Departments of Divine Government (Notes from the Passover Conference)

Reuben

(Dept. of Treasury and Commerce)

Gen. 29:32

And Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me.”

Gen. 35:22

And it came about while Israel was dwelling in that land that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard of it.

Gen. 49:3, 4 (Jacob)

Reuben, you are my firstborn; my might and the beginning of my strength. Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.

1 Chron. 5:1, 2

Now the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel (for he was the first-born, but because he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel; so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright. Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph.

Deut. 33:6 (Moses)

May Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.

COMMENT: As long as Reuben was “uncontrolled as water,” he could not have a position of power, because he would abuse it. But once he matured, it would be said of him, “Behold, a Son.”

Key words: SEE, BEHOLD, or RECOGNIZE

 

Simeon

(Dept. of Communications, Post Office)

Gen. 29:33

Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon.”

Gen. 49:5-7 (Jacob)

Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council; let not my glory be united with their assembly [church]; because in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they lamed oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Gen. 34:25, 26, 30 (Story of Hamor, the ass, and Dinah)

Now it came about when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male. And they killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and went forth… Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land…”

Deut. 33:8-11 (Moses)

And of Levi he said, “Let Thy Thummim and Thy Urim belong to Thy godly man, whom thou didst prove at Massah, with whom Thou didst contend at the waters of Meribah; who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them’; and he did not acknowledge his brothers, nor did he regard his own sons, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Thine ordinances to Jacob, and Thy law to Israel. They shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt offerings on Thine altar. O Lord, bless his substance, and accept the work of his hands; shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, and those who hate him, so that they may not rise again.

COMMENT: Simeon and Levi’s cruelty in regard to Hamor was cursed. Even as Leah had said, “the Lord has heard that I am unloved,” so also Jacob said, “Let not my soul enter their council.” Instead of these sons uniting Leah with Jacob, their actions only served to disperse, or scatter, them from his favor—and God’s favor.

Levi was scattered in priestly towns throughout all the tribes of Israel, and his cruel sword was put to good use in offering sacrifices. Simeon too was scattered, because his tribal inheritance was isolated south of Judah. The tribe was ultimately absorbed in the tribe of Judah. Hence, Simeon was “scattered” in Israel.

Further, the glory of God was not to “be united in their assembly” (church). In other words, the sacrificial system, over which Levi presided, would not inherit the glory of God, but would be given to the Melchizedek Order. Their Old Covenant swords were “implements of violence,” whereas the New Covenant Sword is the Word of God.

The solution to their problem is to put on a New Covenant mindset by hearing God’s voice, so that they may become part of the Melchizedek Order.

Key word: HEARING

 

Levi

(Dept. of Records, Weights and Measures,

Census, and Immigration, Education)

Gen. 29:34

And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi.

Gen. 49:5-7 (Jacob)

Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are implements of violence. Let my soul not enter into their council; let not my glory be united with their assembly [church]; because in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they lamed oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; and their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

Deut. 33:8-11 (Moses)

And of Levi he said, “Let Thy Thummim and Thy Urim belong to Thy godly man, whom thou didst prove at Massah, with whom Thou didst contend at the waters of Meribah; who said of his father and his mother, ‘I did not consider them’; and he did not acknowledge his brothers, nor did he regard his own sons, for they observed thy word and kept thy covenant. They shall teach Thine ordinances to Jacob, and Thy law to Israel. They shall put incense before Thee, and whole burnt offerings on Thine altar. O Lord, bless his substance, and accept the work of his hands; shatter the loins of those who rise up against him, and those who hate him, so that they may not rise again.

COMMENT: It appears that Moses’ blessing on Levi was based on someone’s refusal to join the revolt at Massah, or Meribah in Exodus 17. One of the priests refused to “consider” (i.e., follow the orders of) his father, brothers, or even his own sons, but instead stood up to them in favor of Moses.

Again, when the people worshiped the golden calf some weeks later, Aaron was pressured to build the calf for them, but the Levites did not JOIN in that worship.

Even so, Levi had a family history of violence and cruelty, so Jacob’s curse was not lifted from them. Most of them remained in an Old Covenant mindset, except for the prophets.

Key words: JOINED, UNITED

Judah

(Ruler, Dept. of Music and Arts)

Gen. 29:35

And she conceived again and bore a son and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing.

Gen. 49:8-12 (Jacob)

Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his foal to the vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; he washes his garments in wine, and his robes in the blood of grapes, his eyes are dull from wine, and his teeth white from milk.

