JUDGES 1

 

Let me read this intro to the book of Judges from Ray Stedmans commentary.

There is hardly any book of the Bible that can compare to Judges in color and intrigue. You wince as you read how Ehud the judge went to visit the king in his summer palace and slid his dagger between the firth and sixth ribs of the king so that the fat closed around it and he couldn't draw it out again. You cringe when Jael drives the tent stake through the skull of Sisera and pins him to the ground---and worry with Gideon when God cuts his army down from thirty-two thousand to three hundred, and sends him into battle. As you go through the book, you watch the terrible prophecy of the orphan Jotham fulfilled in God's strange and mysterious workings against Abimelech, the false judge. Perhaps your heart sinks with mine when Jephthah's daughter comes out to meet him coming back from the battle and he remembers the vow that he had made that the first person he met as he came home he would sacrifice to God, and he has to fulfill that vow. Perhaps you glory with Samson as he wreaks havoc among the Philistines with that tremendous God-given strength of his, and yet wonder at his naive folly in allowing the Philistine maiden to worm the secret of his strength out of his heart, and finally destroy him. Doubtless you turn with revulsion from the story of the Benjaminite perversion that marks perhaps the darkest and blackest chapter in all the history of Israel. It is, to say the least, a very interesting book to read. But in broader perspective it is essentially the story of a deteriorating nation, and as such, it is a picture for us of deteriorating Christian life.

 

The apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth that these events were recorded for a very specific purpose:

• 1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

While Joshua is a book of victory (under Joshua---which means Jesus---there was consistent victory when the Israelites faithfully obeyed him). Judges is a book of defeat and of failure. It is the first in a series of books which sets before us the warning spots, the danger signals, and the perils that lie along the pathway of a believer. The pattern of defeat that is described in the book of Judges is presented to us over and over again.

The principle that always spelled defeat in the lives of the nation of Israel is given to us in the very last verse of the book. If you miss that, you miss the key to the book: 

·      In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).

·      This is always the cause of failure in the Christian life…doing that which is right in our own eyes. As the Proverb says, leaning upon our own understanding. As another Proverb says, there is a way which seems right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death.

·      It has been said that what we find out about man in Judges is depressing; but what we find out about God in Judges is spectacular.

 

1 ¶ Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

• After the death of Joshua. Once again we are reminded of the mortality of any human instrument of God. It appears to me that one of the “failures” in Joshua’s life was that he did not raise up a man that would be a visible leader of the nation. Thus, God is going to raise up a number of judges to stand in the gap.
• God’s kingdom does not collapse when godly leaders die. We must always remember that our help is in the name of the Lord, not in the name of our pastor or any Christian leader. We are all expendable!
• FYI- These judges are not to be thought of as a judge in a courtroom setting, but more like a leader of some sort. In the book of Judges we will see 12 Judges raised up to deliver Israel from their bondage. 11 men and 1 woman

• Judges covers about 400 years of Israel's history, a time spanning from Joshua to Samuel. The book of Judges covers a period of time between the death of Joshua and the coming in of Samuel, who was the final judge over Israel and who anointed Saul to be the first king over Israel. When Saul became king, the form of government was changed from a theocracy, which is God ruling over the people, to a monarchy. Now the theocracy was not successful simply because the people would not submit to the rule of God.
• Once a nation is no longer governed by God, the end result is anarchy. The same holds true for people as well. For of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is held in bondage.
• When we get down to verse 21 this evening, we will see a very tragic pattern begin to take place. The Israelites (in direct disobedience to the command of God) fail to drive out the inhabitants of the land, and as a result of this failure to listen to God. They would inevitably turn to other gods and begin to worship Baal and Ashtoreth and the various gods of the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Hittites and the Jebusites. And because of their turning away from God, He would give them over into the hand of their enemies and they would be oppressed by their enemies. And being oppressed by their enemies they would cry out unto the Lord and the Lord would raise up a judge to be a deliverer and they would be delivered from the oppression from their enemies. Then they would have a period of prosperity, the judge would die and back into the same old pattern of turning their backs on God and beginning again to worship Baal and the other gods and the groves and all. And it's just a sad, tragic story of failure, the failure of consistency in the worship of God and in the honoring of God.
• Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites and fight for us? You remember beloved that when we ended the book of Joshua, the people were in the land but there was yet much of the land that was not yet conquered. They had not completely driven out the enemies. So, they cry out to God for wisdom and direction. It is always dangerous to have our own plans and vision and then ask God to bless what we want to do for Him. The goal of prayer is that we might understand the will of God for our lives.

 

2 And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.

• When Israel sought the Lord, He guided them. God is Abba to us beloved. We are in a covenant relationship with the Living God. Jesus said the same in Luke 11:9 - So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Often when we think the Lord isn't answering us, it is really more of a matter of Him speaking in a way we wouldn't expect Him to.

