‭‭Genesis‬ ‭49‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬ — Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons will bow down to you. You are a lion’s cub, Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? 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.

‭‭This week we have been sharing worship songs that have Old Testament meaning. Today I want to highlight Judah, who is Joseph’s half brother. Judah’s widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar tricks Judah into sleeping with her. She conceives twin boys, the firstborn named Perez. Judah, Tamar, and Perez are in the lineage of Jesus. You can read about them, starting in Genesis 38. In today’s key verse, we read the familiar Name of God, The Lion of Judah, a powerful Name that comes from a story of brokenness. 

I encourage you to listen to the song, Lion by Elevation Worship, featuring Chris Brown and Brandon Lake. Some of the lyrics sing, “God of Jacob, Great I Am. King of angels, Son of Man. Voice of many waters. Song of Heaven’s throne. Louder than the thunder. Make Your Glory known.” Isn’t that powerful? Will you shine God’s glory through your brokenness? 

The Prophet Micah foreshadows the the lineage to Jesus in ‭‭Micah‬ ‭5‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor bears a son, and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.

We all have lion-sized hallelujah in our lungs. Let’s pray and worship through the song Gratitude by Brandon Lake.

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