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? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him;[a] and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
Perhaps my favorite metaphor of Christ foreshadowed in Genesis 49:9-10 is that of the rule of God coming through the line of Judah—the LION of Judah. There roars a kind of narrative finality when we discover that this Lion metaphor is applied to Jesus in the last book of Scripture. John the Revelator would say, “I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ ” (Revelation 5:1)
Our Lord is represented by twin animal metaphors; He is both the Lion AND the Lamb. Because of His sacrificial human death, He was able to satisfy the Father’s righteous requirements and justify feral humans by winning their hearts and securing their allegiance to His Kingship. His first coming was as a Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. His second coming, however, is as a Lion, closing out the story of Earth with bold finality and swift justice. This is perhaps why C.S. Lewis, arguably the 20th Century’s most quoted Christian author, would type Aslan the Lion to represent Christ in his seven children’s books. Lewis was able to bend the metaphor to even present a Lion willing to die to satisfy the ancient code, to break the power of evil, free captives, break a witch’s Winter curse, restore Spring, and rise to victory and benevolent rulership while crushing His enemies.
Our boldness as believers is not unfounded, but rather firmly and securely written on the scrolls of time by a Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. When Jesus commissioned His followers to “go into all the world and make disciples of every ethnic group,” he backed it up with a bold promise: “surely I’ll BE WITH YOU always, even to the end of the age!” (Matthew 28:19)
Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy in Lewis’ chronicles move about confidently through the narrative. But it is obviously Aslan the Lion who animates the children and provides them their source of boldness and power. Jesus is our Lion, our boldness, and our ever-present source of strength. Our future with Him is secure because we have hearts in Him that transcend time and resonate His ROAR. Surely, He is with us, even to the end of the age!
Write down one or two “places” in your normal day where you expect Jesus “least likely” to show up: Now, write out a prayer in your journal that INVITES Him full into that place:
(Example: Place-When I’m reporting to my boss at work: Prayer-Father, I don’t like my boss, but YOU LOVE HIM. Show up and change my heart. I want to treat him like YOU are in the room. I want to frankly report truth, be honest, be candid about my trust in You before my boss, and believe that You can step into my job and use it for Your glory. Amen!).
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