Connecting Through the Word The Judgment Seat of Jacob

Genesis 49 Genesis 49:1-2 & 28 1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. 2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. 2 Corinthians 5:10 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Romans 14:10-12 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. The Chosen Family (49:1-27) We now come to a prophetic utterance that can be compared for scope and detail only with Daniel 11. The long and intricate prophetic pronouncement can be viewed either dispensationally or dispositionally. That is, the various dispensations of time in God's dealings with mankind were foreseen by Jacob insofar as those dispensations had a direct bearing upon his people. Here we are going to view the prophecy dispositionally. As Jacob looked at his sons, their traits of disposition gave him the clue to their destinies as tribes. He had closely observed those boys for many years. He knew their histories, their strengths and weaknesses, their characters. Now the Holy

Spirit enabled him to project the lines of their personalities into the future and predict their future as tribes. Each tribe would expand, amplify, and inherit the dispositional traits seen in its founder. Introduction (49:1-2) "And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father." The expression "the last days" is used here for the first of fourteen occurrences in the Old Testament. The expression has always been taken by the rabbis to be Messianic. It is an eschatological expression referring, generally, to "the end time" of Daniel 12:4, 9. In its ultimate fulfillment Jacob's prophecy focuses on the climax of the ages, on that terminal point in time to which all history leads. But the viewpoint of the speaker must be kept in mind. So, although the prophecy refers to Messianic times it begins with that particular era of consummation that would begin with the conquest of Canaan—an event to which Jacob had already prophetically referred. So we see Jacob's sons gathered about his bed. We view the scene as the judgment seat of Jacob, and it prefigures the judgment seat of Christ. Lives are brought up for review and rebukes and rewards are meted out. What has been sowed must be reaped. Hidden things are exposed and judged;

open things are praised or punished. There is a place in a Kingdom at stake for each one, and each one is weighed in the light of that. Jacob's style of speech was not the usual conversational style. It was a declamation couched in poetic, symbolic, and exclamatory phrases such as would cause a deep hush of awe, fear, and expectation to grip each heart. It was, indeed, a judgment seat. Reuben (49:3-4) As he peered with his failing eyes into Reuben's face, Jacob saw pride, weakness, lust, and guilt mirrored there, all struggling for the mastery. He began with a word about Reubens unique position (49:3). "Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the excellency of dignity and the excellency of power." Reuben had once been his father's pride and joy. As he heard his father's opening words his heart expanded and his face glowed. The anxious, haunted look vanished, pride triumphed. He was going to get his rights after all! "My firstborn!" He was going to get the double portion of the property; his father must have remembered he had tried to save Joseph when the others were for killing or selling him. He must have remembered how he had pledged his own sons for Benjamin's safety. "My might, the beginning of my strength." He must be going to get the preeminence, too. He was to be the royal, the dominant tribe. Perhaps the Messiah

would come from him. "The excellency of dignity and the excellence of power." That must mean he was to get the priesthood. He was going to get it all. The possessions, the preeminence, the priesthood. The land would be called after him. They would call it "Reuben." That was his unique position, that was his birthright. Nothing could ever change that. Reuben's shoulders went back and his head went up. But he was premature. His father was still speaking. He was talking now about Reubens unstable personality (49:4a). "Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel." It came like a douche of ice-cold water, like a paralyzing shock to his soul. Unstable. Like water! Like water that always seeks its own level no matter how low that might be, water that when spilled upon the ground cannot be gathered again. "Thou shalt not excel." All Reuben's rosy daydreams exploded in his face. There was nothing in his character that could fit him to be leader of the tribes; he simply did not have what it would take. He lacked character, he lacked courage, he lacked conviction, he lacked everything. And he never did excel. His tribe never rose to prominence in Israel. None of the tribe ever ruled, ever rose to prominence except in a negative sense. Not one of the judges was a Reubenite. Reuben was the first tribe to demand its inheritance and, careless of consequences, rashly chose the wrong side of Jordan. Reuben could not wait for

