The Twelve Tribes Of Israel

INTRO

Jacob and Laban came to an agreement that after seven years of working Laban’s land, Jacob would marry Laban’s daughter, Rachel (Genesis 29). After seven years passed, Laban deceived Jacob and tricked him into marrying his other daughter, Leah. Sailhamer wrote, “Jacob had planned to take Rachel as his wife, but God intended him to have Leah.”¹Every time Jacob tried something, God seemed to have another plan. Today, we look at the 12 tribes of Israel and how they came through Jacob. It can be confusing to see how God would use chaos to bring control. Still, God would use imperfect people to bring a perfect plan to fruition.

TEACHING

Genesis 29:31: The Lord saw that Leah was unloved, so He opened her womb. Leah’s first son was Reuben (#1), which means, “See a son!” Leah hoped that after giving Jacob a son, he would love her. In Numbers 34 is the description of the land that was given to the 12 sons of Jacob (the 12 tribes of Israel) promised in Genesis 12:1–3. If you look at a map, you will see that Rueben wasn’t blessed with much. Reuben brought disgrace to his family when he slept with his father’s concubine, Bilhah (Genesis 35:22). Through his actions, Reuben implied he wanted Jacob’s authority and inheritance. Genesis 49 records that Reuben was not blessed because of this sin.

Genesis 29:33: Leah conceived and gave birth to a second son. Remember, the whole point of the seed was that there had to be a seed-bearer so the lineage of Christ could continue. The name Simeon (#2) means, “the One who hears.” Simeon was a troublemaker. When Simeon heard that his sister, Dinah, was raped (Genesis 34:24–31), he sought revenge by going into the rapist’s city and killing all the males (Genesis 34:25). Simeon’s actions led to harsh words from Jacob: “May I never enter their counsel” (Genesis 49:5).

Genesis 29:34: Leah conceived yet another son named Levi (#3), which means “attached.” Leah’s identity was not in the Lord but in the approval of her husband. Levi was not given land because he became “attached” to the priesthood. The Levites would not be given land because God would be their portion and inheritance among the Israelites, and the firstfruits offered to the Lord would be their provision. Levi participated with Simeon in murdering the Hivites (Genesis 34:25). Simeon got the bad rap, and Levi seemingly got away with his part without punishment.

Genesis 29:35: Leah conceived and gave birth to her fourth son, Judah (#4), which means, “Praise the Lord.” Leah said, “This time I will praise the Lord!” Judah would eventually bring about healing to the family, through Leah, bringing blessing and reconciliation to the world. Judah becomes the Seed, Christ. Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Jesus is the full picture of the Old and New Testament (Revelation 5:5).

Genesis 30:1–5: Rachel became jealous of Leah and said to Jacob, “Give me sons, or I am about to die!” The phrase “I am about to die,” seems to be used to make dramatic pleas (Genesis 25:32; 27:46). Rachel’s envy led to issues. Leah and Rachel saw only each other, not God.Jacob became angry and told Rachel, “I can’t control this.” Rachel gave her slave Bilhah to Jacob because tradition called for giving a slave to the husband if the wife was barren. Three women in Scripture who are referred to as both wives and concubines: Hagar, Keturah, and Bilhah. Bilhah conceived and gave Jacob another son.

Genesis 30:6: Rachel’s servant Bilhah has a son, Dan (#5), which means, “God has vindicated me.” Rachel believed God had finally vindicated her. The tribe of Dan doesn’t get a whole lot of land in the promised land and Dan is not listed in the tribes to be sealed (Revelation 7:4–8). The tribe of Dan did not have much faith. Scripture tells us in Judges 18 that the tribe of Dan didn’t really take their land because they fell into idolatry.

