Judges 1: 1 – 25
Downward Spirals
1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?”
2 And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.” 3 So Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. 8 Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowland. 10 Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)
12 Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14 Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 15 So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 16 Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people. 17 And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron. 20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. 21 But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
22 And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day. 27 However, 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; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute. 31 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33 Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute. 36 Now the boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.
We are now going to embark on the second portion of the bible, that is, beginning with the book of Judges which begins our journey through the historical books.
For those of you who might not know, the first 5 books – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – were written by Moses and are referred to as the Pentateuch.
The book of Judges and others are not a full history but points out the salvation history of the working of our Holy Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High – on behalf of His people.
The title ‘Judges’ were men and one lady selected by El Shaddai – God Almighty – and recognized by the tribes, who ruled and administered justice. There are twelve judges that are listed in this book. There is also one person who took the leadership by force, by the name of Ahimelech, who does not join the official list. A thing to remember as we go through this book, is that these leaders on occasion overlap another ‘Judge’. Therefore, it would be a difficult task to add up all the periods of each Judge in order to obtain an indication of how long each period of leadership was. Most of the time our Lord raised up a ‘Judge’ to be a deliver for the Israelites due to the oppression of other nations.
Here is a list of the Judges for you to keep for your records;
Judge Oppression Peace Area Enemy
1. Othniel 8 years 40 years Judah Mespotania,Moab,
Ammon
2. Ehud 18 years 80 years Benjamin Amalek
3. Shamgar Judah Philistines
4. Deborah 20 years 40 years Zebulun/ Hazor
Naphati
5. Gideon 7 years 40 years Manasseh Arabs
*Abimelech 3 years Shechem
6. Tola 23 years Issachar
7. Jair 22 years Gileadite
8. Jephthah 18 years 6 years Gileadite Moab, Ammon
9. Ibzan 7 years Bethlehem
10. Elon 10 years Zebulun
11. Abdon 8 years Ephraim
12. Samson 40 years 20 years Dan/Judah Philistines
Here is something to write down for future reference. One of the major thing’s for us to learn from this book is that of our human sinfulness. Having been blessed by our Holy God, we all have the tendency to take Him for granted. We then slip away from our relationship with Him and fall into all kinds of sin, the principal one being idolatry. After facing the consequences of sin, the people cry out to our Merciful King for help. He would respond to their pleas and raise up a deliver who is listed as a ‘Judge’. After deliverance there would be a period of peace and then the people would again turn away from the Lord and the process would repeat itself.
Our Holy Majestic Sovereign allowed His people to settle into the land that He had promised Abraham. As you will see they were not obedient in fulfilling His orders to take all the land assigned to them. In the book of Exodus chapter 23 we read of our Lord’s Promise to help the people drive out the inhabitants of the land, “And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
They allowed the people of Canaan to live alongside of them instead of obeying the orders to destroy everyone. Because they failed in this requirement, these same people multiplied until they were strong enough to rise up and cause all kind of havoc. Our Lord had warned them how this would happen in the book of Numbers chapter 33, “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell.
Although every tribe was independent. Their instructions was that if any other tribe needed military assistance then they were to respond. To refuse this call to arms was considered a grave breach in their mutual pact.
The conquest of Canaan was not to be an easy chore. Have you ever considered why our Holy God did not just wipe all the Canaanite out Himself and allow the Israelites to take over their land and homes. In the book of Exodus chapter 23 we learn why, “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. 24 You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars. 25 “So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. 31 And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River.[b] For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
So, having covered this background let us look at chapter 1 of the book of Judges.
1 Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, “Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?”
We now pick up from the last chapter of Deuteronomy where our Holy Lord’s faithful servant Joshua had died. They were living properly and sought out the Lord for His opinion on what they should do. Who would be their leader?
Our Lord did a new thing here. He wanted the people to look to Him and to Him Alone as their leader. Temporary, our Holy Ruler allowed an earthly man to be His co-shepherd. First Moses was selected and then the leadership was passed onto Joshua. However, now you will note that our Precious Holy Leader did not select a man but gave direction that a tribe would lead the military conquest.
2 And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”
Now if you didn’t read verse 3, how do you understand the Lord’s response?
It seems pretty clear to me. The Lord informed the 12 Tribes that the tribe of Judah [and only the tribe of Judah] will go forth to battle. Our Lord assured them of victory - 2 And the LORD said, “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.”
Now we look at verse 3. The compromise begins to start.
3 So Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.” And Simeon went with him.
Now as we read what happened see if you see something wrong?
4 Then Judah went up, and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand; and they killed ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him; and they defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Then Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7 And Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me.” Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
What did the people of Judah and
Simeon do wrong? What was God’s instructions? In the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7 we learn, “and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them.”
We see that this king Adoni Bezek was quite cruel. He would take captive kings and leaders and cut off their thumbs and big toes. They would have a hard time walking and eating. They were mocked all the time as they were dependent upon Bezek to survive. In order to survive they were humiliated daily.
