Jesus
in the Old Testament 10:
Jesus
and Judah’s Scepter
Thesis: God promises
through Jacob’s blessing of his children that the Messiah-King, promised
initially in Genesis 3 and again to Abraham (Gen 22), Isaac (Gen 26), and Jacob
(Gen 28) will come through the line of Judah.
That promise will be realized and can be counted on, despite the many
failings of the men in that line.
- Nutshell
with Kids (<5 min):
- Tell me
about a time when you made a promise to someone. Did you do what you promised?
- Is it ever
hard to keep your promises? Why?
- Do you ever
doubt that someone will keep their promises to you? Why?
- When you
think about God, do you trust Him to keep his promises? Why?
- God
promised one of Jacob’s sons, Judah, that His family would always rule
God’s people.
- King David
came from his family. Jesus came from his family.
- Lots of
kings came from Him, but many of them disobeyed God, and God judged the
nation and let them be conquered by foreign powers.
- There has
been no Jewish king in Israel since then.
- Did God
break his promise? No. Jesus came and fulfilled the promise of
God.
- Jesus is
reigning as King in heaven now.
- Deeper
with Adults:
- Review of
the promises of “the He” in Genesis in whom all the earth will be blessed
- Genesis
3:14-15
- Genesis
22:17-19
- Genesis
26:1-5
- Genesis
28:13-15
- Now we know
that the promised one of God is to be born to a descendant of Jacob, but
which one?
- Prophetic
blessings
- Looks at
the past of each son as an indicator of what God will do with them in
the future.
- Jacob, the
man who had lived so much of his life in the place of the “unblessed
son,” makes sure to fulfill that need in his children before his death.
- Longest
poem in the OT.
- Gen 49:
- Ruben,
Simeon, and Levi have all disqualified themselves (vs 1-7)
a)
Joseph receives the double portion of Jacob’s
inheritance, but the rulership is given to Judah 1Chron 5:2
b)
Odd, since Joseph is #2 in Egypt at this time.
c)
God rarely, if ever, chooses the first-born
(Ishmael, Esau, David’s brothers, etc.).
d)
1 Sam 16:7
- Vs 8: Confers
upon Judah the rights of the first-born
a)
Judah’s name means, “Praise”
(1)
Gen 29:31-35. Finally, Leah gave up on pleasing
men and decided to worship God in her life circumstances.
(a) Ps 46:1-3
(b) Prov 18:10
(2) Judges
1:1-2. “Praise” goes up before the
enemies and victory will come.
b)
From 43:3 on, Judah is the spokesman for the
group
- Vs 9: Lion
imagery
a)
Mic 5:8 (Judah)
b)
Num 24:8-9 (Israel)
c)
Rev 5:5 (Jesus)
- Vs 10:
Difficult to translate
The scepter will not depart
from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it
belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
The scepter will not depart
from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the
one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.
The scepter shall not
depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute
comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
"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 shall not
depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and
unto him shall the gathering of the
people be.
The scepter will not depart
from Judah or the staff from between his feet until He whose right it is comes
and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him.
The scepter will never
depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the One
comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.
The scepter will not depart
from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom
it belongs; the nations will obey him.
The scepter shall not
depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, As long as men
come to Shiloh; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be.
a)
Scepter and Rulers staff: The right to rule shall
be Judah’s, but dormant (between his feet as opposed to in his hand).
(1)
Ps 2:6-9
(2) Ps 60:7
(3) Ps 108:8
b)
Until “Shiloh” comes.
(1)
Him whose it is
(2) Pacifier, one who
brings peace
(3) Like the ISV: The
one who owns them both
c)
Balaam’s prophecy similar: Num 24:15-19
d)
Parallels the promise to David in 2Sam 7:8-17.
Initially fulfilled in David, but ultimately in Christ.
e)
David was respected by other nations because of
his military might. Solomon was
respected by other nations because of his wisdom, but Israel was never a
world-dominating empire where the world’s rulers brought tribute
f)
Deportation to Babylon and Dissolution of the
Davidic dynasty does not negate the promise of God.
