14. Judah, Evoker of Praise

Genesis 29:35 & 49:8-12

Key verse: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is His. He will tether His donkey to a vine, His colt to the choicest branch; He will wash His garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes.”

Genesis 49:10-11

With this blessing of Israel, on his fourth son, Judah, Judah has now been chosen, out of all his brothers, to become the forefather of the Messiah.  When Judah was born, Leah, his mother, finally turned her focus toward praising God.  With the first three sons, Reuben, Simeon and Levi, she had hoped to gain favor with her husband, Jacob.  With Judah, however, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord." (Genesis 29:35)  How fitting for the forefather of the Messiah to be one who evokes praise.

As Judah grew, he made many bad choices.  God, however, continued to work with him, as He had Jacob, to mold him into a leader of the family that Israel could depend upon in his old age.  Judah started out as an immoral character like his brothers, but he also eventually moved some distance away from his family and grew into a person that could be trusted as the family spokesman when they traveled to Egypt. (See Genesis 38.)

The scepter will not depart from Judah until it is held by a man on a donkey, who washes his robe in the blood of wine.  How rich the symbolism is here of Christ!  How sad that many of Jesus’ own generation did not see Him for who and what He truly is.  In fact, when Jerusalem finally fell, for the last time, forty years after the resurrection of Christ, many of the learned men went into mourning because, they believed that God's prophesy, this prophesy, had not been fulfilled.  They just wouldn't see the true fulfillment for who He was.

 Yes, we are still on the right path.  The next generation has received the blessing.  Jesus will not only be a son of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, but more specifically, a son of Judah.  How painfully slowly the foundation is being laid, but how firm and secure it is for all of us.  Prophets and bards (poets) would keep the promise alive through their words of encouragement to believe, Messiah is coming!

Prayer: Lord, as we trace out the prophetic clues to Messiah, it is amazing that anyone could miss it. Even the men on the road to Emmaus were amazed. Their hearts burned within them as Jesus pointed out these clues and they could finally see how it all came together in Jesus. But even then, they didn't know it was Jesus showing them, until he broke the bread at their table. Thank you Father, for revealing it to us, piece by piece of Scripture, but fully formed in our hearts already because of your Holy Spirit within. Thank you, in Jesus' name, amen. 

Hymn: "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"