The 14 Tribes of Israel

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Short Summary
The discourse explores the complexities behind the traditional count of Israel’s tribes, explaining why there are sometimes more than twelve names mentioned due to the unique status of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and the exclusion of Levi from land inheritance. It highlights the spiritual and material distinctions among the tribes, the reasons for the reassignment of the firstborn blessing, and the symbolic meanings behind tribal names and their order, relating these to broader divine plans and biblical prophecy. Additionally, the talk discusses the significance of the tribe of Levi, the roles of different groups in biblical history, and interpretations of the tribes’ representation in Revelation, emphasizing the unity of God’s plan as revealed through scripture.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary: The Fourteen Tribes of Israel and Their Spiritual Significance

Introduction: The Confusion About “Fourteen Tribes”
– Traditionally, the Bible speaks of 12 tribes of Israel, derived from Jacob’s 12 sons.
– The discourse highlights how, while there are 12 sons, there appear to be 14 “tribes” or named groups when including Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, as separate tribes.
– Levi, although a son of Jacob, is not counted as a tribe with territorial inheritance, which explains the discrepancy.

Listing of Jacob’s Sons (Genesis 29-35)
– The 12 sons in birth order: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah (Leah’s); Dan, Naphtali (Bilhah, Rachel’s maid); Gad, Asher (Zilpah, Leah’s maid); Issachar, Zebulun (Leah); Joseph, Benjamin (Rachel).
– Dinah, the only daughter, is also mentioned but not counted as a tribe.
– Genesis 35:23-26 summarizes the sons, confirming the 12 sons of Jacob.

The Inclusion of Ephraim and Manasseh as Tribes (Numbers and Joshua)
– Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, each become tribes, effectively creating 13 tribes plus Levi.
– Levi is excluded from land inheritance because of his priestly role (Deuteronomy 10:9).
– This results in 14 named groups but only 12 with land inheritances.

The Firstborn Blessing and Why Joseph’s Sons Inherited Double Portion
– Patriarchal custom: the firstborn son receives a double portion of inheritance and family priesthood.
– Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, lost his birthright due to defiling his father’s couch (1 Chronicles 5:1).
– The birthright was transferred to Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, representing a “double portion.”
– Joseph’s preeminence and righteousness justified this.
– Judah, though fourth born, received the spiritual or kingly blessing (Genesis 49:10) — the scepter would not depart from Judah, indicating the messianic line of Christ.

Judah’s Role and Character
– Judah is distinguished by nobility and leadership, as seen in his role in saving Joseph’s life by suggesting selling him instead of killing him (Genesis 37:26-27).
– Jacob’s deathbed blessing praises Judah as a lion and ruler, contrasting with Simeon and Levi’s violent tendencies (Genesis 49:5-7).

Simeon and Levi’s Exclusion
– Due to their violent actions (slaughter at Shechem), Jacob prophesied their scattering and lack of inheritance (Genesis 49:7).
– They were not worthy of the firstborn or kingly blessing.

Levi’s Special Role
– No land inheritance; Jehovah is their inheritance (Deuteronomy 10:9).
– The tribe of Levi served as priests and caretakers of worship (Numbers 3).
– They replaced the firstborn’s priestly role under Moses’ law (Numbers 8:18-19).
– Levi was exempt from the military census and judgment during the wilderness wandering (Numbers 14:29, 49).
– Levites were given 48 cities, including six cities of refuge, but no territorial land.

The Marching Order and Symbolism of the Tribes (Numbers 10)
– The tribes marched in a divinely ordered sequence, each name with a meaning that collectively depicts the divine plan of the ages:
– Judah: “lauded”
– Issachar: “he brings wages”
– Zebulun: “habitation”
– Gershonites (Levites): “alien resident”
– Merarites (Levites): “bitter, unhappy”
– Reuben: “behold, a son”
– Simeon: “hearing”
– Gad: “good fortune”
– Kohathites (Levites): “assembly”
– Ephraim: “doubly fruitful”
– Manasseh: “making forgetful”
– Benjamin: “son of the right hand”
– Joseph: “whom God may increase”
– Dan: “judge”
– Asher: “happiness”
– Naphtali: “my wrestlings”
– These meanings illustrate God’s plan from creation, sin, exile, assembly of His people, fruitfulness, judgment, and final victory.

Geographical and Spiritual Divisions of the Tribes
– East of Jordan: Reuben, Gad, half Manasseh (spiritual inheritance).
– West of Jordan: other nine and a half tribes (earthly inheritance).
– Manasseh spans both sides, symbolizing “Ancient Worthies” who have a stake in both spiritual and earthly kingdoms.

Exodus and Conquest Exceptions
– Only Joshua, Caleb, and Eliezer (a priest) entered the Promised Land from those who left Egypt, indicating the Levites were not under the same judgment as the rest.

Revelation’s Unique List of 12 Tribes (Revelation 7:5-8)
– This list excludes Dan and Ephraim but includes Levi and Manasseh.
– The 144,000 sealed servants of God are described as virgins and first fruits, indicating a unique spiritual class, not ethnic Jews.
– The missing tribes Dan and Ephraim symbolize two spiritual classes not sealed here:
– Dan: associated with the “serpent” and second death class. Dan’s history shows rebellion and idolatry (Judges 18).
– Ephraim: symbolizes nominal Christendom or the Great Company, who have accepted calling but fail to make it to the “first fruits” (Isaiah 28:1; Hosea 7:8).

Typology of Judas, Matthias, and the Apostles
– The apostles numbered 12, but with Matthias replacing Judas, 13 names appear.
– Paul’s addition brings 14 names total.
– Judas and Matthias symbolize rejection and human decision-making, paralleling Dan and Ephraim’s spiritual symbolism.

