Turn to Genesis 49. Genesis chapter
49. I think most of you know that
Scott Richardson passed away here yesterday, I believe it
was. So he's happy now. I was telling somebody a year
or two ago, I think I told you this, we gave Cole a ride on
a horse. And I was with him. was going
around this corral, and he was just shouting out, I'm happy
now. I'm happy now. And he just kept
it going. And I told Mr. Tanger's Tom,
I said, that's Scott. I'm happy now. I'm happy now. And I bet he is. Genesis chapter 49. Let me read the verses that I'm
going to bring the message from. Verse 8, 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 wealth. From the prey, my son, thou art
gone up. He stooped down. He couched as
a lion, and as an old lion, an old experienced lion, who shall
rouse him up? One who has dominion over his
kingdom. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh
come, until the Lord Jesus Christ come. And unto him shall the
gathering of the people be, binding his fold unto the vine, and his
ass's coat 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." What a prophecy. What a prophecy. What foresight
that God gave to Jacob, speaking here to Judah. was the fourth son of Jacob. He evidently was an eloquent
man in speaking because he was the one who interceded with Jacob
concerning Benjamin taking him back to Egypt. You remember,
Jacob didn't want to let Benjamin go back. They had eaten up all
the food, the corn, and Jacob said, you need to go back to
Egypt, and Judah interceded. And he talked to Jacob. And he
said, we can't do that. We can't do that. Benjamin's
got to go back. He said, don't you come back here. I don't want
to see your face without Benjamin coming back. And he prevailed.
He prevailed with Jacob. I don't blame Jacob for not wanting
to send Benjamin with that motley crew. But Judah prevailed with
him. And then it was Judah who interceded
for Benjamin with Joseph. Remember, Joseph was going to
keep Benjamin, you know, the silver cup. You know the story.
We went through that not too long ago. He's the one who interceded
with Joseph. Now, his name means praise. That's
what his name means. It means praise. Now, the message
tonight is not about Judah himself. But it's about the Lord Jesus
Christ, the antitype of Judah. Spurgeon called him Judah Jesus. He said, I don't know if that's
a proper way to say it, but that's the name he used in a message
I read. Called him Judah Jesus. Christ,
the Lord Jesus Christ, is worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. There are a lot of things that
we can do too much of. But we can never praise Him too
much. We cannot. It is not possible
to worship the Lord Jesus Christ too much. It's not possible. He's worthy of all glory, honor,
and praise. Listen to this in Revelation
5, verse 12. They were saying with a loud
voice, Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, riches,
wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And
the one they are saying this of is the Lord Jesus Christ,
that man from Nazareth." That's who they're speaking of. We'll
see this in a little bit. We'll go over there. It says
in verse 8, And I wrote above that, Jesus. Jesus, thou art
He whom thy brethren shall praise. They shall praise Him. The Lord
Jesus Christ is worthy of our praise because of His person. This is God manifested in the
flesh. 1 Timothy 3.16 says this, And
without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God, not a likeness. God was manifest in the flesh. John said we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. God was manifest in the flesh. justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in
the world, and received up into glory." This man is worthy of all our
praise because this man is God in every way. He's God. And then
we praise Him for His holiness. I'm glad He's holy. You know
why? That means He'll do right. That
means He'll do right. The very fact that God is holy
means He'll show love because it's right to do that. It's right
to do that. It's right for God to show His
mercy. It's right for Him to show grace. It's right for Him
to do this. And the reason for all that is
because He's holy. He's holy. Perfect. Perfect. Hannah said this. I read it to
you. There is none holy as the Lord,
as Jehovah. And she's speaking here, and
we know who she's speaking of now. She's speaking of the Lord
Jesus Christ. When Isaiah saw the Lord high
lifted up, and His train filled the court there in Isaiah 6,
he heard the seraphims cry one to another. And what did they
say? What did they praise? There's
a lot of things they could praise. They could praise His power.
They could praise His sovereign reign. They could praise His
dominion. You know what they praised? They said, holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts. That's what they praised. The whole earth is full of His
glory. I'm glad He's holy. I'm glad
He's holy. That means He'll do right and
He'll save sinners. Then He's to be praised for His
great work of redemption. Our Lord came into this world
for one purpose, to redeem sinners. In doing so, He glorified His
Father. But He came to redeem sinners.
Look over in Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. We praise
Him for His great work of redemption. Salvation is a gift to you and
to me. If we have it, it's been given
to us. It's a gift. But it was not a gift to Him.
