The extended forecast

“Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you....  The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor will the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his....”  Genesis 49:8, 10 

It was Judah’s turn.  Jacob had huddled up with his sons, altogether a baker's dozen.  “Gather around,” he summoned them, “so I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.”  Brothers Reuben, Simeon and Levi had gone first and the forecast for them wasn’t entirely pleasant.  Partly cloudy to heavily overcast, we might say.  And now it was Judah’s turn.  (Gulp!) 

How stunned, then, he must have been at the promise of prosperity, success and leadership awaiting his tribe!  What an honor!  What joy!  And what a relief! 

But wait a minute!  Rewind the tape.  “Your father's sons will bow down to you”?  Wasn’t it Joseph, the favored little sib, who dreamed of his brothers bowing down to him?  And hadn’t all of them, including Judah, already done exactly that – not from desire but circumstances far beyond their control?  So why this twist in the tale?  Would things actually transpire this way for Judah and his offspring, or was Dad simply confused as in a “senior moment,” perhaps? 

In bowing down before Joseph, Jacob’s other sons humbled themselves before an earthly power, second-in-command over all Egypt; they showed him the respect he was due.  For God had redeemed Joseph from the treachery of his brothers and set him above everyone but Pharaoh, himself.  “You intended to harm me,” Joseph would later say in forgiveness, “but God intended it for good to accomplish ... the saving of many lives” (Genesis 50:20). 

But from Judah’s line would come to us a higher power – him who holds all power, whose kingdom is not of this world.  In fact, he has come, just as foretold by Jacob, Moses and all the prophets.  He came from heaven, finished his Father’s work and returned to him.  And he will come again in power and authority over all. 

At that time, it will not only be the descendants of Jacob’s sons who honor the Anointed One, rather every knee in heaven and on earth will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10, 11).  Rich and poor, young and old, famous and anonymous, powerful and helpless, oppressor and oppressed – all will bow down and proclaim him for who he is.  And God will be glorified. 

What a great day that will be!  The forecast calls for clear skies.  Sunny and bright, we might say. 

[Click here to see the daily reading in Genesis 49:1-28.]