• Judah, which means praise, was the most numerous and powerful tribe. Our precious Lord Jesus was The Lion from the tribe of Judah.
• Again, we see the divine combination of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility at work. Judah’s service will not avail unless God give the success; but God will not give the success unless he vigorously apply himself to the service. Matthew Henry

 

3 And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.

• Simeon was a much smaller tribe that dwelt south of Judah. Here, we see the “body” working together to defeat the enemies of God. None of us are so strong that we cannot be helped by the least of our brothers or sisters. Judah was the most considerable of all the tribes, and Simeon the least considerable.  The head cannot say to the foot, I have no need of thee, for we are members one of another.

 

4 And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

• The Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: Seeking the Lord, obeying His guidance, and working together as a body always produces great results: the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hands.
• Why does God want Israel to annihilate the Canaanites? The answer is simple: God didn’t want the influence of this wicked, Canaanite society (e.g., child sacrifice, sexual immorality, idolatry) to contaminate His people (Num 33:55). Israel was God’s special people, chosen to fulfill divine purposes. Israel would give the world the knowledge of God, the Scriptures, and the Savior. In order to accomplish these purposes, Israel had to be free from the pollution of all the other nations.

 

5 And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.

• Adonai-bezek. The lord or king of Bezek. The Hebrew word for found here is a word that was used to describe a hostile encounter.
• They cut off his thumbs, to disfit him for fighting, and his great toes, that he might not be able to run away. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote, "They cut off his hands and his feet,’’ probably supposing those more likely to be mortal wounds than only the cutting off of his thumbs and his great toes.

 

6 But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.

7 And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table:

• Cutting of thumbs and toes was an ancient mode of treating enemies of war.
• Gathered under my table. This was a proverbial mode of expression, to signify reduction to the meanest servitude.

 

as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

• As I have done, so God hath requited me. As we read in Romans 2, we see here the power of conscience awakened by the judgment of God. The king knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the justice of God measured out to him was because of his own sin.
• There's a very interesting scripture that reads, Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And so many times a person can say, "As I have done, so has God requited unto me."
• In His sermon on the mount, The Lord Jesus said, "For in the same manner in which ye judge, ye shall be judged and whatever measure you meat, it shall be meated out to you. As I have done, so has God requited me."

 

8 Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.

• Jerusalem falls to Judah. Even thought the city was defeated by Joshua (Josh 10), some pockets of the city were co-occupied for a time with the Jebusites (see Judges 1:21). David re-conquered the city some 400 years later (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

 

9 ¶ And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.

10 And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

• Judah also conquers Hebron, and it is given to faithful Caleb and his family (see Joshua 15:13-19).
• Hebron was the ancient city of Abraham, and the city which discouraged the ten unfaithful spies from taking the promised land in Moses' day, because of the Anakim which lived there (Numbers 13:22-23).

 

11 And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:

12 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

14 And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?

15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

• There are some very rich principles of prayer in this request of Achsah from her father Caleb.
• (1) She acknowledges her fathers past blessings; you have given me a south land. (2) She came to God with a very definite request. (3) She knew it was her father she asked. (4) She went humbly, yet eagerly. (5) She trusted in his wisdom and judgment to give her what was best for her.

 

16 And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.

• The Kenites, the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, were always attached to the Israelites. This teaches us that God shows His grace and mercy to foreigners. Even in the Old Testament, God’s program includes those who are not Israelites. When people like the Kenites turn to God, they are shown grace. What a reminder that God’s plans and purposes include all who will believe in Christ and be saved. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, God welcomes you if you will believe in His Son (John 3:36).

• The city of palm trees. This is Jericho; the Kenites went from there to Arad, a city out in the Judean wilderness, west of Masada and the Dead Sea

 

17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah (which means, utter destruction).

18 Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.

• Gaza and Ashkelon were out towards the coast and later became Philistine strongholds.

 

19 And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

• Had not God expressly promised in verse 2 to give them success against the Canaanites in this very expedition, without excepting those that had iron chariots? Yet they suffered their fears to prevail against their faith, they could not trust God under any disadvantages, and therefore durst not face the iron chariots, but meanly withdrew their forces, when with one bold stroke they might have completed their victories; and it proved of pernicious consequence.
• The same thing that kept their fathers forty years out of Canaan kept them now out of the full possession of it, and that was unbelief. Distrust of the power and promise of God lost them their advantages, and ran them into a thousand mischiefs.
• Of course, this spoke more to Judah's lack of full trust in God than it did to Canaanite military superiority. Chariots were not problem for God's people when they were trusting God (Exodus 14:7-29; Joshua 11:1-8; 1 Kings 20:21). Their attitude should have been like in Psalm 20:7 - Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
• They believed one promise of God, and not another. They believed that God was with them in the hills, but not in the lowlands. Many believers find it easy to believe one area of God's promises, but not another. David Guzik
• The problem here is not the Canaanites’ impressive technology; it is Israel’s refusal to rely upon the Lord (see 2:1–5). God will give His people victory when they trust in Him. As Paul says in Rom 8:31: “If God is for us, who is against us?” Even when you feel that there are obstacles in your path, if God has called you to do resist something or do something, He will give you the power to do it! The reason that Judah did not have victory is that they did not trust God. We too will never experience the full blessing and victory of God in our life until we lay down our reliance upon the strength of the flesh and place our confidence in the Lord.

