491 Then Jacob summoned his sons and said , "Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come . 2 "Gather together and hear , O sons of Jacob ; And listen to Israel your father . 3 "Reuben , you are my firstborn ; My might and the beginning of my strength , Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power . 4 "Uncontrolled as water , you shall not have preeminence , Because you went up to your father's bed ; Then you defiled it -he went up to my couch .
5 " Simeon and Levi are brothers ; Their swords are implements of violence . 6 " Let my soul not enter into their council ; Let not my glory be united with their assembly ; Because in their anger they slew men , And in their self-will they lamed oxen . 7 "Cursed be their anger , for it is fierce ; And their wrath , for it is cruel . I will disperse them in Jacob , And scatter them in Israel .
8 "Judah , your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies ; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. 9 "Judah is a lion's whelp ; From the prey , my son , you have gone up. He couches , he lies down as a lion , And as a lion , who dares rouse him up? 10 " The scepter shall not depart from Judah , Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet , Until e Shiloh comes , And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples . 11 " He ties his foal to the vine , And his donkey's colt to the choice vine ; He washes his garments in wine , And his robes in the blood of grapes . 12 "His eyes are dull from wine , And his teeth white from milk .
13 " Zebulun will dwell at the seashore e ; And he shall be a haven for ships , And his flank shall be toward Sidon . 14 "Issachar is a strong donkey , Lying down between the sheepfolds . 15 "When he saw that a resting place was good And that the land was pleasant , He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens, And became a slave at forced labor . 16 " Dan shall judge his people , As one of the tribes of Israel . 17 "Dan shall be a serpent in the way , A horned snake in the path , That bites the horse's heels , So that his rider falls backward . 18 " For Your salvation I wait , O Lord . 19 " As for Gad , raiders shall raid him, But he will raid at their heels . 20 " As for Asher , his food shall be rich , And he will yield royal dainties . 21 " Naphtali is a doe let loose , He gives beautiful words .
22 " Joseph is a fruitful bough , A fruitful bough by a spring ; Its branches run over a wall . 23 "The archers e bitterly attacked him, And shot at him and harassed him; 24 But his bow remained firm , And his arms were agile , From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd , the Stone of Israel ), 25 From the God of your father who helps you, And by the Almighty who blesses you With blessings of heaven above e , Blessings of the deep that lies beneath , Blessings of the breasts and of the womb . 26 "The blessings of your father Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills ; May they be on the head of Joseph , And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers . 27 "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf ; In the morning he devours the prey , And in the evening he divides the spoil ."
28 All these are the twelve e tribes of Israel , and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him. 29 Then he charged them and said to them, "I am about to be gathered to my people ; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite , 30 in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah , which is before e Mamre , in the land of Canaan , which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site . 31 "There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah , there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah , and there I buried Leah - 32 the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth ." 33 When Jacob finished charging his sons , he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last , and was gathered to his people .
501 Then Joseph fell on his father's face , and wept over him and kissed him. 2 Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father . So the physicians embalmed Israel . 3 Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming . And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days . 4 When the days of mourning for him were past , Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh , saying , "If now I have found favor in your sight , please speak to Pharaoh , saying , 5 ' My father made me swear , saying , "Behold , I am about to die ; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan , there you shall bury me." Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father ; then I will return .' " 6 Pharaoh said , "Go up and bury your father , as he made you swear ."
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father , and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh , the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt , 8 and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father's household ; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen . 9 There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen ; and it was a very great company . 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad , which is beyond the Jordan , they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation ; and he observed seven days mourning for his father . 11 Now when the inhabitants of the land , the Canaanites , saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad , they said , "This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians ." Therefore e it was named e Abel-mizraim , which is beyond the Jordan . 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them; 13 for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before e Mamre , which Abraham had bought along with the field for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite . 14 After he had buried his father , Joseph returned to Egypt , he and his brothers , and all who had gone up with him to bury his father .
15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead , they said , " What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!" 16 So they sent a message to Joseph , saying , "Your father charged before he died , saying , 17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph , "Please forgive , I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin , for they did you wrong ."' And now , please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father ." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said , "Behold , we are your servants ." 19 But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid , for am I in God's place ? 20 "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive . 21 "So therefore, do not be afraid ; I will provide for you and your little ones ." So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
22 Now Joseph stayed in Egypt , he and his father's household , and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years . 23 Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim's sons ; also the sons of Machir , the son of Manasseh , were born on Joseph's knees . 24 Joseph said to his brothers , " I am about to die , but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham , to Isaac and to Jacob ." 25 Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear , saying , "God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here ." 26 So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years ; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt .
