Israel’s Prophecy for Naphtali
Genesis 49: 21 “Naphtali is a
deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.
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Naphtali was the sixth son of Jacob and the
second son of Bilhah, Rachels maidservant. Rachel referred to Naphtali as a
“struggle” because she had a strong sibling rivalry with Leah. She named him
Naphtali or “struggle.”
My Observations:
- Naphtali
also hated Joseph and went along with the plot against his life.
- Israel
mixed up the order of birth and went back to talking about Bilhah’s
children.
- Israel’s
blessing was brief and focused on Naphtali’s physical and verbal agility.
The tribe of Naphtali would eventually declare curses or
warnings to all the tribes of Israel. Through these curses, the people of
Israel would refrain from bad behavior. For example, “Cursed is the man who
kills his neighbor secretly.” Naphtali
would indeed use beautiful words as Israel prophesied.
There were times
when the tribe of Naphtali was brave and there were times, they were cowards. I
can definitely relate! They would be featured in a son of Deborah and Barak
because they risked their lives in a battle against the Canaanites. But
unfortunately, this fight came from them being cowards and not wiping out the
Canaanites in the first place. I can’t help but to notice Israel’s intentional
order of his son’s blessing. Naphtali’s land would eventually become the land
of the Gentiles. GOD did bless Naphtali.
Challenge
- Why do you think GOD tells Moses about
this brief, yet powerful blessing over Naphtali?
- What
beautiful words has GOD given you to tell others?
- Are
you able to fight your feelings enough to tell people that GOD is amazing
and caring and powerful?
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