Summary of Spiritual Classes Represented by Tribes
– Joseph’s descendants (Ephraim and Manasseh) symbolize the “little flock” (the faithful church).
– Levi symbolizes the priestly class, the spirit-begotten in the gospel age (including the Great Company).
– Judah represents the kingly line, from which Christ and earthly kings descend.
– Dan and Ephraim represent groups not part of the sealed 144,000, i.e., the second death class and the Great Company.

Closing Thoughts on Bible Study and Understanding
– Knowledge = accumulation of facts.
– Understanding = fitting knowledge into a divine pattern (like completing a jigsaw puzzle).
– Wisdom = applying knowledge and understanding in life (2 Peter 1:10-12).
– The discourse encourages seeing the Bible’s details as interconnected parts of God’s divine plan, confirming the truth and providing hope for believers.

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Key Bible Verses Referenced:

– Genesis 29:32-35; 30:6-24; 35:18-26 – Birth order of Jacob’s sons.
– 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 – Reuben’s loss of birthright.
– Genesis 37:18-27 – Joseph’s betrayal and Judah’s role.
– Genesis 49:5-10 – Jacob’s deathbed blessings, especially regarding Simeon, Levi, Judah.
– Deuteronomy 10:9 – Levi’s special inheritance.
– Numbers 3, 8 – Duties and status of Levites.
– Numbers 13-14 – The spies and wilderness judgment.
– Joshua 14:1; 17:4; 21:1, 33; 24:33 – Eliezer’s presence in the Promised Land.
– Revelation 7:5-8; 14:4-5 – The 144,000 sealed from the tribes.
– Isaiah 28:1; Hosea 7:8 – Prophecies regarding Ephraim.
– Genesis 46:20 – Joseph’s sons becoming tribes.
– Deuteronomy 21:15-17 – Law on the firstborn’s inheritance rights.
– Genesis 25:29-34 – Jacob buying Esau’s birthright.
– Genesis 27-28 – Jacob receiving the firstborn blessing.
– Numbers 10:14-28 – Marching order of the tribes.

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This discourse uses the detailed study of Israel’s tribes, their biblical history, and typology to reveal deeper spiritual truths about God’s plan, the nature of divine inheritance, and the classes of God’s people in the present age and beyond.

Transcript

The fourteen tribes of Israel. How does that grab you? As they say? You say, wait a second, Brother Stein, it doesn’t sound quite right to me. Isn’t it supposed to be 12 tribes of Israel?

Well, yeah, that is correct to a certain point, but we’re going to find some interesting details in looking at the tribes of Israel as we start to number them and make a list. You don’t ever find 14 tribes of Israel, but interestingly enough, you do find 14 of something else, and that’s what we’re going to explore this morning. This will be a very strong Bible study. So if you have your Bibles handy, we’re going to start out in Genesis, chapter 29.

Now, I’m not going to read Genesis chapter 29. I’m going to just go through some of the verses there. What we’re looking to do here in this chapter is to list the 12 sons of Jacob, and they’re listed there, and this is the order of birth. Starting in verse 32, you have the birth of Reuben, verse 33, the birth of Simeon, verse 34, the birth of Levi, and verse 35, the birth of Judah.

These were all by Jacob’s wife Leah. Then in chapter 30, verse 6, you have the birth of Dan and the birth of Naphtali. In verses 6 and 8, and this is by Billah, Rachel’s maidservant. Then in verse 11 and 13, you have the birth of Gad and Asher. These are sons by Zilpah, Leah, maidservant.

Then Leah has two more children, verse 18 and 20, Issachar and Zebulun. We also make mention of the birth of Dinah. This is the only daughter that is mentioned there as a progeny of Jacob, and lastly in Genesis 30, verse 24, we have the birth of Joseph, and then not till chapter 35, verse 18, do you have the birth of Benjamin.

So there’s the 12 sons in, in order of birth. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. In chapter 35, verses 23 through 26, which we will read, we have that summary. Now the sons of Jacob were 12 the sons of Leah, Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun, the sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin, the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid, Dan and Naphtali, the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob that were born to him in Pet and Abram.

The list seems pretty clear. 12 sons. If you’re going to each give them inheritance, you got 12 tribes, so nice and clean. But now when we start looking at the next list, we encounter a little bit of a difficulty. In Romans, chapter 34, verses 13 through 29, we have a listing of the 12 tribes.

And the context here, it’s giving the inheritance of the 12 tribes. So starting in verses 14 and 15, and we’re going to work our way down to verse 28, I’m just going to lead the net. Give the names. You have Reuben, Gad, half the tribe of Manasseh, Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Joseph, who’s also associated with the half tribe of Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali. Now this is curious.

In this list we have 13 different names. We have to these two names of Manasseh and Ephraim. By the way, did you, did you pick up what tribe was left out? Not on that list. Levi.

Where’d Levi go? It’s not what, it’s not listed as one of the twelve tribes of land inheritance there. Well, questions and answers. Let’s start with first. Where did Manasseh and Ephraim come from?

Well, you know the answer. These are the sons of Joseph. Genesis chapter 46, verse 20 says, and to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphara, the priest of onboard to him. So it would appear that Joseph’s two sons were made into tribes of Israel with land inheritance. But now why would Joseph’s sons get a land inheritance?

Well, let’s review the law of the firstborn. This started out in the patriarchal system and it extended to the law of Israel. Under the law, under this patriarchal, let’s say tradition, maybe law is too stronger if you have four children. For example, let’s say a man has four boys, all right? He divides his inheritance five ways.

The firstborn gets a double portion, and then each of the other three sons would get one. That was the way that the law worked, and there was a second privilege too, of the firstborn. Again, under the patriarchal system, the firstborn would inherit the role of priest of the family. You know, just as Abraham was the patriarchal head of his family, he was the one that led them in the worship of Jehovah God.

