Getting to know the Of the September 16/2006 Lesson # 11.

1.Adam 7. Isaac. 2. Cain 8. Jacob. 3. Abel 9. Esau. 4. Enoch 10. Reuben. 5. Noah 6. Abraham We already studied:

Do we have something to say about Jacobs descendants? Ignoring the sons of Jacob means to ignore the story of the nation of Israel. Jacob. Leah- Leah Rachel Bilhah Zilpah. Reuben Joseph Dan Gad Simeon Benjamin Naphtali Asher Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun Dinah

Let’s Talk about Let’s Talk about Simeon The self-will man!

This evening the turn is for Simeon. I have decided not to leave the sons of Jacob out of the line of man of the Bible. I was saying sometime ago that to ignore the sons of Jacob is to ignore the history of Israel. From Birth we read in the Bible that he was the first born of Jacob, Genesis 49:5-7… 5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place. 6 Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.

What really happened in that family?Jacob. Leah- Leah Rachel Bilhah Zilpah. Reuben Joseph Dan Gad Simeon Benjamin Naphtali Asher Levi Judah Issachar Zebulun Dinah Genesis 30:1-5… “1Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die!” 2And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?” 3So she said, “Here is my maid Bilhah; go in to her, and she will bear a child on my knees, that I also may have children by her.” 4Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife, and Jacob went in to her. 5And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

1. Who was Simeon? a. The son of Jacob and Leah. 2. What is the meaning of his name? a. "the Lord heard" 3. Where was he born? a. Maybe Padam-Adam, the desert for sure. 4. Key word in his life. a. The self will man.

What is it that we are not to copy this evening from Simeon? The Bibles say that this man was “self- will” and also his “Anger”. He was cruel, he was with no compassion and the Bible from the beginning to the end condemns this type of attitude. We are not to copy nor to practice the life of this man Genesis 34…

Genesis 34:1-7 1Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her. 3His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman. 4So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” 5And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. Now his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Jacob held his peace until they came. 6Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. 7And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved and very angry, because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, a thing which ought not to be done.

Simeon later appears in the story of Joseph, who felt it would be better to retain Simeon until Benjamin had been brought to the palace. Remember when a big famine came to the land of Egypt?

Reuben revealed some characteristics inappropriate for one upon whom high responsibilities should have devolved. In Reuben, we can see the typical Christians that are not clear in the concept of what he wants. Heaven or world? adj 1: uncertain how to act or proceed; 2: lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly; Irresolute... adj 1: uncertain how to act or proceed; 2: lacking decisiveness of character; unable to act or decide quickly or firmly; Vacillating…To sway from one side to the other; oscillate. To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.

How many Christians have you seen that are like Reuben? They don’t know what to choose, they want to be with God and they want to be with World, and they are confused. They are not stable; they live in a divided mind. Colossians 3:2… “2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. James 1:8… “8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 4:8… “8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Reuben lacked determination and courage that one expects to find in the eldest son of the family. He has none of his father transformed nature after he became Israel. Jacob describes his first son as being “unstable waters”. Genesis 49:4… ““4Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it He went up to my couch. Water is a suggestive symbol of instability. Think of the water fall, as it splashes against the edges of the rock! That’s Reuben, that’s many Christians!

You shall not excel! It was because of his instability that his father told him: You shall not excel! Genesis 49:4… ““4Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it He went up to my couch. The reward of unreliability and instability is inferiority! “Thou shall not excel!” Unstable Christians will not receive any praise from God, unstable Christians will not be crowned with honour and glory. Brother and sisters, the tribe of Reuben never ever arose to prominence! And the tribe of Reuben was always among those to be first carried into captivity. 1 Chronicles 5:25, 26

Reuben lost all the honours that should have been his because of his adulterous act with Bilhah, his father’s concubine. Everyone knew about his sin, he was well aware of what he did. What happened with Reuben in the end? Can it be that in spite of all of his sad failures, that there is a ray of hope for Reuben in the prophetic blessing of Moses? Deuteronomy 33:6… “ Is this an evidence of divine grace-life for a sinner who merited death? There is a gate of Reuben in the Golden Sinner and a tribe of Reuben in the Israel of God. Revelation 7:4, 5… “

We can all learn something from Reuben this evening: 1.1. There are many blessings and privileges that we can forfeit for not following God’s word the way that we should… 2.That if we live our lives with Irresolute and vacillating nature we will miss heaven one day 3. Sin will be punished by God and He will not hide anything from us. His righteousness will not allow man to hide his sin from His presence.