(Genesis) Genesis 49:11-15

Now we come at verse 11 here. It still has to do with Judah. It says here, "...binding his foal unto the vine, his ass'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." What are we talking about here? Here's the one that came riding into Jerusalem, riding a little donkey, offering himself as the Messiah, the King, the Savior, and he washed his garments in wine. What kind of wine? Well, that blood, his own blood.

But he's coming next time, and Isaiah said he has dyed garments, and it's not his own blood this time, but the blood of his enemies. And his eyes shall be red with wine. That's when he comes the second time.

My friends, this is one of the most remarkable prophecies we have in Scripture, and there are a great many remarkable prophecies. Now we have here in Zebulun verse 13. He's another one of the boys, and I don't care to dwell with these too much other than they're remarkable prophecies.

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea. He shall be for a haven of ships, and his border shall be unto Sidon, and he was the northernmost tribe on the coast. Actually, Dan went farther north up to Mount Hermon, but along the coast, Zebulun went up farther north.

Then we have Issachar next, verse 14. Issachar is a strong-ass, couching down between two burdens, and he saw that rest was good in the land that was pleasant, and bowed his shoulder to bear and became a servant under tribute. Now this tribe and these tribes in this area to the north, and that's where they were finally located, by the way, they were the ones that did a great deal of the work that constituted the backbone of the nation.

That is the whole thought and intent here. They were the workers. We've heard a great deal about the silent majority today, and actually the average person, one like you and I are today, we don't get on television.

I don't think we want on it. Who do they put on TV? They feature the weirdos, the so-called great, the peculiar crowd, the unusual. That's the ones today.

But the crowd that they try to make you believe, the important ones today, they're not the backbone of this nation or any nation. They're ones that are the backbone of this country, and actually these tribes that you and I pass over here, they were really the backbone of the nation Israel when they got in the land. Now we have six more to go, and we'll be much briefer with these, because we feel like the one that was really now all important is Judah.

And why? Well, it's because we know now that the Lord Jesus is coming through Judah. You see, all we knew at the beginning was that it would be the seed of the woman. Then we saw that it went down through Seth and then to Noah, and it moved on down then to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But Jacob had twelve sons. Which one will it be? Well, we know it's not going to be Reuben. Looks like Joseph, does it not? But not Joseph, it's Judah.

And God, by His marvelous grace, picked him, and out of that tribe there will come the Messiah, there will come the Deliverer, there will come the Savior of the world.