The Prophecies Concerning Jesus Christ Part 3

For the past few weeks, we have studied the prophecies concerning Jesus Christ, our Lord. We were looking primarily at the book of Genesis, with the title: The Gospel According to Genesis.

The question is: Is there a gospel message or good news in the Genesis book? The answer is yes.

We could think of the very first verse good news, where the Scripture says, “In the beginning, God created …”

If there is no God, to begin with, there wouldn’t be anything in existence; we wouldn’t be here today.

But because the Scripture affirms the existence of God of the Bible, who is not bound to time and space, we can rest assured in the fact that Genesis begins with good news.

From verse 1, the rest of the Scripture details God’s glorious redemptive plan to rescue and restore humanity’s lost privilege and place.

As part of God’s redemptive plan, we learn how God Himself provided the way to restore His people to Himself. We learn in Genesis 3:15 that after sin entered into this world, the Lord said that the seed of the women would destroy the seed of the serpent.

That is, the seed of the woman will crush the serpent's seed, whereas the serpent's seed would bruise the woman’s seed.

However, we learned that the “seed” was none other than Jesus Christ. Later, God continued to express His redemptive plan through Abraham and Sarai, especially through their descendant.

We have learned that God’s covenant with Abraham was initially conditional – that Abraham must leave his father’s place and his hometown and go to the land the Lord would show.

Besides this condition, the rest is laid on the Lord, and the burden is on the Lord to keep this covenant. We learn that God Himself put His neck on the line when he passed through the offering Abraham presented in Genesis 15.

God was faithful to Abraham. We know God promised to provide an offspring to Abraham and that Abraham would be a father of many nations.

As promised, God gave Abraham and Sarah a son, but this son was not eternal. God blessed and reiterated the covenant He made with Abraham to Isaac and from Isaac to Jacob.

God told Jacob (Israel) that he would bless his descendants and that kings would come out of his descendants (Genesis 35:10–11).

As we come to the end of Genesis, we see these declarations of God concerning the blessings of the “offspring” are progressively and systematically revealed.

In Genesis 49:8-12, we learn Jacob (Israel) blessing his sons. During his blessings, he would first bless Ephraim and Manasseh, who were Joseph’s sons, and then all his sons.

Five verses of blessings to Judah (49:8-12)

Note the name of Judah. It means “praise.” “A happy expression; for the word “Judah” signifies “praise.” His mother named him to express her gratitude to God at his birth.”

Here, too, as is the case with Jacob and Esau, God blessed the youngest one. Why would God do that? God, in His sovereignty, will choose whoever He wants to choose and do what is His will rather than go along according to human will and tradition.

The blessings given to Judah are essential and theologically significant because from this tribe comes the “ruler.”

This ruler was traced initially with David (Ruth 4:12, 18-22). However, it does not point out that the ruler would be David, but ultimately Jesus Christ (Acts 2:29-36).

Ruth 4:12 KJV 1900

And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.

Ruth 4:18–22 KJV 1900

Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Acts 2:29–32 KJV 1900

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.

With this in mind, let us see Jacob's content and blessings for Judah.

Genesis 19:8–12 KJV 1900

Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:

The critical verse in this passage is verse 10 – “The scepter will never depart from Judah, nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the One comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.”

What does it mean by “scepter”? It “symbolizes the monarchy that will be Judah’s inheritance (e.g., Num 24:17; Pss 2:9; 45:6[7]; Amos 1:8), which was historically realized in David’s kingship (e.g., 2 Sam 7:8–16; Ps 89:3–4, 20[4–5, 21]).”

The kingdom is not a temporal possession but permanent – the scepter will never depart.

The problem is with the term Shiloh. What is Shiloh? Some claim that this is a place, a town, a destination of the future ruler. It was located in the territory of Ephraim and was a religious center.

According to Joshua 18-19, people gathered at Shiloh for land distribution.

“Until the One comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.” – This is a future reference because Judah would not be ruling any nations as a tribe because there are no nations in Canaan, but only other people’s group and tribes. The text says that there is going to be an allegiance of nations.

However, the “Jewish midrash that interpreted “Shiloh” as a person identified him as Israel’s future messiah (e.g., Gen. Rab. 98.8; b. Sanh. 98b; also Rashi).”

With all this said, we have to remember that the narrator of Genesis is careful in pointing out the theme of “seed” though scattered throughout the book, which is an important theme. In fact, the theme of “Seed” would eventually become a royal dynasty.

We know Judah's life was not all that good. He was not perfect, far from it. His attitude was not like Ruben’s attitude.

But when the time came, he tried to save Joseph from being killed. Instead, he said, “What do we gain if we kill our brother? Come let us sell him to the Ishmaelites” (Gen. 37:26-27).

However, based on Genesis 38, he committed gross sin with Tamar. However, God used this ordinary, flawed character to fulfill His ultimate purpose and plan. The later texts tell us that Judah was elevated, not abolished.

For example, Jacob did not listen to Ruben when he told his father they should return to Egypt for more food. However, Jacob heard to Judah (43:8-11).

The narrator also points out (slowly) that Judah would be the leader of Jacob’s sons (44:14) – “And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph’s house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.”

In 44:24-28, we see Judah’s attitude change from his previous lifestyle; here, he begs Joseph to send the land so that his father will not die. It was Judah who was doing the “talking.”

The narrator is already painting the picture of which tribe will be the leader

The narrator is already painting the picture of which tribe will be the leader for now and in the future. The change of the attitude and the plan of God is why Judah’s lineage became so prominent that the future King Messiah would come, and Jacob prophesized in his blessings (Gen. 49:8-12).

We should also note that the tone and the text Jacob used in the beginning verse of this chapter give us a clear indication that these things “will happen in the days to come” or in “the end of days.” (בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִֽים).

Balaam also prophecies, according to Number 24:3-9 with a promise that an eschatological King with His kingdom would come. The description of this King in Balaam’s oracle is the same as the one Jacob proposed!

Look at Numbers 24:5 , Numbers 24:7 , Numbers 24:9

Numbers 24:5 KJV 1900

How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, And thy tabernacles, O Israel!

Numbers 24:7 KJV 1900

He shall pour the water out of his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.

Numbers 24:9 KJV 1900

He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, And cursed is he that curseth thee.

We may think of this lineage as David, as stated before. But the Lord declared something in Ezekiel 21:24-27; He told the Davidic house would be removed, with Zedekiah, the last Davidic king.

However, this removal is not permanent. It cannot be. Why? Because it will last only until He who comes. (The same sense is used in Jacob’s blessings – Until Shiloh comes).

Look at Ezekiel 21:27

Ezekiel 21:27 KJV 1900

I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him.

It is interesting to note that Ezekiel brings back this promise after a thousand years. So this prophecy is significant. The future king, not David, would restore the Davidic line and Davidic dynasty, but that is only possible not through Solomon or Rehoboam but by Jesus Christ, the Son of David.

What can we learn from this passage?

God has a plan and He will execute it according to His will.

The metanarrative of the Old Testament is that of God’s redemptive plan to restore humanity. But that can only come to a fulfillment through God’s involvement, and God’s act.

Though God used men and women in their Divine plan, only God can save and restore those who belong to Him back to Himself.

The focus of the narrator regarding the seed and the promise of the future offspring moved from Abraham, to Isaac to Jacob and finally culminated in Judah.

However, God made a covenant with David, and promised him that there will be a King, whose rule will be everlasting.

All this was fulfilled in the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, and the Son of God – the Lord Jesus Christ.

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