Why is judah chosen

He was, however, of the tribe of Benjamin, not Judah, which has puzzled scholars. Two reasons have been suggested for this:. Saul did not prove a good king. Therefore, God chose David of the line of Judah, a man after his own heart, as the next king. He and his posterity from then on would inherit the divine right of kings that belonged only to the line of Judah.

What was the whole idea of setting up a chosen line of kings? Setting up an earthly kingly line was a necessity because there was another purpose for the chosen line. The kingly line of Judah was also intended to bring forth the Messiah. The original blessing of kings given to Judah by Jacob also included a picture of a lion in a crouching position covered with blood — a prophetic picture of Jesus, and why he is referred to as the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

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Without it, I can only respond directly on my blog, which means you will have to revisit this page in order to see my response to your question. Newer Post Older Post Home. Subscribe to: Post Comments Atom. Birthright blessing given by laying on of hands. Jacob crossing his hands on Ephraim and Manasseh. Shortly afterward, Reuben must have gone some distance away to check on their flocks, for when he returned, Joseph was not to be found—not in the pit or anywhere Reuben looked.

In the meantime, it was Judah who had stepped into the breach in the absence of the eldest brother and suggested Joseph be sold to a passing caravan of Ishmaelites. He realized that while slavery was not a happy life, at least it was an improvement on killing Joseph. Perhaps, Joseph, Judah may have thought, may be able to escape and find his way back home.

Therefore, on this occasion, we see the first instance of Judah acting as a savior of his young brother. Later, when the worst famine ever was wreaking havoc in that area of the world, Jacob had commanded his sons to go to Egypt to buy food word had spread to surrounding nations ; this was the second occasion when food supplies in their homes were running perilously low. Here again, it was Judah who appeared to be the spokesman for his brothers, for he pointed out to his father that they could not buy food if they did not take Benjamin with them, as the premier of Egypt had demanded on their first visit see Genesis Jacob was petrified that if Benjamin was to go to Egypt, he may not return; Jacob would then be bereft of his only two sons by Rachel, the wife he deeply loved.

Traditionally, both Jewish and Christian scholars understand these verses to be a prophecy of the coming Messiah. Christians understand that this Messiah has come, and His name is Jesus. This rest is described in verses 11 and 12, which picture a land of such peace, prosperity and abundance that there is an utter surplus of everything good. This is the kind of rest that King Jesus will bring to His people.

Yet, the Messiah, Jesus, will come and bless His people in abundance based solely on His own grace. All of us are utterly undeserving of this grace, but Jesus freely gives it to those whom He chooses. This was unusual because Judah was the fourth oldest son of Jacob and not the firstborn.

Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah Isa. When he was on his death bed Jacob gave a farewell message to each of his sons Gen. Beginning at the eldest and progressing to the youngest, he predicted what was in store for their descendants.

In those days it was customary for new kings to assume the harem of their predecessors 2 Sa. So this was an arrogant and premature claim to the rights of the firstborn.

Because of his sin of incest, Reuben lost the rights of the firstborn. His right to extra land was given to Joseph 1 Chron. If the eldest son lost the rights of the firstborn, we would expect these rights to be transferred to the second-born son. Israel tells Simeon and Levi his third son that their descendants would be scattered and dispersed within the nation of Israel. The reason given is that they were angry, cruel and violent Gen. For example, after their sister Dinah was raped by Shechem Gen.

Judah is promised leadership over the other tribes, which was fulfilled by king David. Jesus Christ was also a descendant of Judah Mt. Judah would be praised for victories over their enemies. So, there are two main reasons why Judah was the most prominent tribe of Israel. First, Reuben forfeited his rights by his incest and Simeon and Levi forfeited their rights by their cruelty and violence. They were disqualified for misconduct.

Judah was the next in the order of birth and that is why he received the blessing. Second, this prominence was prophesized by Jacob before he died. After Joseph dreamt that his family would bow down to him, his brothers were filled with jealousy and hatred toward him Gen. When Joseph was sent by his father to visit his brothers, they plotted to kill him.

Joseph is taken to Egypt where he rises to a prominent position before there is to be a famine. During the famine, his brothers travel to Egypt seeking food. So Judah takes a leadership role amongst his brothers. His conduct qualified him for this role. The choices made by Reuben disqualified him from receiving the rights of the firstborn.

But the rights were transferred to Judah because of how he chose to behave. So, our choices have consequences. Reuben, Simeon and Levi experienced negative consequences because of their sinful behavior.