SECTION XV. Prophecy on Zebulun. "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships, and his border shall be unto Zidon." (13.) SECTION XV. Fulfilment. The territory of Zebulun was bounded by the sea of Gennesaret on the east. Beyond its western frontier lies that deep bay, of which the promontory of Mount Carmel is the southern extremity. The portion of "Asher," which is beyond the western border of Zebulun, comprises " Tyre and Sidon." SECTION XVI. Prophecy on Issachar. "Issachar is a strong ass, couching down between two burdens; and he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant: and bowed his shoulder to bear." SECTION XVI. Fulfilment. Issachar was, numerically, a tribe of considerable strength, and was not without distinction in the history of Israel. "The Princes of Issachar were with Deborah and Barak." (Judges v. 15.) Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, slew Nadab, king of Israel, the son of Jeroboam; and the sceptre of Israel was held by him, and his son Elah, until Zimri utterly destroyed all the wicked house of Baasha. (1 Kings xv. xvi.) Thus the tribe of Issachar became conspicuous for the political power of one of its chief families. Its territorial allotment was bounded by Jordan, on the east, and by the River Kishon, on the south, in a rich and fertile soil. But these possessions were held subject to the intrusion of the tribe of Manasseh, and to the persevering hostility of several cities, which were not abandoned by their original Canaanitish inhabitants. Manasseh possessed, in Issachar, (as well as in Asher,) several districts and towns, equal to "three countries; " but they could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, for "the Canaanites would dwell in the land." (Jos. xvii. 11.) Issachar preferred the quiet enjoyment of her fertile portion to any enlargement of her borders, recognising, in the words of Jacob, that her "land was pleasant" and "rejoicing in her tents," as Moses predicted. (Deut. xxxiii. 18.) |