“³Reuben, you are

my firstborn,

   My might and the beginning

of my strength,

        The excellency of

dignity and the

excellency of power.

     “⁴Unstable as water, you

shall not excel,

        Because you went up to

your father’s bed;

        Then you defiled it –

He went up to my couch.”

– Genesis 49:3-4 (NKJV)

“Reuben, you are my first born, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power (the first indication of Jacob’s greatness as representative and “founder” of The Nation of Israel; the establishing of Its Tribes commences with Reuben). Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then you defiled it – He went up to my couch ♡ (the curse of sexual immorality, for it is written “God [Himself] will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” [Hebrews 13:4 NIV]).” *

* In many ways we recognise here a parallel with the first Adam: God’s firstborn human son, brimming with potential, a marvel to behold as he so fully embodies all the limitless possibilities awarded unto such a blessed creature Loved and created by Almighty God in His very Image: God’s own Might, Strength; the excellency of His Dignity and Power able to flow through this heretofore never before beholden image-bearer. Nevertheless, once he has sinned, all this potential is eroded within an instant, and not only does he come under the Judgment of God, but where once “streams of Living Water flowed from his belly” these selfsame waters have now become murky and “unstable “; for not only has he defiled himself but he has also “defiled ” The Father’s Name in whose Name he was created and sent, bringing dishonour to The Name, as opposed to exalting It. In this compromised state – what we now call “in his own strength” – it has become impossible to “excel “.

However will this accursed state be reversed . . . ? ✝️ [Psalm 18:1]

♡ See also Song of Solomon 1:16 (NKJV)