So too with Isaac and so too with Jacob. So that was the arrangement. So there was a blessing that came along with the firstborn right of a double, double portion. Now, under the law, this Continued to some degree, but there were some modifications given under the law. Maybe we should say limitations.

In Deuteronomy 21, 15, 17, we read, if a man have two wives, one beloved and another hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, if the firstborn be hers that was hated, then it shall be when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he have, and here’s the limitation. That he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn, but he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he hath. For the right of the firstborn is his. Now, maybe limitation isn’t.

This is a clarification that you didn’t have choice on who you’re going to give the firstborn blessing to. It must go under the patriarchal system and under the law here, it must go to the firstborn. Now, this doesn’t mean that that firstborn right could not be lost under any circumstances. It might be that the firstborn is notably unworthy in some way, and if that is the case, the right could be relinquished.

We have an example of this in Jacob and Esau. Remember that Esau was the firstborn. Jacob wasn’t. In Genesis, chapter 25, we have that very interesting story about how Jacob acquired the firstborn. Right?

Remember what it was all about? Esau comes in the field. I’m dying of hunger. You gotta feed me. So, okay, I’ll give you something.

I got this nice soup here. Whatnot, but gonna cost you something. I want the firstborn blessing. What good is that to me when I’m about to die? He didn’t appreciate it at all, did he?

Didn’t appreciate it. So Jacob acquired the firstborn blessing in a very legal and transactional way. It’s not true that he stole it. He did not steal it. He purchased it.

And of course, Esau didn’t appreciate it. Well, now we get to the blessing that comes to the firstborn, and this is found in Genesis chapter 27 and 28. Again, I’m just going to scan over this and give you the highlights. Jacob thinks he’s ready to die.

He’s not. You find out that he lives for quite a while after that. But that was his conception. At the time, he’s almost blind, quite up in. Up in years.

And he says to his firstborn son, Esau, he’s about ready to die. He says, you know, I could use a nice venison meal. If you could go out and get that to me, then I’m going to give you the blessing. You know, the firstborn blessing. Esau says, ah, hot diggity.

All right, out he goes right now. Rebecca overhears all of this. Rebecca knows, you know, from early on what the destiny of these boys are. You know, that was revealed to her. You know, so she knew and she could see here that something needed to be done.

So she comes up with this plot, and you know, there’s a little deception here and a little bit of lying. You know, we can’t whitewash that, but we trust it was done for the best heart reasons that never justifies lying, but nevertheless, we try to understand what motivates people to do what they did. So she hears it and she says to Jacob, she says, I want this blessing to go to you. So you have to pretend to be Esau.

And Jacob is aghast. You know, he says, well, you know, he’s a hairy man, I’m a smooth man. My daddy can’t see, but he’ll see that right away says, no, no, obey me. I’m commanding you to do this. I mean, she took charge.

You could see she was a take charge lady. Remember when Eleazar met her there at the well, this is a lady that got things done. She said, look, we have to deceive your father. I’m going to give you some goat skin. So when he feels you, he’ll feel the hairiness.

And Jacob wasn’t real happy with this, but he obeyed his mom. So you remember the story? He goes in there, pretends to be Esau. In fact, Isaac’s hearing was okay. He says, voice, it sounds like the voice of Jacob, come here, say, let me, you know.

So he, you know, he was, he was skeptical, but he accepted what was said and Jacob got the blessing, and this was really a. A spiritual blessing. I say that because when Esau comes in later, Esau finds out that he lost out on this blessing that he expected to have. He was angry, angry to the point of murder.

I’m going to kill that guy. He said, but dad, don’t you have anything left for me? Isn’t there any blessing left for me? Well, Isaac at first says, no, no, it’s already given. But then you’ll notice there in, at the end of chapter 21, he.

He does give a blessing, the fatness of the earth’s blessing. So he does give something. As it turns out, Esau in fact did get the material blessing because Jacob is running away for his life. He doesn’t come back till much later. We went through this just to illustrate that.

Here’s an example where a firstborn right. Was lost. It’s a very interesting narrative, but it was appropriate that it was lost. Jacob was certainly the one that was more worthy of it. So let’s get back to Joseph.

We’re trying to understand now how it is that Joseph appears to got the firstborn blessing. He got a double portion. Two of his sons became. Became tribes. So how does that work?

Aren’t there a lot of people in front of it? Well, obviously, Joseph was preeminent among the brethren early in their lives. If you think back of. Of all of the individuals in the Old Testament, how many can you think of that? There is absolutely nothing negative said about them.

It’s certainly true of Joseph. Joshua comes very close, you know, but he. He got deceived by the Gibeonites, you know, So a little compromise with Joseph. There’s not one negative thing said about it, which is why he is such an excellent picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. He wasn’t really perfect, but he’s depicted as perfect.

You know, there’s nothing said long about him. So he was very, very worthy of that, and, you know, of course, the brothers were very angry with him because of all the attention that this little guy got. He was the youngest of the. Of the 11.

At that point in time, Benjamin hadn’t come along yet. He even got that special coat, that coat of many colors. Well, isn’t that cool? You know that. So the brothers, you know, they.

They didn’t like that at all, and their hatred became murderous. Genesis 37, 18, 20, and they saw him afar off, and before he came to them, they conspired against him to slay him.

They said to one another, behold, this dreamer cometh. Come, therefore let us slay him and cast him into one of these pits, and we will say, an evil beast has devoured him, and we will see what becomes of his dreams. You know, can you hear the snarling, you know, in that? So it’s so sad that the hatred was so deep.

Well, what did this tell us? This tells us the brothers were unworthy of the first barn blessing. Especially when we consider, as we’ve already mentioned, the later nobility of Joseph in all the things that he was able to do, eventually saving the life of the whole family. Now, one of you might say, well, brother David, you’re missing something important here. The real firstborn, Reuben, he wasn’t in favor of this.

