Jacob's Prophecy Concerning Judah

    "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre 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. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk

    Before the written Word of God was given, God revealed himself to chosen sinners, and spoke to them both by word of mouth testimony and in various, supernatural ways concerning his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the great work of redemption and salvation he would accomplish (Heb. 1:1-3). We have no way of knowing how much those early believers knew about the Person and work of Christ; but they clearly knew and understood much more than most people seem to think!

    Abel understood the necessity of blood atonement and brought a blood sacrifice to God by faith, showing that he knew salvation was by grace alone through the blood of Christ, the sinners’ Substitute (Gen. 4). Enoch walked with God by faith in Christ and even prophesied of Christ’s glorious second coming (Jude 14). Abraham knew and believed much by God’s special revelation (Gen. 22). The Lord Jesus Christ said of Abraham, “He rejoiced to see my day” (John 8:56). And Job, who probably lived about the same time as Abraham, spoke confidently of both redemption and resurrection by Christ (Job 19:25-27).

    In this prophecy of Jacob concerning Judah, we see another example of the fact that these early saints were rich in knowledge and in faith. Jacob had called his twelve sons before him to tell them, by the Spirit of prophecy, how God would deal with the twelve tribes of Israel in the future. The dying patriarch had a word from God for each of his sons and the tribes that would descend from them. Judah was singled out and given special honor. Jacob praised him and prophesied many good things concerning him.

    Particularly, we are told that Jacob prophesied that Messiah, “Shiloh,” would spring from Judah. Both David and Solomon, Israel’s greatest kings, sprang from the tribe of Judah. And the Lord Jesus, the great King of God’s Israel, our Redeemer-King, is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5). When Jacob spoke to Judah and made this prophecy concerning him, he was, by the Spirit of God, speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ. Judah was a type of Christ. We see this in seven distinct ways.

    1.Judah must be praised by his brothers (v. 8).

    “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise.” The name Judah means “praise”. Matthew Henry wrote, “God was praised for him (29:35), praised by him, and praised in him; and therefore his brethren shall praise him.” Certainly, this speaks of Christ, our Messiah, Redeemer, and King. He is worthy of praise and shall have the sincere praise of his people.

    Christ alone is to have our praise. “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31; Psa. 115:1).

    Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!

    Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever,

    Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet and priest and King!”

    Believers delight to give all praise to Christ, because of the excellence of his person as the God-man, our Mediator. We praise him for the wonders of redemption, the abundant grace of God in him, and the goodness of his sovereign, providential rule.

    As Judah’s brethren praised him, so all Christ’s brethren, all his people, give all praise to him. Some praise the pope, some praise the church, some praise preachers, and some praise themselves; but God’s saints praise Christ. They praise him forever in heaven (Rev. 5:9-10); but they learn to praise him on the earth! (Psa. 115:1). God’s people are a praising people. We do not merely offer him the pretense of praise, or the hypocrisy of lip praise. Believers give praise to God their Savior. Nothing is more inconsistent with our profession of faith in Christ than murmuring, complaining, and unhappiness. Murmuring is the fruit of unbelief. Praise is the fruit of faith.

    2. Judah must be victorious over all his enemies (v. 8).

    “Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.” When a man has his hand securely in the neck of his enemy, he has subdued him. He can, at his pleasure, force him to the ground, snuff out his breath, and destroy him. This, too, speaks of Christ (1 Cor. 15:25; Heb. 1:13; 10:13). He is in complete control of his enemies; and he will bring them down. Our Savior met Satan and defeated him. In the wilderness of temptation (Luke 4:1-13), in the garden of Gethsemane, and upon the cross of Calvary, our Lord Jesus conquered and bound the devil, crushing his head, just as the Scriptures declared he would (Gen. 3:15; John 12:31-33; 19:30; Rev. 12:10; 20:1-3). Christ took our sins to the cross and vanquished them (Col. 3:15). The Son of God met death, bowed to it, and then conquered it (1 Cor. 15:51-58). There is no enemy of Christ, or of his people, that shall not be finally destroyed.

    3. All his father’s children must bow down before Judah (v. 8).

    “Thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.” Without question, this prophecy refers immediately to the whole nation of Israel bowing before David and Solomon as their kings. But, behold, a greater than David and a greater than Solomon is here. This is a prophecy of that glory and honor which belongs to and is reserved for Christ alone. Christ is Lord of all. By virtue of his own deity (Rom. 9:5), by virtue of his Father’s decree (Heb. 2:5,8), and by virtue of his sin-atoning death (Rom. 14:9; Phil. 2:8-11), the Lord Jesus Christ is that great Lord King who rules the universe, before whom all men must and shall bow (Isa. 45:22-25). All of God’s creation shall one day bow before the Lord Jesus Christ and confess that he is indeed Lord of all. All God’s elect bow to him in faith as their Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). But all the universe shall bow before him and confess that he is Lord in the last day (Phil. 2:9-11).

