A little more than 2500 years ago, The prophet Nahum gave an important statement about bible strategy. In 2:2 he wrote, For the Lord restores the excellency of Jacob as the excellency of ancient Israel, for plunderers gave plundered them and emptied them out and outrageously destroyed their vine branches.
In order to understand why Nahum gave Jacob this much importance, it is necessary to look at the words of Jacob in Genesis 49. There are words in this chapter that prove God put Jacob in a position of excellency.
The biblical strategy God started with Jacob was built so God can use the bible can overthrow those who plunder it. This allows us to view both God and Jesus as Leaders who are well prepared to crush a murderous rebellion.
It is great for a person’s future to view God and Jesus this way and show them you are on their side.
One of the most important statements in the bible is found in Genesis 49. It is necessary to understand what Jacob is starting. Then any respectable biblical teacher should accurately explain what happened after he left. When this is focused on, we all can see God created a perfect strategy which ensures the world has a great future.
In this chapter, Jacob gave blessings to his 12 sons just before he died. Ten of the blessings are more applicable to a tribe than to a person. The ones to Judah and Joseph can only be fulfilled through biblical figures yet to come.
This is his blessing to Judah found in Genesis 49:10-12.
10 The scepter or leadership shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff between his feet, until Shiloh (the Messiah) comes to Whom it belongs, and to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11 Binding His foal to the vine and His donkey’s colt to the choice vine, He washes garments in wine and His clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker and more sparkling than wine, and His teeth whiter than milk.
The opening statement in verse 10 means there should be a direct line from Judah to the Messiah. The first chapter in the book of Matthew contains the ancestry of Jesus. It shows a direct line between Jesus and Judah, so Jesus fulfills the word of Jacob. Later on, prophets came and associated the Messiah with David. The ancestry of Jesus in Matthew shows a line between Jesus and David as well.
Luke 3 also shows a line between Judah and Jesus that intersects with David as well. This line of ancestry differs from the one in Matthew 1. The one in Luke is more a pure ancestral line. The one in Matthew contains the name of a lot of kings.
Without this assist from Luke and Matthew, it would be difficult to show anybody ever fulfilled the word of Jacob in verse 10.
Jacob also says the people are to be obedient to the One who fulfills the qualifications there in verse 10. So, according to the word of Jacob, Jews should be obedient to Jesus since His ancestry is linked to Judah.
God gave Jacob a great word in verse 11 that produces more evidence that Jesus is the Messiah.
Here Jacob mentions a vine and a choice vine. What is Jacob referring to with the word vine? There are two distinct sections of Messianic prophecy in the bible. One of them contains evidence that helps identify the Messiah. It also produces evidence human beings can be raised from the dead and receive forgiveness for their sins.
The other section is fulfilled just before the return of Jesus. Jacob says in verse 11 the action in this choice vine causes Jesus to return. This group of prophetic statements is an attack by God against murder in the world. That is why the choice vine is linked with the return of Jesus. Jacob refers to this one as the choice vine. He likes it because this one was built to make an end of the murder of Jews, and others as well.
This word by Jacob clearly points to Jesus in a different way than verse 10 does. It shows the Messiah is participating in a two part strategy. Jesus is the only One who could ever fulfill a two part strategy. This could never be achieved by a Messiah who simply showed up someday.
The word of Jacob also says the Messiah had something to do with a ride on a donkey. Jesus took a famous ride on Palm Sunday into Jerusalem which is documented in the New Testament. When Jesus did this, He intentionally affiliated Himself with this word of Jacob. When Jesus successfully completed the first prophetic vine, He set the stage for a better entry in Jerusalem. This one comes immediately after God had successfully attacked murder.
Verse 12 indicates Jesus has darker eyes than me. It also indicates He has white teeth and has not chewed as much tobacco as I have. Jacob wanted to give some human characteristics to the blessing on Judah to help show he is referring to a person and not a tribe.
The point of this website is to reveal the word of the choice vine of Jacob so people can be better biblical teachers than before so the word of Daniel in chapter 12 is fulfilled.
Jacob also made an important statement for the future when he was blessing his son Joseph. This is one of his two blessings that were meant for a future biblical figure.
The blessing on Joseph is recorded in Genesis 49:22-26.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall.
23 Skilled archers have bitterly attacked and sorely worried him; they have shot at him and persecuted him.
24 But his bow remained strong and steady and rested in the Strength that does not fail him, for the arms of his hands were made strong and active by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 By the God of your father, Who will help you, and by the Almighty, Who will bless you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings lying in the deep beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father on you are greater than the blessings of my forefathers on me, and are as lasting as the bounties of the eternal hills; they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was the consecrated one and the one separated from his brethren and the one who is prince among them.
The earlier verses have a lot in common with what life is like for the person in Psalm 88. The person in this psalm is attacked by demons, as shown in verse 18. This corresponds well with Joseph being attacked by those near him.
Joseph was segregated in order to save lives. God gave him the ability to interpret dreams and heed the warning from God of a terrible famine which was soon to come. God used Joseph to help the people in the area survive a famine. This makes Joseph fruitful.
The second part of verse 26 shows the blessings on Joseph are also on somebody else who was yet to come. The fact Jacob spoke of someone yet to come shows he is involved with the strategy against murder that God was about to build. This strategy needs somebody to coordinate the words of the prophets together. God needs to make him a good interpreter of dreams as Joseph was.
The fact God made Joseph a good interpreter of dreams was very important. This ability to do this helped get Joseph out of prison, and he quickly rose to the top of Egypt.
The only job left in the bible involves coordinating the dreams of the prophets. It is a big job since God is doing something terrible for the killers of the world. A judgment is different from a famine. But it is similar because it is a huge event. The fact that God has segregated another person shows God is interested in lessening the severity of the judgment, just as God was interested in lessening the severity of the famine.
Jacob says there in verse 26 that this person who was segregated ends up a leader among the people. This word of Jacob is certain to happen when God uses the segregated person described in Psalm 88 to help fulfill His strategy against murder.
Jacob did a perfect job of setting up our future. His blessings are perfect for the strategy Jesus participated in. And his blessing on Joseph was perfect for the one who coordinates the prophetic attack against murder.
When speaking about Jacob, it is necessary to show what a great prophet he truly is. As Nahum says, he holds a position of excellency over the prophets. All the biblical prophets were created to do a perfect job of fulfilling the great words of Jacob.
He said there will be two vines of words, then God made the prophets born after Jacob make two separate vines.
The content of the words are the things people need most. They can be raised from the dead, receive forgiveness for their sins, they will be delivered from murder, their murderers are known by God, and God has created a Messiah worthy of ruling the world.
If a teacher does not rise to this level I am at when speaking about the strategy of Jacob, you are not good enough. There is no more excuse for anybody. You must rise to this level, because when you do it shows the bible strategy created by God is perfect. You also show we are going to win. The losers are those who attack these victorious plans.
Israel has the most unique name of any of the nations, for they have they are named for a successful messianic prophet who helped prepare the world for a great future . As I just proved here, Israel named their place for the right guy.