The Lion of the Tribe of Judah - Genesis 49:10

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup

The communion meditation today is based on a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament, Genesis 49:10. In this passage of Scripture, we read about how God reveals His plans for His people as Jacob blesses his sons at the end of his life. In the blessing for Judah, we learn about a future king, and as is revealed in the Scriptures, the king is Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup, we remember our King who died to save us. All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission

As you listen to the episode today, my hope is that you will be encouraged from the time spent meditating on what Jesus has done for you. You are a special person; the one Jesus died to save!

Transcript

Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah." I read from Genesis 49:10 (NIV). All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.

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.

In Genesis 49, God continues to reveal His plans for His people through Jacob as he blesses his sons one-by-one at the end of his life. Jacob called his sons to him saying, "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come." In that assembly, he blessed his sons, the twelve tribes of Israel, with the blessing appropriate to each one. While Joseph, "the prince among his brothers," received the lion's share of Jacob's blessings, only to Judah was given the right to reign. This promise of royal lineage would continue until "he to whom it belongs shall come" to claim it. God would choose David of the tribe of Judah as king, and his heirs would reign for over 500 years. This rule appeared to end when King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Even though the people of Israel eventually returned to Judah and rebuilt the temple, this right to rule was usurped by others for over 600 years until Jesus was born. The wise men were right, and they were the first to come to give homage to "the one who has been born king of the Jews." (Matthew 2:2). Nevertheless, at Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate, the religious leaders of Judah rejected Jesus as king, saying "We have no king but Caesar." (John 19:15). Although the Jewish leaders and Rome would crucify Jesus, they could not stop the preordained plan of God. God resurrected Jesus from the dead and seated Him on the throne of David, just as Jacob had foretold to his sons, and just as the angels had promised Mary many years before (Luke 1:32-33). We vividly see this plan of God fulfilled in Revelation 5:5, when one of the elders speaks to John the Apostle, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals." Jesus forever wears the title promised by Jacob to his son. Sadly, not too many years later in August 70 AD, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed by Rome. They picked the wrong king. Yet, despite all these geopolitical changes, we rejoice as the throne of David and his kingdom is preserved, and Jesus reigns as King forever. For Jesus to sit on the throne of David and reign over the Kingdom of God, He had to offer His life that He might redeem mankind from their sins and offer admission to all who put their faith in Him. All of us who meet today to partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup give homage to Jesus, our King. We rejoice to see this prophecy fulfilled! Let us pray.

Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father, we rejoice to see Your divine plan being fulfilled every day. As we partake of the bread and drink the fruit of the vine from the cup to remember Your Son, Jesus, we rejoice! Every soul assembled around this table today is part of Your divine plan—that we would become Your sons and daughters through faith and added to Your forever kingdom. Thank-you, Abba, Father, for remembering us as we remember Your Son. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV).

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.

And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"

Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV), “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!