The Scepter Will Not Depart (Judah

Call to Worship

Psalm 19 LSB

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of Yahweh is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Yahweh is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of Yahweh are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of Yahweh is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of Yahweh are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, even more than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your slave is warned; In keeping them there is great reward. Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back Your slave from presumptuous sins; Let them not rule over me; Then I will be blameless, And I shall be acquitted of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Yahweh, my rock and my Redeemer.

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 5:1–7 LSB

Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He hoped for it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones. “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Please judge between Me and My vineyard. “What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? “So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground. “I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds to rain no rain on it.” For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel And the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He hoped for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

New Testament Reading

Matthew 21:33–46 LSB

“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. “Now when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. “And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. “Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. “But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ “And they took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, This has become the chief corner stone; This came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation, producing the fruit of it. “And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. And although they were seeking to seize Him, they feared the crowds, because they were regarding Him to be a prophet.

Intro

AG: Our journey through the long awaited Promise from God has traveled from Eden, to Abraham, and now we go a couple of generations later.

Abraham’s son of promise Isaac, received the promise and had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Though Jacob was younger (by minutes) God said he would be the one through whom the promise was kept.

After family drama which included favoritism and deception, Jacob received the blessing and then fled his brother’s wrath.

Jacob, ends up with 2 wives (sisters) through deception and then their 2 maids also bore children to him and he ends up with 12 sons.

Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, and the nation of his descendants still goes by that name. His 12 sons each became the leader of a tribe in Israel.

Through more favoritism, deceit, etc. Joseph is sold as a slave and ends up 2nd in command in Egypt. Unbeknownst to them, he had been sent ahead by God to have a place to preserve Israel in the great famine.

That is where our next stop begins.

TS: Israel has reached the end of his years and blesses his sons. As each son comes before him, he pronounces both a blessing and prophesy of their descendants.

As Judah approaches, we see the promise given which gives more details about the promised one.

Genesis 49:8–10 LSB

“Judah, as for you, 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 is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lioness, who dares rouse him up? “The scepter shall 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.

Genesis 49:11–12 LSB

“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 dark from wine, And his teeth white from milk.

I. Judah’s Lion: The Promise of the Messiah

Bible Passage: Genesis 49:8-10

Summary: In Judah’s blessing, Israel declares:

“the scepter shall not depart from Judah”

This is a prophetic message about the future kingly lineage from Judah culminating in the Messiah.

One of Judah’s descendants will rule forever.

Described as being

as strong as a young lion and as entrenched as an old lion.,

This description paints the promised one as:

Having national prominence & Kingship

David, Solomon, and their dynasty (in 640 years) will bring this about.

The scepter belongs to the their dynasty and ultimately to the messiah (here called Shiloh) who will rule forever.

This is why Jesus is called the lion of the tribe of Judah

Revelation 5:5 LSB

And one of the elders said to me, “Stop crying! Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

Application: This message can encourage Christians to place their hope in Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises. It reminds us that even in uncertain times, God’s plan prevails through history, and enables believers to cling to faith in the promises of God.

Big Idea: God's promises are fulfilled in Christ, the Lion of Judah, who reigns as our King and Redeemer.

II. Judah’s Description:

1. Praise from the Brothers

Genesis 49:8 LSB

“Judah, as for you, 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's brothers will praise him, indicating the honor and leadership that points ultimately to Christ.

This passage introduces Judah's preeminence among his siblings and the beginning of a line that leads to the Messiah.

Judah would march out first in the Exodus when Israel would break camp.

In the census from Numbers, Judah was the largest tribe.

AP: We still praise Him

Jesus is of the tribe of Judah

He rose to prominence and had a true claim to David’s throne.

We praise Him in our worship today. In eternity, we will cast our crowns down at His feet and worshipping Him will feature prominently.

God's plans are revealed in unexpected ways, and His promises often come to fruition through humility and perseverance, encouraging believers to rely on Christ's example as the one who was ultimately praised and honored through His obedience and sacrifice.

Revelation 5:8–14 LSB

And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and purchased for God with Your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “And You made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.” And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the might forever and ever.” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

2. Powerful Like a Lion

Genesis 49:9 LSB

“Judah is a lion’s whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lioness, who dares rouse him up?

Being called a lion symbolizes strength, majesty, and courage.

Jesus embodies these qualities as the Lion of Judah.

Descendants of Judah were mighty men of valor. David stood out and began the actual reign of the dynasty.

He expanded the Kingdom (more on that in the future)

Jesus was a mighty man.

He was God in the flesh!

He had all the power of the universe at His disposal

We see this displayed through all the miracles.

walking on water, water turned to wine, feeding a multitude with a sack lunch, lepers cleansed, dead raised, blind given sight!

He was a wise king!

We could explore His teaching and how He treated people to see this.

He called people to repent and live righteously!

He challenged the religious rulers.

In fact, He began that at 12!

He stayed focus on His mission: the crushing of the serpent as He atoned for sin!

That is what drove all He did.

He wouldn’t take shortcuts:

Satan’s temptations

His countrymen when they wanted to crown Him.

AP: Today, we can draw courage and strength from Jesus, who conquers all enemies and reigns victoriously.

This symbolism helps us understand the powerful and majestic nature of Jesus’s kingship, which assures us that He is more than capable of overcoming the world's challenges.

3. Promise of Eternal Rule

Genesis 49:10 LSB

“The scepter shall 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.

The scepter and ruler's staff promised to Judah, culminates in the everlasting reign of Christ.

This verse highlights the prophetic promise of a coming king in the line of Judah, who will have authority and rule over all nations.

Revelation 19:16 LSB

And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

AP: We serve King Jesus today!

We know He is going to keep His promise and return some day.

This expectation can empower faith, as Christians look to Jesus as the one true King both now and forevermore.

Justice will be perfectly carried out

The final victory is assured

4. Promise of Abundance

Genesis 49:11–12 LSB

“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 dark from wine, And his teeth white from milk.

This phrasing describes prosperity so great, that a foal can be tied to the best vine because there is such excess what he eats won’t be missed!

This also seems to indicate an abundance of luxury (wine) and health (teeth and eyes)

The imagery is much like other descriptions of the millennial reign.

Amos 9:13

Amos 9:13 LSB

“Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine And all the hills will melt.

Isaiah 30:23 LSB

Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the produce of the ground, and it will be rich and fat; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture.

Isaiah 35:1–2 LSB

The wilderness and the desert will be delighted, And the Arabah will rejoice and flourish; Like the crocus It will flourish profusely And rejoice with rejoicing and shout of joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of Yahweh, The majesty of our God.

Conc

Judah’s descendent will rule forever in strength, wisdom and abundance.

Jesus reigns today. One day, He will reign on Earth.

Be loyal to King Jesus!

OPraise King Jesus!

Seek to please our Lord and King!

Citations