“Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life… But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.” (Psalm 49:7, 15 ESV). This psalm bears the inscription: “To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.” Its very heading tells a
Chapter: 49
THE LION OF JUDAH
“Judah is a lion’s cub… The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49:9-10 ESV). When Jacob, whom God named Israel, was on his deathbed, he called each of his twelve sons to his bedside that he might bless them. The blessing he spoke over his fourth
WHAT YOU DO FOR THE LORD IS NEVER WASTED
“I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God” (Isaiah 49:4 ESV). Isaiah penned this as the Israel’s response to His appointment as God’s Messiah. For it would find its fulfillment some 700 years later in
“See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16 NLT).
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR US IS STILL WRITTEN ON HIS HANDS When Israel accused the Lord of forsaking them, He replied saying that He could never forget them. He compared Himself to a mother, saying, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” Then, He said that He had “engraved” them on His hands. The word “engraved”
“Look, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16 HCSB).
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR US IS STILL INSCRIBED ON HIS HANDS When Israel accused the Lord of forsaking them, He replied saying that He could never forget them. He compared Himself to a mother, saying, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” Then, He said that He had “engraved” them on His hands. The word “engraved”
“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16 NKJV).
CHRIST’S LOVE FOR US IS INSCRIBED ON HIS HANDS When Israel accused the Lord of forsaking them, He replied saying that He could never forget them. He compared Himself to a mother, saying, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” Then, He said that He had “engraved” them on His hands. The word “engraved” might
“Why should I fear in the days of evil…?” (Psalms 49:5 NKJV).
ARE YOU WALKING IN FEAR OR BY FAITH TODAY? We live in a day of national fear. Political disorder in an election year, the economy moving wildly up and down like a roller-coaster, and news of a pestilence called the coronavirus, all these and more are elevating our anxiety. Yet the Psalmist asks, “Why should
“I will scatter them among the descendants of Jacob; I will disperse them throughout Israel” (Genesis 49:7 NLT).
Jacob spoke a word over each of his sons as he lay on his deathbed. Over Simeon and Levi, he spoke a word that may have been heard as a curse, yet there was grace in it. For the tribe of Simeon would come to have land within the boundaries of Judah, which actually lengthened their days. Levi would become the Lord’s priestly tribe and be given cities scattered throughout Israel. So, both Simeon and Levi were “dispersed throughout Israel” as Jacob said.
Sometimes what appears to be a curse is actually a blessing.
“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16 ESV)
When Israel accused the Lord of forsaking them, He replied saying that He could never forget them. He compared Himself to a mother, saying, “Can a woman forget her nursing child?” Then, He said that He had “engraved” them on His hands. The word “engraved” might be translated “inscribed” or “written,” but literally means to “cut in.” He was essentially saying, “How can I forget you when I have a remembrance of you cut into the palms of My hands?” Surely this was an encouraging word to the Israelites, but even more so to those who view it through the lens of the cross. For the scars of the nails still mark our Savior’s hands. As Jesus told Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands” (John 20:27). The One with the nail-scarred hands will never leave, nor forsake us.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes” (Genesis 49:10 NKJV)
On his deathbed, Israel (Jacob) blesses (prophesies over) each of his sons. This blessing over Judah is one of the clearest Messianic prophecies that the Christ would be born to the line of Judah. From that day forward the tribe of Judah took the image of the lion as its symbol, flying it on a banner above their camp. The “scepter” indeed came to the tribe of Judah when David became king. Yet, the description that it “shall not depart” speaks of an eternal king. “Shiloh” (Hebrew for “He whose it is”) is Jesus, the Lion of Judah, the Messiah, the Christ, Son of Man, Son of God and King over all, “and to him shall be the obedience of the people.”