Reuben || Jacob’s Family Tree – Revisited #1

Welcome to another series revisit! I don’t understand why, but my “Jacob’s Family Tree” series went viral. This community has received all parts well, so let’s look at these topics again, but with my updated writing style and format.

If you have yet to hear of the series, I spent some time going through the blessings Israel/Jacob gave to each of his sons, as most of us knew him. We looked at those blessings and how they showed themselves throughout the Bible. In the revamp, I looked at some family trees. I branched into a profile example of an essential character from those family lines. This is new compared to the old series, but it’ll have more of an impact on lineage understanding. Let’s get into it!

In this blog, let’s talk about Reuben.

Genesis 49:3-4

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 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.

That’s not a way to get the double portion of inheritance, Reuben. Let’s talk about how this blessing shows up in the Bible.

Numbers 26:5

5             These were the clans descended from the sons of Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son: The Hanochite clan, named after their ancestor Hanoch. The Palluite clan is named after their ancestor, Pallu.

Who is Hanoch? Who is Pallu? The answer is…that I have no clue. The only times that either of their names show up in the Old Testament is in conversation around the lineage of Reuben. Hanoch appears 6 times, and Pallu appears 5 times. I’m not quite sure if there’s significance to this or not. The main thing I take from this is that Reuben’s tribe lost the importance of him being the firstborn. The significance of his tribe became so minute that no important person or event came from the tribe of Reuben.

Let’s talk about why the firstborn inheritance was so crucial.

Deuteronomy 21:17

17           He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn.

Double portion involves receiving twice as big of an inheritance evenly split among the family. For example, Jacob has twelve sons. His inheritance would be split in thirteen ways to account for Reuben receiving the double portion. This feels fair amongst the children because there’s a mathematical way to show an equal blessing. This touches my nerdy heart. Why does the firstborn get the double portion, though?

“First” things are beloved by God. Let’s look at the story of Cain and Abel. We see God favored Abel’s offering because Abel gave God the first 10% of his produce while Cain offered just 10% of his total produce. It’s why we hear some churches encourage us to give the first 10% of our gross paycheck back to God as a tithe because we deserve the best. The first part of our produce isn’t subjected to other things we do. It doesn’t get tainted by other purchases, expenses, or luxuries. Our first spending after we receive our paycheck is supposed to go back to God. It’s pure.

Firstborns typically continue the lineage of the Father’s family line. Firstborns were to become a part of the priestly community (which was designated to Jacob’s third child, Levi.) Firstborns lead the way for their siblings. How many of you are the oldest sibling? How many of you are held to a higher standard because you have a younger sibling? Firstborns are to set the path of success for those who come behind them. I’ll have a link to the website I used in my research at the end of the blog that talks more about the firstborn benefits.

Psalm 78:51

51           He killed the oldest son in each Egyptian family, the flower of youth throughout the land of Egypt.

Based on Exodus 12:29-30, every firstborn son of the Egyptians died, but the Israelite children were spared because of the blood of the lamb that was placed on their doorframes. This is the first Passover. This is the last of the Ten Plagues that was happening due to Pharaoh’s hardened heart. God submitted Pharaoh to the reality of the perspective he chose when he wouldn’t release the Israelites. The Israelites were God’s chosen people who were to share the teachings of YHWH with the world. God saved them from a lifetime of slavery, but it had to come with a price.

God redeemed the Israelites. This refers to a buyback or saving from captivity by paying a ransom. One way to buy back an enslaved person was to offer an equivalent or superior slave in exchange. God rescued his children in exchange for the Egyptian children. It’s morbid, dark, horrific, but it worked. Pharaoh released the Israelites after that. Pharaoh got to experience the pain God felt. Pharaoh got a new take on reality and a new perception of who the Israelites’ God was. I am not saying that God is a vicious God with all that being said, but this was an act of justice. Pharaoh hardened his heart to the reality that God showed him, and it took the death of the firstborn Egyptian sons for him to change.

In Old Testament times, God accepted symbolic offerings. Because the sacrifice of Christ hasn’t happened yet, God accepted the life of an animal in place of the life of the sinner. When Jesus was sent to earth, he was the perfect sacrifice for our sinful lives. Jesus took the penalty for sin that we deserved. By doing this, Jesus redeemed us from the power of sin and restored us to a righteous place to God. Because of what Jesus did, there’s no longer the need to sacrifice animals.

Now it’s time to hear what Reuben did to get his blessing revoked.

Genesis 35:22

22           While he was living there, Reuben had intercourse with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Jacob soon heard about it.

That was a costly sin that Reuben committed, but the consequences weren’t felt immediately. He still thought he could receive his double portion of his family inheritance and his place of leadership. He thought he got away with it, but his sinful action caught up to him. Jacob gave away his portion to someone else. This is a massive lesson for us.

The consequences of our sinful actions can plague us long after the sin has been committed. You heard me share about my sextortion incident earlier this year. The impact of my sinful actions plagued me for a full six months and beyond. There’s always been a thought of what would’ve happened if I didn’t say anything. If I kept things behind closed doors, would things have been different? I’m not sure. Sure, the external situations might have remained the same, but the internal struggle and fight that I went through might have been the same or worse. When we do something wrong, regardless of how major or minor we view it, we need to own it. Be vulnerable and confess what happened. Confessing what I did hurt at the moment and had consequences for some time, but that moment of vulnerability has led me to own it today and recognize that I’m no longer there. We might think that we can escape or avoid our sin, but most likely, it will catch up with us. We will see later that the sin we thought was harmless was harmful.

Deuteronomy 27:20

20           ‘Cursed is anyone who has sexual intercourse with one of his father’s wives, for he has violated his father.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’”

Now, this is the Levitical law that is repeated here in Deuteronomy. It talks about this act, which could be considered harmless by those who commit it, and how it violates the purity of marriage and respect for his father’s image. Doesn’t it make sense why Jacob was upset? What Reuben did violated the concept of marriage for the Israelites, which was highly important to them. He ruined the image of Jacob and the respect that Jacob would receive from others.

What we do and how we act does cause a ripple effect on the community around us. It could be your family, your friends, your workplace, your church, your club, and more that are affected because of the actions you commit away from these circles. For me, the sextortion incident called out my character as a church leader, a member of my church, and a representative of UMC and the Christian faith.

Let’s wrap that up here. I hope you enjoyed learning more about the blessing given to Reuben and how that permeated throughout the rest of the Bible. Next week, we will look at two kids. Simeon and Levi share in their acts but have different paths in life. Until then, stay blessed!