Genesis 49

The power to bless with your words

Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come. ~ Genesis 49:1

Here we are almost at the enc of Genesis where we see Jacob gathering his sons to speak blessings and his last words over their future. Some of his words were words of correction, others were words of encouragement and prophecy, but all of them were spoken with purpose. Jacob knew that his time on earth was short, so he used his final moments to say something that would carry on in the generations to come. His words were not random, they were filled with weight and intentionality because he understood the power of blessing.

I think about this in my own life when I remember the words spoken over me by people I love and respect. Some of those words were encouragements that lifted me in difficult times. Others were challenges that helped me grow and make better choices. Most importantly was God’s Word planted in my heart. I also think of the opportunity God has given me now to speak into the lives of others. What I say in these moments matter because words leave an imprint that can last far beyond the moments they are spoken. Just like Jacob’s words carried forward into the tribes of Israel, the words I speak are carried into the lives of others and will hopefully out live me.

This applies to your life too. You may not think of yourself as someone with influence, but your words carry weight whether spoken to your family, your friends, your coworkers, or even to someone you only meet once. Every time you speak, you have the opportunity to either bring life or bring discouragement. You have the choice to point people toward God’s promises or leave them uncertain about His care. Jacob’s example shows us the importance of choosing wisely how we use our words, especially when they have the power to shape someone’s future.

Here are some ways you can get started today:

• Begin by praying each day, “Lord, let the words I speak today bring life and hope.”
• Write down a blessing or encouragement and share it with someone close to you.
• Notice when negative or critical words want to come out and pause, asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom before you speak.
• Take time to encourage the younger generation in your family, church, or workplace by calling out the gifts you see in them.
• Keep a journal of the encouraging words others have spoken into your life and revisit them when you need strength.

Today I want to encourage you to use your words to bless others just as Jacob blessed his sons. You may never fully realize how far your words will go, but God can use even a simple sentence of encouragement to shift someone’s direction to walk closer with Him. The power of life and death is in your tongue, so choose to speak life. Your words can become part of the legacy you leave for generations to come.

Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 49

1 Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I will tell you what will happen to each of you in the days to come.

2 “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power.

4 But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch.

5 “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; their weapons are instruments of violence.

6 May I never join in their meetings; may I never be a party to their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and they crippled oxen just for sport.

7 A curse on their anger, for it is fierce; a curse on their wrath, for it is cruel. I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.

9 Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.

11 He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun will settle by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will extend to Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a sturdy donkey, resting between two saddle packs.

15 When he sees how good the countryside is and how pleasant the land, he will bend his shoulder to the load and submit himself to hard labor.

16 “Dan will govern his people, like any other tribe in Israel.

17 Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous viper along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off.

18 I trust in you for salvation, O Lord!

19 “Gad will be attacked by marauding bands, but he will attack them when they retreat.

20 “Asher will dine on rich foods and produce food fit for kings.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is the foal of a wild donkey, the foal of a wild donkey at a spring—one of the wild donkeys on the ridge.

23 Archers attacked him savagely; they shot at him and harassed him.

24 But his bow remained taut, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

25 May the God of your father help you; may the Almighty bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and blessings of the watery depths below, and blessings of the breasts and womb.

26 May my fatherly blessings on you surpass the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the heights of the eternal hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, who is a prince among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, devouring his enemies in the morning and dividing his plunder in the evening.”

28 These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he told his sons good-bye. He blessed each one with an appropriate message.

29 Then Jacob instructed them, “Soon I will die and join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 

30 This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a permanent burial site. 

31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. 

32 It is the plot of land and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.”

33 When Jacob had finished this charge to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed, breathed his last, and joined his ancestors in death.

Journal:

• Write down one blessing or encouragement you would like to speak over someone this week.
•  How can you be intentional about using your words to build up and leave a godly legacy?