Judah

I was reading the 78th Psalm where the poet is recounting the sins of the Jewish people down through history but especially during the time after God had led the people out of Egyptian captivity.  Speaking of God, it says towards the end of the Psalm, "Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved." 

There is a lot of significance to this statement.  It is noteworthy that much of the Old Testament follows the history of the tribe of Judah.  Remember that Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons.  One of the sons was Judah.  And the key significance of Judah is that he is in the lineage of Jesus.

We remember that Jesus was born a Jew.  His true father was God Himself, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.  But Jesus had an earthly father, Joseph, and a mother, a virgin, Mary, both of whom were of the tribe of Judah.  And all through the OT we see the centering of focus on the tribe of Judah.

It is interesting that the NT opens with these words, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers."  There were 11 other brothers but not one of them is named here....because the emphasis is on the lineage of Jesus.

And going back to the psalm first quoted, it mentions the tribe of Judah, "Mount Zion which He loved."  We read in OT history that when the 12 tribes finally located in the land of Israel, each tribe picked out the land that they wanted for their tribe.  Judah went to the South where Mount Zion is located and the city of Jerusalem was built.  So much Bible history is located in the area of Mount Zion and the city Jerusalem built upon it.  And in this psalm it is described as "which He loved."  God had and has a special love for this place.  And for what it is worth, today there stands a Muslim temple, the Dome of the Rock, right in the middle, right where the Jewish temple once stood.  But that is another subject for perhaps another day. 

Thanks for reading.  Have a great week!