Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites. Judges 1:1-36

Transcription

1 1 Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites Judges 1:1-36

2 2 Introduction: Israel Fights the Remaining Canaanites I. Conservative scholars, many of them, seem to think that the book of Judges is not arranged in chronological order. A. Davis (p. 97) arranges the contents of the book in chronological order like this: 1. Chapters Chapters Chapters 3 16 B. The reason for the current arrangement is uncertain. II. The date of the events in this book has no unanimity among conservative scholars. A. Some think a 13 th century occurrence while others think the period of the Judges would begin sometime earlier, nearly 299 years earlier. III. Historical context of Judges: A. The books of Genesis Deuteronomy are books describing the birth of a nation through great men (prophets: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). 1. The family of Abraham, especially Jacob, was very small by the time the book of Genesis ends. 2. Also, this infant nation was now in Egypt.

3 For many years, under Egyptian bondage, the nation Israel grew rapidly. 4. Because of God s promise to Abraham, the Lord chose a great man to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. 5. This man was Moses! 6. The books of Exodus though Deuteronomy contain the story of Moses struggling to lead Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. 7. He actually led them to the eastern edge of God s promised land. 8. Moses died and his servant Joshua led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. 9. Joshua established a military foothold for the tribes to begin the eradication process of the peoples of the land. 10. God judged the Canaanites for their wickedness and He did so through His servant Israel. 11. Already, up to this point, Israel struggled with faithfully discharging her duties under a single great human leader. 12. Now they were without a single great human leader and their challenge was even greater. IV. One of the perplexing things that comes to the mind of the reader is why the format of the book?

4 4 A. There is this continued cycle of sin and redemption n the nation s life a little over 300 years in period of time. 1. David Dorsey ( the Literary Structure of the Old Testament, p. 105), in examining the structure of the book, says that this is a treatise of condemnation. 2. In other words, its form was on purpose according to Hebrew writing style of the time to show the only real hero of the book was God. 3. The relentless structuring pattern reflects the author s determination to emphasize the theme that the period of the judges was a bad time for Israel. 4. Israel s behavioral pattern during the period was not merely cylical (apostasy, oppression, deliverance by a judge, judge s death, apostasy) but a downward spiral, with the Israelites becoming worse with every cycle (Dorsey, p. 120). B. Something else that is noticed is there are 13 Judges in this book, but only 7 of them are given any detail concerning events in their life s; those 7 are: Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, Abimelech, Jephthah, and Samson. 1. The 5 Judges regarding whom little information is given are: Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. a. Of course, the question is why? b. Without being able to give a precise reason, perhaps we can say, simply, it was how the Holy Spirit wanted it revealed.

5 5 Text: Judges 1:1-36, 1. After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?" 2. The LORD answered, "Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands." 3. Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, "Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours." So the Simeonites went with them. 4. When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. 5. It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes. 7. Then Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them." They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8. The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire. 9. After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western foothills. 10. They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. 11. From there they advanced against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher). 12.And Caleb said, "I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher."

6 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage. 14. One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What can I do for you?" 15. She replied, "Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water." Then Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs. 16. The descendants of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms with the men of Judah to live among the people of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad. 17. Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their brothers and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah. 18. The men of Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron each city with its territory. 19. The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots. 20. As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. 21. The Benjamites, however, failed to dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites. 22. Now the house of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23. When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz), 24. the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, "Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well." 25. So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared the man and his whole family. 26. He then went to the land of the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.

7 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28. When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. 29. Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them. 30. Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor. 31. Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob, 32. and because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. 33. Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34. The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35. And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim, but when the power of the house of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36. The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond. (NIV) Commentary: I. The death of Joshua and the Lord s guidance as to what to do next. A. It is interesting that as the great leader, Joshua, passed from the pages of history, the people of Israel asked for another leader. 1. Only this time the Lord told the tribe of Judah to take the lead.

8 Judah and Simeon go up to fight and clear the land of the wicked people. B. Judah was the largest tribe and garnered much attention, though the birthright of the nation belonged to Joseph (1 Chronicles 5:1) Chronicles 5:1, The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, 2. On this occasion, the Lord wanted Judah to take the lead, just as they did when they had to lead against their tribal brother, Benjamin (Judges 20:18). a. Judges 20:18, The Israelites went up to Bethel and inquired of God. They said, "Who of us shall go first to fight against the Benjamites?" The LORD replied, "Judah shall go first." (NIV) 3. Judah takes the lead but gets to a point where they could not drive out the inhabitants entirely. a. Judges 1:19, The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots. (NIV) b. Why could they not do so? Was it because the omnipotent Lord was unable to deal with chariots of iron?

9 9 c. This would hardly be the case! It is more a matter of would not or something along the line of Joshua 7:12. i. Joshua 7:12, That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. (NIV) d. In either case, this sentiment plagued Israel for the remainder of the chapter and is a matter of did not drive out. 3. It is interesting to note that Israel was not strong enough to drive Israel s enemies out, but they were strong enough to oppress. a. Judges 1:28, 30, 33, 35, When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor. Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim, but when the power of the house of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. (NIV)

10 10 Questions Judges 1:1-36 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. Is the material in Judges arranged in chronological order? Give reasons for your answer. 2. If your answer to question 1 above is No, what is the correct chronological order for the material in Judges? Give reasons for your answer. 3. When did events in Judges occur? Give reasons for your answer. 4. In regard to Israel s history, what background information does Genesis Deuteronomy provide?

11 In regard to Israel s history, what background information does Joshua provide? 6. In regard to leadership, how does Judges differ from Genesis Joshua? 7. After the of, the asked the, Who will be the to go up and for us against the? 8. What answer was given to the above (#7) question? 9. What contract did Judah and Simeon make? Was this a wise agreement? Give reasons for your answer.

12 How did the battle between Israel and the Canaanite-Perizzite alliance turn out? 11. Who was Adoni-Bezek? What happened to him? What was the purpose of cutting off his thumbs and big toes? 12. What was Judah s next military objective? What was the outcome of this battle? 13. Locate and give the results of the battle described in verses 9, 10.

13 Locate Debir (Kiriath Sepher). What promise did Caleb make to the people? Who was Calab? How were Ascah and Othniel related? 15. What request did Acsah make of Caleb? How important was this? _ 16. Who were the Kenites? What is another name for the city of Palms? What did the Kenites do? 17. Where was Zephath? Why was its name changed to Hormah? What does Hermah mean? Who suggested that Zephath be attacked? 18. Locate Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron?

14 Why were the men of Judah and Simeon consistently able to be victorious? 20. Why could not the men of Judah drive the people from the plains? Wasn t God with them? 21. Why was Hebron given to Caleb? How old was he at this time? What did he have to do to take possession of it? Who was Anak? 22. How did the Benjamites fare against the Jebusites? How did they adjust to the situation? Did this please God? Why or why not?

15 Define, in terms of tribes, the house of Joseph. 24.Locate Bethel? How did the house of Joseph take possession of Bethel? 26. did not the of or or or or and their, for the were determined to in that. 27. How did Manasseh adjust to this situation? Did this accommodation please God? 28. What failure and accommodations are reported in this chapter regarding Ephraim, Zebulon, Asher and Naphtali? Was God pleased with this state of affairs?

16 What difficulties did the Danitas face? What was the outcome of this impasse? 30. What lessons are taught in Judges 1 which are applicable to the present age?