Remember what Reuben said. Well, here it is. In Genesis, chapter 37, verses 21 and 22, and Reuben heard it and delivered him out of their hand and said, let us not take his life, and Reuben said unto them, shed no blood.

Cast him into this pit in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him, for he might deliver him out of his hand to restore him to his father. So Rubens appears to act quite nobly here, and he is the firstborn. So why would Reuben get overlooked for this? Well, we have a reason and a scriptural reason why Reuben did not keep the firstborn blessing.

This is found in 1st Chronicles, chapter 5, verse 1, and the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel. Now notice this parenthesis, for he was the firstborn. But for as much as he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel, and the genealogy is not reckoned after the birthright.

There we have the explanation. Reuben was rejected, and it says it was given to the sons of Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh. So Joseph received the firstborn inheritance and his two sons became tribes of the land, and from the standpoint of Jacob, he considered those two grandsons his own son. In Genesis 48, verses 3 through 5, we read this.

And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Lutz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto me, behold, I will make thee fruitful and multiply thee, and I will make thee a company of peoples, and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession, and now thy two sons who were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee in Egypt, are mine, even Manasseh, even as Simeon, Reuben shall be mined so very clearly here. Jacob says, these not just grandsons, these are my sons. So that validates it. It’s interesting.

He’s compared to the first two of his sons. Reuben and Simeon were firstborn and second born, and so we have Ephraim and Manasseh as well. So they got the double portion. Now we might say, well, wait a second.

There was other sons involved as well, you know. How. How about that? We mentioned Simeon here. How about Simeon and Levi.

And Judah is later on, you know. What about Judah? Well, let’s take Judah first. Judah, in fact, had a very special place in the plan of God.

We might say that God had something in mind for Judah that was a spiritual blessing as opposed to a material blessing. Remember, in Jacob’s deathbed prophecy, which we’re going to look at a little bit more in a bit. Chapter 49, verse 10. It says, the scepter shall not depart from Judah. Now, you all know what that means.

That means that the Christ, Jesus Christ would come through the line of Judah. That was the. The kingly line. Now, Judah was fourth born, and we might say, well, wait a second now. You just read a scripture to us where all the brothers hated him and were ready to kill him.

So wasn’t Judah part of that as well? Well, maybe, maybe not. But there’s some reason to question that. In Genesis, chapter 37, verses 26 and 27, we find out that Judah was really responsible for saving Jason’s life. Now, he didn’t know what Reuben.

Reuben planned. Well, throw in the pit, I’ll come back later and give him to Judah. Didn’t know that because Reuben didn’t say it. But if you were there with 11, 10 brothers, you know the 10 of your brothers, and they’re murderous and whatnot, and suppose you don’t really want to see your youngest brother killed.

What do you do? How do you save them from this mob? Judah has a suggestion. Genesis 37, 26 and 27, and Judah said in his brethren, what profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?

Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let our hand not be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh, and the brothers hearkened unto him. Now, admittedly, this can be seen in two ways. One way, boy, what a heartless guy, selling his own little brother to the Midianites as a slave. That’s heartless.

On the other hand, could Judah have had in mind, I got to save this kid. I don’t know what these are, greedy guys and whatnot. Let’s do that. I think that that’s what Judah was thinking. Why do I think that?

Because the nobility and beauty of Judah is so clearly seen in several other places. You know, for example, in Genesis, chapter 43, the whole family was going down to Egypt, and Joseph had said, bring your youngest brother, who Benjamin was born by this time, and Joseph didn’t want to let him go. I already lost one son, you know, from my beloved wife. I don’t want to lose another one, and Judah steps up to the plate and he says, dad, I’ll be surety for him.

I guarantee I’ll put my own life on the line. That requires a great deal of nobility, doesn’t it? Says if anything happens, it’s my fault. You can take it from me. He put himself on the line there.

That Shows nobility.

We’re going to see here in a few, four more moments that there’s another scripture that shows that this interpretation of Judah’s character and personality I think is correct, and we’ll see a little bit more. Let’s just talk about Simeon and Levi. Remember the order here. Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.

What about the other two guys? Why couldn’t it come down to them? Well, we already saw that they were. Simeon was probably the ringleader here, and we’ll give a reason for that in a little bit of their hatred of Joseph. But in Jacob’s deathbed blessing of his sons, he makes a very, very negative appraisal of these two guys.

Genesis 49, 5, 7, and Jacob says this. Simeon and Levi are brethren. Weapons of violence are their swords. O my soul, come not into their counsel.

Unto their assembly my glory be not united. For in their anger they slew a man, and in their self will they hacked an ox. 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. You remember that Dinah had fallen in love with Shechem from the city of Shechem, and he violated her.

You know, that’s a sad thing, but he really loved her and he wanted to marry her, and he asked for a hand in marriage, and I don’t know if Jacob was thinking about it, but Simeon and Levi are thinking, never going to happen, and remember, they said, well, okay, guys, you know, we’ll. We’ll let this marriage go through.

You just have to be circumcised. So the men of the city of Shechem got circumcised, and Simeon and Levi came and slew them. These are not good guys, and they are not worthy of the firstborn blessing in that promise. In Jacob’s dead blessing, here’s what he says about Judah. In contrast to Simeon and Levi.

Judah, these shall thy brethren praise. Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies. Thy father’s sons shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s wheel for the prey. My son, art thou gone up he stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness.

Who shall rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff between his feet until Shiloh come. That’s a pretty remarkable praise for Judah, isn’t it? If Judah had any of these bad traits of character, I don’t know that that would have been the case. That’s why I interpret his selling of Joseph into Slavery as an act of kindness, a desperate act to save the life of a young man.

