Praise

 "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you.

Genesis 49:8 ESV


I love the Biblical practice of elders blessing their children before they go the way of the world. Jacob's blessing of his twelve (!) sons (from 4 women) is impressive not simply for his paternal affection, but also for his prophetic insight. At first glance, his blessing of Judah seems like he got the wrong son.


After all, it was Joseph whose brothers praised him, whose siblings bowed down before him. And yet Jacob prophesies the same for Judah. He's anticipating that in the absence of himself, Judah will step into the breach as a paternalistic father figure.


It seems strange that Jacob would anticipate such a thing, bearing in mind that Judah had three older brothers. But those brothers disqualified themselves from leadership. Firstborn Reuben slept with his father's mistress. Simeon and Levi slaughtered a whole town for one townsman's rape of their sister. 


Judah himself was no angel: marrying a pagan unbeliever, and mistakenly impregnating his daughter in law because he mistook her for a prostitute! The old testament doesn't spell it out, but we can infer that Judah repented which opened the door to become a spiritual leader. Above all, Jesus Himself is the lion of the tribe of Judah: He Himself is the ultimate fulfilment of this verse.


'Heavenly Father, we're astounded at Your love for depraved delinquents like us, and we're humbly grateful. In the name of the lion of the tribe of Judah, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Delight

 I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word. Psalm 119:16 Delight isn't a word we tend to associate with decrees. Maybe a vulnerable person might have delighted in some of the covid decrees; or a pedestrian in the highway code. Without decrees, we'd be living in anarchy. In the busyness of life, it would be all too easy to neglect God's law. Even though David was tremendously busy as the king of Israel, he always guarded his time in God's word. If he managed, we have no excuse. In His earthly ministry, Jesus was often so popular that He scarcely got any time to Himself. Yet He still often got up early, while it was still dark, and communed with His heavenly Father. He clearly memorised Scriptures in His armoury against satanic temptations. We devote time to what we delight in. Even if we don't enjoy work for example, we do it so we can earn money to spend on things we delight in. If we delight in God's word, we will make time to meditate on it. '
Read more

Praise

  O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalm 51:15 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.51.15.ESV King David had been guilty of adultery and murder. Understandably, he felt muted. He didn't feel he could praise God publicly without coming across as a massive fraud. Yet David is described as a man after God's own heart. Yes, he fell deeply into sin. Yet this Psalm is a heartfelt prayer to God to restore Him. David knew that if God forgave him, he'd have a great testimony. There's hope for the worst of sinners! So he longed to open up his mouth in praises to God. Thankfully, God positively did answer his prayer. He did go on to praise God and write many more Psalms of worship to Him. Whatever we've done, there's hope for us yet, in the blood of Christ. 'Sovereign Lord, please help us to praise and worship You wholeheartedly, whatever our pasts may be. In Jesus' name we pray, amen'
Read more