Judges 1
After the death of Joshua, the Israelites inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up. I hereby give the land into his hand.” 3 Judah said to his brother Simeon, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; then I too will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they defeated ten thousand of them at Bezek. 5 They came upon Adoni-bezek at Bezek, and fought against him, and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled; but they pursued him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has paid me back.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
8 Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire. 9 Afterward the people of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba); and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.
11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir (the name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher). 12 Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also Gulloth-mayim.” So Caleb gave her Upper Gulloth and Lower Gulloth.
16 The descendants of Hobab the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad. Then they went and settled with the Amalekites. 17 Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and devoted it to destruction. So the city was called Hormah. 18 Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.19 The Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain, because they had chariots of iron.20 Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said; and he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the Benjaminites did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived in Jerusalem among the Benjaminites to this day.
22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel; and the Lord was with them.23 The house of Joseph sent out spies to Bethel (the name of the city was formerly Luz). 24 When the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 So he showed them the way into the city; and they put the city to the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 So the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city, and named it Luz; that is its name to this day.
27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; but the Canaanites continued to live in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not in fact drive them out.
29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites lived among them in Gezer.
30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites lived among them, and became subject to forced labor.
31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, or of Achzib, or of Helbah, or of Aphik, or of Rehob; 32 but the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
34 The Amorites pressed the Danites back into the hill country; they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites continued to live in Har-heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.
As we are approaching our Sight & Sound trip, to watch Musical Samson, I thought it might be a good idea to walk through the story of judges.
What does the passage say?
V. 1-11 After the death of Joshua, there was no centric figure leading the Israelites. However, God raises particular leaders to continue the work of God. While the Israelites were under attack from the Canaanites, they inquire to God, asking who will lead. God answers by saying, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands” (v. 2 NIV). So Judah, led by Caleb, probably the oldest among the Jews (remember the story of the 12 spies? Caleb was the only one older than Joshua, who was accepted to go into the promise land)
They head to Hebron to continue the work of God. There is a map I’ve found which will help understand.
V. 12- 21 Caleb asked Joshua for approval to have the territory of Hebron (Joshua 14). However, Caleb was given the outskirts (Joshua 21:11-13) His request is fulfilled by this time, through his nephew Othniel, who eventually becomes his son-in-law. With the help of Othniel, who appears to be the first Judge, Caleb’s request is accomplished.
V. 22-36 Now the story shifts to the tribe of Joseph, which is Manasseh and Ephraim. We need to remember the final speech of Joshua. He told the people to drive out all the other nations. He said if they remain they will “become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you” (Joshua 23:12-13). Unfortunately, the tribe of Joseph doesn’t follow the instructions. And this becomes a prelude of the cycle of agony in the book of Judges.
What does this mean to me/ us?
Some might ask, why did the people of God, doing God’s work have to be so cruel? This is one reason why people don’t like God because the God of the Old Testament seems to be far from loving.
However, we have to understand that the Old Testament was written in the perspective of the Israelites, which also gives us a better understanding of the Gospel, which is written in the point of view of all humankind.
One example that the OT was written in this manner is described in Judges 1:6. “Adoni-Bezek, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.” Why??? Why did they have to be so cruel? We soon understand Adoni-Bezek himself was brutal. The next verse explains Adoni-Bezek himself has already done this to seventy other kings. The Israelite must have known this while they were fighting against Adoni-Bezek. The reason why they highlight this in this chapter is to signify the weight of victory they had, against the mighty nation.
Also, we need to remember that the Israelites were called to live according to the promise. God is described as a parent of the Israelites. God knew that the Israelites were not strong enough to remain holy and faithful to God’s covenant, without keeping a distance to the world and culture. Therefore, through Joshua, God commands the people to cut off anything that will hinder their commitment to the Lord. It might sound cruel. But don’t we do the same thing to our children for their own sake?
However, we also learn that even though the children of God fail to follow God’s instructions, God’s love still prevails. There might be times where even God, as much as us as parents want to give us. However, God still loves God’s people and plans another way to fulfill God’s promise. Ultimately by giving up himself for the sake of the world. Hope this helps us to see the big picture.
Lord, you are our Lord. Help us to remember your Lordship everyday. If there is anything in our life that hinders us to follow you completly, we ask that you will help us learn what it is. We ask that we will be able to drive them out of our lives, so we can make space for you.
In Jesus name, we pray. Amen
What are your thoughts?
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