Jesus Is!
Advent Devotional Guide
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Messiah
Considering how simple and straight-forward yesterday’s devotional was, today’s is very complicated and required a lot more research and thought. The Scripture we will focus on is Genesis 49:8-12 but, as is so often the case, it is important to see it in the context of the whole section.
Jacob (aka Israel) was on his deathbed and all the twelve sons had gathered to receive their paternal blessings. Can you imagine what might have been going through their minds as they anticipated his words? (Remember that Joseph was the favorite and Benjamin was next.) I kind of think that what the brothers received was not what they had expected.
Then Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the days to come. Come together and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel:
“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the firstfruits of my virility, excelling in prominence, excelling in power. Turbulent as water, you will no longer excel, because you got into your father’s bed and you defiled it — he got into my bed.
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; their knives are vicious weapons. May I never enter their council; may I never join their assembly. For in their anger they kill men, and on a whim they hamstring oxen. Their anger is cursed, for it is strong, and their fury, for it is cruel! I will disperse them throughout Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel.
“8Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. Judah is a young lion — my son, you return from the kill. He crouches; he lies down like a lion or a lioness — who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until He whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him. He ties his donkey to a vine, and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine. He washes his clothes in wine and his robes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk.
“Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships, and his territory will be next to Sidon.
“Issachar is a strong donkey lying down between the saddlebags. He saw that his resting place was good and that the land was pleasant, so he leaned his shoulder to bear a load and became a forced laborer.
“Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. He will be a snake by the road, a viper beside the path, that bites the horses’ heels so that its rider falls backward. I wait for Your salvation, Lord.
“Gad will be attacked by raiders, but he will attack their heels.
“Asher’s food will be rich, and he will produce royal delicacies.
“Naphtali is a doe set free that bears beautiful fawns.
“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine beside a spring; its branches climb over the wall. The archers attacked him, shot at him, and were hostile toward him. Yet his bow remained steady, and his strong arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, by the God of your father who helps you, and by the Almighty who blesses you with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, and blessings of the breasts and the womb. The blessings of your father excel the blessings of my ancestors and the bounty of the eternal hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers.
“Benjamin is a wolf; he tears his prey. In the morning he devours the prey, and in the evening he divides the plunder.”
These are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing. Genesis 49:1-28
What do you think? As each brother heard their father’s words about the others, would they have agreed with his assessment? Would each one have accepted their own blessing with joy? If they had known in advance that one of them would be chosen as the forefather of the Messiah, do you think they would have all assumed it would be Joseph?
Now I admit that I don’t understand everything in verses 8-12 and, honestly, I don’t really want to get that deep in this post. Judah’s blessing, however, is definitely about the coming of and the eternal reign of the Messiah. And as Christmas approaches, it is fitting that we focus on that.
Here is what I want us to consider today. Why did God choose to bring Jesus to the world through the tribe of Judah and not, as I would have expected, through Joseph? After all, Joseph’s blessing refers to him glowingly as the prince of the brothers. Why not Joseph? And Judah had been the one who insisted that Joseph be sold into slavery. (Genesis 37:26-27) Granted, Judah was protecting the life of his brother because the others wanted to kill him. But selling him sounded like a reasonable alternative? And, by the way, it was Judah who got himself into a sexual pickle with Tamar, his daughter-in-law, who subsequently bore him twin sons. So why Judah? He didn’t deserve such an honor.
And that, my friends, is the crux of the matter. None of the brothers deserved this blessing. None of them was worthy. God chose to send Jesus, the perfect lamb, into an imperfect world through an imperfect lineage. Why? So that he could save the unworthy — you and me.
As we look to Christmas Day, it is okay to ponder our unworthiness only if we also give thanks for the precious baby born to make us holy.
Lord, You constantly amaze us. Thank you for all the ways you choose to work in our lives. We know that even though we are sinful and despicable, you love us dearly and sent Jesus to be our Messiah and Lord.
