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In this message I am burdened to give a further word on Gen. 49:8-15. The language used to describe the group composed of Judah, Zebulun, and Issachar is strange, new, and foreign to our understanding. In these verses a number of figures are used in relation to Judah: a young lion, a couching lion, a lioness, the scepter, the ruler's staff, the foal bound to the vine, the ass's colt bound to the choice vine, the garments washed in wine, and the clothes washed in grape juice. Have you ever heard of someone washing his garments in wine or his clothes in grape juice? Verse 12 speaks of eyes that are red with wine and teeth that are white with milk. With respect to Zebulun we have the figure of a "haven of ships" (v. 13), and Issachar is likened to a "strong ass couching down between the sheepfolds" who sees that the rest is good and that the land is pleasant and who bows his shoulder to become a servant under taskwork (vv. 14-15, Heb.). All these points are rich, and we need to be impressed with them.
None of these points could be covered in Genesis 1, an account of God's creation. According to the record of Genesis 1, on the sixth day God made man in His own image. At the time of Genesis 1 it was impossible to have a word about Judah being a young lion, a couching lion, and a lioness, or a word about tying our donkey to the vine. Neither was it possible to hear of garments washed in wine. Although in Genesis 2 we have a garden and the two trees, we find none of the points mentioned in 49:8-15. Because these matters are part of the prophecy with blessing uttered by a man who was both transformed and mature in the divine life, they can only be found in chapter forty-nine.
In Genesis 2 Adam was wonderful, for he was able to give names to all the animals. This indicates that he was very capable. However, although he could name the animals, he could not utter a prophecy with blessing. Adam was merely a created being. He did not have the divine life wrought into him. In Genesis 1 and 2 he had not yet fallen. In a sense, we need to appreciate the fall of man. The children who fall the most are the strongest. A child who has never fallen is surely very weak. Adam, the man in Genesis 1, was perfect, but he was not very strong. However, Jacob, the man in Genesis 49, was not only perfect, but also strong. If this transformed Jacob had been surrounded by serpents, he still would not have fallen. Instead, he would have crushed the head of those serpents and cut off their tails. Which do you prefer to be — Adam in chapter one or Jacob in chapter forty-nine? I prefer to be Jacob.
In chapter forty-nine Jacob uttered a prophetic blessing which Adam could never have spoken. Only Jacob was qualified to utter such a blessing. Adam, however, was altogether unqualified for this because he did not have the divine life wrought into him and he was never transformed or matured in the life of God. But Jacob was not only created and fallen; he was regenerated, and the divine life had been wrought into him. Although there is no record that Adam's name was changed, we are told that Jacob's name was changed to Israel. Adam means "red earth," but Israel means "the prince of God." Do you prefer to be red earth or the prince of God? Red earth can never prophesy such a word as Jacob spoke in chapter forty-nine.
Jacob passed through the full experience of man's fall. I doubt that anyone else has ever fallen as low as Jacob. Although Jacob's story is our biography, we cannot compare with him as far as the fall is concerned. Jacob was the expert in being fallen. No one can surpass him in this matter. Jacob cheated, robbed, and supplanted everyone, including his mother. The fact that he utilized his mother proves that he supplanted her. (To supplant a person is simply to utilize him, to usurp him.) On one occasion Jacob even did his best to supplant God. That night at Peniel Jacob exercised all his energy to grasp God, to supplant Him, and to compel Him to do something for him (Gen. 32:24-31). Jacob, of course, could not defeat God. Eventually, God touched his thigh, and Jacob became lame. Because Jacob supplanted everyone, he fell all the way to the bottom. Nevertheless, eventually he was transformed and matured and reached the peak of the experience of the divine life. Therefore, in chapter forty-nine he was able to speak a rich word of prophecy with blessing.