the best (Numbers 32). Barred from the priesthood, the Reubenites were all too ready to assist a disaffected Levite, Korah by name, in his attempt to seize what had been denied him by divine decree. And Reuben was the first tribe to be carried into captivity by Tiglath-pileser the Assyrian (1 Chronicles 5:26). The Reubenites excelled in nothing. But there was worse to come. As Reuben stood there, his ambitions in ruins, he heard Jacob's last words and they smote like a lash, for Jacob was speaking now of Reubens unscrupulous passion (49:4b). "Thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch." It had taken a long time to come, but now that axe, poised unseen over Reuben's unsuspecting head all those years, fell with all the weight of divine wrath. The sin had taken place forty years ago. There had been plenty of time for repentance and confession. There had been twenty-two years in Canaan and seventeen years in Egypt—time enough for Reuben to weep out his sorrow and shame to his father. But there had been nothing, nothing but a big cover-up and a furtive look in his eye every time he looked either at Bilhah or Jacob. So Reuben reaped what he sowed. Here at the judgment seat unconfessed sin was exposed and dealt with, and Reuben, left with no space for repentance, looked forward to the coming kingdom with his hopes of glory in broken fragments at his feet.

Simeon and Levi (49:5-7) Old Jacob saw the two as one as he peered at them standing by his bed. What God had not joined together as he was now going to rend asunder. The two brothers shifted uneasily under his gaze. It was evident that promiscuous blessings were simply not being handed out at that judgment seat. They must have thought of their past as it rose up, unbidden, specterlike, from the grave of forgotten memories. Way back then, when it had happened, Jacob had been swift to express his displeasure and to disassociate himself from their deed, but they had never confessed themselves wicked and wrong. Now their behavior must be publicly reviewed and judged. Seeing the two as one, Jacob began by mentioning their close brotherhood (49:5a). "Simeon and Levi are brethren." Well, that was not so bad! It seemed an auspicious start. Brethren! The word spoke of fellowship and felicity. The brothers stole a furtive look at each other. Perhaps the old patriarch had come to see the Shechem affair in its proper light. After all, they had only been defending his honor in avenging their sister's disgrace. Brethren. Yes, it was a very good start. Then, with Jacob's next breath, they froze where they stood, for he was speaking now of their criminal behavior (49:5b-6). "Simeon and Levi... instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 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." Their sin was not one of weakness like the sin of Reuben; it was one of downright, deliberate wickedness. Jacob had disassociated himself from it at the time; he wanted no part in their craftiness and cruelty and in the sack of Shechem. At the time he had been forced to content himself with a reprimand; now the time had come for retribution. The atmosphere grew tense. The bedroom had become a courtroom, and the old patriarch's deathbed a judgment seat indeed. The shrewd old man, with all his senses keyed and quickened by the Holy Spirit, was weighing his sons. Positions in the coming kingdom were being assigned. Character and career were the determining factors, the past was determining the future. Issues of vast future significance were being decided by deeds long since hammered into history. Jacob's next words emphasized Simeon's and Levi's continuing blame (49:7). Did they think that all would be whitewashed and forgotten by their father? If so, they were very much mistaken. Just because they were in the family did not absolve them from responsibility for their behavior. "Cursed be their anger," cried Jacob, "for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." For the sin, Jacob had a curse, for the sinners a cure. Their places in the coming kingdom were not so fixed

that recovery, during the kingdom age, could never be effected. On the contrary one of the brothers, Levi, profited from the judgment and his tribe rose to fame. Of all the tribes, Simeon alone had no inheritance in the land. "Out of the part of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon," we read (Joshua 19:9). Even at that, some of Simeon's towns reverted to Judah, for Beersheba is said to belong to Judah (1 Kings 19:3). The tribe itself was scattered. Some of its members migrated to Gidor and others wandered off to Mount Seir (1 Chronicles 4:39-43). In the days of Josiah, the Simeonites were counted with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Naphtali (2 Chronicles 34:6). They were indeed divided and dispersed in Israel. At the time of the second census in the wilderness, the tribe of Simeon had shrunk to the smallest (Numbers 26:14), and it was no doubt because of weakness that Simeon had to rely on his stronger brother Judah to get even so much as a ghost of an inheritance in Canaan. Truly Simeon lost out in the kingdom. Nor was the verdict of Jacob reversed. When Moses came to bless the tribes, he transformed Jacob's judgment of Levi into a blessing, but Simeon he passed over in silence (Deuteronomy 33). The scattering and dividing of Levi was the same, but with a very important difference. Levi took a stand for God at Baal-peor when Israel sinned with the daughters of Moab (Exodus 32). When Moses

