Judah was not the eldest son of Jacob (see Genesis 35:23–26). Therefore according to the inheritance laws of the time, he should not have been the first to receive an inheritance. Reuben was the eldest, then came Simeon, then Levi, and only then Judah.

The tribes of Reuben and Levi had already been dealt with. Reuben’s inheritance was in the land east of the Jordan (Joshua 13:15–23), and because the Levites were temple servants, they were not given any extensive land—the Lord was their inheritance (Joshua 13:14, Joshua 13:33; Joshua 14:3–4). But that still left Simeon. He was older than Judah, so why was Judah first in line ahead of him?

One answer perhaps is that Judah was very numerous. In Numbers 26:1–65 we read that the land had to be divided according to population. Large tribes were given a lot of land, and small tribes were given less. So maybe that is the reason for Judah’s prominence—they were the largest tribe. Now that answer seems plausible until we come to Joshua 19:1–51 where we will see that the land given to Judah was actually too big for them. There were too many cities and towns, and therefore the tribe of Simeon was given an inheritance within the land of Judah. It is not on account of their numbers that Judah got to go first.

The only explanation is the fact that Judah received a special blessing from Jacob (Genesis 49:8–12). He was promised that the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Jacob made a promise to Judah that kingly authority and leadership would belong to him and his descendants. The messianic line would flow through his blood; the one who would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15) would be from his tribe. This promise was made to him because by the Spirit, God had transformed Judah into a servant leader—a leader who exemplified the kingship which the Messiah would bring.

The tribe of Judah is first in line because they have emerged as the most important tribe. They are the tribe from which the promised Messiah would come.