8 “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.
9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 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.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk. Genesis 49:8-12
I don’t know if Jacob understood the significance of what he said about Judah here. There are quite a few similarities to the Messiah.
Wesley had this to say about this passage: Much of that which is here said concerning Judah is to be applied to our Lord Jesus.
- He is the ruler of all his Father’s children, and the conqueror of all his Father’s enemies, and he it is that is the praise of all the saints.
- He is the lion of the tribe of Judah, as he is called with reference to this, Revelation 5:5, who having spoiled principalities and powers, went up a conqueror, and couched so as none can stir him up when he sat down on the right hand of the Father.
- To him belongs the scepter, he is the law giver, and to him shall the gathering of the people be, as the desire of all nations, Haggai 2:7, who being lifted up from the earth should draw all men unto him, 12:32, and in whom the children of God that are scattered abroad should meet as the center of their unity, 11:52.
- In him there is plenty of all that which is nourishing and refreshing to the soul, and which maintains and chears the divine life in it; in him we may have wine and milk, the riches of Judah’s tribe, without money, and without price, Isaiah 55:1.
The Bible is filled with predictions and prophecies concerning the Messiah. This is one such passage. Written 2000 years before Christ’s birth, the author could not have known how it would come to pass. This happened throughout the Old Testament with different authors.
Praise God for the enduring and timeless message of Scripture.
Praise Him also because of the flawed vessels in which He communicated these eternal truths.