"The scepter shall not depart from Judah,I don't remember if I ever remembered before that Judah was not the oldest son. I'm sure, as a kid, that I always thought Judah was the line of kings because Judah was the oldest. But at least upon this reading through, I realized that was not the case. So why is Judah named as the leader of the tribes? I think it's because everyone ahead of him failed the test. Reuben had an affair with his father's mistress. Simeon and Levi committed mass murder. So that leaves Judah, even though he was tricked into an affair by his daughter-in-law after failing to give her a husband.
Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples."
One other issue is brought to mind: what scepter? For centuries, the nation of Israel had no king, and never should have. Their first true leader, Moses, I believe was of the line of Levi. So this prophecy was made based on something that ideally should never have happened. You have to wonder if, had Israel warned his children not to ever appoint a ruler, if the kings would not have been needed, and the world would be much better...
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