Prior to this chapter it was impossible for such a word to be spoken, for there was no one transformed and mature enough to do it. Furthermore, before chapter forty-nine the proper environment had not been created. The imparting of a heavenly vision always requires a suitable environment. In order for Jacob to speak the word recorded in 49:8-15, he had to be transformed and matured, and he had to have the sons over whom to prophesy. Let us now consider the spiritual significance of the blessing prophesied in these verses, a portion of the Word that requires the entire Bible for its development.
Verses 8 through 12 concern Judah. Verse 9 says that Judah is a lion. In Revelation 5:5 Christ is called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This proves that Genesis 49 needs Revelation 5 for its development. It also proves that these verses of Jacob's prophetic blessing require the whole Bible for their development. My burden in this message is to impress you with the spiritual interpretation of these verses.
We have seen that Genesis is a book of seeds. Nearly all the truths in the Bible are sown as seeds in Genesis. In the New Testament there are three main truths concerning Christ.
The first is the truth of the victory of Christ. The fact that Christ is victorious means that He has accomplished everything God required of Him. In this accomplished work He took care of sin, solved the problem of the world, defeated Satan, abolished death, and eliminated every negative thing. He has gained the full victory for the accomplishment of God's purpose. This is the victory of Christ, the first basic truth in the New Testament regarding Christ.
The second main truth is the truth of the authority of Christ, the kingdom of Christ. Because Christ has won the victory, He has been made Lord of all. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him (Matt. 28:18). Furthermore, He has received the universal and eternal kingdom of His Father. Thus, He has the authority, the kingship, and the kingdom.
The third main truth in the New Testament concerning Christ is the truth of the enjoyment and rest in Christ. Christ has accomplished everything in His victory and He has received the authority and the kingdom so that we may have enjoyment and find rest in Him. What enjoyment and rest we have in Christ! These three truths are a summary of the New Testament.
Because the New Testament is the harvest of the seeds sown in Genesis, we must now locate the seeds of Christ's victory, of Christ's kingdom, and of the enjoyment and rest in Christ. They are found in Genesis 49:8-12. These five verses contain three wonderful seeds: the seed of Christ's victory, the seed of Christ's kingdom, and the seed of the enjoyment and rest in Christ. How I thank the Lord and worship Him that, at this end time, He has opened this portion of the Word to us!
In 49:8 and 9 we see the victory of Christ. Genesis, a marvelous book, is a book of pictures. In his prophecy Jacob likened Judah to a lion in three aspects: a young lion, a couching lion, and a lioness. The young lion is for fighting, for seizing the prey. Verse 9 says, "Judah is a young lion: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up" (Heb.). The words "thou art gone up" imply that the young lion first had to come down. He came down from the mountain to the plain to capture his prey. After the young lion seized his prey, he went up to the mountaintop again to enjoy it. When Christ was on earth and was crucified on the cross, He was a young lion seizing the prey. And what a prey He captured! It included the whole world, all the sinners, and even Satan, the serpent. From seizing His prey Christ has gone up to the mountaintop, that is, to the third heaven. This means that from His victory, He has ascended to the heavens. Ephesians 4:8 says that when Christ ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive. Christ gained the victory; He put His hand upon Satan's neck. Hallelujah, He has put His hand upon the neck of His enemies! As the young lion, He has overcome all His enemies. Many chapters in the New Testament reveal how Christ came as a young lion, how He went to the cross to seize His prey, and how He ascended to the mountaintop in the third heaven.
Genesis 49:9 also says, "He couches, he lies down as a lion" (Heb.). Christ is also a couching lion, the lion couching in satisfaction after enjoying His prey. After a lion has enjoyed his prey and has been satisfied, he couches; he lies down to rest in satisfaction. The figure of the couching lion in verse 9 describes Christ as the One enjoying His rest in the heavens. After gaining the victory and enjoying the prey, He was satisfied. Thus, He is now resting in the heavens in His satisfaction. This rest and satisfaction is the issue of Christ's victory. Christ is no longer fighting; rather, He is couching.
