Moses, in about 1500 B.C., was the writer of the first parts of the Old Testament. He wrote about God’s first promise of hope for the sinful human family. God said to the snake (Satan):
I will put enmity [hate] between you and the woman, and between your offspring [children] and her offspring; he shall bruise [hurt] your head, and you shall bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15).
From the beginning, the prophecies pointed to a male “offspring,” a male child. He would crush or destroy the snake, Satan (note Revelation 12:9). Satan would also give Him much pain. Later, God spoke again of an “offspring” or “seed.” God chose Abraham, and God promised him,
“In your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18).
God repeated this promise to Abraham’s son, Isaac (Genesis 21:12; 26:4), and then to Isaac’s son, Jacob (Genesis 28:14). Jacob’s other name was Israel. He had twelve sons. Which one of these families would God choose as the family to bless all nations? Just before his death, Israel gave God’s blessings to each of his sons. Israel said to his son, Judah:
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 (Genesis 49:10).
ERV: Men from Judah’s family will be kings. The sign that his family rules will not leave his family before the real King comes. Then many people will obey and serve Him.
Judah’s family line would have the “scepter,” the rod of royal power. In other words, kings would come from Judah. Many years after Genesis had been written, this prophecy came true. The kings of Israel did come from the tribe of Judah. Yet there was more to the prophecy. He would come – the One to whom that ruler’s rod really belongs. He would be more than just Israel’s King, for He would be over “the peoples.”