1 Chron. 5:2

Though Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the leader, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph.

Deut. 33:7 (Moses)

And this regarding Judah; so he said, “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people, with his hands he contended for them; and mayest Thou be a help against his adversaries.”

COMMENT: Although it was Judah’s idea to betray Joseph by selling him as a slave, he was also the one who repented in Gen. 44:18-34. Hence, he received the Dominion Mandate, at least temporarily “until Shiloh comes.” Shiloh comes from the root word shala, “to be at rest, quiet, prosperous.” In other words, during the time of contention, Judah would hold the Dominion Mandate, but when the time came to enter into God’s rest (in the Millennial Kingdom) the Dominion Mandate would be reunited with the Fruitfulness Mandate and the Priesthood to reform the complete Birthright once under Joseph.

Paul implies in Romans 2:29 that this must be fulfilled under the New Covenant with circumcision of the heart, rather than outwardly. “He is a Jew who is one inwardly… and his PRAISE is not from men, but from God.”

Key word: PRAISE

 

Dan and Dinah

(Dept. of Justice and Mercy)

Gen. 30:5, 6

And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated [judged] me, and has indeed heard my voice and has given me a son.” Therefore she named him Dan.

Gen. 49:16-18 (Jacob)

Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a horned snake in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward. For Thy salvation (Yeshua) I wait, O Lord.

Deut. 33:22 (Moses)

And of Dan he said, “Dan is a lion’s whelp that leaps forth from Bashan.”

Gen. 30:21

And afterward she bore a daughter and named her Dinah.

COMMENT: Dan was named because God had heard Rachel’s case in the divine court and she believed that God had “vindicated” her. She and her sister, Leah, were in a constant dispute in their marriage with Jacob. Leah was Jacob’s first wife and was also the oldest daughter of Laban, so she felt that she ought to be esteemed above Rachel. But Rachel was the one whom Jacob loved, and it was only through Laban’s treachery that this marital problem came about.

Leah thought that her many sons would buy Jacob’s affection, as if the marriage were a commercial enterprise. She was disappointed in this. Leah represents the Old Covenant marriage pattern. Jasher says she was cross-eyed, having “blindness in part,” and as a prophetic type, she could not bring forth the son who could carry the birthright. Even so, she was blessed with Judah who could hold part of it—the Dominion Mandate.

Dan was called prophetically to judge this dispute as to which wife would bring forth the Birthright Son. Jacob thus waited for “Thy Yeshua.”

To judge properly with both justice and mercy, both the male and female side must be represented. Hence, Jacob also begat Dinah, his only daughter.

Key word: JUDGE, VINDICATE

 

Naphtali

(Dept. of Transportation and International Trade)

Gen. 30:7, 8

And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and I have indeed prevailed.” And she named him Naphtali.

Gen. 49:21 (Jacob)

Naphtali is a doe let loose; he gives beautiful words.

Deut. 33:23 (Moses)

And of Naphtali he said, “O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full of the blessings of the Lord, take possession of the sea and the south.”

COMMENT: Even as Jacob had wrestled with his own brother, Esau, and ultimately with the angel who masqueraded as Esau, so also did Rachel wrestle with her sister. The lessons are the same. For 98 years, Jacob thought he was contending with Esau, only to find that he was contending with God. So too Rachel thought she was contending with Leah, only to find that she was really contending with God.

Both Jacob and Rachel had to learn of the sovereignty of God and by this lesson their faith was perfected.

Jasher says that Naphtali was a long-distance runner, as graceful as “a doe let loose.” So he represents the Dept. of Transportation.  Moses says that he should “take possession of the sea,” which was a reference to international trade. The territory of Naphtali was near Tyre and Sidon, and so many of that tribe became mariners and helped colonize the Mediterranean. In that way, too, he was like “a doe let loose,” running free outside the boundaries of his tribe or of Israel as a whole.

Key word: WRESTLING

Gad

(Dept. of Defense)

Gen. 30:10. 11

And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad.

Gen. 49:19 (Jacob)

As for Gad, raiders shall raid him, but he shall raid at their heels.

Deut. 33:20, 21 (Moses)

And of Gad he said, “Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad; he lies down as a lion, and tears the arm, also the crown of the head. Then he provided the first part for himself, for there the ruler’s portion was reserved; he executed the justice of the Lord, and His ordinances with Israel.”