And lastly, we have another scripture that states it very clearly about Judah’s worthiness. Let’s go back to 1st Chronicles 5 again. We read verse one before, but we’re going to read it again along with verse 2, 1st Chronicles 5, 1, 2, and the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, for he was firstborn, but for as much as he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel. The genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright, for Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the prince.

But the birthright was Joseph’s. So in one sense, Judah here is even risen above Joseph, but the birthright was Joseph’s. We make a distinction between those material blessings, fleshly blessings, like the possession of a double portion, and the spiritual blessings, the priestly blessings. Judah got that spiritual blessing, he got the priestly blessing. Joseph got the birthright.

So by these things we see that the tribe of Joseph came to be represented by Ephraim and Manasseh. Now take the 12 sons again, you have the list. You take out Joseph and you put in Ephraim and Manasseh. Now you’ve got 13 tribes. Somebody’s got to go.

You already know who goes. Levi. That brings us back to the 12. That’s kind of a trivia question that you can catch one another on. You know, what numbered tribe was Levi?

The answer is, was the 13th tribe really? Which is interesting because 13 in the world is. So is such a superstitious number. I think it represents the ransom, among other things, and Satan has tried to discourage that and just camouflage that.

Oh, that’s a bad number. No, in Scripture it’s different. So let’s talk about Levi a little bit. Levi is bumped out. In Deuteronomy, chapter 10, verse 9, it says, Levi hath no inheritance with his brethren.

Jehovah is his inheritance. So Levi got no land. The twelve tribes of Israel do not include Levi. It’s a very special tribe, and I want to illustrate the specialness of it by talking about something that maybe you’ll find interesting.

Now, you remember the narrative of the Spies of Israel, right? That in numbers, chapter 13, Joseph, Joshua says, let’s spy out the land. So he takes a representative from each of the tribes, he sends them out, and they look at the land and are horrified. Oh, these guys got weapons. These guys got arrows, and they’re big and, oh, they got fortified cities.

They bring Back that bad report, a discouraging report, a faithless report. Now Joshua and Caleb, they said, oh, it’s ripe, you wouldn’t believe what’s there it we go in there, we got it. But the people didn’t listen, and you remember there in chapter 14 of Numbers, that bad report resulted in a terrible judgment, and basically Joshua told the people, here’s what Jehovah said, you’re not going to the promised land.

Every one of you, 20 years old and upward, you’re going to die here, except for Joshua and Caleb.

So here’s the question. Was it only Joshua and Caleb that went into the promised land? I’m going to suggest something here. I’m going to suggest that the entire tribe of Levi was exempt from this judgment. I give my reasons.

Number one, the judgment was upon those that were numbered. Numbers 14, 29. Your dead body shall fall in the wilderness, all of you that were numbered of you.

But guess what? Levi wasn’t numbered. Numbers 149, only the tribe of Levi. Shalt thou not number. So the curse was upon those that were numbered.

But Levi wasn’t numbered.

Number two, Levi was a became quite different from his forebear, became quite a loyal tribe. In Exodus, chapter 32, verse 26, then Moses stood at the gate in the camp, said, whoso is on Jehovah’s side, let him come who came. The sons of Levi’s gathered themselves together and all unto him. So they examined or they manifest and demonstrated quite a bit of loyalty at that time. Number three, how many spies were there?

12, you know, one from each tribe. Was there a spy from Levi? No, Levi didn’t have any. They were the 13th tribe. Remember, there weren’t 13 spies, there were 12.

So Levi was not even represented in the in the 12. Remember, this country was founded on one of the ideas of it’s not right, taxation without representation. Right? We say that maybe judgment without representation isn’t right, and I don’t think that they were judged.

Fourth, the judgment is specifically said to come upon the men of war. Joshua, chapter 5, verses 4 through 6, and for this cause did Joshua, Joshua did circumcise all the people that came forth out of Egypt that were males. Even all the men of war died in the wilderness. By the way, and a little bit down, verse six, even the men of war came forth out of Egypt, were consumed.

Was Levi in the military?

No, they had an exemption, didn’t they? There were no priests in the army. The Levites were not men of war, they were men of worship. The priests and the Levites together. So they were exempt from military service and we suggest exempt from this curse as well.

Our last point, you know, always save your best argument for the last. Our last point is we have an example of a third person who was alive at the time of the Exodus, but who went into the promised land. Not Joshua and Caleb, another person by name. Anyone remember who that was? A priest by the name of Eliezer.

Eliezer is first seen in Exodus, chapter 6, verse 25. He comes out of Egypt. He’s got a son. At that time, in Exodus 28:1, he’s made one of the priests, one of the sons of Aaron. By the way, how old did you have to be to be a priest?

30. Right. So he was at least 30 years old at this point in time. But if you look in the book of Joshua, you will find there’s Eliezer working away. Joshua 14:1, Joshua 17:4, Joshua 21:1, Joshua 21:33.

That’s okay. That’s all right. That’s a shortcoming on my point. I’m looking at this clock here, you know, and brother Nynan is going to come over and say, david, you’re done. I got to hurry up.

Joshua 14:1. This is all the scriptures that Eliezer appears in. Joshua 17:4, 21:1 and 24:33, where he finally passes away. So we know that at least three people by name went into the promised land after the wilderness wanderings. Joshua, Caleb, and Eliezer.

And we presume to understand that those of the priests and Levites that lived, I’m sure many of them died by natural causes, but that as a tribe, they were not under that curse and went in there. Now, I’m going to skip this here because I see the time is going quickly. I was going to talk a little bit about what the Lord did with Levi. They did have a special service, and when you get a chance, you can read Numbers, chapter three.

