In Genesis 49:8-12, which records Jacob’s blessing concerning Judah, there is a prophecy that Christ would come from the tribe of Judah to be a lion in order to defeat God’s enemy. In his prophecy Jacob likened Judah to a lion in three aspects: a young lion, a couching lion, and a lioness. Here Christ is typified as a young lion conquering the enemies, a satisfied lion, and a lioness resting in conquest.
Verse 9 says, “Judah is a young lion; / From the prey, my son, you have gone up,” and verse 8 says, “Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.” Here Judah, likened poetically to a young lion, is a type of Christ as the ultimate Overcomer, the fighting, victorious Lion. The young lion in his freshness and strength is for fighting, for seizing the prey. The expression you have gone up implies that the young lion first had to come down from the mountain to the plain to capture his prey. When a lion goes after some prey, he descends from his dwelling place on the mountain, and after he takes the prey, he brings it up the mountain with him to devour it.
This is a picture of the victory of Christ over His enemies in His crucifixion (Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14). Christ was first the young lion crouching as He waited for His prey. When Christ was crucified on the cross, He was a young lion seizing the prey. The prey He seized on the cross includes the entire world, all the sinners, and even Satan, the serpent. After seizing His prey, He brought His captive to the mountaintop, that is, to the third heaven. This means that from His victory Christ has ascended to the heavens. Ephesians 4:8 says that when Christ ascended to the height, “He led captive those taken captive.” In His ascension Christ led a train of vanquished foes. This train of vanquished foes was Christ’s prey. Christ gained the victory, and He put His hand upon Satan’s neck. We need to praise the Lord that He has put His hand upon the neck of His enemies. As the young lion, He has overcome all His enemies. Many chapters in the New Testament reveal how Christ came as a young lion, how He went to the cross to seize His prey, and how He ascended to the mountaintop in the third heaven.
Genesis 49:9 goes on to say, “He couches, he stretches out like a lion.” Christ is also a couching lion, who rests in satisfaction after enjoying His prey. After a lion has enjoyed his prey and has been satisfied, he couches; he lies down to rest in satisfaction. The figure of the couching lion in verse 9 describes Christ as the One enjoying His rest in the heavens. This portrays Christ in the heavens who enjoys what He has accomplished. After gaining the victory and enjoying the prey, He was satisfied. Thus, He is now resting in the heavens in His satisfaction. This rest and satisfaction are the issue of Christ’s victory. Therefore, Christ is now sitting on the throne in the heavens. According to the poetry of Genesis 49:9, after devouring His prey, Christ was satisfied and couched to enjoy His rest.
We need to see and experience Christ not only as a young lion but also as a couching lion who lies down to rest. We may be troubled by many kinds of enemies—our temper, our problems, and our weaknesses—but we need to see that our enemies have already become a prey to our Christ. He went to the cross and captured them, and in resurrection He led a train of vanquished foes to the heavens for His enjoyment. Now in the heavens He is no longer fighting; He is couching. He is lying down to rest, and we are experiencing Him as a resting lion. He is couching, and we also are resting. We need not be troubled by anything; instead, we simply need to enjoy this victorious, satisfied, and resting Christ.
According to Revelation 5:5, the Lion of the tribe of Judah “has overcome.” This verse does not say that our Christ will overcome; it says that He has already overcome. He has captured the prey and swallowed him. All the enemies have been devoured by Christ. Today Christ is not the fighting One; He is a couching One, the resting One sitting in the heavens. If we see this, we will forget our enemies, our temper, and the troubles caused by others, and we will say, “Lord, I worship You and praise You! Lord, You were the young, fighting lion. But today You are resting in the heavens as the victorious lion. And now I am partaking of all that You have done.”
In Genesis 49:9 Christ is also likened to a lioness. A lioness, a female lion, is for producing baby lions. Christ is not only the fighting lion and the resting lion but also the producing lioness who brought forth many overcomers as His “lion cubs.” Christ is our mother lion, and we are His lion cubs. We need to see that we have been made lion cubs. When the enemy troubles us, we should realize that we are baby lions. Today, not only is Christ the Lion; we also are lions.
In a very real sense, the church is lion country, and everyone in the church is a baby lion. If we see the situation from God’s viewpoint, we will realize that in the eyes of God the church is a country of lions. Toward men we are lambs following the Lamb, but toward Satan we are lion cubs. Although we may not have such a realization, Satan recognizes this fact. He knows that all the believers are lion cubs. Frequently we need to tell Satan, “Satan, don’t touch me. Don’t you know that my family is the lion family?” Christ is the young lion, the couching lion, and the reproducing lioness; we are His lion cubs. This is the full victory of Christ. This is why Genesis 49:8 says that Christ, typified by Judah, is to be praised and worshipped.
The last part of Genesis 49:9 says of Judah, “Who will rouse him up?” This means, “Who dares to rouse him?” or “Who dares to defy Him?” That no one dares to rouse Judah up signifies that Christ’s terrifying power in His resurrection and ascension has subdued everything (Matt. 28:18; Phil. 2:9; Eph. 1:21-22).