The book of Genesis lays the foundations for the story of the Bible. It begins with the creation account whereby God brings the universe into being by the power of his word. This narrative culminates in the formation of human beings, fashioned in the divine image so that they might serve as God’s regents, having dominion over the creation. The human vocation of exercising sovereignty over the world requires that we imitate God himself. When people worship the one true God & obey his commands, they bring blessing, not just upon themselves, but upon the world they govern. The creation can then flourish as a place of peace, abundance, joy & life.
But things went awry. Deceived by the serpent, the woman & the man ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil. This story encapsulates mankind’s rebellion against God. Rather than acknowledging God’s wisdom & goodness, humans sought to become gods themselves, defining right & wrong according to their own desires. Their disobedience unleashed a cataclysmic wave of violence, immorality, injustice & enmity which swept over God’s creation.
God’s plan to rescue his creation began in Genesis 12, when He appeared to a solitary figure later known as Abraham. God promised that his original blessing upon humanity & the world would be restored through the “seed” of Abraham, the children of Israel. This truth cannot be repeated too often: God’s covenant with Israel is the vehicle by which He will rescue his whole creation from the ravages of sin & death. God chose Israel to be the people who will fulfill the crucial role of humanity, to reflect His image & govern the creation wisely.
The remainder of Genesis shows how God began to fulfill this promise, sometimes in spite of the spectacular shortcomings of the covenant family. Genesis concludes with the family of Jacob (renamed Israel) in Egypt. Countless people (including Abraham’s seed) had been saved from a devastating famine thanks to God’s providence & Joseph’s faithfulness.
Nearing death, Israel gathered his sons around him & spoke of their future. His most important words pertained to his fourth son Judah:
“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 his descendants,
until he to whom it belongs shall come
and the obedience of the nations shall be his.”
(Genesis 49:8-10)
Jacob famously compared Judah to the power & majesty of a lion. He foresaw that the tribe of Judah would rise to a position of preeminence in Israel. Judah would produce a long line of kings who would reign over the people of Israel until at last the kingship would come to the man “to whom it belongs.” The Jews who reflected on this passage believed that this was the Messiah, a future king of Israel who would establish God’s kingdom over all the earth. This text, with it’s vivid metaphor of a crouching lion, is why the Messiah would be given the title “the lion of the tribe of Judah.”
The Messiah would be far greater than the kings before him. Many monarchs would govern Israel during their lifetime before passing the crown to their progeny upon their death. But Jacob speaks of the ruler’s scepter coming to one “to whom it belongs.” Unlike his predecessors, the Messiah would not be an ephemeral figure who would temporarily occupy the throne. Rather, “the scepter” belongs to him for all time; “the ruler’s staff” is his rightful & eternal possession.
This idea of the Messiah ruling over the everlasting kingdom of God was developed and expanded in other parts of the Old Testament. For instance, Psalm 72, says, “May [the king] endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations.” Likewise, Daniel 7 describes a Messianic figure (“one like a son of man”) who comes before God (“the Ancient of Days): “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language served him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
With this in mind, let’s consider the angel Gabriel’s startling annunciation to the virgin Mary regarding her son: “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” David, descended from the tribe of Judah, was the most exalted king in Israel’s history. Gabriel announced that the son of Mary would far excel David; his dominion would never end.
But how could this king possibly reign forever? Gabriel doesn’t elaborate on the nature of this mystery. Only by reading the rest of the gospels can we understand God’s unfolding plan. After suffering a cruel & shameful execution, the Messiah would conquer death by walking out of the tomb on Easter morning.
Jacob also indicated that the Messiah would reign, not just over Israel, but over the whole world: “The obedience of the nations shall be his.” This is consistent with Psalm 72, “May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.” (v11) This same Psalm later affirms that the Messiah will fulfill God’s promises to Abraham by restoring blessing to the whole creation: “Then all nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed.” (v17) We’ve already seen this same theme in Daniel 7: “all nations and peoples of every language served him.”
These passages remind us that God’s plans were never limited to Israel alone. Rather, Israel was the instrument God chose to reveal himself to all the nations. In this way, salvation might come the all people, and indeed to the whole creation.
As this blog has often noted, many evangelicals insist that our salvation hinges only upon “faith” defined as merely a passive belief which is independent of any action or effort on our part. This view sharply separates our trust in Jesus from our obedience to Jesus. But the words of Jacob cut right through this false dichotomy. For Jacob, the Messiah would be the eternal king over God’s worldwide kingdom. Precisely as king, he demands the full loyalty & allegiance of his subjects: “The obedience of the nations shall be his.”
This insight helps us understand many other passages of scripture. For instance, in the beginning his magisterial letter to the Roman church, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Through [Jesus the Messiah our Lord] we have received grace & apostleship to call all the nations to the obedience of faith for his name’s sake.” (Romans 1:5) The Greek phrase for “the obedience of faith” is hypakoen pisteos. It’s highly revealing that Paul also concludes the book of Romans with this exact phrase. He declares that the goal of the gospel declaration is to bring “all the nations…to the obedience of faith.” (Romans 16:26) By using this phrase to bookend his greatest letter, Paul emphasizes that faithful obedience is the proper & necessary response which we must offer to King Jesus.
In some translations like the NIV, hypakoen pisteos is translated “the obedience that comes from faith.” Such renderings are heavily influenced by the flawed theology which drives a wedge between belief & obedience, misleadingly implying that faith is the really important part whereas obedience is secondary.
We can avoid this error by keeping a firm grasp on the Old Testament scriptures which permeated the mind of the Apostle Paul. Paul was intimately familiar with the words Jacob offered to his son Judah. The future Messiah, the lion of the tribe of Judah, would command “the obedience of the nations.”
This understanding makes much better sense of the grand Biblical story. We remind ourselves once more that humans must offer God obedience if they are to fulfill their key vocation as his image bearers. Thus we glimpse the full nature of God’s salvation: the Messiah will establish the eternal kingdom of God. Those who refuse to submit to his authority will be swept away; all wickedness & evil will be destroyed. People of every nation will be given membership in the renewed Israel, based on their loyal to King Jesus. They will offer their full obedience to the lion of the tribe of Judah, so that righteousness & justice might prevail throughout the world forever.
Very good blog. Thank you!