Let Judah Go Up First
“After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, ‘Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?’ The LORD answered, ‘Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.'”
Judges 1:1-2
Tell me: if you are a mom, how much time did you spend choosing the name of your child/ren? My husband and I put in a decent amount of time combining names for our first two kids. We just liked the names, though. They weren’t chosen for meaning. For our third child, the name just came to me: Caitlin Grace. On January 23, 2014 I shared this name with my husband and we agreed on it, should our baby-in-utero be a girl. I can see looking back how it wasn’t really me that came up with the name. I believe God put her name on my heart. Caitlin Grace means “pure goodness” or “pure generosity.” I didn’t know it on January 23, but my pregnancy with Caitlin would lead me to the end of myself and into a life changing relationship with the Lord.
Names were important in Old Testament times. In Genesis, we see name changes (Abram/Abraham; Sarai/Sarah; Jacob/Israel) that show a shift in relationship to the Lord. We also see names that describe the child, such as Esau (hairy), Jacob (deceiver), and Judah (praise).
Let’s focus on Judah. Y’all, this is something I recently learned and I love it so much.
Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and through the wilderness for forty years (don’t be disobedient!). He died in the wilderness and Joshua, his assistant, took over. God allowed Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, where they would battle to occupy the land God promised to them back in the days of Abraham (Abram!). Joshua died and the Israelites still had some battles ahead of them. Without a leader, they consulted God before their military engagements to see who should lead.
God told them Judah should go first.
Judah means praise.
What meaning this has for us still today! The Bible is alive!
Christians will face battles as long as we walk this side of heaven. We were never promised an easy life. God’s instruction to the Israelites all those years ago is still applicable today. When we face battles, we should let Judah go first. Lift our praises to Him, and prepare to fight. As I thought about this post, the Lord put lyrics from a favorite song of mine on my heart:
“Let the praise go up
As the walls come down”
I pray we will remember these words God’s given to us next time we face battle. May we lead with praise. Let Judah go first. And if you are in a battle right now, stop and praise Him before taking the next step. He is good even when our circumstances don’t feel good.
One last thought: Jesus is of Judah’s lineage. Jesus went to the Cross to redeem us. There is no battle where we are not victorious in Christ. He goes before us.
Blessings,
From God Not Her
*I encourage you to pay attention to names in the Old Testament, especially when you read through Genesis! So many meaningful names!