It was a work. It was a work that He performed
perfectly, flawlessly. Here in Galatians, look in chapter
3, verse 13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. People die all over this world
by the second. And they realize what that curse
is. They realize that's a real curse. You know, some voodoo nut tries
to put a curse on you, that's a joke. That's a joke. But this
is not a joke. This is a real curse. It's a
curse of eternal damnation. It's a curse of being under the
wrath of God Almighty. And listen, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law Being made a curse for us. Taking the curse upon
Himself. For it is written, cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree. Oh, we praise Him. We praise
Him for His great redemption. He hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law. He said, let him go! I have found
a ransom. And he found it in himself. God
found a ransom in himself. And then he's to be praised for
his intercession for us. Look over in Romans chapter 8.
We're here in Romans chapter 8. In
Romans chapter 8, look in verse 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. I really appreciate, more than
you know, When you call upon God and ask Him to help me to
preach, to give me wisdom, guidance, I tell you what, this is the
one I want to intercede for me. This is the one. My prayers and
your prayers wouldn't get past this if He didn't intercede for
us. We wouldn't get past this ceiling. He maketh. You know what that word? Continual. He continually intercedes
for us continually. When we don't even think about
Him, when we are not thinking about Him, when we are cold as
a cucumber and we just feel lifeless, He doesn't. Have you ever struggled
praying? Prayer is not easy. Prayer, true
prayer is not easy. And there's times when you pray
and you feel like Why am I praying? I'm just not getting anywhere.
You feel so cold. He's never like that. It's never
that way with Him. Never. It says in Hebrews 7 verse 25, Wherefore
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God
by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them. There is One who is always heard,
who makes intercession, for the transgressors, his people. And he's to be praised for he
has conquered all our enemies. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? There's a lot of people that
would maybe try to charge us. Satan does. Satan is called the
accuser of the brethren. He's constantly throwing charges,
but they won't stick. They won't stick. How often are we to praise Him?
How often should we praise Him? Listen to this psalm. Psalm 113,
verse 3. From the rising of the sun. That's
when you get up in the mornings. When you get up. From the rising
of the sun until the going down of the same, the Lord's name
is to be praised all day long. He's to be praised. And we just
read in Psalm 34, verse 1, we are to bless His name at all
times. All times. We are to praise Him
at all times. Good times and the bad times.
At all times. His name is to be praised. Ye
that fear the Lord, he says in Psalm 22, ye that fear the Lord,
praise Him. All ye the seed of Jacob. Sons
of Jacob. Sons of election. Glorify Him
and fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel. And here's another
reason to praise Him. Thy hand shall be in the neck
of thine enemies. Oh, this shows His power over
all. This shows His power. Our Lord has many enemies. His
church has many enemies. But you know what? We have His
Word on it. His hand is on the neck of His
enemies. His hand's on their neck. And He makes them do His bidding
whether they want to or not. His hand is on their neck. You
ever get anybody by the nap of the neck? My dad has a time or
two. Got me by the nap of the neck
when I was a kid. I can remember. Get you by the
nap of the neck. I tell you what. He's got you. If somebody gets you by the nap
of the neck, they've got you. And that's why he's saying, thy
hand shall be in the neck of thine enemy. His enemy shall
be made his footstool. I know you've watched some of
these nature programs. You see a lion take down a prey, what
does he always get a hold of? Every time. Every time without
fail, he gets a hold of that neck. He'll either get a hold
of the neck and break it, or he gets a hold of the throat
and chokes it. But he's got a hold of that neck. And he says, your
hand will be on the neck of thine enemies. He's got absolute control
right now over our enemies. Does it look like it? Not always.
Not always. But he does. He does. And thy father's children shall
bow down before thee. He shall have the praise of all
the redeemed." He shall have their praise. All God's children
shall be made willing in the day of His power, glad to bow
down to Him. Glad to. Aren't you glad to?
