Judges 1:1-2- Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.
God told Judah to go fight first. Judah asked Simeon to fight with him, and together they went to battle the city of Bezek.
Judges 1:5-6- And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
God had won a great victory for Judah that day.
God was showing the Israelites that He would help them to accomplish His will if they would follow and obey Him like they promised.
Judges 1:8- Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem, and had taken it, and smitten it with the edge of the sword, and set the city on fire.
Judah had possession of the kingdom of Adonibezek and now they had taken Jerusalem.
Caleb was the only man from the wilderness that was still alive. He had been told by God that he could have the possession of his choosing because he was faithful. But, he was a very old man now!
Judges 1:12-13- And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.
Caleb's nephew, Othniel, was a brave young man. He fought against Kirjathsepher and won the battle. For his courage, Caleb let him marry his daughter.
Judges 1:16- And the children of the Kenite, Moses' father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.
The bravery that Moses showed was rewarded to his father-in-law. Judah allowed that family to come live with them in their possession.
The Israelites fought hard to obtain their promised possessions.
Judges 1:17-20- And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath, and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah. Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof. And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out [the inhabitants of] the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.
The children who were thought to be too young to withstand the enemy in Moses' days were now a mighty army. They were defeating enemy armies and giants!
But, not all of the children of Israel kept their promise to the Lord. They began to get lazy and allow the people of the land to live among them, instead of fighting them.
Judges 2:1-2- And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
God was going to test the Israelites again. He wanted to see if this new warrior generation would obey him. And they did for a little bit.
Joshua 2:7, 10- And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Somewhere along the way, the people forgot to tell their children about the miracles of the land of Egypt. They left off the amazing tales of crossing the Red Sea and the Jordan River. Eventually, they no longer talked about the awesome battle of Jericho, or the time the sun and moon stood still. Their children didn't know the Lord, and they were surrounded by people who worshiped false gods.
Judges 2:11-13- And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
God had told their fathers that He would turn against them and punish them if they started to worship idols. And God always keeps His promises.
Judges 2:14-19- And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Each time God would bring enemies upon them they would promise to do right and obey if He would deliver them. God would use men called "Judges" to help the Israelites win their battles. But, every time He allowed them to defeat an enemy, they slowly forgot their promises and started to worship idols again.
Judges 3:1-4- Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
God was going to use these enemy nations to see if the children of Israel could learn to obey Him.
