A Scepter From Judah

A SCEPTER FROM JUDAH
As he lay on his deathbed, Jacob called his sons together and blessed them. When He came to Judah, his third son, he had a special promise.

8 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.

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

10 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 49:8-10).

Judah is pictured as a lion's cub. It is no mistake that Jesus would be given the title of :Lion from the tribe of Judah” in Revelation 5:5. We are left in no doubt as to what this image means. It indicates KINGSHIP. This is evidenced by the mention of the SCEPTER and the RULER'S STAFF. It was from Judah that King David and his descendants would come. This promise says that the rightful kingship of Israel would pass down through the descendants of Judah until the coming of “Shiloh.” The word shiloh (hl{yvi) is related to the more familiar shalom. It speaks of being at rest, of well-being and of peace.

Jesus is the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6). His message is the gospel of peace (Romans 10:15; Ephesians 6:15).

He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). This prophecy began to be fulfilled when David ascended to the throne. He was from the tribe of Judah. Even when the kingdom was divided, a descendant of Judah sat upon the throne of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The line of David continued to rule in Jerusalem until the Babylonian Captivity. At that time, the descendants of David were given a prophecy from the hand of Ezekiel.

Thus says the Lord God, “Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this will be no more the same. Exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high. 27 A ruin, a ruin, a ruin, I shall make it. This also will be no more, until He comes whose right it is; and I shall give it to Him.” (Ezekiel 21:26-27).

Because of their sins, the descendants of David were removed from the throne. They were told there would be no one to wear the crown of Israel until the coming of the One whose right it is. This prophecy was graphically fulfilled. No descendant of David ever took the title of king after the Babylonian Captivity. There were some who ruled as governor such as Zerubbabel. There were also some from the tribe of Levi who eventually took the crown during the period between the Old and New Testaments. There were even some, like the Herods, who were awarded the crown by the hands of the Roman Empire. But only one descendant of David ever emerged after the Babylonian Captivity to take for Himself the title of king. It was Jesus.