Friday, July 3, 2009

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

"...a lion...is strongest among beasts and turneth not away for any...(Proverbs 30:30)."


Why is Christ compared to the Lion?

In Genesis 49, we read Jacob's prophecy of Jesus in these words: "Judah, thou art him 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 donkey'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 (Genesis 49:6-12)."

Jesus grew up like a small lion or whelp, with little power, until He became an old lion when He became a man. The lion couches, to enjoy peace and rest. Even in the midst of His greatest turmoil, Jesus rested in the perfect will of God. He prayed in the garden, "Not my will, but thine be done."

People have made the mistake of thinking that the love and compassion of Jesus were a sign of weakness. But, consider this, Jesus was beaten, bruised and hurt so badly, He could barely breathe. When an ordinary man is dying, he can barely whisper, but Jesus, when He took His last dying breath, shouted for all to hear. "Jesus, when He cried again with a LOUD VOICE, yielded up the ghost (Matthew 27:50)." Was He blowing the trumpet over the sacrifice? I think the great Lion of the Tribe of Judah roared over the sacrifice.

"The Lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord hath spoken, who can but prophecy (Amos 3:8)."

Such beauty in the prophecy of Jacob of Old. Scriptures tell us that Christ washes His clothes in the blood of grapes and His teeth are white with milk. Wine and milk, where have we seen these two drinks together before?
"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye buy and eat; yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1)."

We are all invited to come. Whoever can be picked out of the hedges and highways. The only qualification is to come thirsty. No need to bring money. Jesus has already paid the price with "His own blood."

Come to the water of life. You will find healing here. Come to Jesus those who are thirsty and those who are heavy laden find rest in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

No comments:

Post a Comment