5 Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’(Rev. 5:5)
4 For thus the Lord said to me,
As a lion or a young lion growls over its prey,
and—when a band of shepherds is called out against it—
is not terrified by their shouting
or daunted at their noise,
so the Lord of hosts will come down
to fight upon Mount Zion and upon its hill.
(Isaiah 31:4)
One of the names for God that many of us are familiar with is “Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Judah was the fourth son of Abraham and Leah, the first wife, and his name meant “praise.” King David was a direct descendant of Judah and Joseph and Mary were descendants of David. In the first quote from the Book of Revelation, a highly symbolic book, John paints a picture of a scroll nobody was worthy to open and read until, the wounded lamb that is the “lion of the tribe of Judah” steps forward. He has won the victory over death at the cross and has the authority to open the scroll. The title thus involves the gentleness of a lamb, the sacrifice of that lamb for us and the fierceness of a lion. It is a picture of love that conquers, not hate and vengeance that destroys. Isaiah further fleshes out that image picturing for us a lion unafraid of its attackers. In the same way Christ fights for us today. Not only does Christ fight for us but also he has the authority above all to deal with our lives. That is comforting.
We used to do a children’s sermon at churches on how to kill a lion, a lesson we learned in Kenya. There are three rules. The first is never to turn your back on a lion and run. In today’s context, as we picture Christ as a lion of the tribe of Judah, I would take away that we would be very unwise to turn our back on God today but to remember as we go through our day that he is there to fight our battles with us. Judah means praise and that is always healing. Blessings as you face today’s challenges.
On the Way to Wonder 