In verse 9 (Heb.) Christ is also likened to a lioness. As a lioness, He has produced many cubs. We all are Christ's cubs. In a very real sense, the church is lion country, and everyone in the church is a baby lion. Have you ever realized that you are a lion cub? If we saw the situation from God's viewpoint, we would realize that in the eyes of God the church is a country of lions. Toward men we are lambs following the Lamb; but toward Satan we are lion cubs. Although you may not have such a realization, Satan recognizes this fact. He knows that all the believers in the Lord's recovery are lion cubs. Frequently we need to tell Satan, "Satan, don't touch me. Don't you know that my family is the lion family?" Christ is the young lion, the couching lion, and the reproducing lioness, and we are His lion cubs. This is the full victory of Christ. This is why verse 8 says that Christ, typified by Judah, is to be praised and worshipped.
Christ's victory brings in the kingdom (v. 10). Even on earth today, wherever there is a victory, there is also a kingdom. Christ ascended to the heavens, and there He was given all authority. There He also received the kingdom. If we have the divine sight, we shall see that the entire earth is the kingdom of Christ. The nations today use Christ's calendar. According to history, the kingdom belongs to the one whose calendar is used. The fact that the nations use Christ's calendar indicates that they are His kingdom. Even the nations who oppose Christ follow His calendar. For this reason, Christ may laugh at them and say, "Although you oppose Me, you are using My calendar. In this way you are recognizing Me as your King." Christ is the King, and everyone is under His rule. If you do not believe this, I would ask you to wait for a period of time. Eventually you will see that the whole earth will be the kingdom of Christ.
Christ has been commissioned with all the authority in heaven and on earth. This should not be merely a doctrine to us. We must realize that we are under His authority. Verse 10 says, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet" (Heb.). It is correct to translate the Hebrew word rendered "scepter" as "authority." To say that the scepter will not depart from Judah means that the authority will not depart from Judah. The scepter here signifies royal, kingly authority. Christ has this authority, and we all must come under it. We, the kingdom people, are under the heavenly ruling of Christ.
We Christians also need to learn how to exercise the authority of Christ. As we face certain hardships and difficulties, there is no need to pray in a begging way. Instead, we should pray with the exercise of authority. When the children of Israel were pursued by the Egyptians, the Lord told Moses to lift up his rod and stretch out his hand over the sea (Exo. 14:15-16). Moses did so. That was an exercise of divine authority. Likewise, instead of begging, we should exercise the authority of our King and command the difficulties to flee. Because we are under the heavenly ruling, we have the position and the right to speak to difficulties, hardships, and attacks. We may say to them, "You must flee. I do not allow you to remain." We all must learn to exercise such authority.
In order to exercise this authority we must first be under the ruling of Christ. If we are rebellious and command Satan to flee, he will say, "Who are you? I will not obey you because you don't obey Christ. As one who does not obey his King, you have no position to command me." Therefore, we must be the obedient kingdom people. Our obedience gives us the position to exercise the King's authority. This is the kingdom. In the kingdom everything has been accomplished, every enemy has been defeated, and every problem has been solved.
Verse 10 says that the scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes. Shiloh means Peace-bringer. The proper kingdom is a realm of peace. If you do not have peace, you are not actually in the kingdom. The King must be the Peace-giver, the Peacebringer. When our King comes back, He will come as the great Shiloh who brings peace to the whole earth. But there is no need for us to wait until that day to enjoy Him as our Shiloh. We may enjoy Christ as Shiloh today.
Consider the example of family life. In a sense, family life is a stormy sea full of turmoil. We never know when a storm will come. I have been sailing on the family-life sea for many years, and I can testify that it is often very stormy. In Matthew 14 we read of the disciples' experience on a stormy sea (Matt. 14:22-33). When Jesus was about to go up into a mountain to pray, He charged His disciples "to step into the boat and to go before Him to the other side" (Matt. 14:22). When evening had come, the boat was being tossed by the waves. Eventually, after praying there on the mountaintop, the Lord came to the disciples in the boat, walking on the sea (Matt. 14:25). When He entered the boat, the wind ceased (Matt. 14:32). This is very meaningful. The storm ceased because there can be no storm where Jesus is. The storm is not afraid of us, but it is afraid of the heavenly King. Although the storm may trouble us, it cannot trouble Him, for He walks upon the waves. In the midst of the stormy family-life sea we should not pray in a begging way. Instead, we should exercise the authority and say, "Lord, You are walking upon the sea. You are the King and You have the authority. Now I exercise Your authority over this stormy situation." Try to pray like this.
