Setting the Tone

Nothing sets the tone for a good story like well-compose ominous soundtrack. In fact, some might argue that a soundtrack on a film can either make or break the the story. Dramatic story telling becomes all the more heightened when the soundtrack is intentionally communicating information in ways you might not realize at first until you pay greater attention to it as you go.

A great illustration of this is the theme “duel of the fates” from Star Wars Episode One: a Phantom Menace. Whatever you may think of that movie, most who have seen it will acknowledge that the soundtrack plays a huge role for not only that scene but the whole movie. That scene, with its soundtrack, not only represents a epic battle between the antagonists and the protagonists, but it also ominously foreshaddows the future of what is to come for Anakin Skywalker.

Even if you haven’t seen that film in particular, you can certainly call to mind similar stories were the music plays an important role in giving a particular scene that ominous feeling.

Even though we don’t have background music for our study of the book of Judges, if we did, I can imagine in my mind what it might sound like. The first part of the book of Judges has been given us to set the stage for the rest of the book that follows. It gives some background information and sets the tone and tenor of the book. If we had music here, we might have something that initially sound victorious and triumphant before giving way to a duller more ominous tone of trouble that is just over the horizon.

If you haven’t already, please turn in your bibles to book of Judges chapter one.

The last two weeks we have sought to lay a solid foundation for the historical background of how the Israelites have arrived at this moment in their history as well as describe the principles of study that we will be employing as we work through the text. Today we begin our journey through the book with the opening prologue of the work.

Our primary goal as we study is to understand what the original author desired to communicate, identifying his message, and then taking that information to see what we can learn as we sit here 3000 years removed from these events.

Judges chapter one is the beginning to the prologue to the book. Again, this is background information that lays the foundation for the rest of the book. Understanding how the author paints things here will help us grasp the trajectory and contrasts that are present throughout the rest of the book.

The prologue moves from chapter one and into the beginning of chapter three before the familiar cycles begin.

Chapter 1: Historical Recounting

Chapter 2: Israel’s Indictment

Chapter 3:1-6: Divine Explanation and Summary

Chapter one provides a raw historical recounting without comment from the narrator.

Chapter two introduces the voice of the Lord and the explanations of the narrator for why things unfolded as they did.

The first part of chapter three provides the divine reason for why things were as they were, and them summarizes the first two chapters before the story moves on to the cycles.

This book is a story. It is a true story. It is a story with a point. Let’s begin with Judges 1:1 and see how the story unfolds for us in the coming weeks.

First we see the early conquest and blessing

Early Conquest and Blessing

Judges 1:1–2 ESV

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.”

This picks things up where Joshua leaves off. The people are in the land, they are inquiring of the Lord. This is what Joshua lead them to do all through the book of Joshua. What we expect from the people of Israel, that’s exactly what they are doing to start the book. Way to go guys! You’re continuing the legacy set forth by your fathers!

Let’s read on

Judges 1:3–7 ESV

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.

Here we see the tribes working together to accomplish their goals. Judah says to Simeon, hey come with to fight this battle, and then after that I’ll come help you.

It is interesting to note that as far as the tribes went, Judah was one of the larger and stronger tribes, and Simeon was one of the least of the tribes. But that didn’t stop Judah from soliciting his help and reciprocating the favor.

And we see God’s blessing upon them.

vs 4 “And the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hand”

Now, right away we come to a point of order that bothers our modern sensibilities.

As you might recall, when the Lord commanded the Israelites to come into this land and take it by force, he gave explicit instructions not to leave any survivors, but to utterly destroy the people.

How are we to understand all this war? This bloodshed?

I don’t know if you’ve ever interacted with someone on this, but it’s worth spending a moment on because it is a common objection that those who reject Christianity might raise. How do you understand these instructions?? Does the Bible condone violence? Is God arbitrary?

There are several responses that we could offer to such objections.

