Judah || Jacob’s Family Tree – Revisited #3

Welcome back to the “Jacob’s Family Tree – Revisited” series. This series takes another look at the blessings Jacob gave to his children and how those blessings are showcased in the rest of the biblical story. In the last part, we looked at the revengeful acts that cost Simeon and Levi their blessing. In this blog, we will look at Judah’s blessing.

Genesis 49:8-12

8             “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you.

9             Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness – who dares to rouse him?

10           The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.

11           He ties his foal to a grapevine, the colt of his donkey to a choice vine. He washes the clothes in wine, his robes in the blood of grapes.

12           His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.

This has a different tone than the blessings we’ve read for Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. This is a joyous blessing if you can understand much of the imagery being shown here. Let’s talk about it.

God chose Judah to be the ancestor of Israel’s line of kings. That’s what we referred to when we read, “the scepter won’t depart from Judah. With that, who is referred to when verse 10 states, “until the coming of the one to whom it belongs?” It could refer to the area of Shiloh, which the Hebrew word for it means sent. Shiloh also refers to the Messiah in the etymological journey. It could also represent the Tabernacle in Shiloh, which can also connect to the person of Jesus, who was a walking tabernacle for God. We gain all this information from Joshua 18:1; you can read it later.

The Tabernacle was the first permanent location in Shiloh, making it easier for the people to attend special worship services and annual festivals. We see this area come up in Samuel’s early days when he stayed there with Eli. This area would be around for about 300 years.

The Philistines eventually destroyed Shiloh when they captured the Ark of the Covenant. It never lived up to its reputation as this holy center due to its wickedness and idolatry (see Psalms 78:56-60 and Jeremiah 7:12-15). The offense caused in this place was felt by God. The ungratefulness and unfaithfulness of his children provoked a just and holy response from God. The shock that the Psalms passage teaches us comes from the realization that God, though justified in passing absolute judgment, persistently seasons his responses with grace and patience. God is rightfully jealous because of us. It shows his great love for us; it represents an honor worthy of our deepest gratitude.

Jesus used the words from the Jeremiah passage mentioned earlier when he cleared the Temple  and became “Table-Flipping Jesus.”

Mark 11:17, Luke 19:46

Mark 11:17        He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

Luke 19:46        He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.

The leaders were acting like thieves, exploiting the people rather than helping. God’s Tabernacle had been at Shiloh, but it was abandoned after the Philistines destroyed it. If God didn’t preserve Shiloh because the Tabernacle was there, why would he preserve Jerusalem because of the Temple? It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Why wouldn’t God protect it because God’s house is located within the city where it was planted? I believe it’s the realization that the church is just the building. Granted, the Temple is considered sacred, but if the people will abuse it, is it worth keeping around? Not in my opinion. Buildings can be built, torn down, and rebuilt, but the Holy Spirit will go wherever God’s people are.

I know it’s a weird rabbit hole to go down. Still, I feel like this story gives some insight into what the tribe of Judah is about.

1 Chronicles 5:2

2             The descendants of Judah became the most powerful tribe and provided a ruler for the nation, but the birthright belonged to Joseph.

We hear about the lineage of Jesus every Christmas. That lineage of the Tribe of Judah. It has Jesus, David, Solomon, and more. Essential people that had hearts like God. This verse refers to David and the critical work he did. Still, it points to Jesus overall – David’s greatest descendant and the true ruler that David couldn’t be.

Hebrews 7:14

14           What I mean is, Our Lord came from the tribe of Judah, and Moses never mentioned priests coming from that tribe.

Moses never talked about priests coming from this tribe. The tribe of Levi were the priestly ones. Still, the rest of the Bible showed that Judah would be significant for the future of Christianity.

Isaiah 11:1 mentions that Judah would be like a tree chopped down to a humble tree stump. From that stump, a new shoot would grow – Jesus, who would be greater than the original tree and bear much fruit. The Messiah fulfills God’s promise that someone from David’s line would rule forever. Think of your classic Christmas songs about being a root from Jesse’s tree. This is what they are referring to. The coming of Jesus as a descendant from the lineage of David.

Matthew 2:6 refers to how most religious leaders believed in a literal fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies. Because of this, they believed the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, as discussed in Micah 5:2. However, when this was fulfilled, the same religious leaders who hoped this would come true became some of Jesus’ greatest enemies! When the Messiah they’d been waiting on came down, they didn’t recognize him. The expectations they had didn’t match the results of what happened. When they thought about Jesus, they were expecting a war-torn general who would do anything and everything to get control of the nation, but when they saw a baby. They were confused, possibly heartbroken, possibly upset or frustrated. At the end of the day, they didn’t get what they wanted.

Revelation 5:5 talks about the Lion of Judah. Jesus, the lion, proved himself worthy to break the seals and open the scroll by living a perfect life obedient to God, dying on the cross for the world’s sins, and rising from the dead to show his power and authority over evil and death. Only Jesus conquered death, hell, and Satan himself. Only he can be trusted with the world’s future.

Imagine the blessing given to you would sprout the future coming of Jesus Christ himself. That’s powerful. That’s where I wrap up. In the next one, we’ll talk about Zebulun and Issachar. Until then, stay blessed!