"and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers." - Matthew 1:2c

In this Advent devotional for today, we explore the lineage of Christ as it relates to Judah the fourth son of Jacob and Leah. He is of the lineage that leads to Christ - the One True King. In exploring the life of Judah, we can see the struggles, but also the redemptive story that leads to his reconciliation with God and the continued promise of the coming Messiah. Many of us are familiar with the way Judah allowed the enemy to use him as it relates to his brother Joseph (Genesis 37:3-4). We also see that Judah allowed hatred to build in his heart and developed the plan to sell his brother (verses 26-27).

We see the events of Judah’s life that proceed to show that of a man that did not look to God for guidance, but instead to his own self for approval. During this time, he experiences the loss of his son, his wife, decisions of immorality, and famine (Genesis 38:1-30; Gen. 42-45). Judah was able to experience the harshness of life without God and see the forgiveness and mercy God displayed through his brother Joseph. The reconciliation of Judah displays how God can take an evil action and turn it and use it to Glorify the Kingdom of Heaven. This is true with our own testimonies as followers of Christ. God was with Judah’s brother Joseph and through time protected the line of Christ. Also, God was working everything for good while Judah was in the wilderness not walking in the will of God. Let us take great excitement in knowing we serve a big God who can rewrite a story that seems hopeless and turn it into a story of redemption. This rings true as we see Judah’s line produced King David and through the line of Perez, came Christ the One True King, better known as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).