#12 — Parshat VaYechi
We want to talk with you! Open the chat at the bottom right of your screen to chat live or click here
Judah stands out
The book of Genesis traces a family tree: from Adam, through Noah, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But why is this family tree so important? And where is this all heading? The last parsha of Genesis, Parshat Vayechi, shows us.
In this text Jacob speaks prophetically about the future of his sons, from whom the people of Israel are formed. The future of Jacob’s son Judah especially stands out:
“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;”
Joseph
Judah will be really special; he will be victorious. And then we hear:
“Your father’s sons shall bow down before you.” (Genesis 49:8)
This is very interesting in the context of the book of Genesis. “Your father’s sons’ shall bow down before you” is what Joseph’s dreams had been all about in previous chapters. The phrase recalls the picture of the brothers bowing down before Joseph who had become ruler in Egypt.
Joseph…
He was a great blessing for Egypt and a redeemer for Israel.
Along with Judah, Joseph also receives considerable attention when Jacob prophetically blesses his sons.
In a poetic way Jacob describes what Joseph’s brothers did to him but how God helped him through.
“The archers bitterly attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him severely, yet his bow remained unmoved; his arms were made agile, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel“ (Genesis 49:23-24)
Joseph emerged from all he endured as “the shepherd” who took care of Israel and “the stone of Israel” who was like a foundation stone to Israel.
Make Israel Great Again?
The phrase “Your father’s sons will bow down before you” connects the picture of Joseph with the future of Judah. But let’s listen to what else Jacob prophesies about Judah. The patriarch continues by describing how Judah will be victorious “like a lion.”
“Judah is like 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 to rouse him?” (Genesis 49:9)
What is this – a “Make Israel Great Again” prophecy?
Well, yes, Israel definitely will be great. But this is more than mere nationalism. This is a prophecy about how something glorious will sprout out of the family tree that has been traced so far.
And let’s not forget this family tree started with a promise that a seed of the women would crush the head of a serpent who derailed God’s creation which God had pronounced “very good.”
Let’s not forget this is the family lineage to which the promise “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3) is attached.
Therefore this goes far beyond nationalistic ideology. It rather is about victory over evil which will benefit the entire earth.
King-Messiah
Jacob continues prophesying. Judah will be Israel’s royal tribe.
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet...”
Jacob ends his blessing with a very special climax. The fact that Judah is the outstanding, victorious, and royal tribe will find its culmination in this: the ruler’s staff will not depart from Judah’s feet “until he comes to whom it belongs….”
[Note: here we are following the ancient interpretation as found in Targum Onkelos and Midrash Rabbah, which understands “shilo” as “he to whom it belongs. So also Rashi.]
...and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10)
“Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine….”
One normally doesn’t do that. The vine and especially the choice vine is too precious for that. Unless the choice vine is so common now that it doesn’t matter. Or maybe the donkey is so quiet, it won’t damage the vine. Either way, we have a picture of great blessing and peace.
“...he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are dark from wine and his teeth white from milk.” (Genesis 49:11-12)
This ultimate ruler from Judah will bring an abundance not seen since Gan Eden.No wonder that this, from the oldest Jewish sources on, always has been interpreted as a prophecy about the Messiah. This is “King Messiah to whom the kingdom belongs” (Rashi on Genesis 49:10). This is the future toward which all is heading according to the book of Genesis.
The Stone which the Builders Rejected
With this prophecy at the end, Genesis is book-ended with two promises. First we have in Genesis 3 the promise of the seed of the woman who would be the serpent slayer. Now here at the end of the book, in Genesis 49, this promise of a victorious ruler whom the nations will obey and who will bring amazing blessing.
But there is still more. Events that happened along the way in Genesis also seem to color this messianic promise. We noted above that in the prophetic picture of Judah the story of Joseph was recalled with the phrase “your father’s sons shall bow down before you.”
Joseph already had been a blessing for the nations of the world and a redeemer for Israel. God’s promise to Abram, “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed” already found a first fulfillment in Joseph. But it came through suffering and rejection before God lifted up Joseph. “From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel,” the foundation of the nation.
Was what happened with Joseph a one-off event? Or does it establish the pattern?
Is this the pattern we read about in Psalm 118: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”? (Psalm 118:22)
We believe it is a prophetic pattern indeed. Because when we see the Messianic promise unfold throughout the scriptures and then fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah, we see the ultimate Lion of Judah who will also be victorious by treading a path of rejection and suffering.
Of Him we also have to say, just as Jacob said about Joseph, “The archers bitterly attacked him.”
Yet God lifts Him up out of this opposition. And indeed from there He becomes “The Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.” This one, to whom the Royal scepter truly belongs, is the hope of Israel, the world and each of us personally.
We’d love to talk more with you about this. Don’t hesitate to use the chat option.