Gen 49:10, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. 
	This will be our last specific dealing with this blessing pronounced upon Judah by his father, Jacob. We have been seeing how God enlightened Jacob as to some of what was to be involved in the coming of the Promised One, the Messiah. The reality is that we will never be at an end of declaring all that God has done through His Only Begotten and Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. But we are at the point in our reading in which we will push ahead in the coming weeks to finish our consideration of this first Book of the Old Testament. 
	This morning, in preface for what overshadows the whole of scripture, we will follow through some of the prophet’s proclamations concerning the ultimate inclusion of all the nations in this blessing of God. The Chosen people of God became so callused and so caught up in the fact that they were uniquely used by God in the lineage of the Promised One, that they forgot that there would be an ultimate work of God to such a degree that all the nations of the world would be blessed. This was the blessing given to Abraham, then Abram, in Gen 12:1-3. Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 
	This portion of the blessing was emphasized to Judah in the fact that Jacob prophesies that …And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. When the Christ is come, all the peoples will see Him and obey Him. This was not just the recounting that the Children of Israel would honor and obey Him, but it is the further proclamation that in the blessing of God upon Abraham and his descendents …all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
	The Prophet Haggai picks up this truth with emphasis as we read in Hag 2:5-9. Please turn to it and follow along as we read it together. Hag 2:5-9, 'As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!' "For thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 'And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord of hosts. 'The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts. 'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the Lord of hosts,' and in this place I shall give peace,' declares the Lord of hosts." 
	'And I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations; and I will fill this house with glory,' says the Lord of hosts. This prophecy is post David and Solomon, arguably the greatest periods in the earthly history of the nation of Israel. The prophet sees that what the Lord will do through the Promised One of the tribe of Judah will far surpass all the glory of those two tremendous periods of enlargement and prosperity. All the nations of the earth will be affected by the blessing of God poured out upon the descendants of Abraham. This would absolutely include those Gentile nations who would be brought, by God, Himself, into the overflowing blessing of the Messiah. 
	'The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,' says the Lord of hosts,' and in this place I shall give peace,' declares the Lord of hosts." In the Promised One, all the glory of God would be in evidence as all the nations of the earth will be brought before the majesty and the honor and the glory of God, Almighty. The peace of God will reign eternally in His presence as all the peoples offer Him their obedience as foretold in the blessing of Judah. 
	The Prophet Zechariah continues with this declaration as we read in Zech 2:10-12. "Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the Lord. "And many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. "And the Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. 
	Please notice that Zechariah emphasizes the fact that there will be joy and gladness as the Lord’s people will become joined together in Christ. This was not the attitude of the prevailing day in the people of Israel in their consideration of the Gentile nations. Israel considered the Gentiles as to be shunned and as but fuel for the fires of Shoal. Zechariah foretells, however, that there will be rejoicing throughout Zion as the many nations join themselves to the Lord and He makes them His people. 
	This is carried forward by the Prophet into the fact that the nations will come willing to the Lord and seek Him out and entreat His favor. It is obvious that the heart of the nations will be turned unto the Lord through His Promised One. All will be brought to the recognition that He is the Lord God Almighty from Whom all goodness and all wisdom and all grace and all mercy and all blessing proceed. Zech 8:20-22, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 'And the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, "Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I will also go." 'So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.' 
	A thorough reading of the Old Testament, with the blessing of Abraham as a guide, delivers the reality that God always had all mankind in view with regard to what the Promised One would establish. Yes, He would be from the lineage of the tribe of Judah, through the Chosen nation of Israel, the seed of Abraham. However, that was not an exclusive blessing just upon the people of Israel. It is in the Messiah that every nation and tongue and tribe will find the reality of the Living God Almighty as the Creator and the Savior of all who will but believe and receive life everlasting.
	This is carried forward into the New Testament as we read concerning the temple dedication of the Christ Child. Please open in your Bibles to Luke Chapter 2, verses 25-32. Luke 2:25-32, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, "Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart In peace, according to Thy word; For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel." 
	The all-inclusiveness of Christ was clearly manifested to Simeon as he prophesied over the Promised One in Whom he delighted. …For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel." Not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles was this salvation and blessing of God here before him in this child, the Only Begotten Son of God. 
	As would later be so famously recorded by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John for all of us to know in John 3:16+17, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 
	There is no exclusiveness in this great declaration of the tremendous and incredible love of God to all mankind. His free gift of salvation is open to any who will but call upon the name of His Son. It is not limited to one nation, creed, sex, economic class, or language. Any who call on Jesus will be saved. That is why the nations now have no excuse before the throne of God on that Day of Judgment. There will be no exceptions or valid justifications within mankind as to why they should be spared when face-to-face with their Creator and Lord. 
	As the Apostle Paul so declares to us in Rom 1:18-25, if you would like to follow along. Rom 1:18-25, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 
	All of us know, in our hearts and minds, the fact is that there is a God Who so loved us that He gave His Son for such as we, even in our sin and rebellion and trespasses against Him and His Holiness and His Righteousness. He made the only way of salvation for us by His grace and His mercy. So ought we consider one another as those who are so blessed in the Promised One. Rom 15:7-13, Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, "Therefore I will give praise to Thee among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Thy name." And again he says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people." And again, "Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him." And again Isaiah says, "There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope." Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
	We close with two tremendous passages from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, filled with all the awe and wonder of the fact that the blessing of God promised to Abraham, and set on course through the blessing of the tribe of Judah has now become our very heritage as included into the People of God. We are those who will sing of the glory of the goodness and the grace and the mercy and the righteousness and the majesty of God throughout all the eternal ages of ages to come. 
Rev 15:3+4, And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. "Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For all the nations will come and worship before Thee, For Thy righteous acts have been revealed." 
	 And finally, in Rev 21:3-6, And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." And He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. 
	It is a joy and a humbling experience to trace the fact that God has so loved us that He has brought us unto Himself in His Son. Jesus is the Promised One from all those ages of old, through the blessing of Abraham, unto the tribe of Judah, and into our hearts. As we proceed forward in our reading of scripture, never forget that all the promises made to the nation of Israel are completely fulfilled and now made ours in the perfect sacrificial Lamb that was slain to cause us to be the very members of God’s family in Jesus Christ. So be it!
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Amen.

	
This morning’s benediction is Ps 104:31-34. Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; Let the Lord be glad in His works; He looks at the earth, and it trembles; He touches the mountains, and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord. Amen.