Bible Study Online Article
"The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Genesis 49:10). In the last article I attempted to clear up some things, in regards to the continuation of the "scepter." I wanted to point out, that even though the tribe of Judah was brought into captivity by the Babylonians, and the city of Jerusalem had been destroyed. I wanted to make it clear, that Daniel would serve as the royal representation for the tribe of Judah, even though they were in captivity. My viewpoint comes from the fact that Daniel had acquired and held a high royal position within the Babylonian royal courts. Daniel would become the "chief of the governors," which was the third highest ranking position within the Babylon kingdom: the only two officials that were ahead of him, was the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar the son of Nabonidus, who was married to Nebuchadnezzar's daughter -- Nitocris. Then we moved forward, and touched on Zerubbabel, who was known as the "Prince of Captivity," and he too, was from the tribe of Judah. After "Cyrus the Great" had issued his decree within his first year of taking the Babylonian city, the Jews were allowed to return home. Zerubbabel was the one who led the Jewish exiles back, and he also led in the rebuilding of the temple. I also touched on, how he reinstituted the "Council of the Sanhedrin" during this time. Then we fast forwarded to about ten, or eleven years later, and it's at this time we learned that king Artaxerxes, had put forth the opportunity, that would allow all the Jews who wanted to go back home, to leave. This is where we are introduced to the prophet Ezra, and he too, was also from the tribe of Judah. He would lead the next group of Jewish exiles back to the city of Jerusalem. And although Ezra was a priest and prophet, and not a king, he was still placed in charge of the people: "And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom, set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment." (Ezra 7:25,26) After Ezra, came the prophet Nehemiah some ten, or eleven years later, and he too, came from the tribe of Judah. Nehemiah led the third and last group of Jewish exiles back home, and it's at this time, Nehemiah would lead in the construction project, that dealt with the rebuilding of the city walls. The prophet came to power by the appointment of the same king that appointed Ezra -- Artaxerxes. Now, understand that the "Council of the Sanhedrin" had been established, and this is important to know, for we must also understand that this council served as some sort of "judgment chamber" or "court of justice" for the Jewish people. It's the "Sanhedrin" that Jacob had spoken of in his prophecy, in regards to the "lawgiver." Keep in mind that the "Council of the Sanhedrin" is different from the kingship, so therefore it has nothing to do with the "scepter" in Jacob's prophecy. But the mention of a "lawgiver" was an option that Jacob had spoken of, that would eventually take the place of the "scepter": "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes..." Notice when Jacob says: "nor a lawgiver." This "lawgiver" is represented by the "Council of the Sanhedrin" and this council would stay relevant until 70 AD, which was the year that the city of Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed for the second time, by the Roman General Titus (also known as -- Caesar). Now let's take a quick look at something else, right at the time Jesus was born. Being that I want you to see that Judea had become a providence of Rome: "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered." (Luke 2:1) But understand, that the "Council of the Sanhedrin" still had independent power until the temple was destroyed. But it's from this moment forward, that the "Council of the Sanhedrin" had given themselves and the Jewish people, whom they represented, completely over to the Roman empire: "But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!" Pilate said to them, 'Shall I crucify your King?' The chief priests [Council of the Sanhedrin] answered, 'We have no king but Caesar!'" Oh! How true, this prophecy was: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh [the Savior] comes..." (Genesis 49:10). "But He answered and said to them, 'I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.' Now as He drew near, He saw the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. "'For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.'" (Luke 19:40-44) And the Jewish historian Josephus, who was living in Jerusalem at the time, helps to confirm what Jesus had predicted: "The Romans, though it was a terrible struggle to collect the timber, raised their platforms in twenty-one days, having as described before stripped the whole area in a circle round the town to a distance of ten miles. The countryside like the City was a pitiful sight; for where once there had been a lovely vista of woods and parks there was nothing but desert and stumps of trees. "No one -- not even a foreigner, who had seen the Old Judea and the glorious suburbs of the City, and now set eyes on her present desolation, could have helped sighing and groaning at so terrible a change; for every trace of beauty had been blotted out by war, and nobody who had known it in the past and came upon it suddenly would have recognized the place: when he was already there he would still have been looking for the City." In the next article we will close out the rest of Judah's prophecy and move forward with Jacob's prophecies for his next group of sons. Thank you for your patience, and may God keep you and smile on all that He puts in front of you.
Jacob - The Path of Uncertainty **YOUR CURRENT BIBLE STUDY ONLINE SERIES WOULD BE HERE**
113) The Prophecy of Reuben, Simeon and Levi 114) A Lion In The Making 115) A Tribe of Kings 116) Representation of the Scepter 117) <-CURRENT PAGE-> 118) The Gathering of the People 119) The Prophecy of Zebulun, Issachar and Dan 120) Jacob's Prophecies - Gad, Asher and Naphtali 121) Jacob's Prophecies - Joseph the Fruitful Tree 122) Jacob's Prophecies - Benjamin the Ravenous Wolf 123) The Death of Jacob 124) Jacob Goes Home 126) The Death of Joseph 127) Evolutionist And Creationist 128) Moses the Historian  CrossDaily.com Web Search where you can VOTE FOR THIS SITE & other great ones. Christian search engine, directory & voting index. You'll find Bible Study Online, chat, churches, jobs, music, reviews, software, theology, & more. See the best sites!
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