Genesis
49:8-12 "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 sceptre 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.
Genesis 49 records the last words of
Jacob, his twelve sons have gathered around the death-bed of their father and
receive from him a blessing. If we read through this chapter it appears that a
significant portion of the brothers receive more of a chastisement and curse
rather than a blessing. Judah and Joseph stand apart from the rest of the
twelve in the great blessings that are given to them.
The blessing given to Judah is one of
great importance in what we call Redemptive History, the unfolding of God’s
plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. We are being given a glimpse into how
God will form and forge the nation of Israel to bring His plan of salvation
through Christ to pass.
With this blessing that is given to
Judah in mind, as we continue to read and work our way through the Scriptures
and the history of Israel, when we come to 2 Samuel 2 and 2 Samuel 5 where David
is anointed king of Judah and then a little while later king over all of Israel
we should rejoice. The rise of David to the position of king is the fulfilment
of these words that Jacob spoke, over 800 years before David was even born. Our
joy should be all the more when we come to 2 Samuel 7, for the blessing
pronounced upon Judah comes to an even greater fulfilment when God makes a
covenant with David, that David’s line will remain upon the throne. Keeping all
this in mind our joy should reach its climax when we come to the New Testament,
to the Gospel of Matthew and read of how Christ is born into the tribe of Judah
and of the line of David. This is the great, final and ultimate fulfilment of
Jacob’s blessing upon Judah, for Christ will hold the throne, the sceptre, the
power and the authority forever.
This serves as an encouraging
reminder to us that God’s plan of salvation was not a plan He had to put
together in an instant with little forethought. The whole of human history is
actually the story of how God has acted to redeem mankind. Human history starts
with God and it will end with God, when God’s plan of redemption has
accomplished all that God set to accomplish through it. We can also take great
encouragement from passages such as this, as they remind us of the authenticity
and truth of the Bible as it records historical events for us. Only God could
have inspired the words that Jacob spoke, only God could have instructed Samuel
to go and anointed a young shepherd boy call David from the tribe of Judah. Only
God could have planned and worked so as to preserve this promise for nearly
2000 years, so that Christ would be born in accordance and in fulfilment of
this promise. We can trust God and we can trust His Word, for they are true and
trustworthy.
Our great
God over time and history, we worship You today for the many ways in which You
have worked through human history in Your wisdom, goodness, mercy, love and
grace. We praise You for the wonder of Your plan of redemption, so perfectly
planned and performed. We praise You further for the truth of Your Word, that we
can stand upon it knowing that it is true in all that which is says. We pray
that this might encourage us to trust You all the more and to love Your Word
more. Amen
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