July 10, 2023

We like to polish up disobedience by calling it "partial obedience."

Judges 1

Chris Henschen
Monday's Devo

July 10, 2023

Monday's Devo

July 10, 2023

Monday's Devo

July 10, 2023

Monday's Devo

July 10, 2023

Big Idea

Failure: Doing what's right in your own eyes.

Key Verse | Judges 1:28

When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

Judges 1

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the LORD, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The LORD said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” 3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.

8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. 9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. 1 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. 19 And the LORD was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into 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 and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

Failure to Complete the Conquest

27 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 persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward.

Footnotes

[1] 1:17 Hormah means utter destruction

"Why does Judah invite Simeon to join?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Judges 1

Oftentimes when I'm reading the Bible (especially the Old Testament), I catch myself saying, "Just do what God asked you to do." Then I take a step back and realize just how often God has asked me to do something, but instead of following His plan, I tell God what part of His plan I'm going to follow and what part I'm going to take care of myself. (Because I know better than God's plan, right?)

From the beginning of Judges, we see Israel's need for a righteous king. Instead of a king, we see God appoint the tribe of Judah to take the lead. We then see Judah's "success" (Judges 1:4-10, 17) at conquering other tribes. In verse Judges 1:19, we see Judah take an unfavorable turn as they are unable to drive out the inhabitants of the plain. This episode shows their failure in fully following God's command to "devote them to complete destruction." (Deuteronomy 7:1-5) They tried their best, right? But who can win against chariots of iron? But that's not what God had instructed. He didn't say devote them to complete destruction . . . unless they have chariots of iron. God said to do this, and Israel chose the sin of disobedience instead.

From Judges 1:27 to the end of the chapter we see the words "did not drive out" seven different times. This shows Israel's continued disobedience, humanity, and sinful nature. Instead of being totally devoted and obedient to God's commands, they partially followed and instead did what was easier. Their failure opened the door for even bigger issues. In the case of Dan, the tribe was actually pushed out of its inheritance (Judges 1:34). This led the Israelites into continuous sin cycles of apostasy and its associated consequences as a result of following Canaanite practices and intermarrying. This chapter of Judges is the tipping point foreshadowing Israel's eventual destruction and their need for an ultimate Savior.

This month's memory verse

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

– James 3:17

Discussion Questions

1. What are clear instructions God has given us in our lives as believers?

2. Looking back at your life, what consequences have you endured as a result of not following God's instructions?

3. Where in your life are you partially obedient to God's instructions?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Chris! Great to see you on The Journey today! Great points made throughout. And great thought-provoking questions. I have seen that God’s call to me very seldom takes me on the easiest path. And virtually never takes me on even an easy path, (Mathew 7:13-14). Q1. There are a lot of ways to answer this question. But it’s just different versions of the same answer. For me I’d say His clear instructions are to proclaim, witness, and teach; (Psalm 71:18, Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:19-20). I can only live that out if I am fully surrendered to Him. There is no point where part of what I want is what He commands and the other part is for me. Why would I do this? Because it’s the only path to the joy, peace, and rest He promises. We’ve seen in the first 4 books we’ve read that all other paths are dead end, (Proverbs 14:12). Q2. God has told me that the only important element of my life is my relationships. So, that has been the place where all the consequences of my bad choices have come. Marriage, parenting, siblings, workplace team issues, etc. Seeking self-service over His service is what got me to Re:gen, Prodigal and men’s abortion recovery. Q3. Short answer…everywhere. Longer answer, when I must have a hard conversation with one of my adult children or other family member or close friend. Way too often the convo is necessary because I have not lived up to God’s calling for me in the relationship.
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Hugh Stephenson