At first it would seem good that Judah gave him the same treatment. However, our Lord’s instructions are set. You do not add nor detract from what His says. Please notice that it appears that the Lord took matters into His Own Holy Hands. It is possible that He allowed Bezek to die of infection or some other aliment after he was brought to Jerusalem - “Then they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.”
8 Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it; they struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
Here is something that should catch your attention. When you read the book of 1 Kings you see that David seeks to conquer the city of Jerusalem. If that be the case then how do these words match up. There are a few possibilities. For one it might be that the tribe of Judah only conquered a portion of the city. Another possibility was that the city was taken and since the Israelites were not obedient, the former residents came back and repopulated the city until it was under their control.
I believe the clue lies in the wording. For example we read some different terms about the Israelites military actions. These words are ‘smote’, and ‘drove out’. The words ‘smote’ or ‘took’ indicate a victory but not necessarily possession. When you read the term ‘drove out’, it indicates permanent sole possession. Thus, it seems to indicate that the city of Jerusalem was taken and smitten but not possessed. Remember, the army was in constant march to fight against the inhabitants of Canaan. They did not settle down yet. Thus, we see this described as so in the next verses.
9 And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in the South, and in the lowland. 10 Then Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. (Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kirjath Arba.) And they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. 11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. (The name of Debir was formerly Kirjath Sepher.)
When we review prior Scripture we find that Hebron was granted to Caleb who was associated with the tribe of Judah. We find some interesting facts if we go back to the book of Joshua for we find in chapter 14 this, “15 And the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim). Then the land had rest from war.”
Now, can you think why this would be an important fact. Let me take you back to the book of Numbers 13, “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”3 So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. 4 Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. 17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. 24 The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. 25 And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Twelve spies were sent to search out the land. Then came back and reported that the Israelites could not go and conquer the land of Canaan because there were giants in the land. They would not trust the power of the Lord Who promised to give them victory. Only two were brave enough – Caleb and Joshua.
As you know Joshua was chosen by the Lord to be the leader of the Israelites. We now see Caleb who is 40 years older now and still ready to go against the giants.
12 Then Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Achsah as wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. 14 Now it happened, when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 15 So she said to him, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
The Lord blessed Caleb in that this mountainous area was some of the best land. We will see later that Caleb’s son in law, Othniel, is selected by the Lord to be a ‘Judge’
16 Now the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the City of Palms with the children of Judah into the Wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
This verse might seem out of place. For one might think ‘who cares’ or ‘why bother to have this information included.’ We will find later on in the book of Judges when we come to Judge Deborah in chapter 4 that the information about the Kenites play and important role.
17 And Judah went with his brother Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 So the LORD was with Judah. And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron.
We see now that Judah assists the tribe of Simeon fight against the inhabitants. However, because of fear the two tribes would not take on the inhabitants of the lowlands. You might ask why do I state that it was due to fear that they left the inhabitants of the lowlands alone. If we turn back to the book of Joshua chapter 17 we read, “Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great people, inasmuch as the LORD has blessed us until now?” 5 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.” 16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.”
We have just reviewed again the bravery of Caleb. Now we read of his buddy Joshua who also had complete faith in the Lord. When the people complained what was Joshua’s answer, ‘Hey, no problem, don’t worry about chariots, when the Lord Is with you, you can’t lose.”
This is a great point because in the next verse we see this old warrior taking on the giants. He knows that with God nothing is impossible.
20 And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.
You know it is quite interesting how fear is contagious and can cause others to pick up the disease. Look at what happens;
21 But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
From these words it appears that the Benjamite’s could have wiped them out but did not. We will see that this disobedience will spread to the other tribes.
22 And the house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 So the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And when the spies saw a man coming out of the city, they said to him, “Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy.” 25 So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword; but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.
We see a temporary break in the disobedience. For when the tribe of Joseph which included Manasseh and Ephraim obeyed and as we read, ‘The Lord was with them.’ They were completely successful.
27 However, 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; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but did not completely drive them out. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; so the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them. 30 Nor did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute. 31 Nor did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Acco or the inhabitants of Sidon, or of Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 So the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out. 33 Nor did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath; but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath were put under tribute to them. 34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley; 35 and the Amorites were determined to dwell in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; yet when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute. 36 Now the boundary of the Amorites was from the Ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela, and upward.
As you well know, our Lord says what He means, and means what He says. When He gives out a command; It is to obeyed to the letter. When it is not, then it will have consequences.
Please note the words; ‘they dwelt among them’ and ‘they put them to tribute.’ Do you see the importance of this wrong attitude? These people re-interpreted the words of our Lord. We see that same thing happening in our country. People are reinterpreting what our forefathers wrote into the Constitution and say that it means something else.
As sinful human beings it is difficult to maintain a faithful walk with our Precious Holy God. Complacency, Envy, Fear, Laziness, and Worldliness all combine to cause wrong thinking and beliefs.
We learn from this chapter that when we fail to be totally obedient and to rid ourselves of situations or people, it or they will one day cause us significant problems. The day we stop listening to God is the day we begin a downward journey.
