Day 3: God chooses a tribe
Read Genesis 49
Genesis 49:9-10 - Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone
up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse
him? 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.
Jacob had twelve sons, and God moved them to Egypt for a while so they would
become a unique nation, separated from the other people with whom they shared a
language. God wanted them to be His people, not because of who they were, but
simply because He had chosen them to be the nation from which the Messiah would
be born. Of the twelve sons, Judah was selected by God to begin the tribe which
would become the kingly tribe. God’s promise in our verse today was unequalled
in history – never before, and to only one man since, was the promise made: a
king of this tribe would always carry the title of ruler. Even though Israel
had no physical king after their slavery in Babylon, the royal lineage was kept
in the records to know exactly who would be the next in line.
However, it would be about 400 years before the first king from the Tribe of
Judah would be crowned – David.
*How often are you impatient for God to keep His promises to you?