Divine Sovereignty

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Genesis 49:10

Jacob was dying, but he still had important things to say. As he took his final journey down this long road, he stopped to bless his sons. When he arrived at Judah, he uttered some of the sublimest words of Messianic prophecy which have ever graced the Sacred Page. He declares, ‘The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.’ Here is an utterance full of Christ. Let us consider it first, please, in terms of what it tells us of the Divine Sovereignty of Christ. Our text begins, ‘The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come.’ The name admits of several interpretations, yet all of them carry the idea of ‘One who is sent,’ or the ‘One to whom it belongs;’ or ‘the One who has a right to it.’ This brings us to Christ Whom the Scripture titles, ‘the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.’ Where does this lead us? It leads us to consider Jacob’s dying prophecy as a testimony to the Rulership of Christ. Because of Who Christ is, the Essential Eternal Son of God, we must conclude that this is an assertion of His Divine Sovereignty. All the rest of the Scripture supports this idea. Isaiah saw Christ ‘sitting upon a Throne.’ Matthew presented Him as the King. Nathaniel confessed Him to be the ‘King of Israel.’ His Kingship was the very thing which His enemies used against Him. It was of His Kingship that Pilate questioned Him, and it was to Pilate that Christ affirmed that He is indeed a King. He returns in revelation with His Title upon His clothing and upon His Thigh, ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords.’ This is Our Savior, this is Our Prophet, Priest, and King.

High King of Heaven, we rejoice in You,
The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, David’s Greater Son.
We praise You today, that You shall rule and reign,
and that Your Kingdom shall never cease.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning