The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people. Genesis 49:10
The Messiah/Deliverer—Jesus—was to come from David’s family in Judah. Since the Bible is the story of the Jesus the Deliverer, our attention regarding the nation of Israel needs to be primarily on Judah (in the south).
Remember: The united kingdom of Israel (under Saul, David, and Solomon) ended in 931 BC when the kingdom split in two. Israel (in the north) was ruled by 19 kings over a period of 210 years. The kings of Israel were all bad. Their greatest evil was spiritual—idolatry.
Meanwhile, Judah—the tribe from which the Deliverer, Jesus, was promised to come—was not without their problems. Judah was ruled by 20 different kings—all descendants of David—over a period of 345 years. Judah had both good and bad kings—nearly twice as many bad as good, but the good ruled for longer periods. Why? God blessed the godly kings.
Of the good kings in Judah, three stand out:
Jehoshaphat was the 4th of 20 kings in Judah. He was good, but not always wise. He made political and military alliances with evil King Ahab of Israel. Learn from 1 Corinthians 15:33 (CEV) “Don’t fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you.”
Hezekiah was the 13th of 20 kings in Judah. He was good, but his son was Manasseh. Remember: Manasseh, though he later repented, was the most ungodly of all the kings of Judah. Learn: No matter how godly a parent is (Hezekiah), there are no guarantees that one’s children will be saved. Let us therefore pray, pray, pray for our children and grandchildren!
Josiah was the 16th of 20 kings of Judah. He was good (God used him while still a teenager to lead a great revival in Judah). But he was unwisely ambitious. He got involved in a war that wasn’t his business, and was killed in battle at only 39 years of age. Learn: Zeal without wisdom can spell disaster.
Just as God sent prophets to the northern nation of Israel to call them to repentance, God sent prophets to Judah to call them to repentance when they were in sin. God sent more prophets to Judah than to Israel: Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk. Nahum (to Babylon) and Obadiah (to Edom). Like the prophets in Israel, the prophets in Judah spoke of repentance, judgment, and the promised Deliverer. The prophets in Judah spoke even more about the Deliverer (than did those in Israel) because the Deliverer was to come from Judah.
More on the prophecies about Jesus next time…