Word of Encouragement (05/03/2022)
“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.” (Gen. 49:8-12)
In this prayer for Judah, his fourth son, Jacob establishes the tribe of Judah as Israel’s royal tribe.
It begins with prophetic pronouncements, all describing Judah’s dominance over others: over his brothers (“your brothers shall praise you...; your father’s sons shall bow down before you”) and his enemies (“your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies”). You may see a conflict between this prophecy and Joseph’s dreams. In his dreams, Joseph saw the sheaves of his brothers bow down to his (Gen. 37:7) and the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowing down to him (Gen. 37:9). In this prophecy, we see Judah’s brothers bowing down before him, which includes Joseph and his two sons. We shouldn’t think that this is a contradiction. Joseph’s dream was about what would happen in his lifetime whereas Jacob’s prophecy concerning Judah was about what would happen in the future for generations to come (“The scepter shall not depart from Judah...,” v. 10), for all eternity, indeed, in the reign of Christ.
Indeed, we see Jacob moving on to attribute the image of a lion to Judah (v. 9). Lion, of course, is a royal symbol. It hints at the royal position the tribe of Judah would have in the future, which is spelled out in the next verse: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet...” (v. 10). This is where we get the description of Jesus Christ as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” in Rev. 5:5).
Then comes an enigmatic expression: “until tribute comes to him.” Consider other translations: “until Shiloh comes to him”; “until he comes to whom it belongs,” etc. You can guess that the meaning of the Hebrew words is not quite clear. But throughout history, theologians (including the Jewish ones) saw this expression as referring to the coming of the Messiah. Then, why does Jacob say, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet” until the Messiah comes? It sounds as if Judah’s royal line would end when the Messiah comes, doesn’t it? But that is not necessarily true. Jacob’s prophecy goes on to say, “and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” It suggests that Judah’s kingship will expand to the whole world, not cease, when the Messiah comes.
There is another twist in the prophecy: “Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk” (v. 11-12). Here, two things are joined together: his foal/donkey and the vine. It can mean many different things, but you are well aware that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy, “Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (Zech. 9:9). And the language of his garments washed in wine, in the blood of grapes, evokes His work of atonement through the shedding of His blood (which is memorialized by the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper).
You can see how this prophecy was wonderfully fulfilled in the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and His work of redemption, which He accomplished through the shedding of His blood on the cross. The Book of Revelation describes this wonderfully by presenting Jesus as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5) and “a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Rev. 5:6). In Jesus Christ, we have a King, who is the sovereign Lord of all yet was willing to sacrifice Himself for the redemption of His people. Under His lordship, we are secure with double security—His almighty power and His self-giving love. Add to this the unfailing faithfulness of God, who brings all of His promises to their wonderful fulfillment.
Start this morning by reminding yourself of this wonderful security you have in Jesus Christ. Go out and do what God has called you to do with boldness in the name of your wonderful King!