Verse 7
"Jehovah shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah."
"Save the tents of Judah first ..." Who are meant by the tents of Judah? These are the poor, the outcast, the wretched and miserable millions on earth who dwell in tents, compared with the palaces and fortified cities. Christ's special message of redemption for the poor appears here. "Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20). Leupold agreed that, "This term (tents) is an indication of the lowly condition in which the people of God generally found themselves in those days."[19]
The mention of Jerusalem, house of David, and Judah appears confusing until it is recognized that here we have a third usage of Judah already in this chapter! Here Judah stands for the poor, taken from the fact that the environs of Jerusalem contrasted sharply with the affluence and glory of the city itself.
The whole verse teaches that in the kingdom of Christ, "the first shall be last, and the last first" (Matthew 19:30). Concerning the usual standards of "glory," Christ categorically stated of his followers, "It shall not be so among you" (Matthew 20:26). This merely says that the poor shall not play second fiddle to the wealthy and powerful in Jesus' kingdom.
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