raised his standard and cried: "Who is on the Lord's side?" it was the tribe of Levi that responded. The Levites received no actual territorial grant in Canaan; instead they received forty-eight cities scattered up and down the kingdom among the tribes. The tribe of Levi was thus judicially dismembered but, because of its bold stand for God in the wilderness, the priesthood and the religious service of the nation was given to it. The very scattering was to become a blessing, for Levites were found in all the coasts of the kingdom. Judah (49:8-12) Judah had some shady things in his background as well, and it must have been with real apprehension that he sensed his father's eyes upon him. What would Jacob say now, at the judgment seat, about that pagan woman he had married? Would he say anything about his parental slackness that had resulted in the vileness of Onan and Er? What would he say about the wretched business with Tamar? Interestingly enough, Jacob said nothing about any of those things. Judah had apparently repented of them and so they were forgotten. He had declared himself fully when he had put himself, not his sons, in pledge for Benjamin and when he had poured out his soul before Joseph. Jacob's judgment seat was not convened to rake up confessed and forgiven sin.

Looking at Judah, Jacob saw the leader (49:8). "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee." Judah had prevailed and had become a godly man. Lordship was bestowed upon him over three classes of people—his brethren, his enemies, and his father's children. Looking beyond Judah we think at once of the Lord Jesus and the three classes who will one day acknowledge His supremacy—the Jews (His kinsmen according to the flesh), the Gentiles (in their end-time hostility toward Himself), and the church (the Father's children). Then Jacob saw the lion (49:9). "Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?" Judah would be the royal tribe, as the lion was king among beasts. No one would tamper with Judah in the day of his power. Be it the young lion raising its massive head from its prey, or the mere cub feeling the first flush of its strength, or the old lion stretched out at peace in its den, Judah was to be king. From beginning to end sovereignty was his. Jacob, of course, had no means of knowing by natural inference that Jesus would be the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The Spirit of God was speaking through his lips. The sovereignty Reuben had tossed away for a half hour's unholy passion was now bestowed on Judah. In the coming kingdom he would reign.

Looking yet at Judah, Jacob saw the Lord (49:10). "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." The name Shiloh comes from the same root as the Hebrew word shalom—peace! In Jacob's prophecy it refers not to a place but a person, and points to that true Prince of Peace into whose almighty hand the sceptre of absolute and universal dominion is yet to be placed. He would come from Judah's line. What more could Judah have than that, for by giving Him the Messianic line, Jacob gave him everything. The natural man in Jacob would have greatly desired to bestow that sovereignty on Joseph; the spiritual man bestowed it on Judah. But he had not yet finished with that son. Still looking at Judah, the old patriarch saw the land (49:11-12), the land as it will be when Judah's Lion comes to reign. He saw millennial blessings flowing from that. "Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes." The whole poetic idiom is one of peace and plenty. Little had Judah known, when he stood before that great and dreadful lord in Egypt, the unknown Joseph, and pleaded Benjamin's cause, that such lavish praise and reward would one day be his. At the judgment seat of Jacob nothing was forgotten, just as at the judgment seat of Christ no stand taken for Christ will go unrewarded in the Kingdom.

As Jacob looked at Judah all he could see was Jesus. All Judah's faults and failings were blotted out in that glorious vision of Christ. That is what will count at the judgment seat. Zebulun (49:13) Zebulun was the youngest of Leah's sons. Genesis tells us nothing about him beyond the fact he was one of those who sold Joseph—but that was the common guilt of all in those dark, unregenerate days. Zebulun stood at the foot of the bed next to his mighty brother Judah. He was probably a somewhat silent, ordinary, unassuming, and anonymous person. He had never been a very bold man like Judah nor yet a very bad man like Reuben. What would Jacob say to him? Jacob's far-seeing prophetic eye saw Zebulun's future coastal interests. "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea." The exact territory assigned to Zebulun in the kingdom is not known for sure. We do not know, for instance, whether his borders actually touched either the Galilee or the Mediterranean, but, if they did not do so during the past kingdom age, they certainly will during the one that is to come, for Jacob saw Zebulun with coastal interests. He would also have commercial interests. "And he shall be an haven of ships." The fulfillment of that is vague. So far as we know, and as most maps show, Zebulun's land-grant in the kingdom did not reach to the Mediterranean. It could have touched