Truly, now really, are you glad to? Thy father's children shall bow
down before thee." All the sons of Jacob, all the sons of Jacob
are going to bow down to Him. All His children. Look over in
Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. Look in verse 13 and 14. And
again, I will put my trust in him, and again, behold, I and
the children, God's children, I and the children which God
hath given me, they are the ones who are going to bow down to
him. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death he might destroy him that hath the power of the dead, that
is, the devil. and are going to bow down to
him. Have you truly bowed down to
him? If you have, it's evident you're one of the children. You're
one of the children if you've bowed down to him. And he said,
Judah, Judah is a lion's whelp. It's a cub. You remember when
Christ came into the world, he came into this world as a tender
plant. He came into this world as a
babe or a cub, so to speak. But no less, a lion. No less
a lion. And this really speaks of his
strength, even from his birth, even from his youth. He was born king. When he was 12 years old, he
went into the temple and he just absolutely dumbfounded the scribes
in there. They just were dumbfounded. And from the prey, my son, thou
art gone up. Who was victorious at Calvary? Who was the prey? Who really
was the prey there? Sin, Satan, and death. They were the prey. They were
the prey at Calvary. Christ was the one victorious
at Calvary. Here they looked at Him, they
mocked Him, and He's the one winning the battle. He's the
one winning. He's the one getting the victory.
He's the one who cried out, it's finished! The battle's over! I'll tell you what, whoever says
the battle is done right now, that's the one who wins. It's
over. He cried, it's finished! He gave
up the ghost and was buried, rose again the third day, ascended
on high, and he led captivity captive. From the prey, my son,
thou art gone. He got the victory. He got the
victory. Listen to Colossians 2.15. And
having spoiled principalities. Who does it look like winning
there? We know who won. Having spoiled
principalities and powers. Spoiled them. Made a rout of
them. He made a show of them openly,
triumphing over them in it. 1 Peter 3, verse 22. Who has gone into heaven and
is on the right hand of God, angels, authorities, and powers
being made subject unto Him. From the prey, my son, Thou art
gone up. Thou art gone up. However, however,
in order for Him to go up, in order for Him to win the victory,
He had to stoop down. He had to stoop down. In order
to bring us up, He had to come down. He said, from the prey,
my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down. He stooped down. Listen, Philippians chapter 2. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was married in
the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross." Even the death of the cross.
It made me think of Issachar. Remember, last week we looked
at that. He was the one that was the ass
that had couched down between two burdens. This is Issachar. He stooped down. under the burden
of our sin, redeeming us. Then he says here, and he couched
as a lion. You ever see a lion getting ready
for his prey? You ever see that? You've seen it on TV. I know
you have. I know you haven't been to Africa. I haven't. But they
couch down. They get real low. They come
down. And our Lord came down into this
world, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, came into this world,
took upon Him flesh, stooped down, couched down. They thought they had Him. They
thought they had Him. But listen here, He couched as
a Lion, as an old Lion, as the Ancient of Days. Wise. Who shall rouse him up? Who's going to grapple with him? You see a lion cast over there,
ready to attack. Who's going to take him on? Who can take him on? Who can
wrestle with him? He's the lion of the tribe of
Judah. Turn over to Revelation 5. Now listen, in Revelation 5,
he says in verse 1, And I saw in the right hand of him that
sat on the throne a book written within, and on the backside sealed
with seven seals. This is the book of God's purpose,
decrees. This is the book of redemption.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy? open the book, and to loose the
seals thereon. And no man in heaven, nor in
earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon. And I wept much, I wept much,
because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book,
neither to look thereon. And one of the elders said unto
me, Weep not, stop your crying, weep not. Behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah, The root of David hath prevailed. Oh, from the prey, my son, thou
art gone up. He hath prevailed to open the
book and to loose the seven seals thereof. Now, I bet you John,
in that next verse, he said, and I beheld on low in the midst
of the throne another four beasts. I bet he was expecting to see
a lion. He said, the lion of the tribe
of Judah. He was expecting to see this dynamic person. Now listen, and of the four beasts
and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb. I bet he was expecting
to see this lion, and what's he see? A lamb. A lamb as it
had been slain. Having seven horns, that's his omnipotence, that's his power.
And seven eyes, that's his omniscience, he knows all things, sees all
things, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth. And he came, this lion of the tribe of Judah, which
is the lamb slain at Calvary, that's who it is. And he came
and he took the book, I wrote out from that verse, equal, equal
with the Father. This Lamb is equal with the one
sitting on the throne. He came and He took the book
out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne. And
when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty
elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them hearts
and golden vows full of odors, which are the prayers of the
saints. Our prayers. Ours. They sung
a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and
open the seals thereof, for Thou art slain, and hast redeemed
us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, tongue, and people,
and nation, and hast made us unto our God, kings and priests. We shall reign on the earth,
that new earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many
angels round about the throne. and the beast, and the elders,
and the number of them was ten times ten thousand, and thousands
of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain to receive power, riches, wisdom, and strength, and honor,
and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, heard I say, blessing,
and honor, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four
beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped Him that liveth forever and ever."
