Title: Judas (Gen 49:8-12)
Contents
No human being is perfect. No one is good at everything, and no one is not good at everything. In other words, advantages entail disadvantages and disadvantages entail advantages. Success is a good thing, but there are downsides to success. Because success makes you busier and more overworked. People usually care about our mistakes, but God cares about what we do well.
“How can the Messiah come out through Judah” is a strange thing, but it is also a grace of God. Similarly, “how a person like me came to believe in Jesus and be saved and go to heaven” is also a grace. Those who have been blessed have nothing to be thankful for. I hope that we will now live a life where we realize the grace of the Lord in humility and live a life that is too precious to be seen in God's eyes, in our thoughts, hearts, words, and actions.
Judas means "Praise". Judah was the fourth son of Leah, Jacob's first wife. Today's text tells the story of praying for the fourth son, Judas, in the scene where his old father, Jacob, prays for his sons to be blessed before he dies before he dies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ------- Jacob is blessing his children today because he longed for such a blessing. This is the succession of blessings. A person who knows what is precious and uses it wisely is the right person.
In life, everyone makes mistakes. Here we consider the fault of Judas.
1. Judas is not good at marriage.
Genesis 38:1-2 “After that, Judas went down from his brother and went to Hira the Adullamite, where he saw the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua, and took her and lay with her.” Marriage is not like this. Marriage is about waiting and waiting. Abraham prayed when he was getting a daughter-in-law, and he received an answer. And I welcomed a daughter-in-law from among my relatives.
2. Judas inherited the genealogy of Jesus through his daughter-in-law.
Judas suffers from the loss of two children and is saddened to continue the genealogy of Jesus Christ through his daughter-in-law, not his wife.
On the other hand, let's look at the requirements for Judah's blessing.
1. When the brothers want to kill Joseph, it is Judas who wants to save his life.
Genesis 37:27 “Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let us not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother and our bones and flesh.” The brothers obeyed. Evangelism is a precious thing that saves people. If there are many people who have been saved because of you, you are a person who bears fruit that saves people.
2. He is a person of sacrifice who takes the place of his brother's life with his own body.
Genesis 44:18 "Judas approached him and said, "..." Verse 33 "I beg you, to be thy servant in stead of the child, to be thy servant, and to bring him back up with his brother." to take the place of life. Judas' sacrifice is truly remarkable.
It is because of this sacrifice that Judas was blessed despite many faults. Sacrifice is never a loss. All the blessings of Christianity are hidden in sacrifice. Again, there is a blessing in the sacrifice. In Judges 1, we see Israel's war of conquest. At this time, the tribe that took the lead is the tribe of Judah. When war broke out, the tribe of Judah made sacrifices in the front, but strangely, if you take a census later, the number of tribes of Judah is the largest. God blessed the tribe of Judah.
3. Father's blessing.
There are things that Judas himself did well, but what is more important is in “the blessing of his father Jacob.” Fathers, bless your children. Bless your children today as Isaac blesses Jacob and Jacob blesses his children. However, blessings are not for everyone. “I have to receive blessings and I have to become a person who can give blessings” to be blessed. In other words, my change will be a blessing to my children. Blessing prayers are really important, and our future and destiny are revealed in them. The voice of God, the will of God, and the secret of the future are hidden in it.
Now, let's look at the contents of the blessing that Judas received.
1. It is a blessing of praise.
Genesis 49:8 “You shall be a blessing to your brother, Judah.” His name has been a song of praise since he was born. I hope you all have the blessing of praise today.
2. Receive the blessing of a powerful lion.
Genesis 49:9 “Judas is a cub of a lion, my son, you have come up with what you have stumbled upon. He fell down and crouched like a lion, like a lioness, who can offend him?” Judah receives a powerful blessing like a lion. May you receive powerful blessings in your life as well.
3. You will receive the blessing of “the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth”.
Genesis 49:10 “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff to depart from among the fields; until Shiloh comes, and all the peoples will be subject to him.” The scepter means that the staff of God's power will not depart from your life. May the scepter of God be with you in your life today, in the name of the Lord.
4. It is the blessing of abundance.
Genesis 49:11-12 “He will tie his donkey to the vine, and his colt to the beautiful vine, and he will wash his clothes in wine, and his garments in wine, and his eyes will be red with wine, and his teeth with milk. This blessing did not just come. It is God's blessing according to the blessing of his father Jacob and the sacrificial obedience of Judah. If you pray and live, you will be blessed. There are prayers and blessings in the Bible, but there is a more important life in them. Religion without life is wrong.
Even if there are mistakes or sins, God's blessings are God's grace. It is God's grace. At this time today, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will receive the same blessing and grace as Judas.