JUDGES 1 | After the Death of Joshua

Judges 1 After the Death of Joshua
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In today’s daily devotional, we embark on a reflective journey through the Book of Judges, guided by Allen with his personal insights from three decades of Bible reading journals. Each entry reveals a unique perspective, shaped by the events and challenges of the time. We begin in 1983, examining the early impressions of Israel’s struggles with Canaanite tribes. The journey continues into 1995, a year marked by personal upheaval and reflection. We conclude with insights from 2016, where a more seasoned perspective grapples with the themes of disobedience and compromise. As we delve into these reflections, we aim to uncover the timeless lessons from Judges and their relevance to our spiritual growth and challenges today. To read how Joshua assembled the Tribes before his death, read the daily devotional on Joshua 24.

Judges 1 Commentary by Allen J. Huth

Today, we begin the Book of Judges. The name of the book, Judges, comes from the title given to the twelve leaders, the judges, who reigned between Judges and Samuel.  Nowhere in scripture is an author named for this book. However, some believe Samuel may have penned much of Judges, which was most likely written about 1000 B.C. The theme of Judges is the downward spiral of Israel’s national and spiritual life. It reminds us today that anything we value more than our relationship with God (i.e., family, friends, job, money) can become our god. That is what happened to the Jewish people, as they put other things before their relationship with God. 

What Is the Main Point of the Book of Judges?

Cycles of sin create bondage, drag us down, and drain the joy of life God intended us to experience. This book covers the period when time after time Israel turned its back on God and followed the gods in the ways of those around them. By the end of Judges, Israel had violated its covenant with God in almost every possible way.

God had planned for kings to rule in Israel all the way back in Genesis and even gave instructions for their conduct in Deuteronomy. They were not to be like kings of other nations. They were to focus on leading God’s people by keeping the Mosaic law. But that is not what happened in the Book of Judges.

How Does the Book of Judges Relate to Today?

What we find in the Book of Judges: the corruption of sin in life; how God calls and equips His leaders; how the least of these can be elevated by the Lord; and how He brings strength out of human weakness to accomplish His will. 

The Book of Judges is twenty-one chapters, and we will do a chapter a day. Please read or listen to Judges 1.

To guide us through the Book of Judges, I chose three of my personal Bible reading journals. I selected the first journal I ever wrote back in 1983 when I was a mere twenty-eight-year-old. Then in 1995, when I was forty years old. Then all the way up to 2016, when I was a whopping sixty-one years old. There are thirty-three years between 1983 and 2016. Those will be the journals to guide us through the Book of Judges.

We will begin with my journal entry from 1983. Bible reading journals are written records of my time in God’s Word when I read the scriptures and wrote down what it meant to me or what it said to me. In 1983, I read Judges 1 and 2 on the same day. On Judges 1, I wrote, “Canaanites not totally driven out. Become test for Israel’s faithfulness.”

In 1995, my journal entry caused me a little shock.  I started with, “Went to the hospital this morning with a kidney stone. Haven’t been in a hospital since I got my tonsils out way back in the sixties. It was painful. Terry got me there quickly and I thank her for that.” Then I wrote, “What a week, and it’s only Wednesday.” 

That caused me to look back to see what else happened that week. I find in my journal on Monday, our oldest son Jason went back to Big Spring, Texas, where he was on a baseball scholarship. He left and went back to college that day. On Tuesday, I wrote, “I am being laid off at my job. The boss met with me yesterday and said I don’t fit in next year’s budget. Hard to believe after thirteen years. I need to look to God now for what’s next. Please Lord, act quickly.” 

Then I wrote my prayer about all this, “Keep my testimony in this. Seek the Lord. Thy will be done. Will there be business and ministry opportunities? Forgiveness for my sins of backbiting, lack of loyalty, talking too much about the boss, guidance and direction on what to do next. That things will happen quickly so Terry and the kids will not have to suffer.” That brought me to Wednesday when I went to the hospital with the kidney stone. Yeah, it was a pretty eventful week in 1995.

We will see as we go through the Book of Judges these next few days, whether I have other journal entries on what it was like to be laid off from a job after thirteen years, and what my emotions were as the process unfolds. My journal entry on Judges 1 that day was, “Children of Israel seek God as I am seeking God. They got a specific answer, as I will. But they didn’t obey. They didn’t clean out the Canaanites. That’s why they had problems. Help me obey completely.”

In 2016, I was reading Judges at a little bit slower pace, so I read Judges 1 in two days. Here are my journal entries. “After Moses and Joshua, strong godly leaders, there is no apparent leadership succession. Why? Israel had not yet completed the task for conquering the Promised Land. God promised the land, but Israel had to fight for it. We have promises we probably need to fight for too. Partial spiritual victories are not God’s will. Israel ‘went and settled with the people’ (v. 16). They did not drive out the inhabitants of the land, and they ended up living with the people, none of which God wanted. We compromise too.”

On the second day of Judges 1, I wrote, “Failure. Disobedience. Compromise. God would have fought for the tribes of Israel, but they didn’t want to fight. We settle, get enough, but not all of  what God has in store for us. We don’t want to hurt people, so we hurt God instead. We compromise with sin, then it overwhelms us. Israel fails because they disobeyed God’s command to go possess the land, wipe out the enemy. Next, they marry Canaanite women who bring their idol worship with them. Forgive us, Lord. We know not what we do.” 

What Is Bible Verse 1 of the Book of Judges?

In summary, Judges 1 begins with, “After the death of Joshua”. The Israelites were to drive out the Canaanites and take possession of the land, but instead, they went and settled with the people. They did not drive out the inhabitants.

What Are the Lessons Learned from the Book of Judges 1?

What is our application today? I capsulized it in some of my journal entries. God has a plan for us too. He has an intended purpose, but we get comfortable, and we settle. Sometimes Christianity is difficult; it is. It is something we have to fight for. Yet, we get complacent, we get comfortable, and we settle with the people around us. 

Is God requiring more from you today? Have you settled in your Christianity? Have you become comfortable? Have you given up the fight to continue to grow spiritually? May we learn the lessons in the Book of Judges that are coming up in these next few chapters.

Prayer

Lord, we look forward to what You are going to teach us in the Book of Judges. We thank You for the truth of Your Word, even when it hurts. Lord, help those today who have compromised with situations around us that You may be calling us to fight through. Help us conquer the circumstances we find ourselves in. Lord, give us the strength to do so. May we put our trust in You. In Jesus’ name, we pray it. Amen.

We invite you to watch the “Great News” video on this page and find out more about God’s love for you and how you can receive forgiveness and eternal life – today!

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The Prayer of Salvation

Jesus, I don't know You, and I don't know what Your plan is for me. But thank you for coming to die in my place. I'm sorry for anything I've ever done wrong in my life. I don't understand how You could ever forgive me, but if You really would, I would like to accept your free gift of grace and complete forgiveness. Please come into my life and take control, and help me trust You. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

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