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Judges chapter 1, we're going 
to look at chapter 1 up to chapter 2, verse 6. It is a lengthy portion, 
but chapters 1 and 2 as a whole basically introduce the book. 
It gives us the background for what we find in the larger part 
of the book from chapters 3 to 16, the various cycles of sin, 
oppression, and deliverance by God. And then chapter one specifically 
deals with the conquest, the incomplete nature of the conquest, 
which serves as the context of their apostasy. So there's a 
lot of emphasis on geography in chapter one. There's a reason 
for that, a theological reason. The fact that they failed to 
do what God had told them to do ultimately lays the foundation 
for what we then find in chapter 2, their religious apostasy, 
their defection from God. In other words, they didn't dispossess 
the land of the Canaanites, so it wasn't long before they were 
bowing down before the gods of the Canaanites. And as a result 
of that, that then initiates those cycles that we talked about 
last week. So I'll just pick up reading 
in chapter 1 of Judges, beginning in verse 1. Now, after the death 
of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel asked 
the Lord, saying, who shall be first to go up for us against 
the Canaanites to fight against them? And the Lord said, Judah 
shall go up. Indeed, I have delivered the 
land into his hand. So Judah said to Simeon, his 
brother, come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may 
fight against the Canaanites. And I will likewise go with you 
to your allotted territory. And Simeon went with him. Then 
Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites 
into their hands. And they killed 10,000 men at 
Bezek. And they found Adonai Bezek in 
Bezek and fought against him. And they defeated the Canaanites 
and the Perizzites. Then Adonai Bezek fled, and they 
pursued him and caught him. and cut off his thumbs and big 
toes. And Adonai Bezek said, 70 kings 
with their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps 
under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid 
me. and they brought him to Jerusalem 
and there he died. Now the children of Judah fought 
against Jerusalem and took it. They struck it with the edge 
of the sword and set the city on fire. And afterward, the children 
of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the 
mountains, in the south and in the lowland. Then Judah went 
against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. Now the name of Hebron 
was formerly Kirjath Arba, and they killed Sheshai, Ahiman, 
and Talmai. From there they went against 
the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly 
Kirjath Sefer. And Caleb said, whoever attacks 
Kirjath Sefer and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Eksa 
as wife. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, 
Caleb's younger brother, took it. So he gave him his daughter 
Eksa as wife. Now it happened when she came 
to him that she urged him to ask her father for a field. And 
she dismounted from her donkey and Caleb said to her, what do 
you wish? So she said to him, give me a blessing, since you 
have given me land in the south, give me also springs of water. 
And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. 
Now the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, went up 
from the city of Palms with the children of Judah into the wilderness 
of Judah, which lies in the south near Arad. And they went and 
dwelt among the people. And Judah went with his brother 
Simeon, and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath 
and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called 
Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with its 
territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its 
territory. So the Lord was with Judah. And 
they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out 
the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of 
iron. And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had said. Then 
he expelled from there the three sons of Anak. But the children 
of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. So the Jebusites dwell with the 
children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day. And the house of 
Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. So 
the house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. The name of 
the city was formerly Luz. And when the spies saw a man 
coming out of the city, they said to him, please show us the 
entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy. So he showed 
them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with 
the edge of the sword. But they let the man and all 
his family go. And the man went to the land of the Hittites, 
built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name to 
this day. However, Manasseh did not drive 
out the inhabitants of Bathshean and its villages, or Tanak and 
its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the 
inhabitants of Iblim and its villages, or the inhabitants 
of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites were determined 
to dwell in that land. And it came to pass when Israel 
was strong that they put the Canaanites under tribute, but 
did not completely drive them out. Nor did Ephraim drive out 
the Canaanites who dwelt in Getzer. So the Canaanites dwelt in Getzer 
among them. Nor did Zebulun drive out the 
inhabitants of Ketron, or the inhabitants of Nahalal. So the 
Canaanites dwelt among them and were put under tribute. Nor did 
Asher drive out the inhabitants of Akko, or the inhabitants of 
Sidon, or Aleb, or Aqzib, or Helba, Afik, or Rahab. So the 
Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, 
for they did not drive them out. Nor did Naphtali drive out the 
inhabitants of Beth Shemesh or the inhabitants of Beth Anath, 
but they dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. 
Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath 
were put under tribute to them. And the Amorites forced the children 
of Dan into the mountains, for they would not allow them to 
come down to the valley. And the Amorites were determined 
to dwell in Mount Harris, and Eijalon, and in Shelbim. Yet 
when the strength of the house of Joseph became greater, They 
were put under tribute. Now the boundary of the Amorites 
was from the ascent of Akrabim from Sela and upward. Then the 
angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, I led 
you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore 
to your fathers. And I said, I will never break 
my covenant with you and you shall make no covenant with the 
inhabitants of this land. You shall tear down their altars. 
but you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you done this? Therefore, 
I also said, I will not drive them out before you, but they 
shall be thorns in your side and their God shall be a snare 
to you. So it was when the angel of the Lord spoke these words 
to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their 
voices and wept. And they called the name of that 
place Bokim, and they sacrificed there to the Lord. And when Joshua 
had dismissed the people, the children of Israel went each 
to his own inheritance to possess the land. Amen. Now, verse 6 
we'll deal with right off the bat. It just simply connects 
us with Joshua. It doesn't mean that Joshua is 
still alive at this particular point. I think it's just a summary 
statement and a transition statement to bring us from the covenant 
ratification ceremony in Shechem in Joshua 24 to introduce the 
apostasy of what we find in chapter 2 beginning in verse 7. So it's 
a transition statement. It's not suggesting that Joshua 
is here alive at this particular juncture in Israel's history. Just so we're tracking there, 
if you see that he's dead in Judges 1.1, how is Joshua here 
in 2.6 to dismiss the people? Well, obviously, if you and I 
spotted something like that, the narrator, the author himself, 
understood that. I think it's a literary device, 
as I said, simply to connect the two books together. We have 
a positive statement in Joshua 24, they swear their fidelity 
to the covenant and to the covenant Lord. And here beginning in chapter 
2 at verse 7, it starts to detail their defection and disobedience 
to God in the covenant. So that's kind of what's going 
on there in verse 6. Now as we take up this particular 
chapter, as I said, chapters 1 and 2 as a whole are introductory. Chapter 1 summarizes Israel's 
conquest of Canaan and specifically emphasizes the incomplete nature 
of that conquest. It's because of the reality that 
they did not dispossess the land of the Canaanites in violation 
to what God had said in Deuteronomy 7 And in other places, that provided 
the context or the framework for the apostasy from God that 
then follows in the rest of the book. Now, chapter one is primarily 
structured according to geography. Basically, it starts in the south, 
moves to the central, and ends up in the north. We begin with 
Judah and Simeon. Remember that Simeon is a smaller 
tribe. basically finds its place inside 
of Judah. They are fraternal brothers or 
they are real brothers. Both of them are sons of Jacob 
and Leah. So then moving up from there 
we see the exploits of Judah and then we see this interlude 
between Benjamin and then the house of Joseph, and then it 
goes up to the northern tribes. So that's kind of the flow, at 
least geographically, in Judges chapter 1. Literarily, it's kind 
of an interesting structure. Basically, it's historical narrative. They go from place to place to 
place. But there are three human interest stories sort of inserted 
along the way. This instance of a pagan governor, 
this Adonai Bezek. Then this hero's daughter, Eksa, 
in the Caleb narrative. And then later on, this Canaanite 
spy in verses 22 to 26. So there is this narrative just 
basically listing places and whether they won or not. But 
then there's these three stories sort of punctuating the whole 
thing. just, I think, to show us the slice of life, the reality 
that these things took place in a historical context. It affected 
real-life human beings. And we'll look at that as we 
move along. Just one quote from a man by 
the name of Daryl Block. He says, the author devotes the 
most time and space to Judah and Simeon in the south and Joseph. But reflective of Benjamin's 
geographic position, this tribe is sandwiched between these two. 
Thereafter, the narration mentioned successfully the northern tribes, 
ending with Dan in the far north. So that's kind of the way it's 
structured, as I said, in chapter 1. So we'll look at, first of 
all, the presence of God. I think that is conspicuous that 
we need to see and appreciate in this particular chapter, the 
priority of God's presence among his people. Secondly, we'll look 
at the exploits of Judah. Thirdly, the failure of the remaining 
tribes And then fourthly, the divine response to Israel in 
chapter 2, specifically verses 1 to 5. So first, notice the 
presence of God, verse 1. Now after the death of Joshua, 
it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, 
who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to 
fight against them. So Joshua is dead. But as we've 
noted along the way, when a good leader dies, it doesn't mean 
the people are abandoned. It doesn't mean the people are 
now on their own. It's still a theocracy. That 
means it's a people ruled directly by God the Lord. So in the absence 
of Joshua, they then call upon the commander-in-chief. They 
ask him specifically who shall be first to go up for us against 
the Canaanites to fight against them. And it's a very positive 
way that this book starts. I mean, in chapter 1, verses 
1 and 2, it seems like everything is going to go along according 
to plan. God is with them, God answers 
them, God directs them, God punctuates or highlights the reality that 
he is present with his people, but we see that as we move on 
from this particular vantage point, everything radically declines. Again, Bloch says, the opening 
scene of the book offers so much promise. Joshua dies, but they 
ask the Lord. He goes on to say, the theocratic 
system is still in place, Israel is sensitive to the will of God, 
and God responds to the overtures of His people. In its present 
position, after the book of Joshua, the reader expects a continuation 
of the triumphant narrative encountered in the previous book. When we 
read verses 1 and 2, we think everything's just going to continue 
on the way that it did. But we know that man is a sinful 
being. Man rebels against God. In fact, this book of Judges 
is very interesting in that particular way. Remember in the book of 
Deuteronomy, they're told to obey, and they will get blessed. They're told if they disobey, 
they will be cursed. Now, of course, they disobey, 
and they do get cursed. There is oppression. There is 
repercussion for their sins. But there's still deliverance. 
The emphasis is always upon the grace and the mercy and the kindness 
and the goodness of God. Every act of deliverance that 
you find through these human judges is affected by a God who 
is full of kindness toward his people. The book really highlights, 
yes, the depravity of man, the wickedness of man, and his rebellion 
and rejection of God, but it highlights the gracious character 
and the kindness of our God. As the author will demonstrate 
throughout the book, God typically operates on Israel's behalf in 
mercy and grace. not in terms of a payment for 
their obedience or for their merit. Certainly the Israelites 
should have been the loudest singers of amazing grace, how 
sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, because they were certainly 
not faithful to the obligations imposed upon them by their covenant 
God. So the Lord directs them. Verse 
2, the Lord said, Judah shall go up. Indeed, I have delivered 
the land into his hand. So God not only directs them, 
but God has delivered them. He gives this assurance that 
Judah shall go up. Indeed, I have delivered the 
land into his hand. And then again in verse four, 
the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their 
hand. So you see, when we come to this 
book of Judges, who's the first and primary character that we 
need to focus upon? It is upon the Lord God. He has 
not left his people. Joshua is gone, but their God 
is still upon His throne, and He is still leading His people. 
And then He highlights the fact that He's present with them. 
Notice in verse 19, so the Lord was with Judah. And then again 
in verse 22 at the house of Joseph, the Lord was with them. So even 
in the midst of the trials and the difficulties that Israel 
faces, God, the Lord, is present with His people. It truly is 
an encouraging look at the way that God has purpose to be among 
his people. Now note secondly the exploits 
of Judah, and this is broken down into two broad categories. First is the upper campaign and 
then second is the lower. Notice the upper, verses 4 to 
8. So Judah said to Simeon his brother, 
come up with me to my allotted territory that we may fight against 
the Canaanites. Certainly this is a good thing 
here. Fraternal relations are a good thing, not just physically, 
but I hope that we can appreciate something of the spiritual element 
involved with this. Churches, people of God, individuals, 
ought to engage in unity when it comes to battling our common 
foe. When it comes to thwarting Satan 
or resisting Satan or fighting against the gates of hell, it 
ought to be the people of God, not the person of God. We ought 
to be like those locusts. We have a king, but we ought 
to advance with cooperation. There ought to be that endeavoring 
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Judah realizes 
the task is great, so they tell Simeon, why don't you come with 
us, help us to decimate our foe, and then we will, in kind, come 
along and help you also. It is a good pattern that we 
ought to follow here. And then verse 4 says, Judah 
went up and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites 
into their hand and they killed 10,000 men at Bezach. And they 
found Adonai Bezach, this would be the Lord of Bezach, or the 
governor, the mayor, whatever his particular title is, but 
Adonai is lord of Bezek in Bezek. They fought against him and they 
defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. Then Adonai Bezek 
fled and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs 
and big toes. Now there's a problem here, isn't 
there? If we weren't online, I'd say, 
what was the problem? You'd say, well, it sounds like 
they're engaging in warfare similar to Canaan. They're cutting off 
toes and they're cutting off bums and all. They should have 
cut off nothing but his head. Their task, according to Deuteronomy 
7, is to destroy the king. It's not to capture him. It's 
not to incapacitate and humiliate him, which is more than likely 
what that means, to cut off his toes and his thumbs. Certainly 
you're incapacitated without thumbs and without big toes. 
You'd fall over and you wouldn't be able to pick things up. That's 
a very incapacitating situation. But as well it would be quite 
humiliating for the Lord of Bezek to now not be able to put on 
his own hat or tie his own shoes and to get extra special shoes 
because he no longer has a big toe to stuff in those shoes. But they should have never got 
to this point. They should have killed him. 
You see, with the exploits of Judah, already we're seeing they're 
not being faithful. They're not doing what they're 
told. Our task is not to be innovative. Our task is not to be creative. 
Our task is to obey what God the Lord says. If He tells you 
to go in and kill everybody in Bezek, you go in and you kill 
everybody in Bezek. Now, I must say and qualify that 
in the New Covenant we are not under the obligation to engage 
in a physical holy war. We will never be told to go into 
Bezek and kill Adonai Bezek. We will never be told to go and 
kill Adonai Chilliwack or Adonai Abbotsford or Adonai... Vancouver. That is simply not corresponding 
to what we have to face today. But in this theocracy, in this 
old covenant arrangement, in this particular situation, they 
were tasked, they were charged, they were commanded to go in 
and utterly destroy and to utterly kill these people. They defeat the Canaanites and 
Perizzites, they caught Adonai Bezek, they cut off his thumbs 
and his big toes, and they brought him to Jerusalem, and eventually 
he dies. Does he die as a result of blood 
loss? Does he die because they finished 
the job back in Jerusalem there? We simply do not know. But something 
that is very intriguing is this. Note that Adonai Bezek interprets 
things theologically. This pagan king or pagan governor 
in pagan Bizek thinks more theologically than probably a lot of Christians 
do today. Note what he says in verse 7. Adonai Bizek said, 70 kings with 
their thumbs and big toes cut off used to gather scraps under 
my table. How come they got there? It's 
because he was responsible for cutting off their thumbs and 
cutting off their big toes. He knew that. Now note what he 
says, as I have done, so God has repaid me. Now probably he 
does not mean by this Yahweh of Israel. He probably means 
his own God. Perhaps he means the God of Israel. He doesn't use the covenant name 
Yahweh. He does use the generic name, 
or the general name rather, for God, Elohim. But it is very intriguing 
that this pagan, way back then, is thinking theologically. He's 
interpreting things according to something transcendent, something 
outside of himself. And what he does perceive is 
absolutely accurate. He says, as I have done, so God 
has repaid me. Adonai Bezek had the doctrine 
of accountability before the living and true God. He may not 
have agreed with all the particulars of the theology of the Apostle 
Paul, but certainly he would give the nod when Paul says, 
therefore, we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ 
to give an account of deeds done in the body, whether good or 
bad. Adonai Bezek interpreted things 
theologically. Not that he ought to be our hero, 
but rather it ought to show us how far we have fallen. You know, 
a couple of hundred years ago, everybody just gave the nod to 
things like providence. They gave the nod to the fact 
that the Bible was the Word of God. It's hard to find Christians 
today in some sectors that will affirm the providence of God 
and the fact that the Bible is indeed the Word of the living 
God itself. So certainly, Adonai Bezek could 
teach us something about responsibility before the God of heaven and 
earth. And then notice they've got victory 
at Jerusalem. Verse 8, now the children of 
Jerusalem fought against Jerusalem and took it, they struck it with 
the edge of the sword and set the city on fire." Now, if you 
are paying attention to the reading, you might perceive a bit of a 
difference to what we find in verse 21. Look at verse 21. But the children of Benjamin 
did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. So the 
Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this 
day. It's two different types of things 
going on here. The tribes of Judah and Simeon 
took Jerusalem. They decimated its population. They broke the back, essentially, 
of the resistance. In Benjamin's case, they did 
not possess the city's residents. And therefore, they did not possess 
and control the city according to verse 21. Davis makes this 
perceptive comment. What has been taken by Judah may later need to be retaken 
in order to possess it completely. Unless a site was settled when 
it was taken, the remnant of the conquered town could filter 
back and control it again. So we go in, We conquer, but 
we don't dispossess. We don't utterly destroy. Then 
what's going to happen? What will happen is that these 
people will come back. And that's what faced Benjamin. 
And they were unable at this point to drive out these particular 
Jebusites. So there's no contradiction. 
It's just that entry or that initial conquest, there's a mop-up 
task that needs to be done that wasn't done successfully or effectively. But again, we're tracing out 
the exploits of Judah here. Now notice, in verse 9, we have 
a bit of a summary and outline for up to verse 20. And afterward, 
the children of Judah went down to fight against, there's three 
regions here, the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, in 
the south, and in the lowland. And that's how the remainder 
of this section flows out. They fought against the Canaanites 
who dwelt in the mountains, in the south, and in the lowlands. 
So that's what's going on here. Verse 10, victory in Hebron. Verses 11 to 15, victory at Debir. This is the instance with Caleb. 
This is an interesting situation as well. Caleb said, whoever 
attacks Kirjath-sephir and takes it, to him I will give my daughter 
Eksa as wife. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, 
Caleb's younger brother, took it. So he gave him his daughter 
Eksa as wife. Now it happened when she came 
to him that she urged him to ask her father for a field, and 
she dismounted from her donkey. And Caleb said to her, what do 
you wish? So she said to him, give me a blessing, since you 
have given me land in the south, give me also springs of water. 
The land that was given to them was a deserty-type place. And 
she understood that, and she wanted a place with springs. 
See, sometimes we jump into a passage like this and say, wow, that 
seems pretty beastly. Here this man promises his daughter 
to somebody who'll go in and invade tribes. And we think, 
well, that just wouldn't flow in the 21st century. We have 
a much more positive view of women. This is a very positive 
view of this particular woman. to be sure. In fact, women pretty 
much fare very well in the book of Judges. I mean, it's J.L. and Deborah and lots of good 
things going on in terms of ladies in the book of Judges. There's 
whole studies on ladies in the book of Judges. Some feminists 
take the ladies in the book of Judges and try to make the case 
for feminism from the book of Judges. All that to say, what 
we find here is quite an interesting story. Caleb was committed to 
the agenda of conquest. Caleb was also committed to securing 
a good husband for his daughter, right? You would want her to 
have a faithful man. You would want her to have a 
faithful warrior. You would want her to have a 
noble man. Notice as well that when Exa 
makes this request, Caleb gives it to her. Caleb says to her, 
according to verse 14, what do you wish? And Caleb gave her 
the upper springs and the lower springs. This woman was savvy. 
She knew that giving us this Negev-like or this south-like 
piece of land, it is wilderness, it is deserted. If we don't have 
water, we won't be able to sustain our family. Exa does not express 
concern over being devalued as a person. That's not where her 
concern lies. Her concern is completely legit 
in terms of, I just want to make sure I have water so that I can 
wash diapers and make sure that my kids, you know, eat and drink 
and do everything they're going to need to do. Both Aixa and 
Caleb come out of this particular passage quite nobly. Aixa does 
express concern at an apparent inadequacy in terms of the land. And Aixa very respectfully, very 
honorably, and yet very firmly asks, please give me also springs 
of water. And Caleb delivers to her in 
this regard. Again, human interest. These 
are real people, real-life folk, conquering a particular land 
with real-life interests. I can't have a piece of land 
that doesn't have any water. I need water to sustain land 
and to sustain my life. You see, what we find here in 
Chapter 1 is bouncing from place to place to place with occasional 
stops along the way to hear a bit of theology from a pagan governor 
and to see a real-life mead in the life of Exa a hero's daughter 
that will ultimately marry off the L and live, hopefully, happily 
ever after. You see, what Judges does is 
it not only gives us the facts, but it weaves throughout all 
of the interesting things that make us want to read all of these 
details in this narrative so that it's exciting for us. Now 
notice, the south, verse 16. The children of Kenite, Moses' 
father-in-law, went up from the city of Palms, that's probably 
Jericho, with the children of Judah into the wilderness of 
Judah, which lies in the south near Ered. And they went and 
dwelt among the people. Again, foreshadow. Were they 
supposed to go and dwelt among the people? No, they were supposed 
to go and kill the people, get rid of the people, and then dwell. 
We're all along the way seeing this, aren't we? It's just old 
hat for us as we're reading. It gets even more prominent when 
we get to these northern tribes. In the lowland, verse 17 rather, 
is at Horma, Judah went with his brothers Simeon and they 
attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed 
it, so the name of the city was called Horma. And then the Philistine 
region in verse 18, the coastal lowland, they take Gaza, Ashkelon, 
and Ekron. Verses 19 and 20 sort of summarize 
for us in this particular respect. So the Lord was with Judah. They 
drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the 
inhabitants of the lowland because they had chariots of iron. Now 
it doesn't explain all of the particulars there, but we have 
to make a bit of an implication. If God was with them and they 
could not drive out the chariots, whose problem was it? It wasn't 
God's. Perhaps they were paralyzed with 
fear. Perhaps they failed to trust 
in the living and true God. The author does not tell us why, 
but the statement of verse 19a would indicate that the people 
of Israel, specifically the Judahites here, feared the men who had 
the iron chariots. They didn't fear the God, ultimately, 
who was sovereign over the men in the iron chariots. It doesn't 
matter if our enemies have iron chariots. It doesn't matter if 
they're 10 feet tall and they swing a battle axe that can knock 
us into next week. It doesn't matter what the enemies 
of God have if we have the Lord on our side. We have everything. The Apostle highlights this in 
Romans the 8th chapter. If God be for us, what can man 
do? Certainly these people needed 
a good healthy dose of faith. in what Paul speaks of there 
in Romans chapter 8. And then in verse 20, they gave 
Hebron to Caleb as Moses had said, then he expelled from there 
the three sons of Anak. Again, a summary statement concerning 
the final allotment to Caleb. We've seen that in the book of 
Joshua. So there is the exploits of Judah. Now notice the failure of the 
remaining tribes in verses 21 to 36. block again says, in verse 21, 
the tone changes. Notice. But the children of Benjamin 
did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. So the 
Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this 
day. Notice, dropping down in verses 
27 and following. Manasseh did not drive out. Ephraim did not drive out. Zebulun 
did not drive out. Asher did not drive out. Naphtali 
did not drive out. Not only did Dan not drive out, 
but they were driven up into the mountains by the Amorites. 
So Block says in verse 21, the tone changes, becoming increasingly 
pessimistic as the narrator observes what was to be a triumphant campaign 
of conquest turn into an expedition of compromise. I love that statement. It was to be a triumphant campaign 
of conquest it is turned into an expedition of compromise. Every single time we read, they 
did not drive out, we ought to think of Deuteronomy 7. They 
did not obey. They did not obey. They did not 
obey. They did not obey. So when we 
get to chapter 2 and they're bowing before Baal and they're 
forsaking Yahweh, does that surprise us? Does it make us say, how 
in the world could such a thing happen? When we initially disobey 
God, it does not make for a holier life. When we disobey and reject 
the commandments of our covenant God, it never promotes blessing 
and health and prosperity and all the good things that we so 
desperately love. It is through obedience to our 
God that ultimately those good things come to us. Now again, 
It's a general statement. Job was a godly man. He suffered 
a lot of things. It happens. The Apostle Paul, 
godly man, suffered a lot of things. But as a general rule, 
when we obey God, when we pursue the things of the Lord, generally 
speaking, he keeps our enemies at bay, and he causes things 
to work for our good. And again, even in the midst 
of trial and tragedy, he is working things for our good. We're speaking 
in general terms here. So he goes on to say, throughout 
the author laments the diminishing commitment of the Israelite tribes 
to the wholesale destruction of all Canaanite things and people 
and Israel's increasing co-residency with the natives. You see, if 
you co-resident with them, it won't be long before you're bowing 
with them. If you hang out with them, you 
will eventually marry them. And instead of walking down the 
aisle to make your vows to the living and true God, you'll be 
walking down the aisle to make your vows to Baal and Asherah. It just happens. We're not that 
holy. We're not that godly. It's not 
the case that we go in and positively affect an environment, it is 
more likely the case that when we go into a situation, we will 
be negatively affected by that environment. This is why the 
New Testament authors tell us to watch ourselves, to guard 
ourselves, to keep ourselves, to keep away from those things 
which would ultimately pollute and affect us in a negative way. We've got Benjamin, verse 21. We've got Ephraim. Verses 22 
to 26. Ephraim is the house of Joseph. Remember that Joseph, the two 
tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim make up the house of Joseph. 
And verses 22 to 26 is an interesting life story as well, human interest 
story. There's a reconnaissance mission. What does this make you think 
of? Anybody? Who do these spies make you think 
of? Caleb, yeah, Caleb and Joshua back in Numbers 13, but something 
even closer in their time frame. Remember those men that went 
to spy out Jericho, and they made a treaty, or they made an 
agreement, or they made a covenant with Rahab? The same sort of 
thing seems to be going on here in this particular instance in 
Bethel. So the house of Joseph also went 
up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them, verse 22. So the 
house of Joseph sent men to spy out Bethel. The name of the city 
was formerly Luz. And when the spies saw a man 
coming out of the city, they said to him, please show us the 
entrance to the city, and we will show you mercy. Now, this 
is an interesting statement. We will show you mercy. It's 
hesed, which is a covenant term, which is what God shows to his 
people. This is treaty. This is covenant. This is agreement language. This was forbidden according 
to Deuteronomy 7 and verse 2. Not a good thing going on in 
this particular instance. Please show us the entrance to 
the city. This doesn't mean the gate. Any passerby would see 
the gate. Perhaps it was a secret entrance. Perhaps it was a place where 
the city was most vulnerable. The spies appealed to this Canaanite 
man and said, help us to get in there so we can decimate and 
destroy. So he showed them the entrance 
to the city and they struck the city with the edge of the sword. 
but they let the man and all his family go. And the man went 
to the land of the Hittites, built a city, and called its 
name Luz, which is its name to this day." You say, well, what's 
the difference between this and Rahab? Rahab made a confession 
of Israel's God, didn't she? This man didn't. Rahab, the covenant 
agreement, the treaty they made with her, stipulated that she 
would come into Israel. In fact, we see that arrangement 
in Joshua 2. When we get to Joshua 6 and Jericho 
falls, we see that Rahab and her family are now a part of 
Israel. That's not the case with this 
man. This man does not become a part 
of Israel, but rather they allow him to go on his way, and he 
remains a Canaanite. He remains an enemy of the state 
of Israel, a nation of Israel. The man went to the land of the 
Hittites, built a city, and called its name Luz, which is its name 
to this day. Again, though it may have some 
similarities with what we see in the Rahab incident, it is 
completely dissimilar in most important ways. Again, they are 
not being faithful to the mandate in Deuteronomy 7. They've entered 
into a political agreement, they've made a treaty or a covenant with 
this man to show him mercy. That's not theirs to give. It's 
not theirs to specify. It's not theirs to mandate. And 
so this, again, shows us their decline. We see the tribe of 
Manasseh, verses 27 and 28. Again, they did not drive out. 
They put the Canaanites under tribute, but they did not completely 
drive them out. They were not supposed to put 
them under tribute. They were supposed to destroy 
them. They were supposed to rid the 
land of them. The tribe of Ephraim, verse 29. The tribe of Zebulun, 
verse 30. Note the tribe of Asher, verses 
31 to 32. The previous tribes, Manasseh, 
Ephraim, Zebulun, at least they are the occupants of the land. and the Canaanites remain. By 
the time we get to Asher, notice verse 32. So the Asherites dwelt 
among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not 
drive them out. Now it's the Canaanites that 
is the default population of this part of Palestine. You see, 
they didn't do their job. The Asherites are now dwelling 
among the Canaanites rather than, in the previous instances, at 
least it was just Canaanites dwelling among the Israelites. 
This is not good. The author here is a theologian. The author here, according to 
Davis, is a preacher. The author here is trying to 
get these people's attention and telling them, you're failing, 
you're disobeying, you need to stop. He's banging the alarm. He's highlighting this as an 
emergency situation. You cannot continue to do this. 
And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountains, for 
they would not allow them to come down to the valley. Now, 
thankfully, later on, the southern tribes assisted. Or rather, the 
Ephraim tribes became greater. The Canaanites and the Amorites, 
in this instance, were put under tribute. Let me just read now 
a summary statement to kind of put this into perspective. And 
this is Davis. He highlights that there were 
certainly strategic and pragmatic reasons why Israel should have 
dispossessed the Canaanites. When you look at geography, there's 
certain trade routes, strongholds, places that would be very good 
to have, right? I mean, if you were the owner 
of the bridge that went from one body of land to the other, 
you could charge people money, right? It's good to have that 
land. It's good to have that bridge. 
It's good to have strongholds. It's good to have places that 
are good for battle, that you control. So there are really 
good strategic reasons and pragmatic reasons why Israel should have 
dispossessed the land of the Canaanites. But he highlights 
or he comments on the spiritual reason. He says, the motivation 
for driving out Canaanites was not pragmatic, that means practical, 
but spiritual. Yahweh had warned through Moses, 
do not let these people live in your country. If you do, they 
will make you sin against me. If you worship other gods, it 
will be a fatal trap for you. Exodus 23, 33. Remaining Canaanites 
would not be so much a military threat as a spiritual cancer. That's why Israel was to eliminate 
the Canaanites and the other Ites. That's why Israel was to 
wreck and demolish all their worship centers. To be sure, 
Yahweh would make them able to do this in a gradual manner, 
but it was to be done. If Canaan's native populations 
were tolerated, it will lead Israel willy-nilly to intermarriage 
with them, and you can kiss covenant faith goodbye. So our writers, 
they did not dispossess, rings with spiritual emergency. It 
is the preacher's accusation of God's people for covenant 
failure. They are like a surgeon who removes 
only part of the cancer because even cancer has a right to grow 
and find fulfillment. Tolerance and suicide are congenial 
bedfellows. That's the point here in Judges 
1. It may seem a bit dry to march from place to place to place 
to place, but when you consider the spiritual and practical implications 
for New Covenant Christians, we cannot allow for a moment 
these Canaanites to continue to dwell in the land. We're not 
talking about killing people with guns and knives and swords 
and all these sorts of things. The Puritans, as I've referred 
to, referred to the remaining corruption in our hearts as Canaanites. We've got to dispossess that. 
We cannot allow truck with those sorts of things. We have to maintain 
fidelity to our God. We are saved by grace alone, 
through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, so that we may be 
holy and blameless. so that we may put on those things 
which are pleasing to our God. We cannot compromise when it 
comes to things that the Lord our God has commanded us. That's 
very clear in this passage. Every did not drive out, did 
not drive out, did not drive out, punctuates the reality that 
these people sinned against God. And sin begets sin, as we follow 
in the narrative in chapter 2. It is never a good practice. 
It is never a good thing. No good will ever come from us 
having a lax attitude towards wickedness. And then finally, 
note the divine response to Israel. Chapter 2, verses 1 to 5. The 
address by the angel of the Lord. Three instances in the book of 
Judges of the angel of the Lord. I take this as the pre-incarnate 
Christ He also appeared to Joshua in Joshua chapter 5 at verses 
13 to 15. Notice he reviews the covenant 
grace they had received. Verse 1, chapter 2, Then the 
angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochem and said, I 
led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore 
to your fathers, and I said, I will never break my covenant 
with you. I led you up from Egypt, I brought 
you to the land, I said, I will never break my covenant." You 
see, God is reviewing here, via the angel of the Lord, this special 
envoy, that he's been faithful to them. He's reviewing Covenant 
history with them. He's highlighting the reality 
of His goodness and His nearness to them, which should highlight 
for them the despicable nature of their unfaithfulness against 
Him. Note the reminder of Covenant 
command, verse 2a. You shall make no covenant with 
the inhabitants of this land. You shall tear down their altars. Remember, they offer hesed or 
mercy to this man in Judges 1.24. Perhaps the Gibeonite references 
on the mind of the angel of the Lord at this particular point. 