According to what standard are such actions wrong? Who says violence is wrong? Where does that ethic come from? If you press long an hard enough into this question, the people asking the question or seeking cast doubt upon the Scriptures will not be able to offer a coherent reply. Some argue society determines it. This makes morality impossibly subjective. Some argue that such morality is determined by the concept of “do no harm” but who determines what is harmful or not? “Sir your words are harming right now and the only way to fix if is if you repent and come to Jesus”. The only consistent standing place for objective morality is the Biblical worldview. No other worldview can account for absolute right and wrong. Those who object to such activity are usually doing so hypocritically. I like how Dale Ralph Davis put it:

“contemporary [westerners] who vicariously and avidly gorge themselves on violent television and cinema have forfeited any right to throw the first stone at the biblical conquest”

We must make a distinction between unjust violence and just violence. Most individual acts of violence are wrong. But violence in the event of self defense, even to the point of the death of the aggressor, is justified by Scripture. That doesn’t mean we look for it and take pleasure in it, but it isn’t wrong. When God issued a command that required violence, He is always justified and righteous in that command. Which leads us to a third responses:

We have to embrace the reality that the Canaanites were not innocent people. Look at what this Canaanite King had done to others. He cut off the thumbs and big toes of 70 men. Such activity is humiliating for the victim and renders them functionally useless in society. God had instructed Israel to wipe out certain people groups and these were justified acts of violence. The people of the land lived in abject wickedness, and God used the people of Israel to bring judgment on them. And yet, he did not do so without mercy.

Caleb and Othniel, men used mightily by the Lord for the people of Israel were Canaanites! They were not Israelites by birth! Rahab from Jericho who helped the Israelite Spies. Ruth the Moabitess, from whose line came King David and eventually the Messiah. There were opportunities for the people of the land to acknowledge Yahweh as the one true God. A few did! Most persisted in their rebellion.

When God promised Abraham the land, it was not to come for another 600 years, because God was having mercy on the Amorites, a Canaanite people. Gen 15:16 “16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.””

When God was giving instructions about how the people ought to live in holiness, God was clear that in giving the people of Israel the land, he was not simply concerned about them only, but also about the wickedness that existed in the land. God drove out the Canaanites because of their wickedness. If you want to write down Leviticus 18:24-30 you can look up that reference later.

So yes, God was preserving his people and causing them to maintain their status as a nation, but He also used Israel as a vehicle of judgment for the land, just as He used the Canaanites themselves against Israel in the book of Judges, and ultimately as He used Assyria and Babylon to carry away the people of Israel out of the land when Israel persisted in her rebellion.

So we must let Scripture be our guide when we consider ethic questions such as these. Israel’s actions don’t serve as justification for personal acts of violence we might commit, nor does the ethic of Jesus in the NT contradict what happened here in the conquest.

Okay. I’ve spent more time on that than I intended, but it’s an important issue that is worthy of discussion.

Let’s read on as we see more conquest and blessing.

Judges 1:9–15 ESV

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.

This interesting insertion into the text may serve as a positive backdrop and set up severe contrast for how women will be treated by the end of the book. Here Caleb’s daughter is given to Othniel for his heroics on the battlefield. We mustn't look at this as though the culture views women as objects or prizes to be won. While that culture operated differently than ours, there was still honor given to Israelite women. Look at her interactions with her husband: she urged him to ask her father for a field. This woman is perceptive in the need for watering springs for their land and she take initiative in speaking to her husband about it and eventually approach her father for it. Not only does he grant her request but he lavishes her with blessing: Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.”

There is dignity, respect, and honor being shown both directions here, something that will fade away as a forgotten memory by the end of the book. But for now, this story shows us the blessings that were being enjoyed as they were faithfulling carrying out God’s command.

Read on.

Judges 1:16–26 ESV

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. 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.

Notice how in each of these battles we have little comments here and there about “The Lord was with them” The people are going forward and God is granting them success! They are doing it! They are moving in to the land. Winning the battles. Seeing blessings. It’s a great story, yes?

First Hints of Failure

if only it were to stay that joyful. As we’ve gone through these verses have you noticed any concerning details?

Even in the midst of these great victories, we are seeing the first fints of failure, seeds that will eventually grow and bear fruit of all out rebellion against the Lord.

First in the incident with Adoni-Bezek. despite his recognition that he was getting what he deserved for his actions and was reaping what he had sown, what did God command the Israelites to do? He should have been executed.

Listen to how Daniel Block puts it

“The author [of Judges] hereby declares obliquely that the newly arrives Israelites…have quickly adopted a Canaanite ethic. Apart from the issue of having spared a man who clearly came under the sentence of death with the rest of the people, instead of looking to Yahweh for ethical guidance, the Israelites use the Canaanites as models when deciding how to treat captives.” And that in the first paragraph of the book of Judges.” pg 91

Look with me down to verse 19

Judges 1:19 ESV

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.

