Jesus Is

After offering a Prayer for the Colossians that runs the 13 tribes, Paul describes 13 aspects of Jesus that are revealed in the 13 tribes.

Notes on mappping

There's not necessarily a silver bullet for this list, though there's not a whole lot of wiggle room either. So the basic strategy is to just work down the list, giving each item to a tribe. There's a spot or two where things could break differently, but otherwise this is straightforward.

Observations

Judah is the image of the invisible God. Not sure exactly why this is a trait of Judah, unless it means God who we wait to see and thus is futuristic in it's outlook, which is exactly up Judah's alley.

Reuben is the firstborn of every creature. This is easy since Reuben is the firstborn.

Gad lands on creator of sky and land. Not sure exactly, but as a pattern Gad seems to have dominion across a lot of land (and sea). This may be why this aspect of Jesus aligns with Gad.

Asher picks visible and invisible. Asher's article in the tent is the candle, which gives light, or allows darkness when not lit. So this makes plenty of sense.

Naphtali is the various thrones and powers and such. This is not exactly clear to me. Needs more study to understand what is meant by this.

Manasseh is again reiterating, but this time the creation idea given with Gad, not necessarily the overall theme. The focus may not be so much on creation as on "all things." It may be, too, that Gad is picking up creation of sky and land whereas Manasseh is picking up creation of everything else, though this parsing needs some time in the Aramaic to confirm.

Simeon is before all things. I don't know why this would be Simeon. This statement seems to contradict or be redundant with later statements landing on Zebulun and/or Joseph. So perhaps there's a better way to translate this phrase that clarifies how this relates to Simeon and moves it off the similar language later in the list.

Levi is sustainer of all things. This is not yet obvious to me either, but may play to the idea of "glue." Levi is the camp in the middle of the other tribes, the glue if you will. His service at the alter, his hospitality on the holidays and his itinerate preaching may be aspects of his "glue" quality and how he sustains all things, or all the others.

Issachar is the head of the body, which is the church. This agrees with the mapping between the Parts of the Body of Christ in First Corinthians 12 that also puts the head of the body on Issachar.

Zebulun is before all things. This is a good match. In general Zebulun has a theme of origins or foundations. He is the foundation and "rigging" that holds up the tent. He, as Greece, is the origin of democracy. He's the Inspection Gate, which I take to mean the place with the historical or genealogical records, the history or origins of things. Another modern example is the way he is the first nation in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Joseph is the firstfruits of the resurrection of the dead, that in all things he might be first. Parts of this seem redundant, and thus suspect, so needs more study. The firstfruits would normally go with Naphtali, since that is his holiday, though in the use of the term it's the firstfruits of the resurrection. Elsewhere in the grid resurrection is a theme that lands often on Joseph and/or Manasseh. Also, the use of "all things" here may fit Joseph, since like Manasseh, he's a microcosm of the whole.

Benjamin is the one it pleases God to complete all things in. Benjamin is the youngest of the brothers and the last to acknowledge Jesus. As Paul says in Romans, when Benjamin comes around it will mean nothing short of the resurrection of the dead. In other words, he's last or the completion of what God's been doing for a rather long time.

Dan is the reconciliation of everything. As judge Dan has the general theme of doing the accounting for things, whether good or bad. Here is the reconciler, which might just mean he's entrusted with the accounting of the reconciliation of things. More thought needed for sure.

By Ryan Eaton
Posted Tuesday, Dan 3, 13000