Isn't that a beautiful chapter? Oh, he said, my son, from the
prey thou hast gone up, thou hast stooped down. He stooped
down. He came into this world. He became
flesh. God became flesh. He became a
man. He ripped the prey apart. He
ripped sin apart. He ripped Satan apart. He ripped
death apart. And he's ascended on high now.
And he's got his hand in the neck of his enemy. Right on the
neck. That's where he's got it. And
he says, the scepter... Let's see here, where am I at?
Well, it says here first, he couched as a lion, as an old
lion, who shall rouse him up. He's not afraid. He was not afraid. You and I would be afraid. We'd be afraid. But He's not
afraid. Like an old lion, He patiently
waited until it was time to pounce. Who can frighten the King of
Glory? Who can frighten the King of Glory? I read this over in
Proverbs today. Over in Proverbs 30. This fits
Him. Proverbs 30. Look in verse 29. There will be three things which
go well. Yea, four are comely and going.
They're comely, stately and going. A lion which is strongest among
beasts and turneth not away from any." That's our Lord. He turns not away from any. Then
he says, "...the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a
lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. Now to him
shall the gathering of the people be." This prophecy, that the
scepter would not depart from Judah until Shiloh come, was
a guarantee, I read this, I'm reading what somebody wrote here.
It was a guarantee that the kingdom and civil government would continue
until the Messiah come. They wrote this. This ought to
have convinced the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Messiah
because after his resurrection, not too many years after that,
that place was destroyed and they were scattered. That ought
to have convinced them. Because he said that the sepulchral
will not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes. And Shiloh here
is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's who Shiloh is. King of
peace. And this is interesting here.
Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's coat unto the choice
final, what did he ride into town on? I mean, this is such
a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ that Jacob gave.
Jacob gave this. He rode into town on an ass the
foal of a donkey. That's what he rode into town
on. And what's he called? The Vine. He said in John 15,
I am the Vine. I am the Vine. The king that
came riding into town on that donkey is the Vine. He's the choice Vine. He's divine. I'm divine. You are the branches.
And he washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood
of grace. And I believe, I do believe this,
I believe this has to do with Gethsemane. Remember, Calvary,
they stripped him. I believe that when he sweat
great drops of blood in Gethsemane, all of his clothes, the clothes
he was wearing, were stained red with his blood. from head to toe. He sweat great
drops of blood. It says he washed his garments
in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes. And I believe
that's when that happened. Red from the stain of his sweat,
sweating blood. And his eyes shall be red with
wine and his teeth white with milk. Our Lord said this in John
18, verse 11. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put
up thy sword unto the sheath The cup which my father hath
given me." The cup of what? Wrath. He wasn't intoxicated with wine
as being drunk. He was intoxicated with the wrath
of God. The wrath of God filled him from
head to toe. It went through him top to bottom. He was intoxicated with the wrath
of God. Yet, now listen, yet he remained spotless. It says here, and his teeth white
as milk. His teeth white as milk. And no doubt that denotes his
strength and his purity. The strength and purity of his
character remained the same. He who knew no sin was made to
be sin for us. He was really made to be sin
for us. Yet, yet he remained the spotless Lamb of God. Only
God can do that. Only God can do that. Judah, thy brethren shall praise
thee. We shall spend eternity praising
our Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. Psalm 148. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye
the Lord from the heavens. Praise Him in the heights. Praise
ye Him, all His angels. Praise ye Him, all His hosts. Praise ye Him, sun and moon.
Praise Him, all ye stars of light. Praise Him, ye heavens of heavens.
and ye waters that be above the heavens, let them praise the
name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He hath
also established them for ever and ever. He hath made a decree
which shall not pass. Praise the Lord from the earth,
ye dragons, and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and vapor, stormy
wind fulfilling His word, mountains and all hills, fruitful trees
and all cedars, beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying
fowl, kings of the earth and all people, princes and all judges
of the earth, both young men and maidens, old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord. Let them praise the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, for His name alone is excellent.
His glory is above the earth and heaven. He also exalteth
the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints, even of the
children of Israel, a people near unto Him." I'm looking at
the children of Israel. You are the circumcision. If
you believe God, you are the circumcision. You are the children
of Israel. A people near unto Him, praise
ye the Lord.