(1)
Ezek 21:25-27 To Zedekiah, the last Davidic king,
God declares that there will never again be a son of David sitting on the
throne (Jer 22:30), but this prophecy is referenced even in that curse.
(2) After the
restoration from captivity, Hagai referenced the incoming tribute to a future
King in Hag 2:6-9. Obviously, this is after the entire Davidic Dynasty has been
disposed.
g)
God did not promise an unbroken
monarchy but an unbroken line of descendants from David who would be qualified
to sit on that throne when it was reestablished. David’s line would not fail
before the righteous Branch came to claim His throne (cf. Luke 1:31-33). The
genealogies of Matthew and Luke show that this promise was fulfilled as Christ
was able to trace both His legal line through Joseph and His physical line
through Mary back to David (Matthew 1:1-16;
Luke 3:23-31).
h)
During the exile, Jehoiachin was allowed some
freedom in the later years of his life and ate with the King of Babylon (Jer
52:31-33).
i)
The governors of Judah during the exile and the
post-exilic period were from the tribe of Judah right up to the reign of King
Herod, who was an Edomite (descendant of Esau), during whose reign Jesus was
born.
j)
The “ruler’s staff” may not be purely poetic
repetition. The power of capital
punishment was left with the Jews by all of their foreign conquerors until Rome
took it away in 7 AD. Jesus was already
born (probably 12 years old), so the ruler’s staff remained until he came.
k)
Paul identifies the blessing of all nations,
promised in the Abrahamic covenant and implied here in the blessing to Judah,
as being the kingship of Jesus in His church Rom 15:8-13
- Vs 11-12
a)
Imagery of plenty and provision:
vines, grapes, livestock, and milk.
Similar to images of the Holy land “flowing with milk and honey,” with
clusters of grapes that need two people to carry them.
(1)
Num 13:21-27
(2) Deut
8:7-8
b)
Abundance: Who would tie up a
donkey to a choice vine unless there was so much you don’t worry about what the
donkey will eat? Amos 9:11-15
c)
Christological images here as well:
(1)
Donkey tied up: Matt 21:1-3
(2) Clothes
dipped in blood, treading out the winepress of God’s wrath. Isa 63:1-6; Rev
19:11-16
- Joseph’s
blessing, vs 24
a)
From God comes a Shepherd and a
Stone. Not from Joseph.
b)
Shepherd: John 10:11-18
c)
Stone: Psalm 118:20-23; Eph 2:19-22
- Our Place in this: Gentile 21st century
Christians.
- God has
promised, unilaterally, that the rule of government will remain in Judah until Messiah, but then when it comes about in 2Sam 7, he puts conditions of obedience on it, which results in the “failure” of the line.
- In order
for God to fulfill his unconditional promise despite the failings of men to uphold their part of the relationship, Christ has to step in and do it himself: Isa 9:6-7.
- The same
thing happens in our lives.
a)
Our salvation is based on faith,
apart from works: Eph 2:1-20
b)
God promises that those whom He
saves will not fail to be saved John 10:28-30; Romans 8:29-30
c)
God says that His judgment is based
on works Matt 25:31-46; 2Cor 5:10; 1Pet 1:17
d)
In order for our faith to save us
in light of a judgment of works, Christ has to be the one at work in us, whose
works will be examined, not our own: Phil 2:13; 2Cor 5:21; Gal 2:19-21
- Rejoice in
the work of Christ in and through you.
He is fulfilling your part of the deal so that His unconditional
promise will stand.
Discussion
Questions
- What
promises of God are you waiting for him to fulfill in your life?
- Are there
things in your life that are getting in the way of God’s promises being
fully realized in you or your family?
- Spend some
time as a family talking about things that you, as a family, might need to
repent of and do differently in order to be able to receive the blessings
that God intends to bring you.
- Then, spend
a few minutes in prayer, asking Jesus to work in your lives individually and as a family unit, to do the work that only He can do.
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