Well, read the whole chapter. It describes what it is that the Levites would do, and one of the things of interesting, of interest here is that up to the time of the patriarchs, the firstborn was the priest of the family, and so when we get into the time of Moses law, God had an exchange that took place. He said, all right, I don’t want to do this patriarchal culture anymore.

Tradition now. I don’t want the priest to be the firstborn. I want the priest to be of the family of Aaron. So there was a. An exchange that was made in Numbers 8, Verses 18 and 19.

I’ll read this and I’ve taken the Levites instead of the firstborn among the children of Israel, and I’ve given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons among the children of Israel to do service of the children of Israel in the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the children of Israel. So there was this, this exchange. So the tribe of Levi becomes very important from the standpoint of worship of God. Now none of this is surprising because all of us understand that the tribe of Levi represents the spirit begotten of the gospel age.

And there were two factions within the tribe of Levi. There was the family of Adam that were the priests, and there were the non priestly Levites as well, and we understand this to represent the little flock, the priests and the great company. So one of these early pictures here that shows it and notice, you know, back when I was a Jehovah witness, we believe that the great company was us. We’re going to live on earth forever.

So they felt it was an earthly class. But this is one of those indicators that show that the great company does not have any earthly inheritance because the tribe of Levi had none. Whether you were a priest or a Levite, you didn’t have a tribal inheritance. I think that beautifully pictures that all the spirit begotten, whether the little flock or great company have given that up and will not get it back, and they have Jehovah as their inheritance.

Incidentally, somebody might say Brother David, well, if they didn’t have a land house where these guys live, well, Lord arranged that as well. There were 48 cities, these were levitical cities, including six called the cities of refuge. So the Levites were given cities, just simply not a land inheritance.

All right, let’s shift gears here a little bit and we’re going to look at another very interesting, hopefully very interesting to you interpretation when you can imagine having a camp of 3 million plus people. All right, all right, time to go pack up. We’re moving, right. It could be chaotic, you know, how do we do this? Well, in numbers chapter 10, they give the instructions.

Here’s how you do it. The instructions are very specific. They, they told Aaron and his sons how to take down the tabernacle and, and how to put that up, you know, what order to do it in. But then it said here’s the, or the marching order when we go to our next campsite and it gives a list of all the tribes of Israel as well as the priestly families and whatnot, and it says this is the orderly way that it should be done, and we expect that of God.

You know, there’s a scripture in Corinthians that says, let all things take place decently and in order. God is a God of order, and certainly trying to handle 3 million people. You have to have some type of order. So in this chapter, you have a list of the tribes getting back to our tribes once again, and the order in which they go.

Now, when I was first working on this study, this talk is probably 35 years old. I haven’t given it in a long time, and I thought, there’s enough younger people here and whatnot who probably never heard the lesson. But when I was looking at numbers 10, I was thinking, all right, well, things are significant. Why did the Lord give us this list? What’s the function of this list?

What does it teach us? And I started looking at the order in which they. They were marching, and it was unique. This is an interesting order. It’s different than everywhere else.

Why did the Lord order it this way? That was my question. So, as you know, when you’re trying to understand lessons with names, what do you do? You go back, what does the name mean? And, of course, things start to open up.

Well, I did this with this, and I think I found something really cool. Here’s the order again. This is in numbers 14 through 28. But I’m just going to give it, and I’m going to give the name, the meaning of each of the names of the tribes. We’re going to come back to that meaning and show how it fits in.

So right at the beginning of the. Of the marching order was Judah, and Judah means lauded or object of laudation. Incidentally, I always say that. Brennan, if you would like my discourse notes, you know, so that you don’t have to write too quick, just send me an email and I’ll send you the notes. The next one in line was Issachar.

It means he is wages or brings wages. Then was Zebulun, means habitation or dwelling. Then you had two of the families of the Levites, the Gershonites, which mean alien resident. Merarites mean bitter and unhappy. Then you had Reuben see his son Simeon hearing with acceptance.

Gad, good fortune, a true. Then you had the priestly family of the Kohathites, and the Kohathites mean assembly, by the way. They’re all part of the Amramites, which are higher exalted people. We got two more camps to do.

Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin. Ephraim means doubly fruitful or fruitful. Manasseh means making forgetful. One who forgets. Benjamin means son of the right hand.

And Joseph is nested in there. Joseph means whom may God increase. Dan means Judge. Asher means happiness. Naftali.

My wrestlings. The implication. I’ve come off successful. All right. If you put these meanings together, you’ve got the divine plan of the ages.

I’m going to go through it now. Here’s the same order. But I’m going to give the part of the divine plan that this rep, this name represents. Adam was the crowning creation at the sixth day. Judah means lauded, but he sinned and brought death.

Issachar means he brings wages, you know, the wages of sin or death. Adam and Eve chose their their own lordship or dwelling. Zebulun. The results were that he was removed from Eden. He was made an alien resident and he was bitter and unhappy.

Marrera is Gershon and Mary. But a seed was promised. Reuben. That’s what it means. Let’s see.

A son oppressed man could be heard with acceptance. Simeon. The result was good fortune. A troop. The meaning of God.

The creation of the Ecclesia. Kohath means assembly, and the this assembly is of higher exalted people. Amran, and there are two classes in this blessed group.

The Church. Joseph whom God may increase, who are more than overcomers, doubly fruitful. Ephraim, and they’ve forgotten their earthly inheritance. Manasseh.

But there’s also a Great Company. Benjamin, son of the right hand, and the last results is successful judgment. Dan, Happiness. Asher.

And my wrestlings. The permission of evil have been successful. The Divine plan. You just take the meaning and there it is. By the way, in Benjamin.

There’s a nice little subtlety here. When Benjamin is born, he wasn’t named Benjamin. Do you remember what his name was? Benoni, and then Jacob changed his name to Benjamin.

