This chapter is what many call the chapter of Jacob’s blessings. The blessings are prophetical in nature. In other words, they tell the character and future destiny of each one of the tribes of Israel and even the environment in which each of the tribes will live. And they’re very accurate.

The blessing/prophecy given to Reuben foretells the future of the tribe that bears his name. And the same holds true for each one of the tribes. And it would seem that this is where we get the saying, “Like father like son.” New word. These are eponymous tribes. Eponymous means, named after a person, place or thing, usually its founder, creator, inventor, discoverer or source. One we all probably know, Disney. One you may not know. Diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolph Diesel. Maverick. Someone independent or unconventional. Originates from Samuel A. Maverick, a Texas landowner who refused to brand his cattle. Reaganomics.

Okay. We’re already down the rabbit hole. One more. Sandwich. Named after John Montagu, the 4th Earl of…Sandwich. He followed his father, the 3rd Earl of Sandwich. Sandwich is a port district in the Dover District of Kent, southeast England. It was a major port on Sandwich Bay. The fourth Earl was a prominent statesman, and maybe because he was from this port town, he was named First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Sandwich sponsored voyages made by Captain James Cook. Captain Cook discovered some islands in 1778 and named them after his sponsor. The Sandwich Islands. Know where the Sandwich Islands are? Hawaii. But because there were already natives living on the islands, and they had a desire to reclaim their identity, over time, the name changed back to Hawaii.

But all was not lost. The earl had something else named after him. The eponymous name. Sandwich. There are two stories about how this name was given to meat tucked between two pieces of bread. One was the Lord Sandwich was a very busy man. And instead of taking time to eat a meal, he would often tell his servants to just put something between two pieces of bread. The other story is, the Lord Sandwich loved playing cards. And he wanted to keep playing cards while he was eating. But he didn’t want to get the cards greasy with food either. So, he asked for his meat to be tucked between two pieces of bread. Soon, other people were asking for the same food "as Sandwich."

Eponymous names. An eponym is a person after whom something is named. The tribe of Reuben is named after who? Jacob’s oldest son Reuben. So Reuben is an eponym. He’s the ancestor who the eponymous tribe of Reuben is named after.

The blessing that was given to Reuben was actually a prophecy foretelling the future of the tribe that bore his name and consisted of his descendants and the same holds true for each one of the sons of Jacob.

What does 2 Timothy 3:16-17 say? “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

All Scripture. One thing we can learn from these blessings, these prophecies, is that our character and our actions not only determine our destiny but they also determine the destiny of our descendants. And as we go through each one of these blessings, you’re going to see what I mean.