The Tribes and Us: Simeon and His Legacy

[Genesis 49 is the record of Jacob’s prophecies about his sons and Deuteronomy 33 is Moses’ blessings to each of the tribes those sons engendered.  This is an exploration of these passages and others about the tribes of Israel and what we can learn from them for us today.]

How would you feel if your leader was passing out the compliments to the team for a job well done and mentioned everyone but you.  That must be what it felt like to the tribe of Simeon when Moses blessed the people by tribe in Deuteronomy 33.  He mentions every tribe except Simeon.  Why?  Was he trying to make them feel bad?

It is interesting that Jacob, in his prophecies about his sons and the tribes they represented (Genesis 49), says of Simeon that he, along with Levi, will be divided and scattered in Israel.  When Canaan was conquered some 400 years later by Israel and the land was portioned out to each tribe, Simeon’s portion fell within the boundaries of Judah’s portion.  As time went on Simeon’s identity was somewhat lost and absorbed into Judah.

But that had not happened yet at the time Moses was blessing the tribes.  This occurred as Israel was staging for conquest of Canaan.  We don’t know why Moses did not mention this tribe.  We’re missing some crucial piece of information that would explain it.  But this has been Simeon’s fate throughout the history of this tribe.

2 Chronicles 15 and 34, however, give us a glimpse, decidedly small, of a great yearning among the Simeonites, for the true worship of Yahweh.  Chapter 15 speaks to the early period of separation between the tribes into two nations.  Apparently some Simeonites had left the region of their original land holdings inside Judah’s and moved north.  But when the northern kingdom immediately began worshiping contrary to Yahweh’s word they were unhappy.  So when the southern kingdom king, Asa, began great spiritual reforms in Judah, the southern kingdom, many from Simeon came back to Judah.

Later, chapter 34 speaks to the end period of this separation between the tribes after the northern kingdom had already been conquered and many of its inhabitants deported.  During Josiah’s reign in Judah he was also carrying out spiritual reforms and extended them to those Jews still living in the north, and the Simeonites participated in them.

For many of us, our legacy will not be very visible to the world.  But like Simeon, if we stand for the pure gospel and true worship of God, it will make a difference.  Someone in every generation of Simeon’s tribe stayed true to Yahweh and kept a spiritual flame alive of loyalty to God.  Do you not have the same opportunity and the same possible legacy?  It’s not about making a big name for yourself, it’s about making a big commitment to the big Name of God.  And it is about maintaining the true gospel against false gospels.  That, more than anything, will shape the future of your offspring for good.