(1:1) An Unfinished Task - The people of Israel had finally entered and taken control of the land promised to their ancestors (Genesis 12:7; Exodus 3:16-17). The book of Judges continues the story of the conquest that began in the book of Joshua. Through God's strength, the Israelites had conquered many enemies and overcome many difficulties, but their work was not yet finished. They had effectively met many political and military challenges, but facing spiritual challenges was even more difficult. The unholy but attractive Canaanite way of life proved even more dangerous than their military might. The Israelites gave in to the temptations and compromised their faith. If we attempt to meet life's challenges in our own strength, we will find the pressures and temptations to blend into our culture too great to resist.

(1:2) A Need to Focus on the Lord - Soon after Joshua died, the Israelites began to lose ground on conquering the land. Although Joshua had been a great commander, the people missed his spiritual leadership even more than his military skill, for he had kept the people focused on God and his purposes. Joshua had been the obvious successor to Moses, but there was no obvious successor to Joshua. During this crisis of leadership, the Israelites had to learn that no matter how powerful and wise the current leader was, their real leader was God. We often pin our hopes on some influential leader, failing to realize that in reality it is God who is in command. Acknowledge God as your true ruler, and don't rely too heavily on human leaders, even if they seem to have spiritual wisdom.

 

(1:3) A Need to Seek the Lord - Everyone wants guidance in making tough decisions. The Israelites were no different. To ask God to guide their new nation, the elders probably gathered at the tabernacle in Shiloh, as they had done when the land was divided among the tribes (Joshua 18). There they may have used the Urim and Thummim to seek God's answers. These were two stones or plates made according to God's instructions and used to seek his guidance in making difficult decisions that involved the entire nation. They were used to take away human influence and allow God to make the choice.

 

(1:4) A Difficult Enemy - The Canaanites were all the people groups who lived in Canaan (the Promised Land). They lived in city-states where each city had its own government, army, and laws. One reason Canaan was so difficult to conquer was that each city had to be defeated individually. There was no single king who could surrender the entire country into the hands of the Israelites. Canaan's greatest threat to Israel was not its army but its religion. Canaanite religion idealized evil traits: cruelty in war, sexual immorality, selfish greed, and materialism. Obviously, the religions of Israel and Canaan could not coexist.

 

(1:2-20) The Lord Delivered Victory - The book of Joshua tells of a swift and thorough conquest of enemy armies and cities, while the book of Judges portrays a more lengthy and gradual conquest. When the Israelites first entered the Promised Land (Joshua 1-12), they united as one army to crush the inhabitants until their enemies were too weak to retaliate. Then, after the land was divided among the 12 tribes (Joshua 13-24), each tribe was responsible for driving out the remaining enemies from their own territories. The book of Judges tells of their failure to do this and why. Some tribes were more successful than others. Under Joshua, they were strong together, but soon most were sidetracked by fear, weariness, lack of discipline, or the pursuit of their own interests. The people also began to worship the gods of the Canaanites. As a result, their faith began to fade away, and "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). In order for our faith to survive, it must be practiced day by day and reach into every aspect of our lives. Beware of starting strong and then getting sidetracked from your real purpose-loving God and living for him.

 

(1:5) A Need to Work Together - The people of Judah asked the people of Simeon to join with them in clearing the land for both tribes. They collaborated to make the work easier for everyone and to keep each other encouraged. They were the only two tribes west of the Jordan River to voluntarily work together in this way. True collaboration between organizations is rare. In life and ministry, we should keep our eyes open for opportunities to work together that make sense.

 

(1:6-7)  A Half Hearted Effort - The maiming of Adoni-bezek was one example in a long string of actions that demonstrated Israel's half hearted and partial obedience to God's instructions. Enemy kings were supposed to be executed, not humiliated. This defeated king clearly recognized God's righteous punishment, but God's own people did not recognize the importance of obeying God's commands precisely. When we understand what God tells us to do, we put ourselves in great danger if we stop short of fully carrying it out.

 

(1:8) A Failed Conquest - Although the Israelites conquered Jerusalem, they did not occupy the city until the days of David, hundreds of years later (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

 

(1:12-15) A Record of Caleb's Faithfulness - This same event is recorded in Joshua 15:16-19. Caleb was one of the original spies who scouted out the Promised Land (Numbers 13-14), and he and Joshua had encouraged the people to conquer it. For his faithfulness, he was given the portion of land of his choice.

 

(1:19) A Payment for Sin - Why did God order the Israelites to drive the Canaanites from their land? Although the command seems cruel to our ears, the Israelites were under God's order to execute judgment on these wicked people. The other nations were to be judged for their sin as God had judged the Israelites by forcing them to wander for 40 years before they were allowed to enter the Promised Land. About 700 years earlier, God had suggested to Abraham that when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the gross evil of the native people would be ready for judgment (Genesis 15:16). But God didn't excuse the Israelites; eventually they, too, would be severely punished for becoming as evil as the people they had been ordered to drive out (2 Kings 17; 25; Jeremiah 6:18-19; Ezekiel 8). God is not partial; all people are eligible for his gracious forgiveness as well as for his firm justice.

 

(1:20) Israel's Fighting Strategy - Canaanite chariots pulled by horses were among the most sophisticated weapons of the day. Israelite foot soldiers were absolutely powerless when a speeding iron chariot bore down upon them. This is why Israel preferred to fight in the hills, where chariots couldn't venture.

 

(1:21-36) A Failure to Completely Obey - Tribe after tribe failed to drive the evil Canaanites from their land. Why didn't they follow through and completely obey God's commands? There could be a few reasons: (1) They had been fighting for a long time and were tired. Although the goal was in sight, they lacked the discipline and energy to reach it. (2) They were afraid the enemy was too strong--the iron weapons and chariots seemed invincible. (3) After Joshua's death, power and authority were decentralized to the tribal leaders, and the tribes were no longer unified in purpose. (4) Spiritual decay had infected them from within. They thought they could handle the temptation and be more prosperous by making treaties and doing business with the Canaanites. (5) They did not seek God as often and prayed for direction before battles as they had done under Joshua. We, too, often choose to tolerate sin rather than drive it from our lives. We may know what to do but just not follow through. This results in a gradual deterioration of one's relationship with God. In our battles, we may grow tired and want to rest, but we need more than a break from our work. We need to know that God loves us and has given us a purpose. Victory comes from living according to his purpose and being willing to fully obey him.

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we Start the book of Judges with Chapter 1 and we see the Military Failure of Israel and the Incomplete conquest of the land as Israel fails to drive out the enemy. Many application can be made from the text but what catches my eye is failure to drive out the enemy from the promise land. In applying it today in our lives we see the need to drive sin out of our lives. If we allow "little" sins to abide in our lives it will come back to defeat us just as it did the nation of Israel. What we need to embrace is that all sin is bad for us. The smallest white lie nailed Jesus to Cross and we must drive it out of our lives. "Little Sins" remind me of rip tides in the ocean. You are told not to swim in them but when you do - before you know it they will take you out to sea. How about you? What is your view on "little sins"? Let us learn from our text today and drive out all sin from our lives.