Genesis 30:7–8: Bilhah bore Jacob a second son, Naphtali. Keep in mind that Rachel was not conceiving here; it was Bilhah. In Rachel’s mind, she was competing with her sister. This was why this child was named Naphtali (#6), which means, “struggle.” In Genesis 49:21, Naphtali is described as a doe set free who bears beautiful fawns. There’s this mentality of a swift runner, of freedom and bravery and Jesus started His ministry in the land of Naphtali (Matthew 4:13–16), which fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah 9:1–2.

Genesis 30:9–11: When Leah saw she was done having children, she gave her slave Zilpah to Jacob, who conceived and bore a son, Gad (#7), which means, “What good fortune!” Zilpah didn’t praise the Lord; she saw the birth of her son as luck. Gad is listed multiple times in the Old Testament and was known as a strong man of war (1 Chronicles 12:8). Elijah the Tishbite was from Gad (1 Kings 17:1).

Genesis 30:12–14: Leah’s slave, Zilpah, had a second son, Asher. The name Asher (#8) means, “blessed, happy,” or “I’m happy to be envied.” Leah’s whole point here was the hope that people would say she was better than Rachel.. The motivations of Jacob’s wives were off, but God continued to use them. Asher was given fertile soil in the promised land. God uses imperfect people to point to the perfect Christ. Reuben, the first son of Leah, went to the fields and found some mandrakes and brought them to his mother Leah. When Rachel saw the mandrakes, she asked if she could have some. Mandrakes are a member of the nightshade family that also includes the tomato and potato plants. Eventually the mandrake produces strong, pleasant fragrances that supposedly help people to conceive. This fruit is also referred to as an aphrodisiac (Song of Solomon 7:13). Rachel wanted the mandrakes because she was still barren.

Genesis 30:15–16: Leah became indignant: “You’ve taken my husband, now my son’s mandrakes!” Rachel traded Leah a night with her husband for some fruit. After working, Jacob came home and Leah immediately approached him saying, “I’ve hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” Waltke wrote, “This is actually the fourth ‘commercial’ exchange in the Jacob cycle (cf. exchange of birthright, exchange of blessings, exchange of wives, exchange of husband for sex-by-hire). In the first two Jacob is the victimizer; in the last two, the victim.”²Fokkelman wrote, “The family’s life is rotten and broken by the dehumanizing atmosphere of service wages.”3

Genesis 30:17–2: God honored Leah and she conceived a fifth son, Issachar (#9), which means, “hired” or “He rewards.” Leah now had five sons! Issachar was described as a fighting man (Numbers 2:5-6), and the tribe of Issachar were the ones, “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do; they were watchmen” (1 Chronicles 12:32). Each of the 12 tribes had a different role. Leah conceived and bore a sixth son, Zebulun (#10), which means, “God has presented/honored/acknowledged me.” Zebulun had three sons and more than 57,000 fighting men for war (Numbers 2:7-8). The land of Zebulun was where Jesus started His ministry (Matthew 4:13–16; Isa 9:1–2). After the 14 years Jacob worked for Laban, Leah bore a daughter Dinah. The other sons (listed thus far) were probably born during those 14 years.

Genesis 30:22: Then God remembered Rachel and allowed her to conceive a child. Rachel’s first son was Joseph (#11), which means, “increase; may He add.” Rachel’s mentality was not thanks, but “give me more!” Joseph is described as, “a man who has the spirit of God in him, intelligent, wise, strong, well built, handsome” (Genesis 41:38–39). Acts 7:9 says, “God was with him.” God used Joseph to spare his entire family and the Israelites. Jacob blessed Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, so he received a double blessing! Later, Rachel had another son Benjamin (#12), which means, “son of my right hand.” Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin. God shielded and blessed Benjamin. The Benjamin tribe was described as ravenous wolves (Genesis 49:27).

CLOSING

These 12 tribes of Israel established everything for the Messiah! God used four women who were a disaster. These four women kept jockeying and struggling for a position with their husband, Jacob, and all they had to do was look to the Lord. And yet, God used them even through their wrong motives. God can redeem any situation to point to Himself.