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“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ houses. They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side. Those to camp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah by their companies, the chief of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, his company as listed being 74,600.” (Numbers 2:1-4, ESV)

Pastor Abel’s sermon on Numbers chapter 2 is titled, “An Ordered Life”.

Jacob, whom God named Israel, had twelve sons from two women, Leah and Rachel. The first born from Leah was Ruben, and the first born from Rachel was Joseph. In the culture of the day, to be the first born was to have preeminence, it meant you were the one to carry the responsibility and weight of the family into the future.

So, why was the tribe of Judah given the preeminent position in Israel’s camp? Judah’s camp is on the east side toward the sunrise. This meant that every morning, as the sun rose over the desert of Sinai, what would be the first thing the entire nation saw? The camp of Judah, facing the tabernacle, worshiping God and guarding the entrance to the tent, which also faced east. This begs the question, what was so special about Judah?

To know the answer, we must first understand that one of the central themes of the Old Testament, including the books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) is the coming seed. Namely, the promised one who will crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15).

God promise the seed in Genesis 3, the one who will come and restore the paradise that was lost. As the story unfolds, we see the line of the seed. It goes through Noah, the only family to survive the flood, through Shem, Noah’s son, down to Abraham. God promised a son to Abraham, but we see that the seed came through Isaac, not Ishmael. Isaac had two sons, and the seed came through Jacob, the second born, not Esau.

Finally, after Jospeh is sold into slavery, only to be used by God in the great famine, we understand that the seed that was promised back in Genesis 3 is now in the line of Judah. In his final words, Jacob prophecies that “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:8-12). Showing that Judah is the one from whom the Messiah will come.

Judah is preeminent because Christ is preeminent, and because God wants his people to focus on what really matters, the hope of salvation through God’s first-born son.

 

For Further Study

  • Book Recommendation: Providence by John Piper. It is a large book, but it helps unfold the plan of God to bring glory to his son in the plan of salvation.