Good Morning Friends,
“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your
hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to
you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a
lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness -- who dares to rouse him? The
scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his
feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is
his.” (Genesis 49:8-10)
As Jacob was nearing death, he called each of
his sons to him and spoke words of blessing over them. These are prophetic
words given to Jacob by the Lord.
To Judah, Jacob spoke words about rulership. Judah’s
descendants would become the kings of their people. That was a prophesy that
would come true many years later when David – from the tribe of Judah – ascended
the throne of Israel.
But Jacob’s blessing looked beyond David and
his descendants who would stay on the throne for many, many years. Jacob saw
thousands of years into the future to a descendant of Judah who would take the
scepter. It would be a scepter that rightly belonged to him and he would be the
final descendant of Judah to hold the scepter.
That descendant of Judah is Jesus and He is the
last descendant of Judah to take the scepter. The scepter does rightly belong
to Him for eternity, the scepter to rule all of creation.
How could Jacob look into the future and see
David and his descendants and see Jesus? Jacob couldn’t see the future, but God
could. The words that Jacob spoke were not his words, but the words the Lord
gave to him. They are a powerful testimony to God’s control of the destiny of men.
God guides history to accomplish His purposes. He planned David’s kingship
thousands of years before it came about. He planned the coming of Jesus from
the beginning of time.
The world, as wicked as it might become,
never moves beyond the control of the Lord. Even through the most evil time He
can continue to guide man according to His purposes. You can trust God for
that. In the end, history will move to the place God has decided.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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