The wells of our learning are DEEP in the scribal realm. May we CARE, learn lessons from this and LOVE our textual history and what the scripture reveals about God’s passion for documentation.
Before the tribe of Judah took on the prominent role of safeguarding the biblical texts, the responsibility for preserving God’s revelations rested with various leaders and tribes within Israel.
The preservation of the Scriptures and divine revelations can be traced through several key figures and tribes.
Moses and the Tribe of Levi. This is the first tribe we study who protected God’s Word and releases the pattern for the scribal anointing.
Remember, one of the earliest custodians of God’s revelations was Moses, who belonged to the tribe of Levi.
Deuteronomy 31:9 (NKJV): “So Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel.”
The Levites, especially the priests, were responsible for the care of the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets of the Law given to Moses. They also had the duty of teaching the law to the Israelites.
The Tribe of Ephraim. Moses died and his priesthood shifted with with his death, ending the first dispensation of the scribe. Who took stewardship?
Another significant figure in Israel’s history is Joshua, who was from the tribe of Ephraim, one of the Joseph tribes. Joshua succeeded Moses and was responsible for leading Israel into the Promised Land.
Joshua 24:26 (NKJV): “Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.”
Joshua continued the work of Moses in documenting God’s commandments and leading Israel.
The Era of the Judges. I often teach about the time of prophets (judges) and now you can clearly see this dispensation. While the scribal order was shifting, the prophets/judges heard the command of preservation.
During the period of the Judges, the preservation of God’s Word was decentralized. Various judges from different tribes led Israel and delivered God’s messages, but there was no centralized authority over the Scriptures.
The Tribe of Benjamin/David. My, my, my… look at this. Benjamin was next but God disqualified this tribe and qualified David.
The first king of Israel, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin. However, his reign was marked by disobedience, and God ultimately chose David from the tribe of Judah as the new king.
1 Samuel 10:20-21 (NKJV):
“And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen, and Saul the son of Kish was chosen.”
And here is that transition…. and the CLEAR LINK to seeing God’s set up for Christ!
King David, from the tribe of Judah, and his son Solomon were instrumental in consolidating the kingdom, re-establishing governmental order and centralizing worship in Jerusalem.
1 Kings 8:1 (NKJV): “Now Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion.”
The temple in Jerusalem became the central place for worship and THE PRESERVATION of the Scriptures, solidifying Judah’s role in this sacred duty.
DO YOU KNOW WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT? It is literally the core of our teaching on the scribe?
