The Lion and the Root

UV 588/10,000 Revelation 5 v 5 Lion and Root “Then one of the elders said to me, “ Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” This uni-verse was spotlighted by the Holy Spirit in a time of prayer last evening. The elder referred to in the uni-verse is the elder who belongs to the heavenly council of God. That elder tells each of us “ Do not weep!” Whatever causes us to weep today or be worried and depressed, whether it is our family problems, our health issues, our work related challenges, persecution on account of our faith, harassment by others, the Lord is in control. Our worries need to turn into worship, our fears into faith, our hope into fulfillment, our mourning into laughter, our tears into joy. He is the Lion of Judah. The lion is a kingly beast, a symbol of power, majesty, justice and triumph. Judah was given the departing blessing on the death-bed of Jacob that he was a lion and out of his descendants, a ceaseless line of kings or lions would arise till the day of Judgement. Accordingly, David was born out of that lineage. Jesus though He was born as a descendant of David, pre-existed David and hence is called the Root as well as Offspring of David. We need not be sad or fearful of events to come or of any other issue or challenge in life, as Jesus will arise on our behalf as a Lion of Judah. His roar will disperse the opposition. Whatever issue we are facing will melt in His holy presence. The only thing we need to do is to “ See” or to focus on Jesus and realize His sovereign power. Since Judah was a mere man like us with his own strengths and weaknesses, Jesus as the Lion of Judah knows our natural selves. He understands our natural inclinations. He remains a Lamb towards us and a lion towards our adversaries, spiritual and mortal. He is a good Shepherd toward us who love Him and a righteous King towards others who should fear Him just as all creatures fear the lion. He who is victorious forever will wrest victory for us. He will not allow us to become victims. He has given us victory over the 5 big D’s in life: death, difficulties, disease, disaster and debility. He will transform our weaknesses into strengths. He will change our failure into success. He is the one who has access to the deep secrets of God and the counsels of God. He won the right to open the scroll with the seven seals, one by one, to unfold the will of God operating through all of history by the way He lived and the way He died and the way He rose again. The Book of Revelation reveals the seven seals that have to be opened over time before the day of Judgement. There are seven days in a week, seven continents on the globe, seven oceons, seven colours in the rainbow and a scroll with seven seals. This implies that Jesus is Lord of time and space. As the Light of the World, He splits light into seven different colours to glorify God in and through our lives in seven different ways: the spiritual, emotional, physical, intellectual, social, financial and creative aspects of our lives. He is the Root of each of us. We become a righteous fruit bearing branch as we are rooted and grafted in Jesus and the Word. We are invincible in Christ and hence, we must be overflowing with joy and exalting the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings. He is the taproot while all other aspects of life including family, career, friends, ambitions and so on are just adventitious roots. Jesus, though He is the offspring of David, was the source of victory of David against his foes or those who bore ill will towards him: his own brothers, Saul, Goliath, his own sin and lust, his political enemies, his own children who rebelled and conspired against him. He gave David victory and stood with him through thick and thin. Similarly, the Lord God as an all-powerful lion acts on our behalf to help us triumph against the Goliaths in our lives. Like the shepherd David, we must carry our sling, namely , prayer and five stones: worship, intercession, supplication, confession and thanksgiving. We must also graduate like David from moving on to the more lethal weapon –the sword or the Word of God. It is the innumerable victories that David obtained by the grace of God that inspired him to compose many Psalms. He will give us the key of David: the key to success in life, the key to unlock the secrets of the Lord. We may not be poets or gifted musicians but we too need to write our own personal Psalm, a song of praise and thanksgiving to the Lion of Judah. As the offspring or spiritual progeny of David and his kind of faith- an intimate relationship with the Sovereign God, our hearts should for ever be a wellspring of worship. Instead of weeping we ought to be rejoicing all the time and in all circumstances. Prateep V Philip