Reuben || Jacob’s Family Tree || Week 1

Welcome to a brand-new series for 2021! This was not the first planned series of this year, nor was the release date. I want to thank everyone who has shared their prayers with me. I feel excellent writing this today, so I welcome you to this series called “Jacob’s Family Tree.” This series will be about Jacob’s blessings to each of his twelve sons, which is the same blessing that Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, and Isaac, Jacob’s dad, received.

This week we dive into the blessing of the eldest son, Reuben. Reuben was definitely the voice of reason in this group of brothers, considering he was the one that didn’t want to kill Joseph earlier in the book of Genesis. Jacob’s blessing to Reuben says this in Genesis 49:3-4:

3 “Reuben, my first son, you are my strength. Your birth showed I could be a father. You have the highest position among my sons. You are the most powerful.

4 But you are uncontrolled like water. So you will no longer lead your brothers. This is because you got into your father’s bed. You shamed me by having physical relations with my slave girl.

Okay, this sounds more like a vent session to Reuben than a blessing. I think it’s time to tear apart this scripture and see what this really stood for.

Reuben’s Sin Leads to Consequences

The consequences of Reuben’s sin earlier in the story (see Genesis 35:22) erased his birthright along with whatever dignity and majesty he might have had. The sin was this:

22 While Israel was in that land Reuben had physical relations with Israel’s slave woman Bilhah. And Israel heard about it. 

Jacob didn’t forget this at all. You can tell he held on to this grudge until he was on his deathbed, so I think he was still a little miffed about it. This is the sin that resulted in the loss of his birthright, which goes into more detail in 1 Chronicles 5:1-3:

1 Reuben was Israel’s first son. Reuben should have received the special privileges of the oldest son. But he had physical relations with his father’s slave woman. So those special privileges were given to Joseph’s son. (Joseph was a son of Israel.) In the family history of Reuben’s name is not listed as the first son.

2 Judah became stronger than his brothers. And a leader came from his family. But Joseph’s family received the privileges that belonged to the oldest son.

3 Reuben was the first son born to Israel. Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

We just learned that the loss of the birthright led to him not being enrolled in genealogy according to the birthright. 

This insight led me to wonder: “What else does losing the birthright cost?” We hear about Jacob stealing the birthright from Esau, but it was never (I believe) defined as to what Esau was losing out on. So I did some research, and here’s what I found out from biblestudytools.com:

Priesthood

A birthright showed the special privileges and advantages of the firstborn son among the Jews. He became the priest of the family, which Reuben had, but God transferred it to Levi in Number 3. Numbers 3:12 says this:

12 “I am choosing the Levites from all the Israelites. They will take the place of all the firstborn children of Israel. The Levites will be mine.

God has taken Levi’s tribe instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn. Interesting word choice, right? “Instead of” sounds like a choice. God chose to say: “I want Levi’s tribe instead of Reuben’s tribe.” “Substitute for” means to me, a sparing. God knew that he would kill the firstborns during the Ten Plagues that He sent to Pharaoh. He spared the firstborn from the wrath that was coming. He also spared the stigma that would be attached to the firstborn. This hardship that decisions made in life, like Reuben, God can still use for His will.

Inheritance

The firstborn son had allotted to him also a double portion of the paternal inheritance as stated in Deuteronomy 21:15-17. Let’s see what that says:

15 A man may have two wives. He might love one wife but not the other. Both wives might have sons by him. But the older son might be the son of the wife he does not love.

16 Someday that man must will his property to his sons. But he must not give the sons of the wife he loves what belongs to the older son. The older son is the son of the wife the man does not love.

17 He must agree to give the older son two shares of everything he owns. The older son is from the wife he does not love. That son was the first to prove his father could have children. So he has the rights that belong to the older son.

We see the power that the firstborn has in this scripture. No matter who the firstborn was, whether the firstborn was planned or unplanned, whether the firstborn was cared for or not, whether the firstborn was from a loving mom or from a mom that was not loved. He was granted double inheritance in Mosaic law because he was the start of the man’s bloodline.

Judicial Authority

The firstborn inherited the judicial authority of his father, whatever it might be. 2 Chronicles 21:3 says:

3 Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold and valuable things. He also gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the first son.

This was a part of the Mosaic Law that we just talked about. Losing the birthright plays a more significant role than just being left off the family tree, even though that’s still important. Reuben lost the priesthood over the tribes, his double inheritance, and judicial authority. All the power that the firstborns had was gone.

Falling off the Face of the Earth

Reuben’s tribe has minimal mention throughout Israel’s history. Why? They produced not one judge, prophet, military leader, or other significant people. Judges 5:15 says:

15 The princess of Issachar were with Deborah. The people of Issachar are loyal to Barak. They followed him into the valley. The Reubenites thought hard about what they would do.

That last part of the verse says it. The people of Issachar searched everyone’s heart fiercely to see who could be raised up, but because the tribe was facing division within itself. No one can be raised. This almost seems like the loss of the birthright and losing the priesthood is reaping a more significant debt and a more considerable sorrow than initially thought when Reuben committed the action.

Saving Prayer

Moses saw something in Reuben’s tribe, I believe. He prayed this prayer for this tribe not to die out in Deuteronomy 33:6, which says:

6 “Let the people of Reuben live and not die. But let the people be few.”

Isn’t this prayer kind of passive-aggressive? Just me? Moses just said: “I want this tribe to still thrive, but let them thrive with a small number,” That’s rough, but Moses must have had a reason, and there was. It was to still have the 12 tribes fight for Israel as they conquered battle after battle while settling into the Promised Land. Numbers 1:21 has a list of how many men from each tribe are 20 years old and can fight. Moses wanted this tribe to succeed so they could fight together instead of creating divisions that happened in Judges.

I know I hopped ALL over the place in the Old Testament, and my timeline for everything is all over. This was a lot of information to dive through, but I hope you like this blog. We are just getting started, and next week, we are talking about two of Jacob’s sons. Next week, we discuss the blessing given to Simeon and Levi. There’s a reason that they’re bunched together, but that’s your homework. Go read and meditate on Genesis 49;5-7. We’ll see you next week.