Genesis 49:10, “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.”
Genesis 49:10 is just another of many reminders that the crucified and risen Jesus is the harmonizing note of all scripture….from beginning to end the Bible is either building to or flowing from Christ, to the glory of God the Father. There is some debate as to how best to translate verse 10, but I think that the NIV draws out the significance that seems to be there regardless of how it is translated, namely, that a king who will rule the nations is going to come from the line of Judah.
Something that I noticed afresh this morning is that Jacob foresees the “nations” being subjected to this coming Israelite King. That is an awesome assertion for a man on his deathbed to make concerning one of his sheep-tending sons who is currently living in exile. But, in faith, Jacob prophesies that from this little family will come the universal ruler of both Jew and Gentile, a King who will unite under his singular rsign the warring factions and ethnic divisions of the entire human race.
Of course, we know that this coming king is ultimately Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14, 19:16), who will unite all people in Himself through the cross (Ephesians 2:13-18). Many kings rose and fell in Israel, many “kings” have and still do rise and fall across the globe, but YHWH has established His King on the heavenly Zion (Ps.2:6)–a King uniquely fit to pour out both eschatological abundance and wrath since He has given Himself for His people and endured the fullness of wrath for all who will trust in Him.
