE
Judah – LEADERSHIP
Zebulun – PRODUCTIVE
Issachar – STRONG
Dan – SERPENT
Gad – WRONG SIDE
Asher – FAITHFUL SERVANT
Naphtali – BEAUTIFUL OFFSPRING
Joseph – DOUBLE BLESSING
Benjamin – ALWAYS FIGHTING
We finish in Genesis 49, verse 33.
Genesis 49:33 (NLT)
33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.
And so, Jacob’s legacy and the legacies of his twelve sons is written … and now it is forever recorded in history. And right now – today – you are writing your legacy. And there’s a day coming when your legacy is going to be finished and recorded, and we must have the courage – now – to say, “What legacy am I writing?”
Is THIS what I want recorded?
Is THIS what I want remembered?
The legacy that you are writing today can set or change the course of the history you are part of.
We see it in the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Twelve bothers. Twelve Tribes. Twelve legacies set by the actions of the fathers.
Six for GOOD – Six for EVIL
Either way, our choices, and our decisions become our legacy. Our legacy is not written after we die. Our legacy is being written now.
Today – you and I are writing our legacy.