THE ORIGINS AND MEANING OF THE LION OF JUDAH

1. LION OF JUDAH
Many Christians have heard the term ‘Lion of Judah’ but know little if anything about its origins or what it means. We see the Lion of
Judah on the emblem ofJerusalem,the Imperial Flag Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and some may argue the lion on the British royal coat
of arms.However, one mustnote that the Lion of Judah on Ethiopia’s Imperial flag falsely represents King Haile Selassie, rather than
Jesus Christ. The same applies to the British coat of arms if, indeed, it was intended to insinuate that there is a direct bloodline
correlation between Christ and the Windsor clan.
We first find this title in Genesis 49 where Jacob, the grandson of the patriarch Abraham, gave his blessings upon his twelve sons
shortly before his death. Now, Judah was the 4th son of Jacob, whose name was earlier changed to Israel after he refused to stop
wrestling with an angel of the Lord all night and into the wee hours ofthe morning until the Spirit gave Jacob the Almighty’s blessing. In
the same matter,Judah was a fighter, ready to do whatever it took to defend and preserve the honor and righteousness of all that was
and is holy.
There were two specific incidences when Judah stood up for the innocent, both primarily against the actions of his own brothers. The
first being when Judah’s brothers, who were filled with jealousy, were willing to throw Joseph, the eleventh born of the twelve, into a
dried up well and leave him to die a slow, agonizing death. The compassionate Judah proposed that Joseph be sold into slavery
instead.The other brothers agreed.Later, Joseph would become the Pharaoh ofEgypt’s right-hand man,which leads up to the second
account.
Due to a devastating drought throughout the Middle East at that time, Jacob sent ten of his remaining eleven sons to Egypt to buy
grain. Little did anyone know that these very same brothers would have to stand before Joseph to receive permission to acquire life-
sustaining provisions.When they metface to face, the brothers did not recognize Joseph but he recognized them. Joseph asked them
if they had any other brothers.They said yes and told him aboutBenjamin.Benjamin and Joseph were full-blooded brothers, whereas
the other ten were half-brothers.The brothers were given more than what they asked for. Joseph agreed to sell them more in the future,
under the condition that they brought Benjamin back with them. It did not take long before they ran out of food. When Jacob told his
sons to return to Egypt to restock, Judah told his father what Joseph said.After swearing to his father for Benjamin’s safe return, Jacob
reluctantly agreed.
Upon their arrival, Joseph sold them more grain but also secretly placed his silver goblet in Benjamin’s bag. Shortly after the eleven
brothers departed, Joseph sent his guards after them, searched their belongings, and found the silver goblet. They returned to face
Joseph.Joseph told the brothers that they were free to go, but Benjamin was to staybehind and suffer the consequences ofhis alleged
crime.Judah stepped forward and begged that Joseph punish him,rather than Benjamin and explained his promise to his father for the
lad’s safe return. That is when Joseph revealed himself and the brothers were reunited from that time on.
It was because ofJudah’s courageous acts ofselflessness,his willing to lay down his own life as a sacrifice on behalf of others is why
his tribe became the royal bloodline of the Messiah, Christ Jesus.
Below are two passages pertaining to the Lion of Judah…
“Judah,thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise:thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down
before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old

2. lion; who shall rouse him up? 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. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his
garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.”
-Genesis 49:8-12 (Moses)
Lion’s whelp- A young lion
Sceptre- A royal staff usually placed at the feet of a king while sitting on his throne while holding court
Shiloh- Jesus Christ
“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the
book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”
-Revelation 5:5 (Apostle John)
Amen.