Jacob’s twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel, and Israel is a type of the church composed of all the believers in Christ; therefore, Jacob’s prophesying with blessing concerning his sons applies not only physically to the twelve tribes of Israel but also spiritually to the church, the real Israel of God.
In Jacob’s prophesying with blessing concerning Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar we see a clear picture of the entire Bible: the prophecy concerning Judah portrays Christ in the four Gospels, the prophecy concerning Zebulun portrays the shipping out of the gospel in Acts, and the prophecy concerning Issachar portrays the practice of the church life in the Epistles and Revelation.
In the prophecy concerning Judah we see a picture of Christ as the ultimate Overcomer who accomplishes God’s purpose and defeats God’s enemies, and He is the Peace Bringer in His second coming; as such a One, Christ can be enjoyed by us as our rest in peace and full satisfaction.
This is the gospel: Christ coming and defeating Satan, the world, sin, and death, and becoming our peace to be our rest and satisfaction as we believe into Him. We see this in the four Gospels with the Lord’s incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension.
In Jacob’s prophecy concerning Zebulun we see the preaching of the gospel; Zebulun is part of Galilee, a port sending out ships loaded with the gospel as the good news (see Gen. 49:13).
In Acts we see how the ascended Christ was poured out upon His Body as the Holy Spirit, a mighty rushing wind, and He “borne the ships” of the disciples in Jerusalem, Samaria, Judea, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
Today we are in the continuation of Acts, “Acts 29”, and every believer in Christ is a gospel ship loaded with the cargo of the Triune God with all His riches.
The church life is a “ship haven”, and the believers as ships are being sent out to bear glad tidings, bring the riches of Christ to all the nations, and bring others into the full enjoyment of the Triune God!
The Prophecy concerning Zebulun portrays the Preaching of the Gospel
Concerning Zebulun Jacob said, Zebulun will dwell at the shore of the sea, and he will be a shore for ships, and his flank will be toward Sidon (Gen. 49:13).
Zebulun, a seaport, was part of Galilee, the place where the Lord Jesus began His ministry of preaching the gospel of the kingdom. In Matt. 4:12-23 we see that when the Lord came, a great light came in the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.
The Lord Jesus started in Galilee, His disciples were Galileans, and after His resurrection, He directed His disciples to meet Him at a particular mountain in Galilee, and there He ascended to the heavens from their midst.
In those days Galilee was a despised place, a place of mixture between Jews and Gentiles, and some even said that nothing good would come out of Galilee. But Christ came in Galilee and from here He chose His disciples, and those who were commanded to go into all the world and preach the gospel were Galileans.
Judah is the tribe for the producing of the Gospel (see the four Gospels in the light of Jacob’s prophecy), and Zebulun comes in to carry out this mission and discharge the burden of sending forth the gospel.
Zebulun typifies Christ as the “shore” of the evangelists for the transportation and spreading in the preaching of God’s gospel.
After Christ has accomplished all the things that are to be proclaimed as the gospel, on the day of Pentecost, as commanded by the Lord, the disciples were together praying, the Holy Spirit came as a mighty rushing wind, and tongues of fire were distributed among them and sat on them.
These one hundred twenty disciples became the “gospel ships”, and they set out from the “shore” of Christ to spread the gospel (the fulfillment of Deut. 33:18). Since that time, thousands of such “ships” left the “shore” loaded with the good news of the gospel, being borne by the Holy Spirit to speak words from God with prayer and by the Spirit.
The disciples didn’t use gimmicks, drama, or any worldly means to preach the gospel; they had the economical Spirit of power upon them and the essential Spirit for life inside of them, and they went out as “ships” with the high gospel first to Jerusalem, then to Judea, then to Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
We’re the Gospel “Ships” sailing out from Christ as the “Shore” through Prayer, by the Spirit, and with the Word
All the believers in Christ are like the disciples, “Galilean preachers” and “gospel ships”, sailing out from Christ as the “shore” through prayer, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and with the riches of Christ in the word of God to reach the whole world with the gospel (Acts 1:8; 2:2-41; 4:31).
We were regenerated by God with His divine life to be children of God and we’re “ships” loaded with the good news; now wherever we go, we have the Holy Spirit as the power upon us to speak the good news to people.