the Sea of Galilee, but such a small inland body of water, however important it might have been to Palestine, hardly exhausts the magnificence implied in Jacob's words. Minor fishing concessions along a lake or even profit resulting from the intersection of trade routes there seems only a minor fulfillment of what Jacob saw. For Jacob went on to depict Zebulun's continental interests. "And his border shall be unto Zidon." Again, there is no proof that Zebulun's borders ever reached that far, but the prophecy certainly implies great enlargement for Zebulun and vast, continental interests. For Zidon (Sidon) was one of the world's mightest cities with maritime interests to the ends of the earth. It was the mother of mighty Tyre, one of the greatest cities of antiquity. The ultimate fulfillment of Jacob's words must surely be in the Millennium. The millennial interpretation of Jacob's words, however, does not exhaust their meaning. There is a mystical interpretation that needs to be considered. Zebulun's tribal inheritance included Nazareth and Cana of Galilee. Who can think of places like that without thinking of Jesus? Was He not frequently called simply "Jesus of Nazareth"? It was there He spent His boyhood days, grew to full manhood, and labored at the bench. In New Testament times the borders of Zebulun may have reached as far as Capernaum on the shore of Galilee. It was in favored Zebulun that the Lord Jesus performed many of His mightiest miracles

(Matthew 4:15-16). Thus Zebulun cradled that mighty movement in history that resulted, on the Day of Pentecost, in the advent of the church—the church that soon thereafter set out to conquer the world. Little did insignificant Zebulun realize what great honor was being bestowed upon him that day as he stood silent at Jacob's judgment seat. Issachar (49:14-15) Issachar was also one of Leah's sons, the son born when Leah hired away Jacob from Rachel. The circumstances of his birth may have colored Issachar's character, for he does not seem to have been an active and aggressive person but one quite content to take a humble place. Yet Jacob, looking at Issachar, spoke of his strength (49:14). "Issachar," he said, "is a strong ass." It was a characterization of which most would be ashamed but that many are content to assume just the same. It was not flattering to be likened to a strong but somewhat stupid animal. How much better to be a lion like Judah, a hind like Naphtali, a wolf like Benjamin, or even a serpent like Dan! The very picture of a donkey is one of dumbness and of an inability to appreciate higher things. Yet, at the same time, it is a picture of usefulness and strength. It was Issachar's strength that was first mentioned by Jacob. He was a strong man—not strong in the sense of explosive leadership but in the sense of dependability. He was not a man easily moved, but

you knew where you stood with him. He was a plodder, but solid. Jacob next spoke of his satisfaction (49:15a). "And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant." Issachar would prefer the comforts of home to glory. He inherited a very fertile strip of land in the kingdom; it was in the north, fronting on the Jordan, a territory much coveted by raiders. Issachar would yield up dignity and freedom so long as he could continue to farm his fields and be at ease. When the book of Judges recapitulates the sketchy achievements of the tribes in taking hold of their possessions in Canaan, Issachar is not even mentioned (Judges 1). The tribe was such a failure along military lines it did not deserve a place among those who at least made some effort to possess their possessions. But Jacob saw even more. The indolent, easygoing disposition of Issachar pointed to his servitude (49:15b). "And he bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant unto tribute." There was no blame, simply a lack of achievement. But here again, the judgment seat was to produce salutary results for in later years, in the kingdom, Issachar did amount to something after all. When the tribes were camped or on the march, Issachar was placed next to Zebulun and Judah at the head of them all (Numbers 10:15). Association with those vigorous members of the kingdom was intended to inspire sluggish Issachar, and that is just what happened. In the days of the judges,

