Judah was his sanctuary
Meaning not the tribe of Judah only, though that in many things
had the preeminence; the kingdom belonging to it, the chief ruler
being out of it, especially the Messiah; its standard was pitched
and moved first; it offered first to the service of the Lord; and
the Jews have a tradition, mentioned by Jarchi and Kimchi, that
this tribe, with its prince at the head of it, went into the Red
sea first; the others fearing, but afterwards followed,
encouraged by their example: but rather all the tribes are meant,
the whole body of the people; for this is not to be understood of
the tabernacle or temple in the tribe of Judah, sometimes called
a sanctuary; for neither of these were in being when Israel came
out of Egypt; but it may be rendered, "Judah was his holiness"
F21, or was holiness to the Lord, the
Lord's holy people; see ( Jeremiah 2:2
Jeremiah
2:3 ) , not all internally holy; for there were many that
came out of Egypt that were unholy, rebellious, and disobedient,
and whose carcasses fell in the wilderness; but externally, when
brought out of Egypt they were separated from all other people,
and in this sense sanctified, and became a holy and special
people, chosen by the Lord to be so; with whom, he made a
covenant, and to whom he gave holy laws and righteous statutes:
and in this they were typical of those who are effectually called
by grace with an holy calling, and unto holiness; have principles
of grace and holiness wrought in them, and have Holiness to the
Lord written upon them; they have the sanctification of the
Spirit, and Christ is made sanctification to them; and they are
the Lord's sanctuary, in which he dwells.
And Israel his dominion:
for, though all the world is his kingdom and his government, yet
the people of Israel were in a very particular and remarkable
manner his dominion; from the time of their coming out of Egypt
to their having a king, their government was properly a
theocracy; God was their King, and by him they were immediately
ruled and governed, and had a body of laws given them from him,
and were under his immediate care and protection, ( Exodus 19:5 ) (
1 Samuel
8:7 ) ( 12:12 ) .
In this they were typical of the saints called by grace, who are
then translated from the power of Satan into the kingdom of
Christ; whom they acknowledge to be their Lord and King, and
whose laws, commands, and ordinances, they willingly observe; the
people of God are often represented as a kingdom, and Christ as
King of saints; the Targum is
``the congregation of the house of Judah was united to his holiness, and Israel to his power.''