In the eyes of God the victory has been won, the kingdom is here, and peace is present. Everything has been accomplished. Therefore, we should not look at our environment. In Matthew 14:28 Peter said, "Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the waters." Peter seemed to be saying, "Lord, if it is You, give me the word and I'll come to You. You are walking on the sea, and I'll walk on the sea also." The Lord said, "Come," and Peter came out of the boat and walked on the water to go to Jesus (Matt. 14:29). Peter had the faith to jump out of the boat and to walk on the waves. But when he began to look at the environment, his faith disappeared, and he began to sink. Peter's experience is a lesson to us not to look at our environment, but to stand on the Lord's word. Faith is a matter of standing on His word. Faith is not based on the environment; it is based on the word of the Lord. If you jump out of the boat and stand on the Lord's word, many problems will be solved. You have prayed too many begging prayers. Instead of begging, issue a command to the environment and say, "I will not allow you to disturb me. Jesus is King. The kingdom is His, and He is Shiloh. Therefore, I must have peace in my surroundings."
Often before troubles come our way, we have accepted them already. This is entirely a matter of psychology. Before Satan, the subtle one, attacks you, he first takes you over in a psychological way. Job said, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me" (Job 3:25). Before Job's difficulties came upon him, he thought about those difficulties and became afraid of them. To be afraid of something means that you have already received it. Whenever you are fearful, you must immediately say, "Satan, get away from me. I am not afraid of anything. I do not accept this fear." Fear is Satan's calling card. If you accept his calling card, Satan himself will come. Every fear is a calling card. Before Satan sends you the actual difficulty, he first sends the fear of that difficulty. Do not accept Satan's calling card of fear — throw it away. This is a matter related to spiritual warfare. Some brothers have been afraid of being laid off from their jobs. A few days after they accepted this fear, they were laid off. Do not receive the thought of being laid off, but say, "Satan, I will never be laid off. Although everyone else may be laid off, I will still be employed. Because I am in the kingdom, I don't accept this fear." Christ has won the victory, and the issue of His victory is the kingdom.
Genesis 49:10 says that unto Shiloh "shall the obedience of the peoples be" (Heb.). This word refers to the millennial kingdom. When Christ will come the second time as Shiloh, all the peoples will submit themselves to Him and obey Him. In principle, it is the same today. Where the authority and kingdom of Christ hold sway, there will be the submission and obedience of the peoples.
Now we come to the heart of my burden in this message. Verse 11 says, "Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine." We all must bind our donkey to the vine. I hope that this saying will become a proverb among us. In the Bible a donkey is an animal used for transportation. The prophet Balaam traveled by means of a donkey (Num. 22:22). When the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem shortly before His crucifixion, He also rode upon a donkey (Matt. 21:5). According to the Bible, a donkey is always used for traveling toward a goal. To tie a donkey to something indicates that the journey is over, that you have arrived at your destination, and that you have reached your goal. To bind a donkey is not a negative thing. Any donkey would be happy to be bound to a vine. A donkey's labor is to travel to a certain destination with a certain goal. What a meaningful picture we have in 49:11! All the worldly people today are donkeys traveling, striving, laboring, and journeying to reach their goal. Without one exception, all Christians are also journeying, striving, and laboring donkeys. I certainly used to be like this when I was young. I was striving to overcome sin with the goal of one day becoming an overcomer. That was my destination, my goal. I continued my striving until the day I saw the vision of binding my donkey to the vine. I saw that there was no need for me to labor or travel to reach my destination because I had already come to my destination and I had already reached my goal. Our destination is the vine, the living Christ who is full of life. We must bind our donkey to this vine. This means that we must cease our labor and our striving and rest in Christ, the living One.
