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.
– Genesis 49:10
This is a promise given from Jacob to Judah as Jacob is about to die, looking to Judah’s future. In the verse right before this, Jacob says Judah is a lion’s cub. He stooped down, he crouched as a lion, as a lioness who dares rouse him. And that’s where we get the imagery in Revelation chapter five, talking about how Jesus is the Lion of Judah. So as a reminder, this is a promise given to Judah that a king will come from his line. So this is Genesis 49:10, the scepter shall not depart from Judah. And eventually you trace the lineage of Judah all the way to King David in the Old Testament.
The promise throughout the Old Testament is that the Savior will come through the line of Judah.
And then you keep going all the way to King Jesus in the New Testament. This is a promise that Jesus, the King of Kings will come from Judah’s line. Here we are in the first book in the Bible, and we have this promise of Jesus the King coming from Judah and listen to the language. The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet until tribute comes to him.
The Lamb from the Line of Judah
And to him, to this one from Judah’s line, shall be the obedience of the peoples, shall be the obedience of the nations, which is why in Revelation 5:9, when you see Jesus depicted as the Lion of Judah and the Lamb who was slain for the sins of people from every nation, every tribe, every people group, every language, gathered around the throne, singing his praises, the obedience and the worship of the peoples.
So in each of our lives, the Lion of Judah, Jesus, the King of Kings is worthy of worship. And not just in each of our lives. He is worthy of worship among all the peoples, among every people group in the world, which is why we pray regularly in this podcast. And I exhort you regardless of whether or not we prayed together in this podcast to pray for unreached people groups today, people groups who have little to no knowledge of Jesus the King.
Genesis 49:10 Hopes for the Knowledge of Jesus to Reach All Peoples
They need to know Jesus, the King. The Daji people in India today, 0.0% of them. These are normally Tibetan Buddhist people, the Daji in India mix that Tibetan Buddhism with Hinduism. They don’t know that Jesus has come and has died on a cross for sins and is risen from the dead and is ruling and reigning as King over all and will one day return.
And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord and King. They don’t know him and somebody needs to go and tell them about Jesus is King. So God, we pray today for the Daji people of India. God we pray that somebody would go from India, from surrounding countries, from even listening to this podcast, God that you would send out somebody to go to the Daji in India, to make the good news of your love and your grace and your mercy in King Jesus known to them, that they might know and enjoy Jesus as King and God.
Genesis 49:10 Prays for Peoples who Do Not Know Jesus
We pray that for every single people group in the world. We pray that for 7,000 people groups right now who have little to no knowledge of the gospel. The obedience of the peoples belongs to you, Jesus. You have died, Revelation 5, to purchase people for God, from every nation and tribe and tongue and language. So God bring it about, we pray. Bring it about, sin laborers into the harvest field, help us as your church in our lives and our families to live for this, help us to pray for this, help us to give for this, for the spread of your glory among all the nations, all the peoples. God help us to live our lives for that which you are accomplishing in the world. Help us to spend our lives for this purpose.
Jesus, we exalt you as the Lion of Judah, the Lamb who was slain, who has paid the ultimate price so that all the peoples might know and enjoy and worship you forever. So bring it about, use our lives to bring about, we pray, the obedience of the peoples, for the glory of your name. We pray all these things in the precious name of the Lion of Judah, Jesus our King. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
