Genesis 49.8 says, Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies. Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. A lot of parents live vicariously through a son or daughter. Some grandparents even do so with their grandchildren. What do I mean when I say they live vicariously through a child or grandchild? It means that they invest themselves in that child, and when that boy or girl accomplishes something, they get gratification from it as though they are being praised. It's indirect praise, but it's what is meant by living vicariously through that child. And that's the idea behind our text here in Genesis 49.8, when Jacob prophesied, saying, Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Judah, the man, fathered the tribe of Judah. And Judah, the tribe, would produce Jesus, the Messiah. And Jesus would not only be known as a Jew of the tribe of Judah, but as we discussed in our previous devotional about Jesus, he is known as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And every time Jesus is identified as the Messiah that came from the tribe of Judah, then it is indirect or vicarious praise of Judah. An amazing fact is that the Messiah should have come from the tribe of Reuben since he was the first born, but Reuben disrespected his father Jacob, who came to be known as Israel, and forfeited his birthright. It's a sordid tale, but Reuben basically had sex with his stepmother Bilhah. Bilhah was the mother of Reuben's half-brothers, Dan and Naphtali. Genesis 35.22 says, And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel heard it. Next in line were Simeon and Levi, but they forfeited the birthright when they slaughtered the Hivites, after Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, forced himself on their sister Dinah. As a result, the birthright was taken from them. And Jacob prophesied in Genesis 49, 7 about Simeon and Levi. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. This is all summarized for us in 1 Chronicles 5, 1 and 2, where we read, now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, for he was the firstborn, but for as much as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel. And the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright, for Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler, but the birthright was Joseph's. So that's another peculiar thing, since Jacob had prophesied and said this when speaking to Joseph in Genesis 49, 24, from thence is the shepherd the stone of Israel. But John Wesley explains it this way, saying, quote, from thence, from this strange method of providence, he became the shepherd and stone, the feeder and supporter of Israel, Jacob and his family. Herein Joseph was a type of Christ. He was shot at and hated, but born up under his sufferings and was afterwards advanced to be the shepherd and stone. And in devotionals number 66 through 92, we detailed more than 25 different ways in which Joseph pictures Jesus in his life. But the Messiah would ultimately come from the tribe of Judah. And every time Jesus, the Messiah and Savior of Israel, is identified as having come from the tribe of Judah, Then we are seeing the fulfillment of Genesis 49, 8. Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. And in reflection, that should motivate us to live as believers in Christ. and to live in such a way that Christ would be praised every time we are identified as Christians. Jesus of the line of the tribe of Judah, we are called Christians. We are identifying ourselves with Jesus. And when people praise our good works or our life, they're praising Jesus. And we close with that thought in 2 Timothy 2.19, Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.