says that “. . . Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; . . .” The expression, chief ruler, means a prince and the Hebrew word, we are told, as used here is “nagid” — it is the same term which is translated Messiah, the Prince, in Daniel 9:25. You see, it was from the tribe of Judah, for which the sardius, the blood red gem, stands representative of the Lord Jesus Christ who later came. Let us look, now, at the words of Jacob as he speaks in Genesis 49:8-12 inclusive. The first thing we are told of Judah is . . thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise . . The word used here for praise always refers to the praise or worship which is offered to the Lord. Christ is the One who shall yet receive the praise and worship of His own brethren according to the flesh: namely, the people of Israel. Then, in the second expression we are told, . . thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.” So, while Judah stands symbolical of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to re mind ourselves that Christ is the One who, like Judah, shall have dominion over Israel and subdue all their ene mies. We see this dominion of the tribe of Judah commenced in the days of Nathan who was the first king from that particular tribe. It was during the reign of David that Judah’s hand was in the neck of their enemies because Judah became a dominant tribe and, as such, became a leader among the nations of the world. Read for yourselves the glorious words of Genesis 49:9,10 in which their father Jacob contemplated the supreme destiny of the tribe of Judah — using the figure of the lion, it threads its gold en path through the intricate days of time until the full figure of The Lion of the Tribe of Judah breaks upon the page of the Book of the Revelation, chapter 5 and verse 5! “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh (Christ) come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” 5
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 Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.” Now the above section of Jacob’s prophecy concerning Judah, finds its GOD NEVER FAILS Each happy morn when I awake, This promise for the day I take: "I'll never leave thee, nor forsake," HE FAILETH. NOT! Along life's road I'll fear no ill, For Christ my Lord is with me still; He never faileth! He never will! HE FAILETH NOT! He has not failed me in the past, He will not fail while life shall last, For whereso'er my lot be cast, HE FAILETH NOT! ultimate fulfillment in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. We read about garments that were washed in wine and clothes in the blood of grapes. This language of Scripture, where such pn expression is used, simply means that this rich color flowed in abundance in the land that Judah had taken over as his portion of the land of Israel. Then, again, “his eyes were red with wine.” Now what was natural of his life be came obvious of his record or his per manent testimonial. Wonderful? Yes, because all of this stands representative of the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We suggest that with this section of Jacob’s prophecy should be coupled I Chronicles 5:2 where the Scripture
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker