The Tribe of Judah

As we have discussed over several weeks, each of Jacob’s sons received a blessing from their father just before Jacob’s death. Each of these blessings contain prophetic information about the future of each tribe.

Without a doubt, the prophecies concerning Judah are overwhelming especially when you consider that both Judas and Jesus are from the Tribe of Judah.

We will look at the blessings bestowed on Judah tonight, and next week, we will unpack the prophetic significance as those blessings are applied to Jesus, and see if there is a connection between Judas and those blessings, and I want to tell you that there is a connection between some of the blessings of Judah and Judas, and that connection is terrible.

Ultimately, the blessings of Judah are completed in Jesus Christ, but we will see how Judas tries to steal those blessings, but first, let’s examine the blessings of Judah.

I. The Blessings of Judah

A. Judah’s brothers will praise him.

Genesis 49:8 ““As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.”

Judah was a son born to Jacob and Leah. You know that Jacob loved Rachel more than he loved Leah, but it was Leah up to this point that was blessed by God to have children, and it was Leah who named Judah. (Gen. 29:35)

Genesis 29:35 “And she conceived again and gave birth to a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped having children.”

Do you find it ironic that Leah gave birth to Judah (the tribe from which Jesus would come)?

Leah was filled with praise when Judah was born, and praise in verse 35 means praise with uplifted hands.

Leah gave God the praise and honor. Jacob prophesied that Judah’s brothers would praise Judah in the same way that Leah praised the Lord for giving Judah to her. I want you to think about the long-range nature of that blessing. One of these days Israel, the sons of Jacob, will praise the One from the tribe of Judah with outstretched hands.

B. Jacob’s strength and power will come to bear.

Genesis 49:8 ““As for you, Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.”

In the Promised Land, Judah was given extensive tracts of land. His inheritance was greater than his brothers’ inheritance, and often, Judah was called by God into battle first.

Judges 1:1–2 “Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have handed the land over to him.””

Judges 20:18 “Now the sons of Israel set out, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God and said, “Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?” Then the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.””

Judah’s strength and power made him a leader.

There is a tremendous significance in God sending Judah into battle first. Remember what Judah means. It means praise, and specifically to praise God with uplifted hands. It is as if God is saying when you go into battle, go in with lifted hands, offering praises to me surrendering the outcome into my hands.

DO you understand how important that is to you in your daily walk? IN any situation we face, if we going into it praising God and surrendering the outcome into His hands, we will win the victory.

C. Judah will be a lion and its cub.

Genesis 49:9 ““Judah is a lion’s cub; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares to stir him up?”

Judah, as a young lion, had strength, courage, and vitality. As a mature lion, Judah would be regal containing those of national prominence like David and Solomon.

D. Judah will always be on the throne.

Genesis 49:10 ““The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

Verse 10 is a Messianic prophecy.

I have said this before, but Jesus is found in every book of the Bible. I came across this in some of my readings, and it explains the Bible perfectly.

The Old Testament says Jesus is coming.

The Gospels say He is here.

The Acts proclaim Him.

The Epistles explain Him.

The Revelation says He is coming again.

Dear friend, that is the Bible. When you read the Bible, search for those allusions to Jesus Christ. He is found on every page. Jesus Christ is the focus of the Bible.

There is coming a day as prophesied by Jacob that the nations of this world will bend the knee in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:9–11 “For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

It is not a matter of whether or not you are going to bend the knee in obedience to Jesus and confess His name. You are going to do that, but it is a question of timing, however. Will you bow to him and confess Him in your free will as He gives you the opportunity to do so, or will you bow and confess after it is too late to save your soul?

E. Judah will be blessed abundantly.

Genesis 49:11–12 ““He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. “His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.”

Jacob prophesied that Judah will be extremely wealthy. How wealthy?

Verse 11 says that Judah will be so wealthy that it would be able to tie a donkey to the choicest grapevine and allow him to eat his fill.

There is another application as it pertains to Christians today.

As a Christian, there are great blessings awaiting you flowing from the love of God which comes to us through Christ.

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

Dear friend, God not deliver Jesus to the Cross in order to deprive us of the blessings He wants to give us. That is what Paul is saying. He saying that it is ridiculous that God would withhold anything from us if He was willing to send Jesus to die for us.

As Christians, there are unbelievable riches available to us, but those riches are not necessarily monetary riches, even though God has promised to supply our every need.

The riches available to the Christian are God’s Word, God’s love, God’s grace, God’s mercy, and the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

Do you realize how wealthy you are?

Judah was not perfect. He was not free from sin. Let me give you some examples found in the book of Genesis.

If you read Genesis 38, you will find that Judah married a Canaanite woman named Shuah.

Two of the sons produced by this marriage, Er and Onan, were so evil that God killed them.

Judah had sex with his daughter-in-law who had disguised herself as a prostitute, and twin boys were produced from the relationship, but God will use imperfect men. AMEN!!!!!

Judah was sinful, but Judah repented and received great blessings. Judah who once urged his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery exhibited God’s grace and mercy after he repented.

Genesis 44:18 “Then Judah approached him and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.”

Genesis 44:32–33 “For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.’ So now, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go up with his brothers.”

Judah’s life bore the marks of repentance, and he was blessed greatly by his father. It was a repentance that produced a lifestyle change, and dear friend, the same thing happens today. If a person is to be saved, repentance must be evident. A new lifestyle is proof of a repentant heart.

Baptists have gotten away from teaching that truth. If a person is truly saved, that person will no longer be a slave to sin. The old life is buried at baptism, and a new life comes forth.

Romans 6:1–4 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Far from it! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.”

What about you? Did you just go through the motions? Did you repent? Have you been born-again? Paul says that a person who is truly been born-again will not continue in sin. A person that has been born-again will live a new life, a life free from the burden of sin. If you are not living in that freedom, will you come to Jesus?