8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
your father's sons shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's cub;
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down; he crouched as a lion
and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
11 Binding his foal to the vine
and his donkey's colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine
and his vesture in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
Israel (Jacob) is about to die. He has lost most of his eye sight and strength. Once he pronounces these blessings on his twelve children he will die. This is a solemn moment but also a powerful moment. In the above blessing from Israel to Judah we see the passing of the torch of leadership. Judah’s line of succession will be to be the ruler of the nation of Israel. Note what Israel says to Judah:
1. In verse 8 we read that Judah will be praised and honored above his brothers. They will bow down to Judah (and the descendants of Judah). King David is from the tribe of Judah. David was a picture of the Messiah and Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. This shows God’s plan from the beginning.
2. Israel uses three terms for the king of the jungle to describe Judah (v. 9). He will be a lion cub, a lion, as a lioness. He will be so fierce and feared Israel states, who dares to rouse him? This speaks to the power and honor and respect Judah would have. Again the Messiah, Jesus, will be the total fulfillment of this description.
3. In verse ten we read that Judah will be a ruler who brings all peoples into obedience. We can see that through Solomon, David and then, eventually, Jesus.
4. His vine speaks to the blessings he will bring to the nation of Israel (v. 11). The vine of his leadership will be so full of blessings it will be like a vine you can even tie a donkey to. If a donkey is tied to a vine of grapes the donkey would eat the grapes. But Judah will bring such blessings that even the donkey will be able to eat. So blessed, the foal and donkey can be tied to the choice vine.
5. In verse twelve we read that Judah’s eyes will be darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. This could be a reference to his physical health as the appointed leader of Israel. Or, it could more probably be a way to continue the previous metaphors and explain another aspect of Judah’s prosperity. Or, even more likely, this reference is showing us that as a result of the previous blessings, Judah’s line of inheritance will result in the beauty and attractiveness of the kingly line to those who follow.
Judah did not earn any of the above blessings. Israel just blessed him in such a way. It was God’s grace on one son who would be the son who would carry out God’s plan for all mankind. Jesus would come from Judah and bless us in similar, but much more spectacular ways. He would bring us enteral life. He would give us spiritual blessings:
John 1:50-51 (ESV)
Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
No comments:
Post a Comment