 

20 And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.

• Caleb and Joshua were in the group that spied out the land back in Numbers 13. The other spies got cold feet and wanted to turn back at that point. One of the reasons they were scared was what they saw at the city of Hebron. Hebron was located down in the territory of Judah, situated on a mountaintop. It had high and impressive walls. Not only that, one of the leading families of Hebron was a fierce warrior clan known as the sons of Anak.
• The Anakites were huge people; so huge, in fact, that they scared the living daylights out of the spies. But while other people were scared, Caleb was challenged. He said, “Don’t worry about the Anakites. Once we get into the land, I’ll take Hebron and deal with the Anakites.” And he did just that—and at 80 years of age! Caleb didn’t believe in taking his Social Security check and sliding for home. He is a warrior who never gives in.

 

21 And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.

• Do you remember the specific command that The Lord gave to the Israelites about what they were to do when they inhabited the land?
• Num 33:52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: 33:55 But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.
• Herein was the cause of defeat in Israel. They did not take God seriously about the threat their enemies posed to them, but instead, moved in among them. God had said that they were to drive out every inhabitant of these Canaanite villages. They were not to mingle with them or have anything to do with them. They were not to marry with them or associate with them.

 

 

22 And the house of Joseph (the tribe of Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh, who dwelt beyond Jordan), they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.

23 And the house of Joseph sent to descry (examine and ascertain the state of the city) Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

24 And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy.

25 And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family.

26 And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.

27 Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

• Seven times in 1:27–33 Israel is accused of not taking possession of the land of the Canaanites. Israel’s problem is partial obedience. Similarly, when we refuse to completely obey God, we miss out on all that God wants to do in and through us. What area of your life are you halfstepping with God? God’s love compels us to fight against competing passions.

 

28 And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.

29 Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

• A refusal to drive out the Canaanites led to living with them. Economics became more important than obedience to God.  They put them to tribute (verse 28). That is a very polite way of saying that they leaned upon their own understanding. They made a compromise with them for financial advantages. 
• Some people compromise biblical ethics because of financial advantages. Some people choose to cohabitate outside of marriage instead of getting married as God commands us to because of financial advantages. The end result of compromise is the loss of the presence and power of God in your life.
• Partial obedience always leads to coexistence with the enemy.

 

30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.

31 Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:

32 But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.

33 Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.

34 And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:

• The Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains: Here, we see the people of God being pushed around by their enemies; this should never be the case when God's people are walking in the strength God has for them.

 

35 But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.

• When the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, they were put under tribute: Again, instead of doing what God said should be done with these enemies (completely drive them out), they decide they will use them as they think best - putting these enemies under tribute.

 

36 And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.

 

No doubt, the command to utterly exterminate the people seemed to be harsh and cruel to the nation of Israel. To the natural man, it must have seemed to be cruel to utterly drive them out from their land. What harm could they bring to them? Leaning upon their own understanding instead of the clear command of God, they brought serious problems to their children, to their descendents.

Many times in our own minds, what God has required or what God has commanded of us doesn't seem to be for our best interest. Quite honestly, especially when it comes to walking in holiness and sanctification, the commands of God are contrary to the craving of our fleshly lusts. But know this beloved, when we listen to the lies or reasoning of the enemy (like Adam and Eve), it will always result in disaster and defeat.

For Israel, in Judges 1, they were satisfied with far less than what God wanted them to have, and far less than what God had provided for them.

Over and over we will read in Judges of their incomplete failure to drive out the enemy. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. What do you think God is trying to teach us here? He is telling that He wants our complete obedience - not to go half way and stop. Not to dwell with the enemy - for how can light and darkness dwell together?  What ends up happening when we compromise is that your light grows dimmer and dimmer till you become like the darkness that is around you.

 

There is only one word that God has for those who are living in compromise or sin…repent. Remember beloved, admission of sin with an excuse attached to it is not repentance. It is walking in darkness and not in the light.

• Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee (specific sin, not general admission of sin), and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.
• 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
• Beloved, there is forgiveness and cleansing when we are in the light with God. There is restoration and healing when we are in the light with one another.
• The cost of compromise is costly….the reward of obedience are beyond measure.