THE LION OF JUDAH Larry W. Peebles September 7, 2018 18.24
The first time I saw the lion in the wild in Africa, I remember thinking how majestic and calm he appeared. We had taken a day at the beginning of our first ministry trip to Africa to recover from jet lag and acclimate to our new time and conditions. Twenty-seven hours on domestic flights, international flights, and lay-overs in airports had brought us from the United States to Kenya. Our excitement level ran high, but we needed one day to transition from the rigorous travel to actual ministry work on the ground. A camera safari in a national park near Nairobi was the perfect solution.
Through the morning we saw many of the animals in their natural habitat. Giraffes and zebras were plentiful. The plains animals such as the impala and gazelle were so graceful and beautiful. We saw the big animals- the elephant and the Cape buffalo. We even saw a cheetah at one water hole. By afternoon we were starting back to the main entrance to the park, still looking for the lion. As the vehicle rounded a turn on the dirt road, we noticed another safari vehicle stopped in the distance, looking at a grassy knoll fifty yards off the road. As we slowly approached, we also began to survey the area. Two lions were lying in the grass. Their heads were visible, but the tall grass moving in the gentle breeze hid portions of their bodies. The stopped vehicle had viewed long enough, and pulled away to let us take their vantage point. The safari drivers are courteous to one another and the tourists.
With safari vehicles coming and going, and passengers staring in awe and taking pictures as fast as they could, the lions were not fazed. The lion is the most powerful hunter on the continent. He is at the top of the food chain, and has no natural enemies. He is supreme in the animal kingdom. With one strike of his front paw, he can break the back of the Cape buffalo. The other animals must be constantly aware of the lion, but when the lion rests, he has no enemies to watch for. His power and force is such that he can rest and be at total peace. That was what impressed me the first time I saw the lion in his natural habit—a totally calm, confident and majestic animal, afraid of nothing.
The Bible refers to Jesus as the Lion of Judah. Revelation 5:5 says (referring to Jesus) – “But one of the elders said to me [John, the author], ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.’” It is easy to see Jesus in the role of the lion. As Creator of everything (Col. 1:16), He has supreme power and authority. Mankind may boast of certain short-lived victories or conquests, but Jesus conquered death and hell. He defeated His ancient foe satan. Accordingly, He fears nothing. 1 Corinthians 15:22 says- “For as in Adam [sin] all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Romans 6:9 says- “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.”
At creation and again at His resurrection we see the ultimate power and supremacy of Jesus, Son of God. We still see it today. It is not difficult to understand His comparison to the lion. Following are some interesting observations as we go deeper to examine His reference to “the Lion of (the tribe of) Judah.”
- The genealogy of Jesus is recorded in Matthew 1:1-16, and Luke 3:23-38. Jesus is the “Root of David” (Matthew 1:6) and a descendant of Judah, son of Jacob (later called Israel), according to Matthew 1:2. He is also a descendant of Adam, referred to as a son of God (Luke 3:38). More specifically, Jesus the Son of God was the Creator of Adam, a son of God. Thus He was both before Adam and his descendant. That kind of supreme power and authority has never been known before or since. In His role as Creator, Jesus also preceded the Jews’ “father Abraham”, and yet was at the same time a descendant of Abraham.
- After God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, His promise to Jacob was “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.” Genesis 35:10-11. Jacob had twelve sons (Genesis 35:23-36), after whom are named the twelve tribes of Israel. Descendants of those twelve sons proudly traced their heritage back to the ancestral head of their respective tribe. Jesus, the King of Kings, came from the body of Jacob.
- Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, came through his first wife Leah. In birth order, his older brothers were Rueben, Simeon, and Levi, all from Leah. (Genesis 29:32-35). Rueben defiled his father’s bed by sleeping with Bilhah, his father’s concubine wife (Genesis 49:4). Simeon and Levi plotted the slaughter and plunder of the Hivites after the prince of the country violated Dinah their sister. (Genesis Chapter 34). The brothers killed all of the men in the City of Shechem to avenge their sister’s honor. Jacob was forced to flee. He later referred to the two sons as “instruments of cruelty” and said their anger was “fierce and cursed.” (Genesis 49:5-7). Due to the gravity of their sin, all the older brothers lost their birthright, and it passed to Judah.
- Jacob’s blessing fell on Judah in Genesis 49:9-12, which reads- “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 before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter [symbol of ruling authority] shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [peace] comes; and to him shall be the obedience of the people. Binding his donkey to a vine, and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.” Jacob’s references to the lion, the ruler’s scepter, the vine, the colt of a donkey, the wine, and the blood all point prophetically to Jesus.
- When Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, was sold into slavery by his brothers, it was Judah and Rueben who initially argued that they should not lay a hand on Joseph to harm him. (Genesis 37:26). Though out-numbered, Judah persisted as advocate and prevailed in his position that the brothers should extend mercy, and not kill Joseph, but rather sell him as a slave. His bravery saved Joseph’s life, perhaps at the very risk of his own. It led to Joseph’s strategic position of authority in Egypt. Sparing Joseph’s life would ultimately save the entire nation of Israel when the seven years of famine hit the land. His value for life and mercy passed down family lines as a trait that pointed to Jesus.
- After the brothers came to Egypt to buy food during the famine, they were forced by Joseph (whom they did not recognize) to come back with Benjamin, the youngest brother, and Joseph’s blood brother. Joseph and Benjamin were the only sons of Rachel, Jacob’s second wife. Jacob did not want to send Benjamin for fear of losing all his sons to the Egyptians. It was Judah who said to his father- “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” (Genesis 43:8-9). Judah was willing to take full responsibility for the protection of Benjamin for the sake of what would become the nation of Israel, especially the “little ones,” that they might live and not die. Jesus took on the full and final responsibility for the [eternal] lives of everyone and every nation, especially the “little ones”—the children, the overlooked, and the unimportant. He made a way to save them all from death.
- Finally, it was Judah who led the Israelites to their promised land in Goshen. Genesis 46:28 says- “Then he [Jacob] sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.” Joseph had arranged with Pharaoh that the seventy descendants of Jacob-wives and children- would live in Goshen in Egypt, where Joseph could provide for them and their livestock during the drought and famine. Judah led the way. In Goshen they would find their protection and provision, and grow into a nation of millions. Similarly, Jesus would point the way to our promised land of peace, protection, and provision where we can flourish. Our reward for faith and obedience toward our Savior will be an eternal home in heaven.
Judah was blessed as strong, unafraid, responsible, merciful and the rescuer of a nation of people, yet he did not lose sight of the “little ones”. His life points to Jesus. Judah may have been only a whelp of a cub in God’s overall plan for mankind. However, on a much larger scale, the life of Jesus the Son of God, the Lion of Judah, can be seen emerging with some of his character traits. Still today, Jesus is our source of peace, rest, protection, blessing and provision. His power and authority are beyond comparison, yet He mercifully cares for everyone. I encourage us all to know Him as the Lion of Judah.