Issachar came forward to fight with Barak and even marched in the van to bear the brunt of battle (Judges 5:15). Deborah, whose name means "the bee," stung lazy Issachar into activity at last. Later on, Issachar gave four kings to the northern kingdom. But, best of all, in David's day the men of Issachar were men who had understanding of the times, men who knew what Israel ought to do. They took the lead in welcoming David back to the throne (1 Chronicles 12:32, 38-40). Dan (49:16-18) Dan was the first son to be born by proxy to Rachel. He was a son of Bilhah the maid. Nothing is said about Dan in Genesis beyond the fact that Joseph gave Jacob an evil report about the boy and his three closest brothers. But that was years ago. Would Jacob bring that up now? What would he say to Dan, a man who felt keenly his inferiority as a son of a bondwoman? What would Jacob say to him? The first thing Jacob saw as he gazed at Dan was position (49:16). "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel." We can see Dan suddenly stand up straight and square his shoulders. That was better than being called an ass like Issachar. And Jacob's prophetic vision was accurate, for out of Dan came the mightiest of all the judges—great Samson whose exploits later became a legend in the land.

But there was more; Jacob had not finished with Dan. He could see serious flaws in Dan's disposition. The next thing the old prophet saw as he looked at Dan was poison (49:17). "Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward." Dan's inheritance in the kingdom was a rich one territorially, for it bordered on the Mediterranean and included the great seaport of Joppa. It was a tribal territory, however, that fronted on Philistine country and one that was constantly threatened by those warlike neighbors. The Danites, dissatisfied with such a portion, migrated north. They fell with serpentlike cunning on the city of Laish and established themselves in the far north of Israel. There, however, they had to face constant pressure from the hostile northern powers such as Syria. It was Dan that first introduced idolatry into Israel as tribal religious policy (Judges 18:30-31), and it was in Dan that Jeroboam set up one of his golden calves (1 Kings 12:2-30). Many think that the Antichrist will come from the tribe of Dan. There was poison in Dan's cup. But Jacob could see something else, something better, something worth mentioning at the judgment seat. He could see pardon (49:18). "I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD!" he exclaimed. For suddenly, peering down the future ages, taken up with coming events as they were suggested to his mind by Dan, the old patriarch saw far, far beyond

Dan and his treacheries. He saw the Lord, the covenant-keeping Jehovah, bringing salvation to his sons—even to Dan with his serpentlike ways. There was a grace even in the midst of judgment. At the judgment seat of Christ, too, grace will triumph, for nothing can rob God's people of their salvation. It is worth noting too that the reference here—"I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD"—is the very first reference to salvation in the Bible. And it occurs in connection with Dan! Gad (49:19) Gad was the first son born to Leah's maid, and we know no more about him than we know about Dan. He, too, was included in Joseph's ill report to the father along with Asher and Napthali. Looking at Gad, Jacob saw him in two lights. He saw him as vanquished. "Gad," he said, "a troop shall overcome him." But he also saw him as victorious. "But he shall overcome at the last." Gad chose his inheritance on the far side of Jordan. His territory was under constant attack from warlike, nomadic tribes, which swooped down upon his fields from the deserts. All the tribes that settled east of Jordan were vulnerable and, indeed, were the first to be carried away when Assyrian hordes came down on the fold. The tribe of Gad was not without its notables. Jephthah, beloved Barzillai, and Elijah—that prince among the prophets—were all from the tribe of Gad. Gad could take a beating from the foe and

come back in triumph. It is in that character that he was owned at the judgment seat of Jacob. He was an overcomer—a great thing to be in the day when actions are weighed. Asher (49:20) Asher was another of the bondwomen's sons, like the others, a seeming nonentity. Those undistinguished sons of Jacob represent the crowd, the rank and file of the faith, the great mass who fill out the ranks of the redeemed. At the judgment seat of Jacob all were present; all had to appear. There was no difference. The review was not just for those outstanding either in sin or sanctity; it was for all. Looking at Asher, Jacob again saw two things. He saw life's routine rewards. "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat," he said. He saw also life's royal riches—"and he shall yield royal dainties." How Asher's face must have glowed at the note of praise and reward and of promised honor in the coming kingdom. Asher's inheritance in Canaan was that amazingly fertile strip that ran along the foot of Carmel, up the Mediterranean coast past Tyre. Asher was never strong enough to dispossess the tough and tenacious Phoenicians of Tyre, but then even Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great had trouble subduing Tyre. Surely, though, the God who could vanquish the Egyptian army at the Red Sea could have uprooted Tyre for Asher. Instead, Tyre lingered on, a veritable stronghold of Satan in

