B. Incomplete victory and defeat
1. (Judges 1:21) The tribe of Benjamin does not take possession of Jerusalem
But the sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem; so the Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
The sons of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites: This was a case where the battle had already been won (Judges 1:8). The tribe of Benjamin simply had to enter into what was already theirs. It would take some effort, but the critical battle was over. Jerusalem belonged to them.
The Jebusites have lived with the sons of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day: Up until the time the Book of Judges was written, the tribe of Benjamin had failed to cast out the Jebusites. Therefore, they lived in constant military and spiritual danger.
2. (Judges 1:22-26) The house of Joseph conquers the city of Bethel
Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and the LORD was with them. The house of Joseph spied out Bethel (now the name of the city was formerly Luz). The spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance to the city and we will treat you kindly." 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 free. The man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz which is its name to this day.
The house of Joseph: The house of Joseph attacks the city of Bethel. The city of Ai was very nearby. In fact, Ai and Bethel (if not sister cities) may well have been the same city just slightly relocated after a destruction.
The house of Joseph spied out Bethel: When the house of Joseph approached the city, a man of Bethel decides to cooperate with the Israelite spies and shows them a good way to break into the city. In return, the spies promise to let the man and all his family go before the coming onslaught.
This has tones of the attack on Jericho where the prostitute Rehab and her family are spared from destruction during the early parts of the Book of Joshua. But this is where all the similarity ends between the two stories. This man of Bethel expresses no interest in Israel's God. His only motive was self-preservation to the point that he was willing to commit treason to save his own life. There was no honor in what happened here as there was when Rehab had converted before she met the spies--her allegiance to God was at the heart of her decision.
The man went into the land of the Hittites: We get an interesting and instructional footnote here that says the man of Bethel went into the country of the Hittites, which is modern day Turkey. There, he built a city and called it Luz. In other words, he turned his own home city over for destruction by the Israelites. He then constructed a new city and gave it the same name as his former hometown. Guilt? Probably.
3. (Judges 1:27-29) Manasseh and Ephraim fail to drive out all the Canaanites
But Manasseh did not take possession 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; so the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. It came about when Israel became strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them completely out. Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer; so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
Beth-shean and its villages: From here to the end of the chapter, we get mostly a list of failed attempts by various Israelite tribes to drive out various Canaanites from their territories. Basically, this is setting the stage for what we will see happen in the rest of the Book of Judges.
Manasseh, half of the house of Joseph, could not drive out the Canaanites from Beth-shean and its surrounding areas.
Megiddo and its villages: The Israelites could not drive out the Canaanites from Megiddo, which was a very important fortress on a major trade route. It was at a crossroads as well as a place which overlooks an extensive portion of the Jezreel Valley.
They put the Canaanites to forced labor: We are told that Israel was able to sufficiently subdue the Canaanites to use them as forced labor. But here again, we see how the new Israeli mindset had taken hold. Israel no longer was following God's commands, but they were giving in to apathy and living with the nations instead of separating themselves from them.
4. (Judges 1:30) The tribe of Zebulun compromises and accommodates the Canaanites, putting them under tribute.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol; so the Canaanites lived among them and became subject to forced labor.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants: Each tribe had its own responsibility, and its own battle to fight. In Zebulun's battle, they failed to take all that God had portioned for them.
The Canaanites lived among them: The tribe of Zebulun thought they could make their incomplete disobedience work to their advantage, especially economically. They failed to appreciate that the Canaanites who dwelt among them would eventually bring them into both social and spiritual ruin.
The destruction of Zebulun was not immediately known. Therefore, it was easy to think that it was not real. Yet, it was certain to come. Only a trusting obedience to God could spare them the later cycle of crisis that marks the Book of Judges.
5. (Judges 1:31-32) The tribe of Asher fails in taking full possession of their land.
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. So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; for they did not drive them out.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants: The tribe of Asher also failed to take what God had apportioned for them. Each tribe who failed made it easier for the other tribes to also fail.
So the Asherites lived among the Canaanites: Of the tribe of Zebulun, we read that the Canaanites lived among them (verse 30). However, in Asher it was worse! It was the Asherites who lived among the Canaanites. They suffered a worse degree of social and spiritual crisis.
