dignity was his natural birthright. The second thing, to which another writer calls our attention, is that this position of pre-eminency by Reuben had been forfeited through his sin and that the tribe which is to descend from him shall not excel in anything. Then in the third place Jacob predicted that the tribe of Reuben would be as unstable as water. The term used here is a figur ative expression taken from the drying up of water as a summer spring. Several passages in the Old Testa ment reveal how the fortunes of this particular tribe verify the words of Jacob in his closing hours. I Chroni cles 5:1, 2 tells us that because of Reuben’s sin his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Is rael. The birthright refers, of course, to the position of excellency which was taken from Reuben and given to the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. Now the birthright was Joseph’s but Judah became the royal tribe from which Christ sprang. Thus we see that in nothing did the tribe of Reuben excel, as was predicted. After this particular tribe there came no judge, there came no king, and there came no prophet. This tribe, to gether with the fribe of Gad, settled down on the jvildemess side of the river Jordan. These two tribes had a multitude of cattle and they went be fore Moses and the high priest, Eleazer, and asked that if they had found grace in their sight, that the land, which was good for cattle, might be given to them as their possession -— Reuben and Gad did not want to go over Jordan, but rather preferred to remain on the south east side of the river. The Book of Numbers, chapter 32, verses 1 to 5, in- SAN BERNARDINO RIVERSIDE "The Bible Institute Hour” is now on the air daily 9 A.M.— KCKC— 1350 on the dial (Also Sun., 7:30 A.M., KAFY, 550 on the dial) 4
Reuben (continued) water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch” (Genesis 49:3, 4). We would do well to focus our think ing upon the fact that we are in the closing scene in the life of Jacob. Fre quently we have beheld the light of heaven shining through the life of this great patriarch, but all too often the clouds of earth have obscured it. The struggle between the flesh and the Spirit in Jacob was very fierce and protractive, but as the end drew near the triumphs of God’s grace, and the faith which overcomes the world, were more and more manifested in this old servant’s life. The triumphs are most evident in the scene presented to us in this 49th chapter of Genesis. God had promised to give the land of Palestine to Abraham and his de scendants. This promise had been con firmed to Isaac and was renewed, in turn, to Jacob. However, up to this time there had been no visible signs that the promise was about to be made good. Abraham and Isaac had been but strangers and pilgrims in the Holy Land — owning none of it save a burial ground for their dead, and this they had to purchase. Jacob, too, had dwelt in tents with Abraham and Isaac; and now on his deathbed, is not in the promised land, but in a strange country — the land of Egypt. Our patriarch, Jacob, prepares to leave this earthly scene and calls his sons, one by one, to his bedside. In his physical feebleness, but vigor of faith, this father gives to these twelve men most striking predictions which run to striking fulfillment. Not only did these predictions point up the individual son and the tribe of which he was the head, but they looked forward to the fortunes of the twelve tribes in the last days. Now there are three things in Gene-. sis 49:2-4 that are given concerning the son Reuben. First, as the firstborn son of Jacob, the place of excellency and
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