    4. “Judah is a lion’s whelp” (v. 9).

    Our Lord Jesus is compared to a young lion, because he is strong and courageous. The lion is “the king of the jungle”. He goes where he wants to go, does what he wants to do, fears nothing, and is never in danger. Here is “The Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Our Savior is not spoken of here as a lion raging and ranging, but as a lion couching and resting.

    “From the prey, my son, thou art gone up.” Christ Jesus, the Son of God, left heaven and came to this earth to engage the enemy and redeem his people by his own mighty arm. Now, having accomplished his great work, he has “gone up,” ascended back into heaven again. “The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed!” (Rev. 5:5). There is no possibility of failure with Christ (Isa. 42:4). He is the Lion of Judah. He has prevailed, and shall yet prevail.

    “He stooped down.” What a great stoop he made! (Phil. 2:5-8; 2 Cor. 8:9). God became man. The Son of God became a servant to men. As a man, Christ was obedient to his Father in all things to establish righteousness for men. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, that he might redeem us from the curse of the law.

    “He couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?” He stooped, he conquered, he took his prey, he ascended, he sat down, having accomplished his pleasure, having gotten what he sought, having fulfilled his mission (Matt. 1:21; Heb. 9:12; 10:10-14). Who shall dare rouse him? Who shall be able to disturb him? Behold, the sovereign serenity with which the Son of God sits in heaven!

    5. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come” (v. 10).

    This tenth verse is a great and notable prophecy. All of the ancient Jewish writers said that this verse is a prophecy of the coming of Christ, by which God assured his people that the kingdom and civil government of Judah would continue until the Christ, the Messiah, came. That being the case, by their own instructors, the Jews should be convinced that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, because the kingdom and civil government of Judah ceased when Christ came.

    The name which Jacob used for Christ is “Shiloh”. Where did he get that name? God gave it to him. It was a special name, given by special revelation, for a special Person, who would come at a special time. It is a name full of significance.

    •Shiloh means “sent” (John 9:7). Christ is truly the “sent One” (John 19:21).

    •Shiloh means “Son” (Isa. 9:6-7). Christ Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Son of David. He is the Son of Man.

    •Shiloh means “the one to whom it belongs”(Ezek. 21:25-27). The sceptre, the crown, the throne, the kingdom, the worship, the praise belongs to Christ alone. All others are imposters! (Col. 1:14-19).

    •Shiloh also mean “peace”. It comes from the same word as “Salem, -- King of Peace.” Christ is our Peace. He made peace for us by the blood of his cross. And we have peace with God by faith in him (Rom. 5:1).

    •Again, Shiloh means “prosperous”. It is written concerning Christ that “the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Isa. 53:10).

    6. “Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be” (v. 10).

    The object of Christ’s coming into the world, the object of his covenant engagements with the Father as our Surety, the object of his death upon the cross for his people, was that he might redeem a people by his blood and gather them by the arm of his omnipotent grace to himself forever. The people God has chosen shall be gathered unto him (John 6:37-39; 10:14-16; 17:1-10). They shall, each one, at the appointed time of love, be gathered to Christ by the irresistible power and grace of his Spirit, gathered to him in repentance and faith, and in love and willing devotion (Ps. 65:4; 110:3). And all God’s elect shall be gathered unto him in glory.

    7. Judah shall be strong and fruitful (vv. 11-12).

    Without question, these two verses refer to the glorious work of redemption by Shiloh, the Lord Jesus Christ. When he came to redeem his people, he came into Jerusalem riding upon a colt, the foal of an ass (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 22:2, 5). When he suffered and died upon the cross as our Substitute, his garments, his human nature, and the garments he wore were washed in blood (Isa. 63:1). Yet, his eyes sparkled with joy, the joy of blood bought redemption for his people, as he endured the cross, despising the shame (Heb. 12:2).

    These two verses also refer to the manifold blessings of grace that are ours in Christ. Christ is the choice, true Vine, a Vine strong enough to have all burdens bound to him (v. 11). The blood of Christ is a fountain of cleansing and joyful refreshment for our souls (v. 11). Let us ever bind our burden to Christ. Cling to him. We find strength, when Christ is our Strength. And there is an abundance of grace in Christ to meet all the needs of his people (v. 12). Wine for joy and milk for purity, wine for men and milk for babes, every need of our souls, in all circumstances is found in him who is our All.