Why Judah?

J

James

Member
I was just curious why the clan is called "Tribe of Judah" instead of something more obvious like "Tribe of Jesus" or "Tribe of Christ"...

Is there some meaning behind it as I suspect there is?

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http://www.toj.cc/resources/faq.cfm#cat0_0

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Why did you choose the name Tribe of Judah?
[As answered by Isaiah "Tek7" Jones]

Several people, upon seeing the [ToJ] prefix attached to my alias, have asked me what clan I belong to. When I explain that ToJ stands for Tribe of Judah, I receive one of many varied responses, most of which are further questions. I have written this article to explain why I chose the name 'Tribe of Judah' for a Christian gaming fellowship.

I must first emphasize that our name is symbolic. We are a Christian, not a Jewish, fellowship. Genesis 49 contains perhaps the most important passage of scripture concerning the Tribe of Judah:

8 ¶ Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.

The Tribe of Judah was one of twelve tribes of Israel. Israel was God's chosen nation, to whom he first extended his Commandments. Israel was blessed while they followed the Commandments of God, and punished when they did not. The Tribe of Judah was set above all other tribes, even amongst God's chosen people.

Today, all Christians are considered God's people. Thus, we as the Tribe of Judah seek to set a standard for other Christians, inspiring others by our words and actions. We seek to follow His commandments, and be blessed.

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The sceptre or lawgiver in this scripture means that Judah will be ruled by law and reason. Shiloh here refers to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. This prediction is fulfilled by the fact that Joseph, husband of Mary, virgin mother of Jesus, comes from the line of Judah. In Revelation, Jesus is referred to as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.

This does not refer to drunkenness or gluttony, but instead refers to riches. This symbolizes the riches with which the Lord blesses us.

Other scriptures explain why we have taken this name:

Judges 1:2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

This scripture tells us that the Lord promises to give the land of Canaan to Judah. We take this as a symbol of the blessings that the Lord promises us today.

2 Samuel 2:1 ¶ And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up. And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.

4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were they that buried Saul.

5 And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him.

6 And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing.

This passage tells us the story of David's travels into the land of the Tribe of Judah. Men from the house of Judah anointed him king over their tribe. David, in turn, pronounced blessing over the Tribe of Judah. We take this as a symbol of respecting and supporting other Christians, including those in leadership.

On at least two separate occasions (2 Samuel 20:1,2 and 1 Kings 14:21,22), the Tribe of Judah remained faithful to King David while others wavered. We take this as a symbol of loyalty in all times, not only to those anointed by the Lord to lead us, but also to the Lord himself.

Again, I emphasize that the name Tribe of Judah is symbolic. We take the name to remember the blessings and favor that the Lord has promised all His people who obey Him--not only our fellowship. We do not seek to seclude ourselves from the world, but rather to demonstrate, in word and deed, a better way of living.
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Yes I have read that, but I still don't understand from that why Tribe of Judah was chosen.

I was reading a passage in Isaiah this morning (hmm coincidence?
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) that talks about how God would ruin the land of Judah:

For behold, the Lord, Jehovah of Hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread and the whole stay of water, the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient,  the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the adviser, and the skilled worker, and the expert charmer.  And I will give young boys to be their rulers, and caprices shall rule over them.  And the people shall be crushed, every man by another, and every man by his neighbor; the boy shall act proudly against the old man, and the low against the honorable.  When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, You have clothing, you be our ruler, and let this ruin be under your hand; in that day he shall swear, saying, I will not be a healer; there is no bread nor a cloak in my house. You shall not make me a ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined and Judah has fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of His glory.   The look of their faces witnesses against them; and they declare their sin like Sodom. They do not hide it! Woe to their soul! For they have rewarded evil to themselves. (Isaiah 3:1 -- 3:10)

It made me think more about some things... I'm not saying the name is evil or anything. May we just not end up like the Judah in that passage.
 
If anything reading through the Bible you will find plenty of times where God's chosen people screw up and they get reprimanded as is the case with this passage. This does not take away from the fact that they were still God's chosen people and that they had a special purpose even if at this time in the bible, they were being punished.

Also, you wrote that passage as being Isaiah 3:1-10 yet you left out verse 10. Verse 10 states that the righteous have hope as they will enjoy the fruits of their deeds. It is a reminder to us that God does see what we do for him even amidst the evil that is around us. It is a hope we should be mindful of everyday as it is easy to forget in this wayword world.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]May we just not end up like the Judah in that passage.
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Agreed.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Plankeye @ June 12 2004,12:57)]Also, you wrote that passage as being Isaiah 3:1-10 yet you left out verse 10.  Verse 10 states that the righteous have hope as they will enjoy the fruits of their deeds.  It is a reminder to us that God does see what we do for him even amidst the evil that is around us.  It is a hope we should be mindful of everyday as it is easy to forget in this wayword world.
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Whoops. I copied and pasted from E-Sword. Oh and by the way, for those that don't know: E-Sword is an electronic version of the Bible. Great for those online discussions with curious non-believers (which if you have visited my forums you see I have a lot of).


Check it out: http://www.e-sword.net

And for the Linux users: http://gnomesword.sourceforge.net/
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (James @ June 12 2004,10:08)]It made me think more about some things... I'm not saying the name is evil or anything. May we just not end up like the Judah in that passage.
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It was difficult to choose a name with Biblical roots but without any sorrow or tragedy attached. If we were the Tribe of David, we'd have people asking why we stare at naked ladies on rooftops. If we were the Tribe of Paul, we'd have people asking us why we had to kill scores of Christians before we saw the light (har har). Most other names I brainstormed (five years ago) were just straight up cheesy. The list goes on and on.

The most common question we usually hear while we wear the ToJ tags is, "Are you a Jewish clan?" which is quickly answered with a simple, "No, we're Christians."

And, of course, the two most important reason we've stuck with this name: it works and it's too much work to change now. Much like the ToJ tag itself.
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Seriously, though, I do see your point, and I have, in years past, considered renaming the group. I came to the conclusion that the benefits simply would not outweigh the tremendous work it would take to change the name--and then inform our members, both active and inactive--of the change and watch the slow trickle of tag changes.
 
Like TeK said, and not only do I get "Are you Jewish," after explaining that we are a christian group, I almost always get "Christians are allowed to play games, I didn't know that." LOL, I love it!!!!
 
i get people asking what TOJ stands for, and as soon as you say tribe of judah, they say, that's from the bible isn't it..

door opened.

Why yes.....


sealcomm
 
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