COMMENT: Gad means “fortunate” in battle—implying Victory, or “to over-run.” Gad also means “a troop” (KJV) The tribe settled on the east side of Jordan and had to fight off many marauding tribes trying to take their land. Moses compares him to Judah, for both are pictured as lions lying down with prey. Also, even as Judah was to receive the ruler’s staff, so also does Gad have an “arm” (of strength) and a “crown of the head” as part of his prey.

Key words: TROOP, VICTORY

 

Asher

(Dept. of Health)

Gen. 30:12, 13

And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, “Happy am I! For women will call me happy!” So she named him Asher.

Gen. 49:20 (Jacob)

As for Asher, his food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties [mah-adan, “delightful, joyful”].

Deut. 33:24, 25 (Moses)

And of Asher he said, “More blessed than sons is Asher; may he be favored by his brothers, and may he dip his foot in oil. Your [shoe latches] locks shall be iron and bronze, and according to your days, so shall your leisurely walk be.”

COMMENT: Asher is the word for “blessed,” and describes a blessed and happy state, rather than an act of blessing others. Jacob associates him with royal, delightful, or healthful food that brings joy as opposed to disease.

He would be blessed with olive oil above the ground, as well as minerals under his shoes.

Key word: BLESSED, HAPPY

Issachar

(Dept. of Labor)

Gen. 30:17, 18 (after the story of the mandrakes)

And God gave heed to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. Then Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I gave my maid to my husband.” So she named him Issachar.

Gen. 49:14, 15 (Jacob)

Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the sheepfolds. When he saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, he bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, and became a slave at forced labor.

1 Chron. 12:32

And of the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their kinsmen were at their command.

Deut. 33:18, 19 (Moses)

And of Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going forth, and Issachar, in your tents. They shall call peoples to the mountain; there they shall offer righteous sacrifices; for they shall draw out of the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

COMMENT: Issachar’s strength lay in their prophetic knowledge of the times and seasons. Their weakness seemed to be that they preferred slavery or labor to freedom and independence. And so they never took possession of their inheritance in the far north.

Under the Old Covenant this was a weakness, because they should have fought against the Phoenicians, instead of accommodating them. Yet we may also see them as forerunners of the New Covenant, in that, unlike Simeon and Levi, they shunned the sword of violence. Perhaps their prophetic gift gave them a sense of love and compassion that the others did not comprehend. The problem was that instead of converting the Phoenicians, they were converted by the Phoenicians to worship other gods.

Key words: WAGES, LABOR, SLAVERY

Zebulun

(Dept. of Housing and Foreign Trade)

Gen. 30:19, 20

And Leah conceived again and bore a sixth son to Jacob. Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good gift; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun.

Gen. 49:13 (Jacob)

Zebulun shall dwell at the seashore; and he shall be a haven for ships, and his flank shall be toward Sidon.

Deut. 33:18, 19 (Moses)

And of Zebulun he said, “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going forth, and Issachar, in your tents. They shall call peoples to the mountain; there they shall offer righteous sacrifices; for they shall draw out of the abundance of the seas, and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

Isaiah 9:1, 2, 6, 7

But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish; in earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He shall make it glorious, by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them… For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonder Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Matt. 4:13-16

And leaving Nazareth He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.”

COMMENT: Zebulun was pictured as a house on the waterfront. But Zebulun’s territory was inland from Phoenicia, above Issachar and below Naphtali. So these blessings and descriptions were for another time and had a different application.

Moses’ blessing was that “they shall call peoples to the mountain.” This is the “mountain of the Lord,” the prophetic term for the Kingdom of God, “where they shall offer righteous sacrifices.” This foreshadowed Isaiah’s prophecy about Christ coming to the land of Zebulun and Naphtali. The “sea” in this case was the Sea of Galilee, where He called fishermen and taught them how to become fishers of men.

The light of Christ came to the darkness in Zebulun, as they sat in “Galilee of the Gentiles,” prophetically picturing a greater fulfillment in years to come, when the light of Christ would spread to the rest of the nations.

So Jonah was of the tribe of Zebulun (2 Kings 14:25), as his father was from Gath-hepher, an insignificant town in Zebulun. Jonah was a type of Christ, and his prophetic ministry pictured the light of the gospel to other nations—in his case, to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria.

Key words: DWELLING, ENDOWMENT

Joseph

(Dept. of Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Energy)

Gen. 30:22-24

Then God remembered Rachel, and God gave heed to her and opened her womb. So she conceived and bore a son and said, “God has taken away my reproach.” And she named him Joseph, saying, “May the Lord give me [add] another son.”

