Judges 1
McGeeCHAPTERS 1 AND 2THEME: Introduction to the era of the judgesMentioned are nine of the twelve tribes, in chapter 1, in their failure to win a total victory in driving out the enemy. The three tribes not mentioned are Reuben, Issachar, and Gad. It must be assumed that they likewise failed. Each tribe faced a particular enemy. At no time was the entire nation engaged in a warfare against any particular enemy. The weakness of the tribes is first revealed in verse Jdg_1:3 where Judah called upon Simeon for help in his local situation.
Judges 1:1
THE CONDITION OF ISRAEL AFTER THE DEATH OF JOSHUAThe weakness of the tribes is revealed from the word go. They asked the Lord what they should do and who would go for them against the Canaanites. The Canaanites were well entrenched in the land because the Israelites had failed to drive them out. They were a thorn in Israel’s side during the reigns of Saul and David.
Judges 1:2
The Canaanites, apparently, were the principal enemy.
Judges 1:3
At first this looks like a fine sign of cooperation between Judah and Simeon, and it was, but it was also a sign of weakness. The tribe of Judah had no business asking for help to drive the Canaanites out of their particular portion of land. With God’s help they should have been able to do it. As a result, the Canaanites were never completely driven out of the land.
Judges 1:4
You would think that after this first step of victory the people in Judah would be confident that God would deliver their inheritance into their hands.
Judges 1:9
The town Debir was a center of culture for the Canaanite people. It is called the “town of books.” I guess the library was there.
Judges 1:12
Israel first took the hill country and held it the longest. The foothills, lying between the hill country and the coast, were the scene of constant fighting between Israel and the Canaanites. When the children of Israel settled in the Promised Land, they were subject to the influence and temptations of the Canaanite religion. It was a degrading religion, and they soon lapsed into idolatry and apostasy. Whoever took this city was promised a reward, and in this case it was Caleb’s daughter, Achsah. Grammatically, Othniel can be either Caleb’s nephew or younger brother, but his marriage to Achsah would also classify him as a son-in-law. He undoubtedly was chosen as a judge because of his relationship to Caleb. Nepotism was prevalent even in that day. If he had been the son-in-law of Joe Doakes, he probably would never have become a judge. Many men today occupy positions of prominence, not because of their ability, but because of a certain relationship or circumstance. Napoleon called himself a man of destiny. He became prominent because of the times in which he was born. If he had lived in our generation, probably he would have been unknown. So it was with Othniel. Nine of the twelve tribes mentioned in this chapter are mentioned in connection with failure. We have looked at the tribes of Judah and Simeon, and now Benjamin and Manasseh are the next to be considered. Failure is something that persisted in each one of the tribes.
Judges 1:21
That is, at the time this record was written.
Judges 1:27
The report is failure for each of them.
Judges 1:31
And they chased Dan up into the hill country.
Judges 1:34
This is the Promised LandGod had given it to them! Yet not one tribe, apparently, was able to possess the land that God had given to it. How tragic!