Judah Leads the Way

Monday, April 7, 2025

Today’s Readings: Judges 1-3; Psalm 16; Luke 20

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Psalm 16:1,8

Good Monday morning, Friends. I hope that you had a good weekend and that you are beginning this week with a resolution to follow Jesus and keep God first in everything you think, say, and do. One of the things that you may notice as we begin the book of Judges is that there is no transition of leadership as there was between Moses and Joshua. Before Moses died God appointed Joshua to lead Israel. Joshua apprenticed under Moses and so after Moses died there was a clear transfer of power and responsibility (See Joshua 1:1-9).

There is no such succession plan in Judges. No one has been appointed to take Joshua’s place. After he dies there is no obvious successor and so the people of Israel gather to inquire of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” Who will lead us? God’s answer is not a single man, but an entire tribe. “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” There are a couple of reasons why Judah was the tribe that was chosen to lead Israel. First, they were the largest tribe. Although Israel was not a democracy, Judah’s size suggests that they had more influence and power. Second, Jacob had prophesied, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Genesis 49:10).

This prophecy is significant because it anticipates not only the eventual ascension of King David, but ultimately the Lordship of Jesus Christ and that is why there is no one man who is chosen to replace Joshua. He is irreplaceable. He is a type of Jesus Christ, the commander of God’s people who removed the reproach of Egypt from them and led them into the promised land. Joshua conquered Israel’s enemies and through him God gave His people rest (See Joshua 21:43-45). Joshua and Jesus are even the same name (“Jesus” being the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew “Joshua”). There was no leader chosen to follow Joshua because, like Jesus, he was unique and the work that he accomplished was “finished.” God intended that His people now possess what His servant had purchased.

For Israel that meant keeping their hearts devoted to God (See Joshua 24:23) and relying on His promise that He would go before them as they drove out the remaining inhabitants of the promised land. It did not go well. It was not long before Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan failed to fully possess their inheritance and the angel of the LORD appeared to accuse Israel of disobedience. They had done what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Canaanite gods (the Baals). They had forgotten about Joshua and “they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt,” and they had made covenants with the people around them and their gods (Judges 2:11-13).

Their example is a warning to us. We should constantly keep the LORD before us and remember the price that has been paid for our freedom. Jesus Christ shed His own blood for us so that we might inherit all of the promises of God! We do not want to stop short of anything that God has planned for us, but we want to press in and possess everything that God has said is ours in Jesus Christ! Thankfully, we have a Helper. Although Joshua left no successor, Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit and He guides us into all truth. He reminds us of everything that Jesus has said, and He is at work within us to fulfill all of God’s good purposes for us.

So be encouraged today, Friends, and raise up a hallelujah to the Lord for what He has done. He has won the battle for us and now we may confidently claim what is rightfully ours through Jesus Christ. Let Judah lead the way! Oh yeah, did I mention? The name, Judah, means “praise.” Spend some time today praising the Lord. He is present in our praise and “in (His) presence there is fullness of joy; at (His) right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

I hope you have

a victorious day!