“Simeon and Levi are brothers. Their weapons are tools of injustice.
Let not my soul come into their council,
and in their assembly let not my honor be united!
For in their anger, they slew a man,
and in their self-will they broke down a wall.
Cursed be their anger! For it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel.
I will divide them within Jacob, and I will scatter them within Israel!”
Genesis 49:5–7
Levi and Simeon had committed a great sin in slaughtering the unsuspecting inhabitants of Shechem (Gen. 34:25–26), and in doing so, they brought upon themselves the curse Jacob uttered in the verse above. Centuries later, Jacob’s prophecy that God would scatter those two tribes came to pass.
The tribe of Levi: When Israel conquered Canaan’s land, the tribe of Levi was not given its own portion of land in Canaan the way it was given to the other tribes. The tribe of Levi, being the priesthood tribe in Israel, was settled in 48 cities, scattered within the borders of the other tribes (Josh. 21).
The tribe of Simeon: The tribe of Judah was given a very large portion of Canaan, much larger than was given to any other tribe. So, it was decided that the tribe of Simeon, a small tribe, would only be given cities within the territory of Judah (Josh. 19:1). Not much is heard from Simeon after that. Apparently, Simeon was absorbed into Judah over time and just faded away.
Many times, when the prophets spoke of great events among nations and the earth, what God said through them has taken a long time to actually take place, and some of those prophecies remain unfulfilled. But everything God says comes to pass. It is just a matter of time. God has warned us that awful plagues are going to strike the earth which have not yet struck the earth, and He has warned us that an evil world ruler called the Beast will rise and brutally persecute God’s faithful children, but the Beast has not yet risen, and He has promised that Jesus will return to reign on earth a thousand years, but Jesus has not come yet. Nevertheless, however long it takes, everything God has spoken shall come to pass. It is just a matter of time.
Let us live so that if any of those prophecies come to pass in our time, our hearts and hands are clean and we are prepared to overcome all things with peace toward God.
