“⁹Judah is a lion’s whelp;

   From the prey, my son,

you have gone up.

       He bows down, he lies

down as a lion;

       And as a lion, who

shall rouse him?”

– Genesis 49:9 (NKJV)

“Judah is a lion ‘s (here now we recognise the first instance of Our Lord announced as the very ‘Lion Of Judah’ . . , ) whelp ( . . . Who having become fully human for us, was born as a vulnerable baby who had to “learn obedience by the things which He suffered” [Heb 5:8].); From the prey (the Lamb of God [Rev 5:12] slain for us as helpless Prey in the hands of the wicked [John 10:18]), my son, (in another profound reiteration of Hebrews 5:8, we are reminded that our Lord suffered thus as the very [Only Begotten] Son of God: for “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered”) you have gone up (He is prey no more, for “after He suffered a little while” God Himself “perfected, established, strengthened, and settled Him” [1 Pet 5:10], where he has now Ascended – “gone up” – and has been seated – “established” – at the very ‘Right Hand of God’ [Mark 16:19] where He rules forever and ever as Lion). He bows down (he sets His Divinity aside as a Lion wilfully [Phil 2:6-8*] to offer Himself up for us as a Lamb; having come to serve and not to be served [Matt 20:28]), he lies down (wilfully even having died a criminal’s death on a cross**, He “lies down” in the grave . . . ) as a lion ( . . . as a Lion disguised***); And as a lion, who shall rouse him?” (To Whom has been given the Power to Resurrect the ‘Lion of Judah’ from the dead . . . to God’s Own Holy Spirit of course – Romans 8:11 – that’s Who ☺.)

* I find the Philippians 2:5-9 passage from The Living Bible especially helpful in illuminating the above:

“Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Jesus Christ, who, though he was God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but laid aside his mighty power and glory, taking the disguise*** of a slave and becoming like men. And he humbled himself even further, going so far as actually to die a criminal’s death on a cross**. Yet it was because of this that God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name which is above every other name,” – Phil 2:5-9 (TLB)