Suppose a brother tells you of his desire to be holy. Holiness is his goal, and the holy country is his destination. He tells you that he is striving and endeavoring to reach this goal; he is laboring to be filled with holiness and to dwell in the holy country. What would you say to this brother? You should say, "Brother, bind your donkey to the vine. There is no need for you to labor and strive to reach the goal of holiness. Christ is here. He is the vine, the source of life. Christ is so rich in life. Bind your donkey to Him. This means that you must cease your striving and rest in the rich, living Christ."
Suppose another brother, recently married, says to you, "Brother, as one in the Lord's recovery, I want to live a victorious life. My wife is a great test to me. Day and night I am striving to keep from being angry with her. My goal is never to lose my temper with my wife." What would you say to this brother? Firstly, you must be one who has had the experience of binding your donkey to the vine. After you have experienced this yourself, others may come to you with their problems. When they do, you should say, "You need to bind your donkey to the vine. Cease from your labor and your striving. There is no need for you to strive, because Christ has won the victory. The scepter, the kingship, and the kingdom all belong to Him. You simply need to rest in Him as the vine." How often have you heard that you must cease from your striving and simply rest in Christ, the source of life? I believe that many of us have done this. But I hope that in the recovery we shall have a new proverb to help us in this matter: Bind your donkey to the vine. This proverb is a proverb of rest. Sisters, why are you still striving? You need to bind your donkey to the vine. People used to bind their donkeys to stakes. But we do not bind our donkey to a lifeless stake; we bind it to a vine that is full of life. Just recently I have seen a clear vision concerning this matter. However, hundreds of times in the past I bound my donkey to the vine. I stopped my journeying, ceased my striving, gave up my goal, and forgot my destination. I could give up my goal because I had already reached it, and I could forget my destination because I had already arrived at it. Holiness is Christ. The power to overcome our problems with our wives is also Christ. We are already in Christ. How foolish it is to continue journeying, striving, and endeavoring! All such labor is vain. When I saw this vision, I bound my donkey to the vine.
When many young brothers first come into the church life, they are striving donkeys. In the meetings they even compete with the others. But whenever you strive, endeavor, and compete, you are not at rest. Instead of striving and competing, you should tie your donkey to the vine, which is Christ, the source of life, the One who is full of life. Christ is not only the vine, but even the choice vine, the very choice source of life. We must stop our labor and rest in Him.
Now we must see how to bind our donkey to the vine. In gaining the victory over the enemy, Christ is the lion. But to us He is the vine for our satisfaction and rest. It is through His victory that He can be the vine. If Christ had never won the victory, He could never be the vine to us. But because the victory is Christ's, He is our vine full of life. Thus, we must cease our labor and be tied to Him and rest in Him.
As some read this message, they may think that I have gone too far in interpreting these figures to apply to Christ. But if you do not interpret verse 11 in this way, how do you interpret it? What does it mean to bind your donkey to the vine? Some may say that this is a reference to the riches of the tribe of Judah, that it is a figure showing that the tribe of Judah was so full of wine that even the laboring donkeys could be bound to the vine. This is correct. But remember that verse 11 is also a picture and an illustration. We have seen that according to Revelation 5:5 Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Based upon the principle of interpreting the lion in verse 9 as the victorious Christ, we may say that the significance of binding our donkey to the vine is that we cease our labor at Christ who is the source of life. This is not an imaginative interpretation. It is a proper, genuine, and sound interpretation according to the principle of the Bible. We thank the Lord for giving us this proper interpretation. Hallelujah, we have the vine to which we can bind our donkey! Are you still laboring? Are you still striving and journeying to reach your goal? Even the young ones among us must say, "Praise the Lord! I don't need to labor, strive, or journey. I simply need to bind my donkey to the vine."
