LION OF JUDAH
"And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." ~ Revelation 5.5 8Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons shall bow down before you. 9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 11 Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk." ~ Genesis 49.8-12
Yesterday we looked at Jesus as “Lamb of God.” It was a look at Jesus’ humble sacrifice on our behalf.
Today we are looking at a paradoxical appellative, “Lion of Judah.” This title speaks to Jesus as conquering, victorious King rather than docile, humble sacrifice.
But, the origin of the lion as a symbol for the conquering King of Kings goes all the way back to the 1st book of the Bible, in Genesis 49.
Here, the dying patriarch, Israel, is blessing his 12 sons who would become the heads of the tribes of Israel. However, when he comes to his 4th son, Judah, he pronounces a significant blessing which becomes a prophecy concerning one who would eternally lead God’s people in victory and whose throne would have no end. It is one of the earliest Messianic prophecies of the One who would descend from Judah and rule God’s Kingdom forever. The New Testament authors understood Jesus to be the fulfillment of this prophecy and John applies this term to Jesus here in Revelation 5.
Jesus is our “Lion of Judah.” He is our conquering King! He conquered sin, death, and Satan at His crucifixion and resurrection. What a glorious King!
I’d like to take a look back, however, to the one who originally had this blessing spoken over him, Judah. Why was Judah the one from whom the Messiah would come? Why did he receive such an honor? After all, he was in the middle of the plot to kill his own brother Joseph in Genesis 37. He even decided that killing Joseph was too small a thing, but rather making money off of his misery was better and he arranged to sell Joseph to slave traders. In Genesis 38, we see Judah shamefully consorting with (what he thought was) a prostitute. (It was actually his daughter-in-law who tricked him to get him to support her after the deaths of her husbands/his sons.)
Judah is not painted in the most honorable light in these passages. But it is this same Judah, that as time has moved forward, God has transformed into a new man. And, faced with the possibility of his other brother, Benjamin, being taken as a captive to the household of Pharaoh (Joseph was testing his brothers), he willingly volunteered to sacrifice himself to save his brother.
The one who murderously plotted against Joseph in Genesis 37, now was willing to sacrifice himself for Benjamin in Genesis 44. It is this man that God honored with being the person from whom the Messiah would come. From the man who was willing to sacrifice himself would come the sacrificial lamb and the conquering, victorious lion!
God wasn’t done with Judah. His story wasn’t done in Genesis 38. God was still working. What a story it is!
God isn’t done writing your story. Made mistakes? Sinned horribly? Been in places of shame and guilt? Praise God, the Lion of Judah who has brought victory over sin and shame, offers it to you! Turn to the Lion of Judah. Rest in His victory!
Prayer
Hail, Lion of Judah! You are Lamb of God and Lion of Judah. You are Prince of Peace and Conquering King. Thank You that You bring victory to those surrounded by the enemy. Thank You that You bring solace to those who are besieged by sin, shame, and death. We kneel before You and worship You alone! Amen.
Anapeson ("Reclining" Lion of Judah) (unknown artist)
Finding art work representing the Lion of Judah is not easy. Other names of Jesus were much easier! Mostly I found rather clumsy, modern paintings or digital art depicting the face of Jesus blended with a lion’s face. Or I found art with an incredibly intense lion roaring. But, none of these spoke to me.
However, I did find a tradition in Orthodox Christian iconography of a “reclining” Jesus at the nativity. He’s not lying down and he’s not an infant. He’s clearly older and “reclining.”
This was their attempt to depict the Genesis 49.9 passage where the Lion of Judah would be “crouching.” But, the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament uses the word “anapeson” which translates into “reclining.”
So, the artists attempted to depict Jesus at the nativity in light of the Messianic prophecy about him in Genesis 49 as the Lion of Judah.
“This type of icon of Jesus sleeping or reclining (Anapeson in Greek) was popularized in Greece and the Balkans in the 13th century. The scriptural basis for the icon comes from the book of Genesis 49:9 (Greek Septuagint):
…ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθης ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος· τίς ἐγερεῖ αὐτόν;
…anapeson ekoimethes hos leon kai hos skumnos; tis egerei auton
“..reclining he slept as a lion, and as a [lion’s] whelp; who shall rouse him up?”
The full verse is part of Jacob’s final blessing of his sons in Genesis 49.
In Orthodox theology this blessing of Judah is traditionally regarded as the oldest prophecy of the coming of Christ. The prophecy suggests that Christ will come as the Lion of Judah. This could be expanded upon Christ, the Lamb of God will come as the Lion of Judah.
The icon can be read as a culturally informed appropriation of a historic blessing interpreted as a Christ-centric prophetic vision.
