Post by keita on Aug 2, 2005 13:57:48 GMT -5
One of my favorite praise songs is "Send Judah First!" (I love a good battle cry and anything great about the praising tribe of Judah...ROAR!!!) As often happens, I actually learned the song before I learned the scripture (Judges 1:2) and the former definitely impacted my initial interest in studying the latter (as well as my continuing interest in studying the 12 tribes).
Praise God for music ministry!
For me, studying and learning about Judah began with the question:
Why send Judah first?
I learned a lot of both natural facts and spiritual truths in answer to that question (and am always looking for and interested in more!); here are just a few of them :
That the tribe of Judah was given preeminence among the tribes by God is clear and there are a lot of fascinating (and still significant) reasons for Him having done so. But given all of that, what's not so clear is that following this exchange:
Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. (Judges 1:1-2)
Judah makes this decision:
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. (Judges 1:3)
Question: Is this decision of Judah a wonderful illustration of cooperation? Or is this a sign that Judah wasn't walking in "to the letter" obedience to the Lord? Neither? Both? I think how we answer this has a lot to do with how we perceive the reported tribal warfare results recorded in chapter 1.
Praise God for music ministry!
For me, studying and learning about Judah began with the question:
Why send Judah first?
I learned a lot of both natural facts and spiritual truths in answer to that question (and am always looking for and interested in more!); here are just a few of them :
- The primary reason would probably be that Judah was God's choice as leader among the tribes (Genesis 49:8-12) and to set an example for them in the other territories. From the time of Moses' tabernacle, Judah always led when the camp moved.
- The tribe of Judah was the largest and strongest of the numbered tribes to emerge from Egyptian bondage.
- In the tribes of Israel, Judah was referred to as the Singers & Praisers. (As many of us have learned, the name "Judah" literally means "praise".)
Every time Israel went into battle Judah was the first one to go. - In the book of Judges we see 2 instances where the Lord said the tribe of Judah is to go up first against their enemies in battle. The first occurrence is found in Judges Chapter 1 following the death of Joshua. The second is found in Judges 20:18, when once again the children of lsrael inquired of the Lord who was to go up first against the sons of Benjamin. Again, the Lord’s answer to them was "Judah shall go up first ". God commands this specific "Judah first" order at other times in other books of scripture as well.
- "Send Judah First" is an expression used in many churches to suggest by praising God, we can defeat evil.
While Judges Chapters 1 and 20 tell of battle in the human realm, where the "praise" tribe went out first against their enemies, the question we must ask ourselves is: when we find ourselves doing battle in the spirit realm, what or who goes first before us in battle? Do we enter the battle alone, or do we allow Judah, or "praise" to go first? - Judah was not only the praising tribe, but the fighting and ruling tribe as well; the mouth, arms and hands of "the man's body" that the 12 tribes represented.
- Under Joshua, Israel had broken the back of the Canaanite's military strength; yet it remained for each individual tribe to actually go in and possess what God had given them. God directs that the tribe of Judah - the tribe the Messiah would come from - would lead the way. In parallell to Israel as a nation, while we as believers do indeed benefit greatly from collective moves, we each have to get and maintain our own individual personal relationships with God, with Christ leading the way.
That the tribe of Judah was given preeminence among the tribes by God is clear and there are a lot of fascinating (and still significant) reasons for Him having done so. But given all of that, what's not so clear is that following this exchange:
Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?
And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand. (Judges 1:1-2)
Judah makes this decision:
And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him. (Judges 1:3)
Question: Is this decision of Judah a wonderful illustration of cooperation? Or is this a sign that Judah wasn't walking in "to the letter" obedience to the Lord? Neither? Both? I think how we answer this has a lot to do with how we perceive the reported tribal warfare results recorded in chapter 1.