In Praise of Nobody.

Read: Genesis 49: 1-27

We are now entering the last verses of the book of Genesis. It is important to bear in mind that Genesis was not written to describe where we all came from. It was written as the beginning to the story of God’s chosen people – the nation of Israel. Thus, when we read today’s passage, we need to keep in mind that Jacob’s blessing of his sons tell, at the same time, what will come to pass.

If you note carefully, each of Jacob’s sons will be forerunners to each tribe of Israel. Some of the prophecies were interesting. Keep in mind that Jacob’s favorite sons were Joseph and Benjamin. While Joseph certainly had a reassuring prophecy, Benjamin’s was simply terrible – “ravenous wolf” is not a compliment. Furthermore, Reuben, Simeon and Levi are the oldest three sons, all of whom – especially Reuben- should receive the choicest blessings from Jacob, which is ancient Jewish custom. However, note that Reuben has committed adultery once (Gen. 35); and Simeon and Levi were responsible for massacring the Canaanites in Shechem (Gen. 34). Thus, it seems that the blessings now fall upon Judah.

Judah is really a nobody. He’s not first, but he wasn’t last. Nobody cares so much for him. But note: “the scepter will not depart from Judah,” indicating the possibility that one day, the nation of Israel will have a king. He will, furthermore, be respected among all nations, he’ll get the royal treatment. To top it all off, he’s dashing. Indeed, hundreds of years after, the nation of Judah will arise. King David, when he was selected, was a nobody too, the youngest of the sons of Jesse (who’s he?). We, as Christians, also know that Jesus is often referred to as the “Lion of Judah”, but to his fellow Nazarene neighbors, “wasn’t he the son of Joseph?”

And isn’t this how God works throughout history, choosing the insignificant to do great things? If you read the New Testament, note that Paul is the only author who had a prestigious background – everyone else were nobodies. Paul is interesting, because he was from the tribe of Benjamin, whom Jacob would describe as “a ravenous wolf; in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil.” This doesn’t sound good, does it? How interesting, then, that Paul, with the same ravenous attitude, went throughout the Mediterranean sharing the Gospel with all people, and in the end, “dividing the spoils” to all? Yes, my friends, our God is a redeeming God.

Maybe you feel like a nobody. You’re not the one with the perfect GPA. Others seem to have thought the exams were easy-peasy, but you thought it was impossible. Some of you seniors are applying to schools. All your friends got into prestigious programs at prestigious schools, and you feel you might not… measure up. This is a relentless world we live in. We all prize status, qualifications, etc. But God doesn’t play human games. Jesus did not play human games. He certainly could’ve gone through school and become a teacher of the law – a very prestigious position in Jewish society. But no, he went into carpentry. He could’ve bossed people around since he’s God, but no – he served us on bended knee. Not only do nobodies matter to God, but He uses them all the time. So if you think you are a nobody relative to your peers, don’t play human games, for God sees you very differently.