I. CONCERNING JUDAH—
THE GLAD TIDINGS OF CHRIST
Verses 8 through 12 concern Judah. Verse 9 says that Judah is a lion. In Revelation 5:5 Christ is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This proves that Genesis 49 needs Revelation 5 for its development. It also proves that these verses of Jacob’s prophetic blessing require the whole Bible for their development. My burden in this message is to impress you with the spiritual interpretation of these verses.
We have seen that Genesis is a book of seeds. Nearly all the truths in the Bible are sown as seeds in Genesis. In the New Testament there are three main truths concerning Christ.
The first is the truth of the victory of Christ. The fact that Christ is victorious means that He has accomplished everything God required of Him. In this accomplished work He took care of sin, solved the problem of the world, defeated Satan, abolished death, and eliminated every negative thing. He has gained the full victory for the accomplishment of God’s purpose. This is the victory of Christ, the first basic truth in the New Testament regarding Christ.
The second main truth is the truth of the authority of Christ, the kingdom of Christ. Because Christ has won the victory, He has been made Lord of all. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matt. 28:18). Furthermore, He has received the universal and eternal kingdom of His Father. Thus, He has the authority, the kingship, and the kingdom.
The third main truth in the New Testament concerning Christ is the truth of the enjoyment and rest in Christ. Christ has accomplished everything in His victory and He has received the authority and the kingdom so that we may have enjoyment and find rest in Him. What enjoyment and rest we have in Christ! These three truths are a summary of the New Testament.
Because the New Testament is the harvest of the seeds sown in Genesis, we must now locate the seeds of Christ’s victory, of Christ’s kingdom, and of the enjoyment and rest in Christ. They are found in Genesis 49:8-12. These five verses contain three wonderful seeds: the seed of Christ’s victory, the seed of Christ’s kingdom, and the seed of the enjoyment and rest in Christ. How I thank the Lord and worship Him that, at this end time, He has opened this portion of the Word to us!
(Life-Study of Genesis, Chapter 100, by Witness Lee)
