Introduction to Biblical Tribalism

The story of three major world religions– Judaism, Christianity, and Islam– begins with the Bible. The Old Testament introduces the Judaic tribes. Christianity depends on the essential four gospels of the New Testament. The Islamic tribes start their lineage with the patriarch Ishmael, the first son of Abraham.
Jews and Muslims recognize and appreciate the tribal nature of their religions and social cultures. Christians alone cling to an individualist religion. The Christian’s purpose is to forge a personal relationship with “God,” live by a set of religious formulas which are largely personal in nature, bring other individuals to Christ, and someday meet Jesus at the Pearly Gates and have him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” The Pauline letters in the New Testament give guidelines for family life, but the family itself is not given any special place of importance.
The Christian de-emphasis on family and tribal structures belies an ignorance of YHWH’s basic covenants with humankind. The basic incompatibility between tribalism and the militaristic governmental structure of ancient Roman society largely explains the source of this ignorance. Indeed, at the first suggestion of a new Judaic king in Bethlehem, King Herod ordred all the baby boys killed. Tribe-building was a profoundly dangerous activity in the culture in which Christianity began. If it went on at all, it went on in private.
We thus find a Christianity that depends for its fulfilment on an individual’s relationship with God. In fact, many of the modern branches of Christianity emphasize that soon the world will end, we will all go to heaven, and we should focus on that goal rather than diverting our attention to worldly cares and pursuits. This form of religion is impotent and disempowering to those of us who live our lives here on this earth. The extreme pietists live lives of poverty and loneliness as they wait for their heavenly reward.
A cursory examination of the Bible shows that YHWH made covenants with families and tribes. The first covenant we find in Genesis is with Adam and Eve and their descendants.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Genesis 1:28,29

Here, YHWH promises the first couple that he will provide substance for them. In return, they are to multiply and subdue the earth. Adam and Eve were not expected to subdue the earth by themselves. They could not fill up the earth by themselves. It was their descendants who would fulfil this part of the covenant. The animals likewise were told to fill up the earth. The covenants here are not with specific people or specific animals, but rather with all Mankind and indeed with all Lifekind. These covenants were renewed in Noah and his children.

YHWH made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. Deuteronomy 5:3
But thou shalt rememberYHWH thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 8:18

YHWH made covenants with Abraham and his seed, renewed with Isaac and his seed, Jacob and his seed, and later with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. He made covenants with David and Solomon, to keep their descendants on the throne of Israel as long as they obeyed. Time and again, the covenants were not with individuals, but with tribes and lineages.
Why did YHWH make covenants with people and their descendants? A covenant is a promise or contract. Wouldn’t it be easier to contract with a single person? Individual relationships in the present are more predictable and reliable than future unknown throngs of people.
Let’s begin by looking at the world from a God’s-eye view. YHWH’s point of view is timeless. We believe he has no beginning and no end. A day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as a day. Biblical human history goes back 6,000 years. Anthropological human history goes back 100,000 years or more. Geological history goes back 4.5 billion years. The history of the universe is said to begin 10 billion years ago. For YHWH to make a covenant with a single person is nearly meaningless in the grand timescape. In fact, the Biblical perspective often draws little or no distinction between an individual and that individual’s progeny through time.

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Genesis 12:2,3.

True, each one of us has a personal relationship with YHWH. But families also have a relationship with him, both in the Old and New Testaments.

For I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:5,6.

And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. Acts 16:15,18:8.

And of course, whole tribes and nations have relationships with him, as illustrated by the entire Old Testament. And families and tribes have relationships with each other.

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation. Deuteronomy 23: 3,4,7,8.

From the Gods-eye perspective, all of these relationships are timeless and enduring. In the grandest scale, YHWH has a relationship with all Lifekind his creation, and even with the physical universe itself. What about a Man’s-eye view?
There is a saying, “Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” Everyone wants to live forever. People employ various means to try to achieve some level of immortality. Some start foundations or corporations that will outlive them and continue to exert an influence after the founders are gone. Some donate to worthy foundations and causes. Some establish libraries, hospitals, schools, or churches. In Biblical society under YHWH’s law, the greatest form of immortality was had by raising children who would carry on obedience to YHWH. “And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!” Genesis 17:18. Abraham knew that no matter what great plans or ideas he had, YHWH had an even grander plan which he could best serve by raising up children who would let themselves be led by YHWH’s will.
We can leave small evidences of our existence in the form of monuments or accomplishments. Some of these may even still endure, at least in broken form, thousands of years after our deaths. Many Greek and Roman statues testify to the existence of their creators or their patrons. We know they exist, but we don’t really know them. Ancient tribal peoples didn’t know what we know about DNA, but they knew that if they could leave their human essence behind in the form of offspring, that their essence would survive through endless time, and they would never really cease to exist, though their immediate physical bodies died. They would continue to live, both figuratively and in a literal physical form, forever.
If we look deeply enough, we can see Adam and Eve in each one of their descendants. We can see Abraham in each of his descendants. If we get to know enough of these descendants, then in some small degree we have gotten to know Abraham himself. By getting to know the descendants of Mohammed, we meet the essence of Mohammed himself. What will people know about us when they meet our great-grandchildren a century from now? Will it matter then that we donated an inheritance to a local hospital or art museum which may no longer exist?

In Conclusion
Why is tribalism relevant today? The answer is because in the context of human history, it has always been important. The unfolding of history is the story of the interactions of tribes. The whole concept has been lost in today’s “me” world of Western society, and in the “personal salvation” mindset of modern Christianity. But a natural law does not vaporize because people choose to ignore it. Even in individualist society, people try to create their own tribes. Inner city gangs, startup churches, men’s and women’s clubs, etc. are all attempts to establish communities of belonging. If people stay in these clubs or gangs long enough, de facto marriages will take place and biological tribes will start to form. The process cannot be thwarted even if people try to ignore it. And the drive to procreate will not be denied. People will continue to have children, even if there are no “legitimate” social structures in place to support the practice, as in convents and monasteries.
We will have children, and we will begin and continue tribes. We will either do it in ignorance, with chaotic results, or we will do it deliberately and powerfully. By learning and aligning ourselves with Biblical tribal principles, we can choose to grow our tribes for YHWH’s service, instead of randomly letting nature happen to us and our families.
In order to understand Man’s place in relation to YHWH and in relation to Biblical social principles, it is imperative to understand and implement the Biblical social structures, beginning with Biblical families. A great way to start is by reading through the books of Genesis to Chronicles inclusive, looking for evidences of YHWH’s relationship to individuals, families, and tribes throughout the history of Israel. After this crucial step, we can start to develop a practical framework for building our tribes here and now in the modern world.