There are 2 sons of Jacob who are not on the Breastplate- Joseph and Levi. Yet, I'd like to include their birth, patriarchal blessing, and mosaic blessing.
Levi
1. His Birth
Genesis 29:34- And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined unto me, because I have born him three sons: therefore was his name called Levi. Levi means joining or joined closely.
This was a deep desire of Leah, for her husband to love her and want to be with her. We do't' know how long it took for Jacob to realize this was where God wanted him, but eventually he got there. Genesis 49:31- There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. Remember, he set up a pillar on Rachel's grave. His sons knew where this grave was located. But somehow he figured out that he was meant to be with Leah.
2. The Patriarchal Blessing
Genesis 49:5-7- Simeon and Levi are brethren; 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. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. Levi didn't live up to his name, here we see him cursed for dividing and he himself ends up being divided. Leah had hoped for a joining, yet Jacob talks of being scattered.
Sin always has a devastating effect! Levi was not given a certain spot for his tribe. He was given cities that were scattered all over the Promised Land.
3. The Mosaic Blessing
Moses takes both his birth and the patriarchal blessing and combines them into something that only God could accomplish. Deuteronomy 33:8-11-And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.
Massah and Meribah were both places where the children of Israel murmured because of a lack of water. In both places, Moses was told of God to use a rock- first to strike it, next to speak to it. Moses lost his entrance into the Promised Land for striking the rock the second time. Moses seems to be calling their attention to the fact that they would be hearing the complaining of the children of Israel often.
The clause where he is not acknowledging his family or brethren seems to be talking of the time in Exodus 32 where Levi stood against the people at Moses command when they worshipped the golden calf. Levi executed unbiased judgment on the idolaters.
And this unbiased judgment also brings the urim and the thummim into the picture. These stones were used to find out the mind of God in a matter. It was through these that the children of Israel were led.
This tribe, who was separated and scattered in Israel, was separated unto a certain job which helped join Israel to God. As Christians we should be separated to do God's work- Romans 1:1- Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, I Corinthians 1:10- Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and [that] there be no divisions among you; but [that] ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. Like Paul, we can be separated and joined in the service of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Joseph
1. His Birth
Genesis 30:22-24- And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son. Joseph means doubly fruitful.
It's a wonderful thing to know that God remembers us. It's an even more wonderful thing that God will hearken to us! Rachel was sneaky and conniving and yet God still remembered and hearkened to her.
2. The Patriarchal Blessing
Genesis 49:22-26- Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 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, the stone of Israel:) Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. We talked about this when we spoke of Joseph's sons. Joseph, being doubly fruitful, ha 2 sons on the breastplate.
Joseph went through a lot! Sold at 17 as a slave by his brothers. He was falsely accused, wrongly imprisoned, and even forgotten. But God had a purpose for Joseph. As a slave, he learned management and the Egyptian customs. As a prisoner, he learned to deal with irritable and sometimes dangerous men. And as a child, he learned to trust in the God of heaven who could "work things together for good". When Joseph looked back on his life, he saw God moving- Genesis 50:19-21- And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. We see that Joseph fully embraced God's will for his life to save souls, nourish, and comfort them.
3. The Mosaic Blessing
Deuteronomy 33:13-17- And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. Joseph was undeniably blessed. Was it because of his attitude of humility? His acceptance of hardship? Or his trust in God even when falsely accused? I believe it was, as Abraham, because he believed what God said even when the odds were against it. Hebrews 11:22- By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
Christians can be blessed like Joseph, if we, as Joseph, trust God, allow him to lead us, and depart from evil no matter the cost. Proverbs 3:5-7- Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
We see how the stones and characteristics of these men were passed on to their descendants. May we remember that our actions will be passed on to our children, and what we do in moderation our children will do in excess.
