On his deathbed, Jacob finally focused on the blessings of God, not the bummers of life. He had moaned and complained for so long, but he finally learned the lesson, after 147 years. After all the negativity and manipulation in his life, Jacob was finally attributing his blessings to God.
“Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession'” (Genesis 48:3-4).
By conservative estimates, Jacobโs descendants numbered over two million at the time of the Exodus from Egypt.
Jacob made his own prophecy over his sons in chapter 49, and the most important was for the son he likened to a lion (see v. 9). “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you” (v. 8).
This prophecy referred to Christ. Jesus Christ would come from the tribe of Judahโand one day all the world will bow down to Him.
The most exciting part of Jacobโs prophecy came in verse 10: “The scepter [or the right to rule] shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes.”
Jewish rabbis saw this as a prophecy concerning the Messiah. The tribe of Judah had sovereignty, the right to adjudicate their own cases, until the first century when Rome conquered Israel, and took away that right.
When that happened, Josephus recorded this lament: “The scepter has departed from Judah, but Shiloh has not come.” They were mourning because they thought God had broken His promise.
What they didn’t know was their Messiah was about to go to the Jordan River, where John the Baptist would say, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Shiloh had come. He was getting ready to announce Himself to the nation through a three-year public ministry.
The precision of God! Jesus Christ was sent at exactly the right time. We should get so excited when we see the truth of the Scripture.
In Johnโs vision of heaven in Revelation, he saw a scroll sealed with seven seals, which no one was able to open (see Revelation 5:1-4). No one was found worthy to buy back the deed to the earth.
But then: “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals” (v. 5). And John saw a vision of “a Lamb as though it had been slain” (v. 6). These are pictures of Jesus Christ.
I pray that you would understand this: If God can keep these kinds of promises, surely He can keep the promises He has made to us. He can take care of our lives, and we can put anything weโre dealing with in His hands.
I pray for anyone who has not received Christ as Savior and as Lord. I pray that you would do so, as you see through prophecy the incredible accuracy of these words in Scripture.