That is a bit of a curious comment. Historically, it is fascinating, because this really does mark the beginning of the Iron age. In the ancient cultures, the iron age signaled a new wave of technological advances in warfare. Here the hill country was ruled with chariots likely reinforced with iron.

And so its understandable. The Israelites didn’t have iron technology and so the more technologically advanced civilization won out.

Is that what we should conclude?

Can you think of other times in Israel’s history where they were the underdog? Out matched, out gunned, out supplied, out numbered? And yet still carried the day?

I mean, its not like the Israelites walked out of Egypt straight through the red sea or anything. It’s not like they toppled Jericho by walking around it 13 times. It’s not like God isn’t going to do wonders through David fighting against Goliath.

From a human perspective, chariot of iron for a bronze age society would be impossible to overcome. But we aren’t as interested in the human perspective on this. If God is for us, who can be against us? If God is for us, who can be against us?

And so this little comment from the narrator, even though he doesn’t spell out the significance of it, it is a hint. It is an ominous undertone. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

And those undertones only grow.

vs 21

Judges 1:21 ESV

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.

Judah won and captured Jerusalem! But the Benjamites couldn’t hold it. Jerusalem wouldn’t be won again until the time of David. So the people lived together.

That idea of living together is a significant concept, hold on to that.

Then there was that story of the man who helped them capture Bethel, which was formally named Luz. He betrayed the city, but it doesn’t seem as though he was glad to be like Caleb and Othniel, and other proselytes. It seems that he was only interested in saving his own skin. He moves over to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called it what? Luz. Which was the name of the city of Bethel. This guy just went and rebuilt the city in another place.

Already here we have hints of failure. Even though this part of the chapter is filled with apparent successes, the Lord is with them, they are winning the battles! And yet we find these things that seem like small details here and there, details the the narrator doesn’t even comment on, he just mentions them. Details that provide an ominous backdrop for a foreboding future.

And then we find the testimony of additional, more glaring failures. The text takes a decidedly southward bend as hints of failure give way to indictment after indictment for the people’s failure.

Pick it up in verse 27 as we see the explicit failure of the people

Explicit Failure

Judges 1:27–36 ESV

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.

We might be tempted when we read passages like this and skip over it because it it’s just boring geography. I mean, what does it matter about who lived where.

As On commentator put it

“What we have here is not geographical tedium but theological accusation, that is, theological geography.” —Dale Ralph Davis

— Dale Ralph Davis, Focus on the Book Series, Judges, pg 23.

What was just hints of something not being quite right now hits us right in the face. This is not what God told he Israelites to do. He didn’t tell them to enslave the people and put them to forced labor. He didn’t tell them to live with them. He told them to drive them out. To eliminate them from the land completely. And now the testimony of the failed conquest stands accusing the people of their failure.

Little details here and there of incomplete obedience has now given birth to this. And as we will see in the coming weeks, the results are catastrophic.

“This survey of Israel’s fortunes after the death of Joshua begins positively enough, which the Israelites consulting Yahweh, the tribes cooperating, and the families functioning normally. Even so this chapter is pervaded by unfulfilled commitment incomplete obedience, and compromising tolerance. Even when he Israelites gain the upper hand over the Canaanites, they refuse to carry out Yahweh’s agenda. Instead of reshaping the world after the image of Yahweh’s will, they live in and with the world, and before long they have taken on the characteristics of the world. Instead of making this the land of the people of God, they become like the people of the land. This not only explains why the ages of the judges/governors turned out to so dark but also serves as a permanent reminder of the deadly consequences of compromise and disobedience to all who claim to be the people of God.” —Daniel Block, NAC, Judges/Ruth, 108-109.

It is clear that the death of Joshua left a leadership vacuum in the land of Israel. A Vacuum the nation will attempt to fill by with various leaders. The theme we are going to hit over and over again, is that this shows us their need for a savior. They need a King. They need their Messiah

Though this book begins with ominous tones, we know that the whole story is carrying us to the cross of Christ, where all the failures of the people of Israel and all the failures of our own hearts are laid bare and paid for on that hill.

In a moment we are going to sing the words to the song “Come thou Fount”

Prone to wander Lord I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love

Here’s my heart, Lord take and seal it

Seal it for thy courts above.

And to all who come in faith to King of King, He will do just that. He delivers us from our own selves who are prone to compromising and blending in with the world. He gives is grace and freedom to say no to sin so that our story will much different than the book of Judges.

Let’s Pray