Gen. 49:22-26 (Jacob)

Joseph is a fruitful bough [ben, “son”], a fruitful bough by a spring; its branches [bath, “daughters”] run over a wall. The archers [ba’al chets, “lord/owner of arrows”] bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him; but his bow remained firm, and his arms were agile; from the Mighty One of Jacob (from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), from the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you, with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; may they be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.

Deut. 33:13-17 (Moses)

And of Joseph he said, “Blessed of the Lord be his land, with the choice things of heaven, with the dew, and from the deep lying beneath, and with the choice yield of the sun, and with the choice produce of the months, and with the best things of the ancient mountains, and with the choice things of the everlasting hills, and with the choice things of the earth and its fulness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, and to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. As the first-born of his ox, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of the wild ox; with them he shall push the peoples, all at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and those are the thousands of Manasseh.”

COMMENT: Joseph was the birthright holder, which means that the land and resources of the Kingdom were entrusted to him as the custodian. With this birthright also came the promise of Sonship, for “Joseph is a fruitful son,” whose “daughters run over the wall.” The description includes both male and female in the promise of fruitfulness.

Joseph was to be harassed by archers, that is, teachers, who opposed him. The Heb. root word yarah means “to shoot arrows, to point out, direct, show, teach.” See also Joel 2:23, where the term “former rain moderately” (moreh tsedakah) was understood to mean Teacher of Righteousness. [Moreh’s root word is yarah.] The leader of the Essenes at Qumran carried this title. Before him, the founder of the sect of the Sadducees was founded by a Zadok, whom that sect honored as their Teacher of Righteousness.

This title prophesied of the Melchizedek Order, of whom Christ was the high priest. Hence, He was the true Teacher of Righteousness.

The harassment of Joseph, then, prophesies of false teachers who would oppose Joseph’s teaching. Perhaps the greatest lesson to be learned from Joseph is found in Gen. 50:18-21, “Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted [nacham] them and spoke kindly to them.”

To understand the sovereignty of God is difficult, because the evil that men do to others tends to hide the divine purpose and plan that all things work together for good. This is also one of the keys to understanding the restoration of all things, which also goes against men’s carnal desire to punish evil men. God’s judgments are designed to restore, not merely to inflict pain as a punishment.

Joseph was also the custodian of the Stone of Israel, the stone (pillar) which Jacob used as a pillow at Bethel. There Jacob had his dream, and so he anointed the stone, making it a type of Christ, “the anointed one.” Paul speaks of it in 1 Cor. 10:1-4, referring to Ex. 17:6 and Num. 20:11.

This also supports the claim that Joseph has to the throne as the King of Kings as a type of Christ in His second coming. The scepter of Judah lasts “until Shiloh comes” (Gen. 49:10). The throne of Judah will not cease, but it will be subjected to the greater world-wide throne of Joseph in fulfillment of his dreams (Gen. 37:5-10).

This stone is called “the shepherd,” because the people, like sheep, gather around him and are to be in submission to Him (Gen. 49:10).

Key words: ADD, BOUGH, SON, SHEPHERD, STONE, BLESSING

Benjamin

(Diplomats, Governmental Assistants)

Gen. 35:16-18

Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and she suffered severe labor. And it came about when she was in severe labor that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear, for now you have another son.” And it came about as her soul was departing (for she died), that she named him Ben-oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

Gen. 49:27 (Jacob)

Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the spoil.

Deut. 33:12 (Moses)

Of Benjamin he said, “May the beloved of the Lord dwell in security by Him, who shields him all the day, and he dwells between His shoulders.”

COMMENT: Benjamin was the son prophesied by the name of Joseph, “to add” another son. He is thus associated with Joseph, as they had the same mother and were full brothers.

Benjamin, “son of my right hand,” was named by his mother Ben-oni, “son of my sorrow.” His father gave him the second name, which became his legal name. We see in this a prophecy of the two comings of Christ, first as a “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3) and lastly pictured sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Heb. 8:1).

This sets the pattern for all who are destined to the throne, for they must first prove their worthiness by learning to love those who mistreat or betray them. This was the lesson that Joseph had to learn as well.

Benjamin’s territory stood between Judah and Israel, and the border split the temple grounds in Jerusalem. So the tribe of Benjamin “dwells between His shoulders.” Benjamin was given to Judah when the kingdom split, being a “light” to Judah (1 Kings 11:36). He was given a voracious appetite for the word, as a wolf desires food.

Key words: RAVENOUS, RIGHT HAND