The Fall of Judah

Note: an error was made in the original version of this sermon in saying that Judah was the eldest son, while he was actually the fourth in line. It should have been said that after Simeon and Levi fell, and then Reuben fell, Judah became the next hope for leading the family and in Genesis 38 he also is in danger of falling away. In the blessings of Genesis 49, after the oldest three are reminded of their disqualifying sins, it is Judah who receives the blessing that would normally be given to a firstborn, though he is not the firstborn. It is Judah, who later shows change in how he lives, and that becomes the ancestor of king David.