Judges 1:1-21
Prayer: Our Father, our hearts are prone to wander. We forget you. We neglect to seek You with our whole hearts. Please use this Word to stir us up, that we may hunger and thirst for You in all things, in Christ’ name, Amen.
Introduction
Judges opens with the death of Joshua, and Israel calling on the Lord. The book of Judges is largely a cautionary tale: it is all about the radical difference between the Lord being with you and the Lord not being with you: the difference between God being your king and having no king and doing whatever is right in your own eyes.
During the lifetime of Joshua, the Lord was with Israel and gave them victories over their enemies, but Judges will contrast that blessing with a declining cycle of God saving Israel, Israel forgetting God, not seeking God, and being oppressed by their enemies.
But the story opens with a warm reminder of the blessing that is possible for those who seek Him. Initially Israel sought the Lord, and He was with them.
The Text: “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? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand…” (Judges 1:1-20)
Summary of the Text
After Joshua died, Israel asked the Lord who should lead in continuing the conquest of the land, and the Lord indicated Judah (Judges 1:1-2). The tribe of Judah asked the tribe of Simeon to join them, and together they attacked the Canaanites in Bezek (Judges 1:3-4). The King of Bezek was defeated and fled, and when he was captured, he was incapacitated as a warrior, having his thumbs and big toes cut off, as he had done to 70 other kings (Judges 1:5-7).
From there, Judah took Hebron, a city famous for giants, led by Caleb, one of the leaders of Judah (cf. Josh. 14:6-12, Judges 1:20), and he shrewdly offered to give his daughter in marriage to the man who took a stronghold formerly known as the “City of Books,” probably a city of learning and administration (Judges 1:8-12). Othniel took the challenge and won his bride, Achsah, and Achsah significantly increased the prize by asking her father to throw in springs of water (Judges 1:13-15). The Kenites (Moses’ in-laws) moved into the inheritance of Judah, and Judah cleared most of the land because the Lord was with him (Judges 1:16-20). Only some of the inhabitants in the valley were not driven out because of their iron chariots, and Benjamin did not fully clear out Jerusalem (Judges 1:19, 21).
Seeking the Lord
The death of a great leader and generational transitions are always moments of potential instability or panic. It’s actually striking how many biblical books begin with this theme (e.g. Exodus, Joshua, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Acts), and the consistent message is that whatever changes, whoever dies or is taken away, God remains the same: whoever you have lost, God will never leave you or forsake you (Josh. 1:5, Heb. 13:5).
And Israel modeled great faithfulness at the death of Joshua by asking the Lord how they should continue the assignment of conquest (Judges 1:1). Notice that they did not ask whatthey should do; they knew the assignment. They asked, ‘who should now lead?’
God blessed this seeking of Him by giving the tribes a measure of unity, significant military victories, and fruitfulness in their families.
The Blessings of Seeking the Lord
Having sought the Lord, Judah invited Simeon to join him in the conquest of the land, and they fought together against the Canaanites (Judges 1:3, 17). Seeking the Lord and pursuing the mission of God is key to true unity. If you make unity the goal, you will get off mission and ultimately destroy unity, but if you make the mission of God the central thing, you will have the blessing of God and the blessing of unity with those who are committed to that mission. You can apply this to your marriage, your family, friendships, etc.
Similar to Jericho in the conquest of Canaan, God gave Judah the blessing of a great victory over Adoni-Bezek, which simply means “the Lord of Bezek.” We learn that this Canaanite King had conquered 70 other kings, indicating that he was a high king over many Canaanite nations (Judges 1:7). So this was a significant military accomplishment.
The conquest of Canaan is sometimes raised as some kind of moral problem for Christians, but this episode is very instructive: the Canaanite nations were a bloodthirsty and violent people (Gen. 15:16). The conquest was Divine justice. Here the King of Bezek condemns himself, acknowledging that he had tortured and deformed some 70 kings and Judah executed simple retributive justice (“eye for an eye”). Why thumbs and big toes? It completely incapacitates a warrior (can’t hold a sword/bow; can’t run/fight).
Finally, we see the blessing of fruitfulness in the families of Judah in particular. Caleb was one of the courageous and faithful spies (Num. 14), and Moses had promised Caleb that he would have his pick of the land (Josh. 14:6-9). Caleb had set his heart on the “City of Arba,” and Arba was the father of a race of giants/Anakims (Josh. 14:12-15). Caleb said, “if so the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out” (Josh. 14:12). That is the kind of faith all believers ought to have.
It’s striking that Caleb wasn’t even a biological Israelite; he was a Kenezite (Josh. 14:6), which was one the nations of Canaanites (Gen. 15:19). Caleb was apparently a convert or adopted by the tribe of Judah. This can also explain why it wasn’t quite as strange for his brother/cousin Othniel to marry his daughter Achsah.
While modern sensibilities can flinch at Caleb’s offer of his daughter, the logic is actually brilliant: Caleb knew there were many cowards and faithless men in Israel. He needed to find a faithful man, a courageous man, a man who trusted the Lord like he did (and clearly his daughter had inherited not a little of his ambition as well). So this wasn’t a bare contest of brute strength; it wasn’t treating his daughter as some kind of commodity: it was a test of faith. Caleb wanted a man who trusted God and a man that God was with. Caleb had seen over many years that Canaan could only be conquered by a courageous faith under the blessing of God. So Caleb said that he would give his daughter in marriage to the man that could prove that he had that kind of courageous faith and the blessing of God. Fathers, you may not have a literal city of giants to conquer, but you need to be thinking and praying like this about finding good men for your daughters. How will you know that they are men of faith and courage? How will you know that God is with them?
Applications
The book of Judges is largely a cautionary tale, warning about the results of not seeking the Lord and of turning to other gods. And our nation is a living example of the same cautionary tale. You cannot have any kind of long term political, economic, or social stability or prosperity apart from Jesus Christ.
The conquest of Canaan was a type of the Great Commission. Whereas Israel was commanded to take only Canaan, Jesus has commanded us to disciple all of the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded, and He will be with us (Mt. 28:18-20). As we face generational transitions, we must not falter, and we must seek the Lord. If the Lord is with us, we cannot fail. And our foundational unity must be with those committed to this mission. This mission is good for families and nations, but we must keep Christ first.
And the clearest test of God’s blessing on our labors is the generational handoff of our children in marriage and seeing God’s blessing on their households. But this is not something that you can start thinking about when your kids become teenagers or go into high school. Start now. Practice now. Talk about it now. Seek the Lord now.
Prayer: Lord, please turn our hearts to You. Like servants to their master, may our eyes be fixed on You, so that Your blessing may rest upon our families and on our nation, through Jesus Christ…
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