Canaan, all through the years of Joshua and the judges and through the reigns of David, Solomon, and the northern kings. Asher was to "dip his foot in oil." Commentators are taken up with the rich oil-producing olive groves that flourished so abundantly in Asher's territory. But there is more to it than that. The great modern port of Haifa is situated in Asher's territory today and there, at Haifa, the giant pipelines from the great Iranian oilfields terminate. Asher literally dips his foot in oil today. Naphtali (49:21) The remaining bondwoman's son was Naphtali. Jacob put his finger, first, on his son's natural wildness. "Naphtali is a hind let loose," he said. The hind, the female deer, is a timid, swift, and graceful creature of the woods and wilds. In those early days, before he was regenerated with the help of Joseph, Naphtali had apparently been a wild and un-governable young fellow, hard to tame, imbued with a passion for freedom and unrestraint. That love for freedom was now to be turned to good account, for it was a dispositional trait capable of development for better or for worse. At the judgment seat, the Lord is going to look at what we have done with natural traits. Have we simply developed them along ungoverned, natural lines? Or have we brought them to the altar and allowed them to be put to death in the death of Christ and

resurrected in the Spirit's power to new and nobler ends? Jacob saw also, in Naphtali, his notable wisdom. "Naphtali," he said, "giveth goodly words." That is, he was an eloquent man, and God's kingdom has always been able to use such. The suggestion has been made that, when the brothers returned from Egypt with the news that Joseph was alive, Naphtali ran on ahead to tell his father that not only was all well with Benjamin but also that Joseph lived. The sight of Naphtali, perhaps, awakened some such memory in Jacob. The hind let loose was one that gave goodly words. Naphtali's swiftness of foot and eloquence of tongue was held up for praise at Jacob's judgment seat. At the judgment seat of Christ may we too find that our walk and our talk can be held up for warm commendation before all. Joseph (49:22-26) Then Jacob's eye fell on Joseph, and his own eloquence took wings. He had much to say about that eminently godly man. For that is what is going to count most at the coming judgment seat. Courage, strength, and wisdom will all have their rewards, but it is Christlikeness in us that will make the very vaults of heaven ring. With so much to say to Joseph, Jacob focused his thoughts in four areas. First he extolled his fruitfulness (49:22). "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run

over the wall." Jacob had just given Joseph a double portion in Israel by adding Ephraim and Manasseh to the tribes. He now foresaw how fruitful that addition would be. After the second census in the wilderness those two tribes, taken together, were by far the most populous in Israel. Joseph was a fruitful bough. Then Jacob made mention of his foes (49:23). "The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him." The hostility of Joseph's brethren was a faint picture, a mere type, of the larger hostilities Ephraim and Manasseh would have to face in the world. It was Ephraim who gave the tribes their Joshua, the great military leader who wrested Canaan from the massed might of the foe. Thus it was Joseph who conquered the foe. Next, Jacob reviewed his faith (49:24). "But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd and stone of Israel)." By the vigor of his faith Joseph had triumphed in his adversities and testings and had been made so strong that there was not a man his equal in all of Egypt. It was faith that had carried him through. That personal truth gave rise to prophetic truth. Jacob could see in Joseph a type of the promised Messiah. He would be both a Shepherd (that relates to His first coming), and a Stone (that relates to His second coming). The dying Jacob dimly grasped the truth of the two

comings of Christ as they were typified in the personal history of his own beloved son. Words seemed to fail Jacob in seeking to describe all the blessings he could see in Joseph. The word "blessing" simply came to his lips and there it stayed—one blessing after another poured out of his mouth as, looking at Joseph, he described his fulness (49:25-26). He blessed him with the blessing of heaven above and of the deep that lieth under; he blessed him with sufficiency, with security, and with sovereignty. "The blessings of thy father," he cried, "have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors." I have been blessed above Abraham and Isaac; you will be blessed above me! "Blessings," he cried as he warmed to his work. "Blessings unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of him that was separate from his brethren." Jacob's words leaped far beyond mere tribal blessings into total blessing. That was Joseph's reward at the judgment seat of Jacob—a blessing that reached out and beyond all intervening kingdom ages to the furthest reaches of eternity. And it was Christlikeness in Joseph that opened up that floodtide of blessing—that and that alone. Benjamin (49:27) Benjamin was the son of Jacob's old age, born in the same hour that Rachel died, and the son of his right hand. As he looked at Benjamin he underlined

