And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda[h], the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Rev 5:5)
PART I
This appellation for Christ occurs only once in Scripture, and we generally accept it without much further investigation. But everything that is said about Christ in Scripture is significant from God’s perspective, who has given His Son all power and authority in Heaven and on earth. So the question arises as to why God chose the tribe of Judah to receive such renown, and what does this title actually mean?
Judah was born to Leah with Jacob as the father, but Jacob did not even love Leah to begin with. So we see the grace of God right here. That the unloved wife had children before Rachel (whom he loved): And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. (Gen 29:31) And Judah was not even the firstborn of Leah. It was Reuben, followed by Simeon and Levi, after which Judah was born.
Again we see the grace of God in not selecting the firstborn to be the ancestor of Christ. But Leah named Judah with a special name – Yehuda – which means “praised” or “God be praised”. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. (Gen 29:35) This was prophetic since the tribe of Judah would be elevated by God in spite of the sins and failures of Judah, David, and Solomon. This again shows the grace and mercy of God towards sinners.
Did Judah sin grievously? Yes he did. Firstly he married a Canaanite woman against the commandments of God, and then he had sexual relations with his daughter-in-law Tamar. But after that Judah said that she was more righteous than him, and he was right. He had not done the right thing by her by denying her one of his other sons. As a result she bore Pharez, the ancestor of David (Ruth 4:18-22), even though Pharez should not have been born before his twin brother Zarah. Since Pharez was the ancestor of Boaz, who married Ruth, a Moabitess (Ruth 1:4), once again we see the grace of God on display. He allowed a Gentile woman to become a part of the line of Christ, as well as Tamar who was not the lawful wife of Judah.
But then Judah tried (only partially) to do the right thing by Joseph, since his others brothers wanted to kill him. Judah helped to send Joseph into slavery (which was coincidentally a part of God’s plan to preserve the Israelites): And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. (Gen 37:26,27)
But then Judah was allowed to take the lead in dealing with Joseph, after Joseph was the virtual ruler of Egypt. Judah offered to become surety for Benjamin, but that became unnecessary, since Jospeh revealed himself to his brethren, and embraced Bejamin and the others. Eventually the Israelites settled and flourished in the land of Goshen in Egypt.
Later on, when Jacob was on his deathbed, he spoke prophetically about Judah (Gen 49:8-10), and predicted the coming of Messiah – Shiloh – the Lord Jesus Christ through the tribe of Judah: Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shi loh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
What did he mean? A lion’s whelp is a young lion who has always been protected by his mother, and never experienced any attacks. Therefore he is bold and fearless. But the Lord Jesus Christ endured all the attacks of Satan and His own enemies, and yet He was victorious over sin, death, Hades, Hell, and Satan. The sceptre is a symbol of royal authority and Christ has the sceptre of being the King of kings and the Lord of lords. “Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” speaks of the countless numbers who will be in Heaven because they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
PART I
This appellation for Christ occurs only once in Scripture, and we generally accept it without much further investigation. But everything that is said about Christ in Scripture is significant from God’s perspective, who has given His Son all power and authority in Heaven and on earth. So the question arises as to why God chose the tribe of Judah to receive such renown, and what does this title actually mean?
Judah was born to Leah with Jacob as the father, but Jacob did not even love Leah to begin with. So we see the grace of God right here. That the unloved wife had children before Rachel (whom he loved): And when the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren. (Gen 29:31) And Judah was not even the firstborn of Leah. It was Reuben, followed by Simeon and Levi, after which Judah was born.
Again we see the grace of God in not selecting the firstborn to be the ancestor of Christ. But Leah named Judah with a special name – Yehuda – which means “praised” or “God be praised”. And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah; and left bearing. (Gen 29:35) This was prophetic since the tribe of Judah would be elevated by God in spite of the sins and failures of Judah, David, and Solomon. This again shows the grace and mercy of God towards sinners.
Did Judah sin grievously? Yes he did. Firstly he married a Canaanite woman against the commandments of God, and then he had sexual relations with his daughter-in-law Tamar. But after that Judah said that she was more righteous than him, and he was right. He had not done the right thing by her by denying her one of his other sons. As a result she bore Pharez, the ancestor of David (Ruth 4:18-22), even though Pharez should not have been born before his twin brother Zarah. Since Pharez was the ancestor of Boaz, who married Ruth, a Moabitess (Ruth 1:4), once again we see the grace of God on display. He allowed a Gentile woman to become a part of the line of Christ, as well as Tamar who was not the lawful wife of Judah.
But then Judah tried (only partially) to do the right thing by Joseph, since his others brothers wanted to kill him. Judah helped to send Joseph into slavery (which was coincidentally a part of God’s plan to preserve the Israelites): And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. (Gen 37:26,27)
But then Judah was allowed to take the lead in dealing with Joseph, after Joseph was the virtual ruler of Egypt. Judah offered to become surety for Benjamin, but that became unnecessary, since Jospeh revealed himself to his brethren, and embraced Bejamin and the others. Eventually the Israelites settled and flourished in the land of Goshen in Egypt.
Later on, when Jacob was on his deathbed, he spoke prophetically about Judah (Gen 49:8-10), and predicted the coming of Messiah – Shiloh – the Lord Jesus Christ through the tribe of Judah: Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shi loh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
What did he mean? A lion’s whelp is a young lion who has always been protected by his mother, and never experienced any attacks. Therefore he is bold and fearless. But the Lord Jesus Christ endured all the attacks of Satan and His own enemies, and yet He was victorious over sin, death, Hades, Hell, and Satan. The sceptre is a symbol of royal authority and Christ has the sceptre of being the King of kings and the Lord of lords. “Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” speaks of the countless numbers who will be in Heaven because they believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
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