Genesis 49:9–10: “Judah is a lion’s whelp; / From the prey, my son, you have gone up. / He bows down, he lies down as a lion; / And as a lion, who shall rouse him? / The scepter shall not depart from Judah, / Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, / Until Shiloh comes; / And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.”

November 3rd, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

At 147 years old, Jacob was failing rapidly and was about to die. He was very aware that his time was short, and so we find him on his deathbed, making his verbal will and testament. He lifted himself up and spoke to each of his sons around the room, from eldest to youngest. In addition to blessing them, he also spoke by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave a sweeping prophecy, looking down through the portal of time.

In their own day, Jacob’s 12 sons were men of renown, both famous and infamous. But more importantly they are the men the 12 tribes of Israel are descended from, which affected the history of the whole world. We will focus on the man and tribe called Judah for a moment. Old Jacob called this son “a lion’s whelp,” speaking into history the concept of the lion of the tribe of Judah. King David was the archetype that foreshadowed the reality to come—Jesus. Jacob goes on to say that the “scepter shall not depart from Judah,” meaning that Judah should not cease from being a ruling tribe, or that it should continue as a distinct tribe until the coming of the Messiah.

Three Jewish Targums interpret Shiloh as the promised Messiah. Many other Jewish writers, both ancient and modern, see this name as the name of the Messiah. Shiloh comes from a root that signifies “to be quiet,” “peaceable,” and “prosperous.” Jesus was of both a quiet and peaceable disposition, and the purpose of His coming was to make peace between God and men. The King James translates the end of verse 10 as, “and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” How true this verse is when applied to Jesus. Not only will the children of Jacob be gathered to Him but also the children of the Gentiles. As Isaiah predicted 600 years before His coming, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious” (Isa. 11:10).

“Thank you, LORD, for leaving this written record so that we, looking back, can take courage in the fact that You control both time and space. Take control of our lives today, we gladly give it back to You. We want to serve You faithfully this day.”