Benoni means son of my sorrow and Benjamin’s son of my right hand. In one of these other many types that we have of the Church and the Great Company, you have Joseph representing the Church, his brother Benjamin representing the Great Company, and don’t these two names describe the Great Company’s experience? Benoni. Son of my sorrow.

They’ve lost their crown. They’ve missed out on the greatest gift that Jehovah God could ever and will ever offer. But their tears are wiped away. Their name is changed to Son of the Right Hand. The Great Company will be the right hand.

Men of the Church.

There’s a geographic lesson that we can draw from the 12 tribes as well, and let me see if I can do a share here and put this map up. I’ve got two maps to share. Here’s the first one.

There we go. Here is a map. Where’s my notes? Here’s a map of Israel, and I didn’t notice until this morning that this was an AI created map.

So since I don’t trust AI all the time, they. They left out Ephraim. I don’t have no idea why, but in this map, there’s two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan, which are Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and on the west side of the Jordan, you have the other nine and a half tribes. Now, it has been suggested, not by me, by some brethren a long time ago.

But I like the idea that the tribal inheritance on the east side of the Jordan represents spiritual inheritance and on the west side, earthly inheritance. So Reuben is first born. He’s a beautiful picture of the church God. Great company. By the way, George Tabek gave a talk where he’s changed it around.

He said, now Ruben’s great company, take your choice. But they represent the great company in the church. But then we have Manasseh, which is a very curious thing. Manasseh’s got one foot on this side and one foot on this side. It’s on both sides of the river.

Can you think of a class of individuals that have a stake in the spiritual kingdom and a stake on the earthly kingdom? Ancient worthies. Yeah, exactly right. How beautiful that is. You know that they’ve got a stake on both sides.

And so this, I think this is a picture here of the spiritual classes as well.

In fact, let me diverge from my script for a moment. We don’t really have time to go into details, but when Moses was bringing the people up and it was getting time for them to come into the promised land, you know, well, he died, the Lord took him, and Joshua became the leader. But in that 40th year of wandering, guess what tribes got their inheritance before the rest of the nation? In other words, before the 40 years were ended. Which tribes?

These guys, they came to Moses and they said, boy, this is really great meadowland we got. You know, can we have this? And Moses said, and Joshua repeated it again in the first chapter of Joshua. He said, yeah, I’d be glad to give it to you, but don’t think that you don’t have a responsibility to fight for the. Your brothers when they conquer the land.

You got to sign up for that too. They Said, yeah, we’ll do it. You know, we got that. So they entered into rest before the rest of the nations. Brethren, isn’t that true of what this represents?

You and I enter into our rest before the world, but you’ve got a responsibility. You got to fight the battles of the rest of the world. That’s part of what it means to be part of the sin offering. We have to be part of the helping mankind conquer their own heritage, their earthly imperfection. All right, Let’s go to Revelation, chapter seven.

We have another list here of the 12 tribes of Israel, and this list, again, is unique. Brother Neinan, how much time do I got?

10. Okay. All right. Thank you, Brother Sam. Okay.

Over. Okay, this list of the 12 is different from everywhere else in the Bible. Let’s just go down real quickly here. This is the revelation 7, 5, 8. We have Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

What’s missing?

Say it again. Yeah. Ephraim and Dan. What. What became of them?

Why are these two? Why is this different? By the way, this is important. You have heard probably an interpretation from in the nominal systems that these, this 144,000 year represents Jews that will accept Christ during the time of trouble. Maybe you’ve heard that, maybe you’ve not, but that’s a general application.

Well, we reject it, at least for four reasons. Number one, again, as we mentioned, this roster of the 12 tribes is found nowhere else in the Bible. It’s unique, and its uniqueness suggests it has a unique meaning. Secondly, it says that these. This is in chapter 14, verses 4 and 5.

It says that these were virgins. Well, how would Jews be virgins? Even in a symbolic way, and it also says they were purchased or redeemed from the earth and from among men. Jews would never be purchased from the earth or from among men.

And lastly, if it represented the Jews, they’re not first fruits. It describes this group as first fruits. So there’s at least four reasons here. Now, why is the tribe of Dan and tribe of Ephraim missing? Well, again, let’s think about this for a little bit.

In Revelation, chapter seven, you have the sealing of the 144,000, and it’s only after the sealing of the 144,000 that the great Company is recognized. You know, Brother Sam and I were talking about this earlier and some of the others as well, that there’s only one call. There’s no call to the Great Company. There’s only One call, one faith, one baptism.

So from that standpoint, the God does not recognize the Great Company until after the 144,000 are sealed. Now, that doesn’t mean they didn’t exist. They’ve existed all through the age, you know, members of that, of that antitypical Levi class. But they’re not recognized because there’s only one call. If God recognized them, that would suggest, well, there’s two calls.

Well, there’s not. There’s only one call. But after that call is filled after, in Revelation 7, it says, these are the ones that are sealed. Now you say, well, who are these? Here’s another.

Here’s the great multitude. So they come secondly. Now, when you think of all the Spirit begotten, just think of the Spirit begotten as a class.

Who among the Spirit begotten are not going to make their calling Election. Sure. Well, you say, of course. Great Company, Right. Who else?

Second death class. There you go. Will suggest that the two missing tribes here represent the Great Company and the second Death. Let’s take Dan first. Dan has part of the deathbed prophecy in Genesis 49:17 that says, Dan shall be a serpent.

By the way, an adder in the path that biteth the horse heels so that the rider shall fall backwards. That sounds bad, doesn’t it? Association with a serpent. Right away, we think this is suggestive that this is representative of the. The second death class.

And when you look at the history of Dan in the book of Judges, this is mostly in Judges, chapter 18. Do you notice where Dan is here?

This was the land that was allocated to them. This is basically what Jehovah God said to him. Tribe of Dan. Here’s what I’m giving you. Well, I’m going to show you another map here from the time of David.