Remember in Joshua chapter 9? The Gibeonites concoct this whole 
story that they've come from a long way, they dirty their 
face, they got moldy bread, and they go to Joshua and they cast 
themselves on his mercy and Joshua makes a covenant with them and 
what happens? They lie. Joshua didn't consult, 
he didn't seek, he didn't inquire of the Lord, a legitimate use 
of inquire of the Lord in that particular instance. That unfortunately 
can be abused in some quarters, but for Joshua in chapter 9, 
he did not inquire. of the Lord. Some things never 
leave, do they? They never pop out of the old 
melon. 2A though, you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants 
of this land. You shall tear down their altars. 
Now do you think that when they didn't dispossess the Canaanites 
that they tore down their altars? Of course not! If we're not gonna 
kill these nice people We're going to go ahead and let them 
have their religious symbols, because after all, we're so holy, 
we'll never bow down to those things. They were told not to 
do these things, make no covenant, tear down their altars. Notice 
the rebuke for covenant violation, 2B. but you have not obeyed my 
voice." Why have you done this? This is the rub. This is the 
issue. It wasn't a lack of military 
planning. It wasn't a lack of strategy. 
It wasn't a lack of weaponry. It wasn't a lack of earnestness. 
It was that they did not obey God. When all is said and done, 
take responsibility. We're in the position we're in 
because we did not obey the Lord. This is what God says. And then notice the requirement 
of covenant judgment, verse 3. Therefore, I also said, I will 
not drive them out before you, but they shall be thorns in your 
side, and their gods shall be a snare to you. This is judgment. When the people of God, or the 
professing people of God, disobey God and say no to God, and they 
don't tear down those altars, and they make covenant with false 
religion, then God gives them over. Again, we see this in Romans 
1, 24, 26, and 28. God gives the heathen over. But 
He also gives the covenant community over as well when they turn their 
backs upon Him. And that's precisely what He 
is promising here and the same sorts of things that Joshua promises 
in chapters 23 and 24. Now notice, as we bring this 
to a close, the response by the children of Israel, verses 4 
and 5. So it was, when the angel of 
the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that 
the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the 
name of that place Bochim, and they sacrificed there to the 
Lord. Bochim means weepers. That's 
what they called the place. It was a place of weeping. They 
were struck. They were convicted. The angel 
of the Lord spoke to them, and they saw it. They had failed 
to obey God, and so they cried. Notice what thing is missing, 
though. They cry. They offer sacrifice. But what else? There's no repentance, 
is there? And certainly when we move through 
the chapter, there's no repentance. Matthew Henry said it beautifully. 
He says, this was good that they cried. This was good that they 
sacrificed to the Lord. And I think it kind of goes along 
with that parable of the sower we looked at the other day, the 
kinds of guys or the kinds of girls that hear the word, they 
receive it, and they make a good show. but there's no root or 
there's no reality to their conversion. He says, this was good and a 
sign that the word they heard made an impression upon them. 
He says, it is a wonder sinners can ever read their Bible with 
dry eyes. That's a good point. But this 
was not enough. They wept, but we do not find 
that they reformed, that they went home and destroyed all the 
remains of idolatry and idolaters among them. Many are melted under 
the word that harden again before they are cast into a new mold. That's the important thing to 
see here. They wept, they sacrificed, but 
they went home to their altars and to their Canaanites. God 
doesn't want that. God's not about us just booing 
because we disobeyed him and offering up a sacrifice to try 
and appease him. It is repentance. It is a change. It is a killing of the Canaanites 
and a dispossessing of the land. and a tearing down the altars 
so that we do not bow and in that defect from and reject the 
living and true God. So that is the theological geography 
that introduces this particular book. It shows us their incompleteness, 
which is not just militarily, but it shows us the reality of 
their disobedience to the Lord God Almighty, and from that vantage 
point, the religious apostasy that will follow, God willing, 
next Wednesday, in chapter 2, verses 7 and following, will 
then be obvious to each and every one of us. So, I know tonight 
was a little walk through some geographical places, not always 
the most exciting and thrilling stuff, but chapter 2, holds out 
more in terms of the religious aspect. And then 3 to 16, we're 
going to have nothing but fun looking at those deliverers or 
those judges that God uses. People from different walks of 
life, people with different places and stations in life, but all 
used by God to deliver his people from their oppression. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word, and we thank you for your grace to us. We would truly 
say that you are present in our lives, and we thank you, God. 
We pray that you would help us to be faithful, help us to be 
obedient, help us, Lord God, as those who've been redeemed 
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to put on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its 
lusts. We just pray now that you would go with us, that you 
would watch over us. Again, we ask that you would 
look with favor upon those in our church that are suffering 
with physical trials, and we pray that you'd bring us together 
on the Lord's Day, that we may worship you in spirit and truth. 
And we ask through Christ our Lord, amen.