We enjoy God, we’re filled with God, God is our good news, and we “ship Him out” to others.
We see a picture of this in Psa. 68:1, 11-13, 18-19, and 27. The Lord gives the command, and the women who bear the glad tidings are a great host. We are the “women” who preach the gospel; we are the weak ones (1 Pet. 3:7), the believers in Christ who can do nothing except proclaim the glad tidings of God’s victory in Christ (see 2 Cor. 12:9-10).
While we announce the glad tidings, we enjoy the Triune God as the spoil gained for us by Christ. Psa. 68:13 says, Though you lie among the sheepfolds, There are dove wings covered with silver, And its pinions, with greenish-yellow gold. The footnote in the Recovery Version helps us understand it and appreciate it more,
The dove signifies the Spirit (Matt. 3:16), and the wings signify the moving power of the Spirit; silver signifies Christ in His all-inclusive redemption for His believers’ justification as the entrance into His full salvation; pinions (the feathers at the end of a bird’s wings that supply the strength to fly and soar) signify the soaring power of the Spirit; and gold signifies God in His divine nature. Here the gold is greenish-yellow, green signifying the divine life and yellow, the divine glory. Hence, greenish-yellow gold signifies God in His nature glittering in His life and glory. The contents of the above items, as the spoil (v. 12) gained by Christ in His victory for the enjoyment of God’s elect, are actually the Triune God — the Spirit, Christ, and God the Father — with all the items of His complete, full, and all-inclusive salvation. (Psa. 68:13, footnote 1)
Christ is the one Lion who won the victory and accomplished God’s purpose (as seen in Judah), and we are the many ships loaded with the Triune God as our cargo, sailing out to preach the gospel and bring the good news to all the world.
What we have is God the Father glittering in His divine life and glory, the soaring and moving power of the Spirit, and the all-inclusive redemption of the Son. We have the Triune God with all the items of His complete and all-inclusive salvation so that we may enjoy as spoils and share it with others.
We are daily being loaded with this cargo, we are experiencing the Triune God, and we go out being borne by the Holy Spirit, through much prayer, and with the word of God.
We have nothing else to share or give others but the riches of Christ in the word of God, and our way is by the Spirit and through much and thorough prayer. Through the prayer, by the power of the Spirit, and equipped with the Word of God we go out as “ships” loaded with the cargo of the Triune God as good news to minister Him to all the nations.
Hallelujah! This makes us joyful and full of rejoicing; the most happy person is one who preaches the gospel!
Praise the Lord who daily loads us with good: God is our salvation! Thank You Lord for accomplishing everything as the Victorious One. Now we are daily enjoying the Father’s divine life and glory, the Son’s all-inclusive redemption, and the Spirit’s soaring and moving power. Hallelujah, we as believers in Christ are being loaded with the Triune God and we’re sailing out as ships of the gospel to bring the good news to all nations and dispense the Triune God into man! Praise the Lord! Jesus Christ is Victor! The Triune God in Christ as the Spirit is now our all! Hallelujah!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ed Marks’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis (msg. 101), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (3), week 10 / msg 10, Jacob’s Prophesying with Blessing (1).
- Hymns on this topic:
# How I long to live this gospel life, / Afresh consecrate, spread Christ with might, / Respond to His call, press boldly forward, following the Lamb, / Knock on every door! Lord, may You quickly come! (Song on Speaking the Gospel)
# May all our lives be worthy the gospel / Whatever may betide, / All standing fast in oneness of spirit, / All striving side by side. / Let us proclaim the gospel in fullness / To satisfy the Lord: / Christ is the life, the church His expression, / Sound everywhere abroad. (Hymns #1295)
# An uplifted gospel have we, / One we’re not ashamed to proclaim. / Our gospel’s the highest of all, / For it is God’s goal and God’s aim. / No longer so lowly and poor, / We’ve found that we’re God’s holy sons. / No more will we preach as before; / Now each man on earth can be won. (Hymns #1292)
Amen! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! We are ships, loaded with the good news, who sail out from Christ, with the riches of Christ as the gospel, through prayer, the Spirit and the Word, to reach the whole world. Amen Lord Jesus!