Please stand as we read the Word of God together. 

Judges 20          

Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah. And the chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers who drew the sword. (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, "Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?" So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, "I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ravished my concubine so that she died. And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel's inheritance; for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and counsel here." Then all the people arose as one man, saying, "Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to his house. But now this is the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up against it by lot. And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply food for the people, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the disgraceful acts that they have committed in Israel." Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man. Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? "Now then, deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. And the sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. And from the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered, 700 choice men. Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. Then the men of Israel besides Benjamin were numbered, 400,000 men who draw the sword; all these were men of war. Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the Lord said, "Judah shall go up first." So the sons of Israel arose in the morning and camped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin, and the men of Israel arrayed for battle against them at Gibeah. Then the sons of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and felled to the ground on that day 22,000 men of Israel. But the people, the men of Israel, encouraged themselves and arrayed for battle again in the place where they had arrayed themselves the first day. And the sons of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall we again draw near for battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin?" And the Lord said, "Go up against him." Then the sons of Israel came against the sons of Benjamin the second day. And Benjamin went out against them from Gibeah the second day and felled to the ground again 18,000 men of the sons of Israel; all these drew the sword. Then all the sons of Israel and all the people went up and came to Bethel and wept; thus they remained there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening. And they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, Aaron's son, stood before it to minister in those days), saying, "Shall I yet again go out to battle against the sons of my brother Benjamin, or shall I cease?" And the Lord said, "Go up, for tomorrow I will deliver them into your hand." So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. And the sons of Israel went up against the sons of Benjamin on the third day and arrayed themselves against Gibeah, as at other times. And the sons of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city, and they began to strike and kill some of the people, as at other times, on the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the field, about thirty men of Israel. And the sons of Benjamin said, "They are struck down before us, as at the first." But the sons of Israel said, "Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways." Then all the men of Israel arose from their place and arrayed themselves at Baal-tamar; and the men of Israel in ambush broke out of their place, even out of Maareh-geba. When ten thousand choice men from all Israel came against Gibeah, the battle became fierce; but Benjamin did not know that disaster was close to them. And the Lord struck Benjamin before Israel, so that the sons of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day, all who draw the sword. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. Then the men of Israel turned in the battle, and Benjamin began to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel, for they said, "Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle." But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were terrified; for they saw that disaster was close to them. Therefore, they turned their backs before the men of Israel toward the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them while those who came out of the cities destroyed them in the midst of them. They surrounded Benjamin, pursued them without rest and trod them down opposite Gibeah toward the east. Thus 18,000 men of Benjamin fell; all these were valiant warriors. The rest turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, but they caught 5,000 of them on the highways and overtook them at Gidom and killed 2,000 of them. So all of Benjamin who fell that day were 25,000 men who draw the sword; all these were valiant warriors. But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found. 
Thus reads the Word of the Lord. You may be seated. 