At least I will if I can figure out how to stop sharing. Here we go. All right, let me find this other one.

And we’ll share this one. What I want you when I show this second map is to take a look at where Dan is.

Where’d it go?

You know the expression from Dan to Beersheba. This is the city of Dan. Beersheba’s down here. It suggested the whole thing. Dan was not satisfied with what God gave them.

And in the 18th chapter it says that they went looking for their own inheritance. They wanted another place. Along the way they stopped by a house and there was a priest there. Now, Dan, they didn’t have a priest. They weren’t a priestly tribe.

So they said to this priest, how’d you like to be a priest of a whole tribe instead of just one little city here, Little tribe. Wouldn’t you like that, pride? Priests joined them and up they went to the northernmost part of Israel. Sounds sort of like Satan, doesn’t it? Isaiah, chapter 14, verse 13.

And thou saidest in thy heart, I will ascend to heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the congregation. In the uttermost parts of the north, they were the northernmost tribe when they moved. So the context here shows an unreasonably high value of their own judgment.

High estimation of their own judgment. Willful interference in a priestly office. Remember, horses represent doctrines. Biting the horse in the field, changing doctrines. I think this is all suggestive of the sins of the second death Class, which Dan represents.

Ephraim. Ephraim is frequently a type of nominal Christendom, but we believe here may be a type of the Great Company. They’re called in the one hope of their calling, just like we mentioned earlier. They’ve accepted in the Beloved, but they fail to make their calling and election. Sure, and a couple of scriptures here I’m going to read.

Isaiah 28, verse 1. Woe to the crown of pride of the drunkens, drunkards of Ephraim, and to the fading flower of his glorious beauty, which is at the head of the fat valley, that they are overcome with wine, making up their own doctrines. You know, wine often represents doctrines and fine wine represents doctrines of truth. But they were making their own doctrines up this last one, Hosea, chapter seven, verse eight, also a little bit humorous here, says Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the peoples. Ephraim is a cake not turned.

What’s another term we have for that? Half baked. Arlene had it. They’re half baked, and isn’t that the problem with the Great Company?

They never develop that Christlike character to the completion. It must be. They’re trying. You know, by and large, the Great Company are good people, but they lack some certain things that are necessary to make the calling, that zeal, that constant commitment, and because they’re not constantly exposing themselves to the persecutions that come with preaching the Gospel, they don’t get fully developed.

They’re half baked. So Dan and Ephraim missing in this list represent the Great Company and the second Death class.

Here’s one more suggestion for further study. How many apostles were there?

12. Right. Say. Well, wait, no, Brother David, didn’t they elect somebody to take Judas place? Matthias.

Okay, well, there’s a 13th name. Right. But who did God select to take Paul? How many names you got? 14.

Isn’t that interesting? Let’s take a look at the two that evidently were rejected. You have Judas and Matthias. Now I say Matthias, you know, very. He was accepted as One of the 12, to be sure, but I don’t think he was accepted as one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And remember the circumstances in which Matthias was. Was chosen. It was before they were spirit begotten, and they all thought, well, we need to fill his place. Let’s take a vote.

Human thinking. Matthias Canaan. I think Matthias and Judas, just like Ephraim and Dan, represent the second death class and the great company, Judas. Obviously I don’t have to say anything more about that. But with Matthias, his selection was based upon human thinking, not directed by God.

And that’s the problem with a great company. Too much human thinking. Well, brethren, we reached the end, and Brother Sam’s coming up. What great timing.

I hope this is stimulating to your thinking. It’s another example where you start to study these things that in. In God’s word, even things we’re familiar with, and we start to see more and more connections that just dazzle us, and it’s another indication of the truth.

You know, if you believe in error and you’re a good Bible student, you’re going to always find things that are problem text for you. Like, if I believed in eternal torment, I got a boatload of problem texts, you know, or if I believe in the Trinity, I got a boatload of problem texts. But if you believe the truth, every new element of truth that you find, you say, oh, this fits beautifully. It’s right here. Oh, in other words, it’s confirmatory.

It corroborates what we believe, and that’s the beauty of doing Bible study. You see these connections with the divine plan that we receive from our Lord Jesus through our pastor. That divine plan is the pattern in which we fit everything. You know, we’re talking at the breakfast table this morning, we use the terms knowledge, understanding and wisdom quite a lot.

What are they? Let’s define terms as we’re saying yesterday. Knowledge is an accumulation of facts. It’s data, but it is. It is unrelated data.

Understanding is fitting knowledge into a pattern. You know, like you ever do have a jigsaw puzzle, right? The jigsaw puzzle, before it’s made, there’s data, you know, it’s all in, but now you start putting it together and you say, well, this one’s got to go here because it’s blue sky, and you know, here’s a flower over here. You have the pattern, which is the picture.

And now you’re fitting these pieces together. The truth is like that. When you come across something new, you say, well, this is an interesting. Oh, it goes right here. Because it fits the pattern of the divine plan.

That’s what allows us to really absorb knowledge in an easier way because we see the picture, and lastly, wisdom is the application of knowledge and understanding. Jim Parkinson always says that it’s not doctrine unless you can apply it. I like that. Otherwise it’s just data.

But doctrine allows us to apply it in our lives. I’m going to close with second Peter, chapter one, verses 10 through 12, as our closing Scripture. Wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, ye shall never stumble. For thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Wherefore I shall be ready always to put you in remembrance of these things, though ye know them and are established in the truth which is in you. Brethren, how much we all want to come to that point where we close our eyes on this side of the veil, and I think for each one of us, Jesus will greet us. He’ll be the first one that we’ll meet. Welcome home.

He will say, you want to see some of your friends? What a promise. May the Lord bless this to you.

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