Today I read Judges 1, in which Joshua died and Judah led the Israelites in winning victories. Today I considered that initially only having those that worship God among your people could be another reason God chose the tribe of Judah for the Messiah.
Judah after Joshua
Judah led some of the fighting after Joshua (Judges 1:1-36). After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked God who to send first to fight the Canaanites. God gave Judah the victory. Judah with his brother Simeon won against the Canaanites and Perizzites overtaking land in Bezek, Judah, Hebron, Zephath, and more. Caleb promised to marry his daughter Achsah to the person who took Debir. Caleb’s nephew Othniel took the land and married Achsah. Achsah asked Caleb for land with water on it and he granted the request. Some tribes like Benjamin, Manasseh, Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan did not drive out the prior people but dwelt with them and later put the Canaanites under tribute.
Questions and Thoughts for Today
God chose Judah as the one to lead them to victory after Joshua died and Judah was also chosen as the tribe for the Messiah. Judah was closer to a warrior like Joshua, making sure to drive the people out and not dwell with those that worshiped false gods. Other Israelite tribes allowed the people worshipping false gods to still dwell among them. Considering this information and knowing God only wants us to worship Him as our God, this could be another reason for Judah to be the chosen tribe for the Messiah.
What interesting thing did you realize about the Israelite tribes after reading Judges chapter 1?