his character. "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf." The wolf, the largest member of the canine family, oftens weighs as much as a hundred pounds and is a powerful predator. It was in that character that Jacob saw Benjamin. Benjamin would become a warrior tribe. The territory allotted to Benjamin was small (only about four hundred square miles) but rugged and placed in a most strategic position for the defense of the whole land. His holdings were often under attack from invading powers. But Benjamin had the character for that. It would have been a great mistake to give to an Issachar what belonged to a Benjamin—a wolf, not an ass, was required to hold the terrain that would later contain Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. As Jacob continued to look at Benjamin he saw also his conquests. "In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil." Two illustrious Benjamites are found in Scripture—both Sauls, one in the Old Testament, the other in the New. In the morning Saul, the son of Kish, leaped to the throne to become Israel's first king; in the evening Saul of Tarsus seized the reins of the church and became the greatest of all the apostles, with a message that hammered at the very gates of Rome. One and all the sons had now stood before Jacob as he opened the books and rendered accounts. The judgment had been searching but fair, and, above all, it had been private—the world had been

shut out from that bedchamber. It had been pointed, too. Jacob had seized the salient dispositional trait of each son; he had weighed the highlights of each one's history, and he had seen the whole person, the whole tribe, the very mountain peaks of unborn time. The judgment-seat experience had been painful for some, pleasant for others, but the verdict had been perfect in each case. Not a voice was raised in protest, each individual knew he had been fairly dealt with, and that the judge had been without bias. As the men trooped out of the room to face their respective futures in the coming kingdom, they could not help but see that they had reaped just what they had sown.

Additional Notes on the Bema Seat Judgment

The Bema—The Judgment Seat of Christ A. The meaning of the bema judgment. The Greek word bema (translated “judgment seat” in the King James Version) was a familiar term to the people of Paul’s day. Dr. Lehman Strauss writes: “In the large olympic arenas, there was an elevated seat on which the judge of the contest sat. After the contests were over, the successful competitors would assemble before the bema to receive their

rewards or crowns. The bema was not a judicial bench where someone was condemned; it was a reward seat. Likewise, the Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judicial bench…the Christian life is a race, and the divine umpire is watching every contestant. After the church has run her course, He will gather every member before the bema for the purpose of examining each one and giving the proper reward to each.” (God’s Plan for the Future, p. 111) B. The fact of the bema judgment. Many New Testament verses speak of this. “But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:10-12). “Every man’s work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it…” (1 Cor. 3:13). “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ…” (2 Cor. 5:10) C. The purpose of the bema judgment. 1. Negative considerations. a. The purpose of the beraa judgment is not to determine whether a particular individual enters

heaven or not, for every man’s eternal destiny is already determined before he leaves this life. b. The purpose of the bema judgment is not to punish believers for sins committed either before or after their salvation. The Scriptures are very clear that no child of God will have to answer for his sins after this life. “Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back” (Isa. 38:17). “I have blotted out…thy transgressions and…thy sins” (Isa. 44:22). “…the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 Jn. 1:7). 2. Positive considerations. What then is the purpose of the bema judgment? In 1 Corinthians 4:2 Paul says that all Christians should conduct themselves as faithful stewards of God: “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The Apostle Peter later writes in a similar way: “Minister… as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10). In the New Testament world, a steward was the manager of a large household or estate. He was appointed by the owner and was entrusted to keep the estate running smoothly. He had the power to

hire and fire and to spend and save, being answerable to the owner alone. His only concern was that periodic meeting with his master, at which time he was required to account for the condition of the estate up to that point. With this background in mind, it may be said that someday at the bema judgment all stewards will stand before their Lord and Master and be required to give an account of the way they have used their privileges and responsibilities from the moment of their conversion. In conclusion, it can be seen that: a. In the past, God dealt with us as sinners (Rom. 5:6-8; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 2:1-3). b. In the present, God deals with us as sons (Rom. 8:14; Heb. 12:5-11; 1 Jn. 3:1, 2). c. In the future, God will deal with us (at the bema) as stewards. D. The materials to be tested at the bema judgment. In 1 Corinthians 3:11 the Apostle Paul explains the glorious fact that at the moment of salvation a repenting sinner is firmly placed on the foundation of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ himself. His continuing instruction after his salvation is to rise up and build upon this foundation.

