8 Judah, your brothers shall praise you;

    your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;

    your father’s sons shall bow down before you.

9 Judah is a lion’s cub;

    from the prey, my son, you have gone up.

He stooped down; he crouched as a lion

    and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,

until tribute comes to him;

    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

11 Binding his foal to the vine

    and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,

he has washed his garments in wine

    and his vesture in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine,

    and his teeth whiter than milk.

Genesis 49:8-12 (ESV)

First-born goes to Judah

Reuben, Simeon and Levi’s prophecies are done. Now it’s time for Judah. We have to recognize that this is poetry which can be more difficult to understand. It’s also prophetic which adds to the complexity. But the central message is clear: Among Jacob’s sons, Judah will be the ruler, the leader, and receive the rights of the first-born. 

Look at the description: his brothers (father’s sons since Jacob had 4 wives) shall praise him and he will conquer; he’s like a lion; he shall rule (v9-10); he will be blessed and beautiful. His one trouble is, his clothes washed in blood.

We might note that Judah, himself, had his own sins. He withheld his younger son from the wife of his first son who played a prostitute and bore Judah another son (Genesis 38). This son, Perez, became part of the line of Messiah. God still chose to work through Judah to accomplish His purpose.

Details

Judah is compared to a lion. “By this it is foretold that the tribe of Judah should become very formidable, and should not only obtain great victories but should peaceably enjoy what was got by those victories. Judah is compared not to a lion rampant, always raging but to a lion couching, enjoying the satisfaction of his success, without creating vexation to others.” (Wesley commentary) In Revelation 5:5, Jesus is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

NASB translates v10: “The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes,” Many understand this as prophecy of the Messiah (Shiloh). “From David until the Herods, a prince of Judah was head over Israel (even Daniel in captivity)…At the time [Jesus birth], the rabbis considered it a disaster of unfulfilled Scripture. Seemingly, the last vestige of the scepter had passed from Judah, and they did not see the Messiah.” (enduringword.com)

RЯeflection

• Judah was selected to be first and be in the line of Messiah despite his sinful character. Our God doesn’t make mistakes, He shows grace. Thank Him and praise Him for His grace toward us.
• Isn’t it amazing how God prophesied thousands of years in advance of Messiah coming and the “window” closed soon after Jesus was born!