Verse 11 also says, "He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes." Years ago, I could not understand what it meant to wash our garments in wine and our clothes in the blood of grapes. In the Bible our behavior in our daily living is likened to garments. Figuratively speaking, garments or clothes signify our behavior. They represent our walk and acts. Hence, to wash our garments in wine and our clothes in grape juice signifies that we soak our behavior, our daily walk, in the enjoyment of the riches of Christ's life.
Both grape wine and grape juice are for nourishment. Grape juice is mainly for quenching our thirst, whereas grape wine is mainly for stirring up our excitement. Our thirst needs to be quenched, but our excitement needs to be stirred up. Every Christian must be "crazy," beside himself, in a proper sense. Every Christian who binds his donkey to the vine will be happy and excited. This is the function of grape wine. The grape juice that we drink is for quenching our thirst. On the one hand, the rich Christ stirs up our excitement; on the other hand, He quenches our thirst. We need to soak our behavior, our daily walk and actions, in the rich enjoyment of Christ's life. Then our behavior will be permeated and saturated with the full enjoyment of the riches of Christ's life. Then others will say, "Look at these Christians. Look at how they live and conduct themselves. Surely there must be something to what they are." This something is the rich life of Christ as the cheering wine to stir us up and as quenching juice to satisfy us. Such Christians are happy, satisfied, excited, and even beside themselves with joy. Because they are so excited, they become exciting. Their behavior, their daily walk, and all their actions are full of Christ's life as wine and as juice.
Are you the kind of Christian who is always dissatisfied? Are you a Christian who does not know how to be happy, who always has a wrinkled brow and a long face, who always looks sad? All those in the kingdom of Christ must be smiling, happy, pleasant, excited, cheerful, and satisfied. This indicates that we are soaking our behavior in the rich enjoyment of the life of Christ.
Through resting in the enjoyment of Christ's riches in life, we are transformed. Verse 12 says, "His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk." This signifies transformation by the rich life of Christ. When we are transformed in this way, our appearance is changed. Those who suffer from famine have a gray color around their eyes. Because they lack adequate nourishment, they are short of the blood supply to their eyes. But we, the kingdom people who enjoy Christ, are never undernourished. On the contrary, we are so fully nourished that our eyes become red. This indicates that we have been transformed from death to life. If my face were gray, you would be very concerned about my health, probably expecting that I would not live very long. But my face is not gray. My complexion is very healthy because I eat nourishing meals. Hallelujah, I have been transformed from death to life! According to verse 12, the eyes are red with wine. This redness does not come from outward coloring or painting, but from the inward, energizing wine.
Verse 12 also speaks of teeth that are white with milk. Our teeth have two functions. The first is to eat, to receive food into the mouth; the second is to help our utterance. The whiteness of the teeth here indicates the sound, healthy function of the teeth. Because I have received the proper nourishment, I have healthy, white teeth to take in God's Word as food and to utter His Word that others may be nourished. In order to take in the Word of God as our nourishment and to utter it for others' nourishment, we must have healthy teeth. Not many Christians are able to take in God's Word in a proper way or utter it in a strong way. But every sound, healthy Christian must be one who receives God's Word properly and who utters it richly.
We in the church life are ceasing from our labor, resting in Christ, and enjoying the riches of Christ's life as grape wine and as grape juice. We are also soaking our behavior in this rich enjoyment. Eventually, we shall have the fragrance of Christ. Then our entire being will be fully transformed and full of life, and we shall be able to take in God's Word as our nourishment and to speak it to others for their nourishment. This is the enjoyment and rest in the victorious Christ. Therefore, in verses 8 through 12 three significant seeds are sown: the seed of Christ's victory, the seed of Christ's kingdom, and the seed of our enjoyment and rest in Christ. These seeds, requiring the Old and the New Testaments for their development, are the real glad tidings, the true gospel. These glad tidings were proclaimed by Jacob in his prophecy with blessing concerning Judah.