Did I have a drinking problem? A message a few years ago answered the question. I did not have a drinking problem. Or an anger problem. Or a porn problem. Or a control problem. Or a parenting problem. Or a relationship problem. I didn’t even have a marriage problem. I had a JESUS problem. And I brought that “problem" into every relationship. Which is exactly what Satan wants, (Genesis 3:1). I craved peace, comfort, security. Like the Israelites I was convinced that material prosperity was the key. Hard lesson: The Stuff Is Never Enough, (Matthew 6:19-21). The notes indicate that the Canaanites were a very prosperous culture. And that it would be understandable for the Israelites to be very attracted to it. I totally get that. And all too well. How much would I compromise to have the stuff I wanted and the external life that the culture revered? (Galatians 1:10). Just about enough to put everything that really mattered at risk. Only at my Luke 15:16 bottom did I finally give up. Even then, like the Israelites, I would be faced with a life of cultural opposition stronger than a Category 5 hurricane. I had, and still have, ZERO power to resist and fight. Only embracing the truth that a heart crushed by sin and rebellion could bring me to the point of total and unconditional surrender. The Israelites were told by Joshua that God had fulfilled His promise and that now it was their call to possess the land. They wouldn’t have Moses, Joshua, or Caleb. But they would have Yahweh, the covenant-keeping relational God, at their side. And that’s enough. Material problem solved by a spiritual solution. Except they didn’t live it out. Neither did I. The powerful gift of choice was what I/they used for material pleasures over spiritual obedience. I get that battle. In recent years God has brought me many victories. And I have brought some of my own crushing defeats. By His grace His victories are overwhelming, (Lamentations 3:23)
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Hugh Stephenson

From the notes- “Joshua reveals that victory, success, and progress result when God's people trust and obey Him consistently. Judges shows that defeat, failure, and retrogression follow when they fail to trust and obey consistently. In this respect, Joshua and Judges are like two sides of one coin. The former is a positive lesson (heads) and the latter a negative one (tails).” "This book is ... quite negative: it begins bleakly, continues darkly, and ends horribly."[25] Judges portrays the deterioration of the nation of Israel: what caused it, the course it followed, and the consequences that resulted. The Israelites failed because their hearts turned from Yahweh, and then their heads forsook His covenant.”
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Michael Sisson

As you read Judges 1, don’t miss the irony that extends into Jdg 2:3. Re: Jdg 1:6-7 Jdg 1:6-7 (NASB) But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and >>>cut off his thumbs and big toes.<<< Adoni-bezek said, >>>“Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off<<< used to gather up scraps under my table; >>>as I have done, so God has repaid me.”<<< So they brought him to Jerusalem and he died there. Anyone familiar with the story of Judah and Tamar (Gen 37:32; 38:25; note: “recognize and identify”) already knows >>>G-d has a history of repaying people in their own coin.<<< Re: Jdg 1:27-34 Israel fails to drive out the indigenous peoples as G-d commanded, instead allowing them to remain as “forced labor.” Israel will incur G-d’s judgment for it. (See Jdg 2:2-3) Ironically, it is Israel who will end up serving the gods of those they made forced laborers. (See Jdg 2:3b). >>>Again, G-d has a habit of repaying people in their own coin.<<<
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Michael Scaman

It appears adonai Bezek (maybe a scrambled version of Zedek meaning rightous, he doesn't sound righteous so maybe they played wit his name) was harsh with others and realized it because he agreed he was judged. Caleb was in the dry Negev, of course is daughter was wise to ask for springs. And Caleb got a brave son in law offering her to the one who takes a city. Not every tribe victorious in driving out the Canaanites. They conquered Bethel but had a man betray his city with the promise of saving his family. The man went to the Hittites and founded Luz. Not sure if that was a positive story or a negative one. Or maybe it goes with the territory of Judges where every man did that which was right in their own eyes.
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Sue Bohlin

Super devo, Chris, thank you. Judges is such a sad book filled with one failure after another. (But it's a great book to commend to boys who like blood and guts and gore . . .) This time as I read today's chapter, I was struck by the parallel to how easily we can forget the lessons we learn about pressing hard into Jesus and learning to abide in Him. The 6 times we read that the Israelites did not drive out the inhabitants of Canaan, is like the besetting sins that we don't take seriously and we let them be a part of our lives, allowing their roots to remain in our habits and behaviors. Every time someone realizes it would be good to go through re:generation again, it's because they didn't deal with "the last 2%." They didn't drive out the inhabitants of their internal real estate, giving them permanent resident status instead.
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Amy Lowther

1. God wants believers listening to Him and using His words wisely in daily life. 2. If I don’t listen to God, things go wrong. 3. Currently I give full obedience to God.