(Genesis) Genesis 49:8-10

Verse 8, "...Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow down before thee." This is the one, not now before Joseph's line, but from now on it will be Judah, because who came out of the tribe of Judah? The Lord Jesus.

Verse 9, "...Judah as a lion's whelp, from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion. Who shall rouse him up?" Now, here's one of the most remarkable prophecies in Scripture.

Verse 10, I'm reading it, "...the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come," that's the ruler, "...and unto him shall the gathering of the people be." Now, frankly, this is one of the more remarkable prophecies that's in the Word of God. Already we have been told that it'll be the seed of the woman. Back in Genesis 3.15 where God says, "...I'll put enmity between thee and the woman, thy seed, her seed." And the seed of the woman is the one to do the bruising of the serpent's head.

He'll be the one to get the victor. That's the first prophecy. Then that seed was confirmed to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Now it's confirmed to Judah that out of Judah's line, he's coming. Not only that, but he's called Shiloh. That means rest, tranquility.

He's the one that will bring rest. And the people who heard him in that day when they rejected him, you remember he turned to the populace, to the multitudes, and he said, "...Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll rest you at Shiloh." Shiloh had come, not only the seed, not only Shiloh, but the scepter. He's the one that'll hold the scepter.

And friends, the scepter of this universe is in nail-pierced hands today. Not only that, but we are told a little later on in verse 24, it says, "...from fence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel." He's called a shepherd. He's also called in that same passage a stone, and over numbers, the 24th chapter of the prophecy of Balaam, 17 a star.

So with the coming of Christ, he is the seed, he's Shiloh who brings rest. He's the one that holds the scepter. He is the shepherd that gave his life, and he's the chief shepherd who's coming someday.

He is the stone that the builders disallowed, but has now become the headstone of the corner, and he's the star, the bright and morning star for his church today. This is the line from Adam, and Abel was murdered, and God raised up another seed, Seth. Seth to Noah, and Noah through Shem, and Shem to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Judah.

May I say to you, you can be blind and still see that God is moving according to a pattern and according to a program here. This is very important to see, and don't miss it. Now, I've been dealing with this prophecy, which I consider all important here, and we'll just have to hit some high points from here on.