Good Morning Everyone! I am so excited to have finished another book of the Bible with such awesome friends and am so thankful for how God has inspired me through all of this.
I’m looking forward to many more days (years) of this!
Judges chapter 1
After Joshua's death, Israel sought the Lord on who should fight first in overtaking the Canaanites in the land that was promised to them. Judah was elected to go first and with the help of the Simmeonites, they were able to overtake many cities. But Judah and other tribes were not able to defeat all of the enemies. It says that Judah was not able to defeat those Canaanites who had chariots with iron. Other tribes were unable to drive out all the Canaanites as well. I'm a little puzzled by these comments because God instructed Israel to destroy the enemies and that they would defeat them. So why couldn't they defeat them?
Here are some thoughts that I have regarding why they were unable to overcome and defeat all the enemies.
1. Perhaps they lacked the leadership after Joshua died. Perhaps Joshua was a man who understood Gods vision and was able to encourage the men to be persistent when persistence was needed.
2. With Joshua gone perhaps it was a lack of confidence and an increase in fear that they lacked the motivation to be persistent when opposition hit hardest. I mean God delivered them from an enemy with chariots before. What was the reason they couldn't defeat them now?
3. Were they so used to depending upon a man leader that they struggled to trust God who they couldn't see. I feel I often know that God will provide a certain need but despite the fact that I know this in my mind my heart struggles with this truth. Perhaps because I can't see God. It's hard to trust what you can't see.
Battles can get very difficult. We can feel beat down and lose faith and confidence and then lose the desire to be persistent and not give up. We can't let circumstances around us dictate our decisions. We must always rely on the Holy Spirit especially in amongst a vicious battle that tends to knock down our faith and confidence. I feel many battles are lost that could have been won if we were persistent versus discouraged or fearful of the given situations or circumstances surrounding us.
I wrote yesterday about how the book of Joshua seemed to me to close in a positive way, but as we begin this new book, it looks like it’s going to be a whole different story. As I read through this first chapter, I could sense that there’s going to be trouble up ahead just like seeing a dark cloud approaching from the distance. The Israelites appear to have settled for not finishing the job that the Lord told them to do. They just seem content with “mixing in” with those around them. I agree with the points that Pastor Blair has already shared. Joshua did a good job with leading the people, but now without him, they have a leadership issue so I think they start to lose focus and lose the vision that they had. They eventually just do what is right in their own eyes instead of obeying the Lord. Check out Proverbs 29:18.
“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”
Sadly I think there are many similarities with where we find ourselves today in the United States. Many people just want to do what they think is right and they try to rebel against those who may have any authority over them. May we who are God’s people humble ourselves and pray for God to turn our nation back to Him.
I plan to share a parody from ApologetiX for each chapter of Judges.
We will start today with Welcome to the Judges, a parody of Welcome to the Jungle .
https://youtu.be/HgkSAX7hkWw
In our first chapter of Judges (which is entitled “Shopethaim” in Hebrew meaning “deliverers”), we see tribe after tribe failing to drive the evil Canaanites from their land. We too often fail to drive sin from our lives – we know what to do, we just don’t follow through. The children of Israel took their eyes off God, didn’t believe the promises He made to them and failed to obey His commands. Lord, search my heart, show me where I’m missing sin that needs to be addressed. Let me stay focused on loving You and living for You in each and every moment You’ve given me here on earth.
I’m reminded today that I shouldn’t lose sight of the promise of heaven. For those who don’t believe, life on earth is as good as it gets. For those of us who believe, life on earth is the worst it will ever be! No matter what problems we have today, the fact is we are going to heaven. Today we are one day closer than we were yesterday to the coming of our Lord. Amen and thank you, Jesus!