In this particular icon Mary has spread out her divine reddish-brown purple maphorion on the ground as a royal bed for her child to sleep on. Mary wears her simple blue dress. Her headdress bears the cruciform star of heaven. Jesus is depicted as Emmanuel, the eternally young presence of “God with us” and is clothed in royal golden orange garments rather than swaddling clothes. Beside him is a sealed scroll representing Divine Wisdom, indicating that his knowledge is greater than that of the child he is depicted as. Three angels approach on bended knee, venerating Christ, and bearing gifts. The first angel bears a royal fan, symbolic of the kingship to come. The second angel carries in veiled hands the spear, the hyssop rod, and sponge, implements of the Holy Passion to come. While the third angel carries the cross and the crown of thorns, foreshadowing Jesus’ future death and resurrection. Mary lovingly has her arms around Jesus, comforting and shielding him from the events to come. Jesus supports his head in his right hand in a gesture that could easily be replicated by a bored child. Jesus sleeps but his eyes are open.
The icon attempts to show the paradox of God becoming human. As a human, Christ has human needs for food, sleep, protection, care and love. But, simultaneously as God, Christ was with God and in God in the Creation and throughout history and bears the cumulative weight and burden of the ages.
This icon sets up an historic interpretation of a past prophetic vision as a prophetic model for the Second Coming of Christ. In this case the vision is of Christ Emmanuel coming as the Lamb of God represented by the Lion of Judah. This is a different prophetic vision than the imagery offered in the Acts of the Apostles or in the Revelation to John.” (Quoted from online article by John Seeley, Advent Icons: Anapeson: t.ly/dEH5a)
Anapeson (unknown artist)
Anapeson (unknown artist)
Anapeson ("Reclining" Lion of Judah) (unknown artist)
Anapeson ("Reclining" Lion of Judah) (unknown artist)
Finding art work representing the Lion of Judah is not easy. Other names of Jesus were much easier! Mostly I found rather clumsy, modern paintings or digital art depicting the face of Jesus blended with a lion’s face. Or I found art with an incredibly intense lion roaring. But, none of these spoke to me.
However, I did find a tradition in Orthodox Christian iconography of a “reclining” Jesus at the nativity. He’s not lying down and he’s not an infant. He’s clearly older and “reclining.”
This was their attempt to depict the Genesis 49.9 passage where the Lion of Judah would be “crouching.” But, the Septuagint (Greek) translation of the Old Testament uses the word “anapeson” which translates into “reclining.”
So, the artists attempted to depict Jesus at the nativity in light of the Messianic prophecy about him in Genesis 49 as the Lion of Judah.
“This type of icon of Jesus sleeping or reclining (Anapeson in Greek) was popularized in Greece and the Balkans in the 13th century. The scriptural basis for the icon comes from the book of Genesis 49:9 (Greek Septuagint):
…ἀναπεσὼν ἐκοιμήθης ὡς λέων καὶ ὡς σκύμνος· τίς ἐγερεῖ αὐτόν;
…anapeson ekoimethes hos leon kai hos skumnos; tis egerei auton
“..reclining he slept as a lion, and as a [lion’s] whelp; who shall rouse him up?”
The full verse is part of Jacob’s final blessing of his sons in Genesis 49.
In Orthodox theology this blessing of Judah is traditionally regarded as the oldest prophecy of the coming of Christ. The prophecy suggests that Christ will come as the Lion of Judah. This could be expanded upon Christ, the Lamb of God will come as the Lion of Judah.
The icon can be read as a culturally informed appropriation of a historic blessing interpreted as a Christ-centric prophetic vision.
In this particular icon Mary has spread out her divine reddish-brown purple maphorion on the ground as a royal bed for her child to sleep on. Mary wears her simple blue dress. Her headdress bears the cruciform star of heaven. Jesus is depicted as Emmanuel, the eternally young presence of “God with us” and is clothed in royal golden orange garments rather than swaddling clothes. Beside him is a sealed scroll representing Divine Wisdom, indicating that his knowledge is greater than that of the child he is depicted as. Three angels approach on bended knee, venerating Christ, and bearing gifts. The first angel bears a royal fan, symbolic of the kingship to come. The second angel carries in veiled hands the spear, the hyssop rod, and sponge, implements of the Holy Passion to come. While the third angel carries the cross and the crown of thorns, foreshadowing Jesus’ future death and resurrection. Mary lovingly has her arms around Jesus, comforting and shielding him from the events to come. Jesus supports his head in his right hand in a gesture that could easily be replicated by a bored child. Jesus sleeps but his eyes are open.
The icon attempts to show the paradox of God becoming human. As a human, Christ has human needs for food, sleep, protection, care and love. But, simultaneously as God, Christ was with God and in God in the Creation and throughout history and bears the cumulative weight and burden of the ages.
This icon sets up an historic interpretation of a past prophetic vision as a prophetic model for the Second Coming of Christ. In this case the vision is of Christ Emmanuel coming as the Lamb of God represented by the Lion of Judah. This is a different prophetic vision than the imagery offered in the Acts of the Apostles or in the Revelation to John.” (Quoted from online article by John Seeley, Advent Icons: Anapeson: t.ly/dEH5a)
Playlist Daily Highlight
Take the time to listen . . . really listen to the words of this song. Reflect on them. Let God’s spirit speak to you in this moment.
