Jacob made some amazing predictions about his son Judah in Genesis 49:8-12, but do they relate in some way to us too? Do they, for instance, give some real meaning to Jesus’ command to his disciples in Matthew 6:33, to “seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”?
Because what we’ve got in the prophecy about Judah in Genesis 49 is a pointer to Jesus and the kind of kingdom he’ll be setting up in the future. Verse 8, for instance, says his “hand will be on the neck of his enemies,” which is something we can happily seek and look forward to, because we are stuffed with enemies we have no control over, like the massive corporations sucking us dry in their lust for money, or the leaders of nations draining us dry in their lust for war, or politicians taxing us to death in their messiah-like claim to be saving the planet.
But one day the Lion of Judah will have them in an unbreakable neck lock and their power will be erased forever (Daniel 7:14). And that’s what king David had his eyes fixed firmly on in Psalm 73, when he couldn’t understand why “the wicked prospered” in his world either (3) – “until,” that is, “I entered the sanctuary of God, then I understood their final destiny” (16-17).
Well, thanks to the prophecy in Genesis 49:10, we can enter into the sanctuary of God too, where we see Jesus holding the “sceptre of Judah” picturing his royal authority over this planet and “the obedience of the nations being his.” At last, the time when the rule of law for our world will be based on his example, his nature, and what he taught. So in seeking his kingdom first that’s what we’re seeking in our lives right now – knowing that those who obey Jesus now will join him in bringing HIS truly messianic “eternal salvation” to this planet (Hebrews 5:9).
This is what David and those in Hebrews 11 were seeking (Hebrews 11:13-16, 26), that enabled them to obey God and trust him no matter what the world they lived in threw at them. And isn’t that what keeps us going in this untidy world – knowing Jesus will be taking over one day and setting the entire planet up with what God originally planned for it, and he wants us right beside him in the doing of it too.
The prophecy meant for Judah, therefore, has meaning for us too. Because the kingdom it portrayed is in the making right now, in those who believe in faith what’s coming, like those in Hebrews 11, and want to be part of it as well. But “Does Zebulun have meaning for us too?”….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 