Genesis 49:15
And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Issachar is pictured as perceiving that repose was beneficial and the country was agreeable, and then bending his shoulder to lift a load and falling under compulsory service paid as tribute. This portrayal belongs to the inspired foretelling uttered to his grieving sons in his final hours, when angels encircled him and the power of divine grace rested brightly upon him. It was uttered by a pardoning and loving father who cherished his children to the end, who had sorrowed profoundly over Joseph, who had been pained when Simeon was kept in Egypt, who had longed earnestly for his children's secure return, and who cherished no bitterness toward them.
The utterance did not spring from a vindictive temper on account of their misdeeds but from God through the spirit of prophecy, which raised his mind above mere fatherly affection that by itself would have spoken only love and tenderness. Under that inspiring influence he declared the truth even where it caused pain. In contrast to the dark declarations that laid out God's estimate of Simeon and Levi's violent acts and that He would punish them for their sins, the prophetic utterances for the other sons were of a less somber character.