The Book of Judges begins by highlighting two main themes.
First, how will they handle the inhabitants of the land? Will they live side by side, fight them, or be influenced by Canaanite practices?
The other theme is about leadership. Who will lead the nation, and what qualities are needed in these leaders? It is with this second theme that the book begins.
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?”
The Lord said, “Judah shall go up. I hereby give the land into his hand.”
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 (Judges 1:1-3).
The tribe of Judah will stand out as we read through the book of Judges. King David was from this tribe, and so was Jesus, the Savior of the world.
Judah won the war and conquered several small city-states, including Jerusalem.
Then the people of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They put it to the sword and set the city on fire (Judges 1:8).
Although the tribe of Judah was very successful, they couldn’t win every battle.
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 (Judges 1:19).
Not only was the tribe of Judah unsuccessful in the hill country, but the other tribes of Israel met defeat. Judges 1 ends with a litany of failures for God’s people.
- Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and Megiddo.
- Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites in Gezer.
- Zebulon failed to drive out the inhabitants of Kitron and Nahalol.
- Asher failed with the people of Acco, Sidon, Mahalab, etc.
- Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh.
- The Amorites pressed the tribe of Dan into the hill country and did not allow them to come down to the plain.
Mixture with the World
One thing is clear from this outline of years of battles, victories, and losses: the world is not always a place of victory.
Just like the Israelites who faced opposition while trying to conquer the Promised Land and live in peace, we also encounter forces against God’s will. We live in a world that challenges God’s intentions.
John described our battle with these words.
Do not love the world or the things in the world.
The love of the Father is not in those who love the world, for all that is in the world the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches comes not from the Father but from the world.
And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God abide forever(John 2.15-17).
(1) We face three enemies. The first is the flesh.
The flesh refers to a person who chooses to live apart from God. It’s a part of us that desires things God doesn’t want for us.
Some see this flesh as our sinful, fallen nature. To win the battle, we must overcome our own resistance to God’s will.
(2) The Tenth Commandment tells us not to covet (Exodus 20:17). When we see something we want but don’t have, we must resist those desires to stay true to God.
Coveting can be about someone else’s gift or ability that we wish we had. It might be small things or something big that we could only get by force. Either way, it’s a battle we need to win.
(3) There is a kind of pride in material wealth that doesn’t come from God.
A man had a expensive sports car with a vanity license plate that said, “EARNIT.” He believed his wealth was something he earned, and didn’t show gratitude, but only pride.
Any pride that makes us think we achieved what we have, instead of seeing it as a gift from God, can lead us away from Him. It must be overcome.
Let’s make the goal of our lives to win a victory and do the will of God.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Judges 1 on YouTube today.
Real Voices 