Judah || Jacob’s Family Tree || Week 3

Welcome back to our series called “Jacob’s Family Tree,” where we look at the blessing Jacob gave to each of the 12 tribes. We covered Reuben’s blessing a couple of weeks ago, and last week, we covered the blessing given to Simeon and Levi. This week we look at the blessing Jacob gave to Judah, which is found in Genesis 49:8-12 and says this:

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grab your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down to you.

9 Judah is like a young lion. You have returned from killing, my son. Like a lion, he stretches out and lies down to rest. No one is brave enough to wake him. 

10 Men from Judah’s family will be kings. Someone from Judah will always be on the throne. Judah will rule until the real king comes. And the nations will obey him.

11 He ties his donkey to a grapevine. He ties his young donkey to the best branch. He can afford to use wine to wash his clothes. He even uses grape juice to wash his robes. 

12 His eyes are bright from drinking wine. His teeth are white from drinking milk.

This is the first blessing that doesn’t seem to have any harsh tones to it or any condemning language, so what’s this all entail? Let’s talk about that.

Lion of Judah

The tribes of Judah will receive a lot of national prominence and kingship. Examples include David, Solomon, and their entire dynasty (about 640 years). It also includes the one to whom “the scepter shall not depart.” This was a cryptogram or a symbol or figure with personal significance. The cryptogram for the Messiah, the one also called the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” in Revelation 5:5

5 But one of the elders said to me, “Do not cry! The Lion from the tribe of Judah has won the victory. He is David’s descendant. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.

This title, “Lion of Judah,” refers to Jesus’ fierceness and strength, which we saw a glimpse of during his first coming. Still, it didn’t appear in their fullness until the moment talked about here. What a powerful blessing to receive? Jacob prophesied that Jesus Christ himself would come from Judah’s tribe almost 1,500 years before it.

Going First

On the march through the wilderness, Judah’s tribe went first, as stated in Numbers 10:14

14 The divisions from the camp of Judah moved first under their flag. Nahshon son of Amminadab was the commander.

Because of Jacob’s blessing, the tribe of Judah was given preeminence, or superiority, as the ruling tribe. This is why Judah’s tribe rolled out first on their march through the wilderness.

Throughout this march, Judah had the largest population in both of Moses’ censuses. Don’t believe me? Let’s check out Numbers 1:27 and 26:22, so I can prove it to you.

1:27 The tribe of Judah totaled 74,600.

26:22 These were the family groups of Judah. The total number of men was 76,500

It remained the highest populated tribe and increased over time as well. Not a bad deal, right?

Prosperity Prophecy

We will focus on Gen 49:11-12 for a quick minute because there’s some prosperity hidden within it. This scripture describes prosperity so great that people will tie a donkey to a choice vine, letting it eat because there’s such abundance. The wine will be as plentiful as water, and everyone will be healthy.

We’ve learned so far that Jesus will come from the tribes of Judah. Isn’t what I just said sound like things Jesus did in his time here on Earth? The tying of the donkey reminds me of him sending two disciples to fetch him a donkey to ride into Jerusalem to fulfill the prophecies written by Isaiah and Zechariah. The wine being as plentiful as water reminds me of Jesus’ first miracle in the Gospel of John. Just me? There’s your homework this week!

Preview

I really do hope you are enjoying this series so far. I know this hasn’t been my standard uplifting motivational message. Still, God really put it on my heart to dig into these blessings a little bit more to understand them and see what that means for me. Next week, we’ll see you as we discuss the blessing for Zebulun and Issachar, who share a similar nautical blessing! Stay blessed!