Paul says, “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.…Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is” (1 Cor. 3:10b, 12, 13). Negative considerations. It should be noted immediately that this passage does not teach the false doctrine known as purgatory, for it is the believer’s works and not the believer himself that will be subjected to the fires. Positive considerations. From these verses it is apparent that God classifies the works of believers into one of the following six areas: gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. There has been much speculation about the kinds of work down here that will constitute gold or silver up there. But it seems more appropriate to note that the six objects can be readily placed into two categories: Those indestructible and worthy objects which will survive and thrive in the fires. These are the gold, silver, and precious stones.

Those destructible and worthless objects which will be totally consumed in the fires. These are the wood, hay, and stubble. Though it is difficult to know just what goes to make up a “golden work” or a “stubble work,” we are nevertheless informed of certain general areas in which God is particularly interested. 1. How we treat other believers. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Heb. 6:10). “He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward” (Mt. 10:41, 42). 2. How we exercise our authority over others. “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief…” (Heb. 13:17). “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment” (Jas. 3:1, nasb).

3. How we employ our God-given abilities. “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee…” (2 Tim. 1:6). “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.…But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (1 Cor. 12:4, 11, nasb). “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10, nasb). To these verses can be added the overall teaching of Jesus’ parables of the ten pounds (Lk. 19:11-26) and the eight talents (Mt. 25:14-29). 4. How we use our money. “Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not highminded; nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:17-19). “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6, 7).

“Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him…” (1 Cor. 16:2). 5. How much we suffer for Jesus. “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven…” (Mt. 5:11, 12). “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Pet. 4:12, 13). “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life” (Mk. 10:29, 30). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17).

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18). 6. How we spend our time. “…redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16). “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” (1 Pet. 1:17). “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). 7. How we run that particular race which God has chosen for us. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Cor. 9:24). “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13, 14). “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1). 8. How effectively we control the old nature.

“And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:25-27). 9. How many souls we witness to and win to Christ. “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For ye are our glory and joy” (1 Thess. 2:19, 20). “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). 10. How we react to temptation. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (Jas. 1:2, 3). “Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life” (Rev. 2:10). 11. How much the doctrine of the rapture means to us.

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). 12. How faithful we are to the Word of God and the flock of God. “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:2-4). “I charge thee therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, Preach the word…” (2 Tim. 4:1, 2). E. The results of the bema judgment seat of Christ. 1. Some will receive rewards. “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward” (1 Cor. 3:14). The Bible mentions at least five possible rewards. These have already been described briefly under the last section. The rewards include: a. The incorruptible crown—given to those who master the old nature (1 Cor. 9:25-27).

b. The crown of rejoicing—given to soul-winners (Prov. 11:30; Dan. 12:3; 1 Thess. 2:19, 20). c. The crown of life—given to those who successfully endure temptation (Jas. 1:2, 3; Rev. 2:10). d. The crown of righteousness—given to those who especially love the doctrine of the rapture (2 Tim. 4:8). e. The crown of glory—given to faithful preachers and teachers (Acts 20:26-28; 2 Tim. 4:1, 2; 1 Pet. 5:2-4). It has been suggested that these “crowns” will actually be talents and abilities with which to glorify Christ. Thus, the greater the reward, the greater the ability! 2. Some will suffer loss. “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss…” (1 Cor. 3:15). F. The Old Testament foreshadowing of the bema judgment seat of Christ. Although the church is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament, there is nevertheless a passage which can very easily be applied to the bema judgment. This can be found in the words of Boaz (a foreshadowing of Christ) to Ruth (a foreshadowing of the church): “It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done.…The Lord recompense thy work, and a full

reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” (Ruth 2:11, 12).