Judg 20:18, Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the Lord said, "Judah shall go up first." 
	This morning’s reading deals with the outrage that was stirred within the nation of Israel over the manner in which the tribe of Benjamin had so allowed such desecration to take place. They exhibited no shame and no regret for that wickedness. This necessitated a purging to take place within that tribe. Benjamin would rather fight the rest of Israel than admit that there was a need for cleansing from within. This almost lead to the complete eradication of this tribe without the intervention that we will read about in the next Chapter. 
Here we are at the intense punishment of the tribe which would commit such an atrocity as the people of God. The whole testimony of the Lord was lost within the hearts and minds of Benjamin as it acted more vilely than the other nations of the world. 
	As we read today in Judg 20:12-14, there was complete outrage in the rest of the nation, but not within the hearts of the tribe of Benjamin. Judg 20:12-14, Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? "Now then, deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel." But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. 
	Accordingly, as the rest of the tribes were gathered together, they sought the Lord with regard to which of them would go first to cleanse this wickedness from the tribe of Benjamin. The Lord answered that request with the most telling statement of our morning’s passage. Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the Lord said, "Judah shall go up first."
	This is not the first time that we encountered this selection of the tribe of Judah to be preeminent. Let us look at what this entailed within the good pleasure of the Lord God Almighty in His selection of this tribe to go first into this battle. This was for the sake of the Lord’s testimony and witness within His people that was to be a light to the rest of the nations.
	There is an aspect to the Lord’s choice of Judah that was in place at his very birth. Please turn back to Gen 29:31-35, so we can read of the heart of his mother, Leah in terms of the birth of this 4th son of Jacob and Leah.
Gen 29:31-35, Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because the Lord has seen my affliction; surely now my husband will love me." Then she conceived again and bore a son and said, "Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also." So she named him Simeon. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore he was named Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son and said, "This time I will praise the Lord." Therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing. 
	Notice, with her first three sons, she was trying to win the love of her husband. There was a set purpose based on her circumstances as the unloved wife of Jacob. However, with the birth of this fourth son, Leah set her heart on the Lord and His praise and His worship. She no longer thought in terms of how this son would bring something to her, but rather how this son caused her to praise Jehovah and lift up the Lord’s name. She did not center her hopes on any earthly glory, but fully on the glory of God. This might well be the reason that of all the sons of Jacob, the Lord selected Judah’s lineage to be the one from which the Chosen One, the Messiah would come forth.
	This would be later reinforced as Jacob was blessing all his sons, as we have recounted in Gen 49:8-12. In this comprehensive heart of a father for his sons, the blessing was that Judah would be the tribe from which the scepter would never depart. Judah was pronounced the tribe to which all the other tribes would bow down and unto whom all obedience would be due. This made Judah the primary of all the tribes of the sons of Israel. 
Gen 49:8-12, "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. "Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. "He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes. "His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk. 
	Within this blessing of Jacob upon Judah, is the prophetic elements of not only the eternal scepter of Lordship, but the staff of peace and obeisance by all who will bow down to Him. We have the foretelling of the riding of the donkey’s colt as well as the characteristic of being the choice vine. There is the foretelling of the washing of His blood upon those over whom He would cleanse white from all the stain and filth of their transgressions. There is so very much that was verbalized in this blessing from Jacob, as directed by the Holy Spirit. This is in terms of how the tribe of Judah would be the first of all the tribes.
	Again, this heart of the Lord for the preeminence of the tribe of Judah was set into place at the time of the continued conquest of the Promised Land. We read this at the very beginning of this Book of Judges. Please refer back to Judg 1:1+2.
Judg 1:1+2, Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord, saying, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?" And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand."
	This was the same choice as we read this morning when the Lord declared that the first to go up to cleanse the land of the wickedness and idolatry and the horrid actions of those who had no regard for the holiness of God was the tribe of Judah. This reinforced the place that this tribe had in the heart of Jehovah and was to have in the hearts of the rest of the nation of Israel. 
	Later, after the rule of the Judges, and with the advent of the kingly lineage over the nation of Israel, the Lord again made it evident that it was from the tribe of Judah that the people would find their king. The Lord installed David, from the tribe of Judah upon the throne with the promise that there would always be an eternal seating of a descendent from the lineage of David, from the tribe of Judah upon the majestic seat of authority. 
	David highlights this promise of God to the nation and to himself as recorded in 1 Chron 28:2-10. This was at the time when David proclaimed that Solomon would be the heir of the throne after David. This was with Yahweh’s assurance that there would be one of David’s descendents forever and forever as the Eternal King from the tribe of Judah. Accordingly, Solomon would be the one to build the Temple of the Lord which represented the fact that the Lord would be with His people always.
1 Chron 28:2-10, Then King David rose to his feet and said, "Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. But God said to me, 'You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.' "Yet, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me from all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For He has chosen Judah to be a leader; and in the house of Judah, my father's house, and among the sons of my father He took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. And He said to me, 'Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. 'And I will establish his kingdom forever, if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances, as is done now.' "So now, in the sight of all Israel, the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God, observe and seek after all the commandments of the Lord your God in order that you may possess the good land and bequeath it to your sons after you forever. "As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act." 
	In this discourse is stipulated the fact that the lineage of David would have a king on the throne of the people of the Lord for all of eternity. God would be the One Who chose that King and he would come from the tribe of Judah via the House of David. That King is Jesus, born in Bethlehem, of the House of David, from the preeminent tribe of Judah. He is now on the throne of Heaven and earth! His reign is eternal! Unto Him will all nations and peoples of the earth bow in humble adoration and proclamation that He is worthy of all honor and praise and glory. 
	We pick up another reality of the preeminence of Jesus being from the tribe of Judah in the letter to the Hebrews, Chapter 7, verses 11-28. Please open to this glorious declaration of the full force of the supremacy and the validity of the priesthood of Jesus Christ over, not just the Children of Israel, but over all of His creation. It is the fact of His being the perfect and eternal high priest through whom all those who call upon His name will be saved.
Heb 7:11-28, Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of Him, "Thou art a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek." For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, "The Lord has sworn And will not change His mind, 'Thou art a priest forever'"); so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. And the former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers, because they were prevented by death from continuing, but He, on the other hand, because He abides forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever. 
	God has placed His Only Begotten Son on the throne of Heaven and earth and given Him the place of honor as the eternal high priest through Whom salvation reigns on high. He, Alone, fulfilled the stipulated requirements for the salvation and the restoration of fellowship that was vital to bring forth the Lord’s satisfaction in all that He created. 
Jesus, from the House of David, from the tribe of Judah is the preeminent One Who has gone before all of us. Through His death and resurrection, He has eternally dealt with all the consequences of our sin and shame. In Him, through His blood, the Promise of our inheritance of His eternal Life is now absolutely and forever ours to enjoy to the glory of God now and evermore. He is the Preeminent One, The Alpha and the Omega, the First and the last! So be it!
Now the sons of Israel arose, went up to Bethel, and inquired of God, and said, "Who shall go up first for us to battle against the sons of Benjamin?" Then the Lord said, "Judah shall go up first." Amen.

This morning’s benediction is Josh 24:15. And if it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Amen.