31 He presented another parable to them, saying , " The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed , which a man took and sowed in his field ; 32 and this is smaller than all other seeds , but when it is full grown , it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree , so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES ."
33 He spoke another parable to them, " The kingdom of heaven is like leaven , which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened ."
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables , and He did not speak to them without a parable . 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet : " I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES ; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD ."
36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house . And His disciples came to Him and said , " Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field ." 37 And He said , "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man , 38 and the field is the world ; and as for the good seed , these are the sons of the kingdom ; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil , and the harvest is the end of the age ; and the reapers are angels . 40 "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire , so shall it be at the end of the age . 41 " The Son of Man will send forth His angels , and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks , and those who commit lawlessness , 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire ; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth . 43 " Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father . He who has ears , let him hear .
44 " The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field , which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field .
45 "Again , the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls , 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value , he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 "Again , the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea , and gathering fish of every kind ; 48 and when it was filled , they drew it up on the beach ; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers , but the bad they threw away . 49 "So it will be at the end of the age ; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous , 50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire ; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth .
51 "Have you understood all these things ?" They said to Him, "Yes ." 52 And Jesus said to them, "Therefore e every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household , who brings out of his treasure things new and old ."
53 When Jesus had finished these parables , He departed from there . 54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue , so that they were astonished , and said , "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers ? 55 "Is not this the carpenter's son ? Is not His mother called Mary , and His brothers , James and Joseph and Simon and Judas ? 56 "And His sisters , are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things ?" 57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, " A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household ." 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief .
(Read Matthew 13:31-35)
The scope of the parable of the seed sown, is to show that the beginnings of the gospel would be small, but its latter end would greatly increase; in this way the work of grace in the heart, the kingdom of God within us, would be carried on. In the soul where grace truly is, it will grow really; though perhaps at first not to be discerned, it will at last come to great strength and usefulness. The preaching of the gospel works like leaven in the hearts of those who receive it. The leaven works certainly, so does the word, yet gradually. It works silently, and without being seen, Romans 6:13. From these parables we are taught to expect a gradual progress; therefore let us inquire, Are we growing in grace? and in holy principles and habits?
(Read Matthew 13:36-52)
Here are four parables. 1. That of the treasure hid in the field. Many slight the gospel, because they look only upon the surface of the field. But all who search the Scriptures, so as in them to find Christ and eternal life, John 5:39, will discover such treasure in this field as makes it unspeakably valuable; they make it their own upon any terms. Though nothing can be given as a price for this salvation, yet much must be given up for the sake of it. 2. All the children of men are busy; one would be rich, another would be honourable, another would be learned; but most are deceived, and take up with counterfeits for pearls. Jesus Christ is a Pearl of great price; in having him, we have enough to make us happy here and for ever. A man may buy gold too dear, but not this Pearl of great price. When the convinced sinner sees Christ as the gracious Saviour, all things else become worthless to his thoughts. 3. The world is a vast sea, and men, in their natural state, are like the fishes. Preaching the gospel is casting a net into this sea, to catch something out of it, for His glory who has the sovereignty of this sea. Hypocrites and true Christians shall be parted: miserable is the condition of those that shall then be cast away. 4. A skilful, faithful minister of the gospel, is a scribe, well versed in the things of the gospel, and able to teach them. Christ compares him to a good householder, who brings forth fruits of last year's growth and this year's gathering, abundance and variety, to entertain his friends. Old experiences and new observations, all have their use. Our place is at Christ's feet, and we must daily learn old lessons over again, and new ones also.
(Read Matthew 13:53-58)
Christ repeats his offer to those who have repulsed them. They upbraid him, Is not this the carpenter's son? Yes, it is true he was reputed to be so; and no disgrace to be the son of an honest tradesman; they should have respected him the more because he was one of themselves, but therefore they despised him. He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Unbelief is the great hinderance to Christ's favours. Let us keep faithful to him as the Saviour who has made our peace with God.
