Skip to main content

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" 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

258. "Remember, Always Remember!"

Exodus 12:1-30 Key Verse: "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord a lasting ordinance." Exodus 12:14 "Celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." (Exodus 12:17) "And when your children ask you, "What does this ceremony mean to you?" then tell them, "It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when He struck down the Egyptians." (Exodus 12:27) The original act was an act of worship as the first true act of freedom for the people of Israel. They had been brought to Egypt by Joseph during a time of famine so that through Joseph God could preserve their lives. ( Genesis 37 , & 39-50 ) After Joseph died, however, instead of heading back to C...
Post a Comment
Read more

August 13 What Is Fitting

It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury—how much less for a slave to rule over princes! ~Proverbs 19:10   On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man!” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. ~Acts 12:21-23  Wow! Well, what in the world can there be to benefit us here? First of all, perhaps we should review the first Biblical definition of a fool, penned by no other than Solomon’s Father, David himself. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1) It is not fitting for the fool to live the blessed life. Why should they when they deny from whom all blessings flow?  King Herod was a fool. Now, just to be clear, this is not the Herod who ruled at Jesus’ birth and ordered the slaughter of the male children in Bethlehem. He ...
Post a Comment
Read more

July 26 Time for A Wellness Check Up

This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him—for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work, this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart. ~Ecclesiastes 5:16-20  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everythi...
Post a Comment
Read more