6. (Judges 1:33) The tribe of Naphtali compromise and accommodates the Canaanites, putting them under tribute.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, but lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; and the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath became forced labor to them.
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants: The tribe of Naphtali found it difficult to counter the trend of the other tribes. The defeat of one affects the condition of the others.
God never intended for Israel to conquer the land of Canaan easily. He never intended it to happen quickly. In Exodus 23:29-30 and Deuteronomy 7:22-24, God says that He intended to give Israel the land little by little. Though God planned for Israel to take the land through constant trust in Him, they failed to do this. Therefore, they did not drive out the inhabitants of the land. It was almost as if Israel was saying, "If we cannot have it easy, then we do not want it at all."
Lived among the Canaanites...became forced labor to them: The tribe of Naphtali combined both facets of capitulation to the enemy. In some regions of their territory, they lived under the shadow of the dominating Canaanites. In other regions, they put them under tribute. Both facets fell well short of God's command and intent for the people of Israel.
7. (Judges 1:34-36) The tribe of Dan fails in taking full possession of their land.
The Amorites forced the sons of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the valley; yet the Amorites persisted in living in Mount Heres, in Aijalon and in Shaalbim; but when the power of the house of Joseph grew strong, they became forced labor. The border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabim, from Sela and upward.
The Amorites forced the sons of Dan: Here, we see the people of God being pushed around by their enemies. This should never happen when God's people are walking in the strength of their God.
When the power of the house of Joseph grew strong: Again, instead of doing what God said should have been done (driving out their enemies), they decided to use them as they thought best--they put their enemies under tribute.
The border of the Amorites: The end result was that the Amorites had an appointed boundary within the inheritance of God's people. This was an unnecessary and dangerous accommodation to the social and spiritual enemies of God.
There is a very similar and seductive form of pacifism in the Christian life, which ignores the reality of the spiritual battle so clearly described in Ephesians 6:10-20 and referred to in the Book of Judges. This pacifist attitude will happily make peace with the devil that basically says, "I will not harm your interests if you leave me mostly alone." This attitude of spiritual surrender is very dangerous for the Christian.
The infamous Communist leader, Leon Trotsky, once said, "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you." To take an attitude of spiritual surrender is to willingly lose that war.
These last couple verses set the stage for the migration of Dan away from their territory that was contiguous with Judah, which was located to the east. Dan not only could not defeat the people in their territory, the Amorites who lived there ran the Danites into the hills. A little later in history, Dan eventually moves north to the border of Lebanon. Judah soon annexes Dan's former territory, and they are able to defeat the Amorites. Again, Judah elects to use the Amorites as forced labor rather then to follow God's instructions to rid the land entirely of them.
In the end, we can say this about the 12 tribes of Israel:
1. Israel simply could not drive out the Canaanites. So, the Canaanites dug in, and Israel's mindset switched from conqueror to diplomat. They change from wanting to be a sole possessor of the land to co-habitating with those God found unacceptable.
2. Israel found their freedom of movement highly impeded because their holds on the territories were spotty.
3. Even more problematic in the long run was that the wickedness of the Canaanites' worship of false gods remained intact. This presented an acute danger to Israel's purity and holiness. They constantly had a daily temptation to dilute their devotions to God.
4. Israel decided it was better to create and maintain good relationships than it was to eject the Canaanites from the land. In fact, they saw that in many ways the Canaanites were useful force labor. So, it made no sense for the Israelites to drive them out of the land.
In summary, the peace that men construct is not the peace that God instructs. For men, peace is inevitably the result of one of two things: war or compromise. In war, one side wins; the other side loses. One side is subjugated to the other and is forced to comply to the demands of the victor. Now more than ever, it is a compromise type of peace that men seek. This is NOT the type of peace that God is speaking of in His word. His peace is absolute. It does not involve compromise. It comes from men's free will choice to serve the LORD as He demands to be served and nothing else.
Israel saw nothing wrong in their approach to settling Canaan. Israel saw nothing wrong in their approach to battle. Their new goal was to become a peacemaker with their neighbors. So, they participated in their neighbors' festivals and customs. They gave respect to their former enemies' beliefs and even to their false gods. As a result, they enjoyed a measure of rest and fruitfulness that was mostly man-made. Thus, it bore little resemblance to what Godly rest and fruitfulness actually looks like.
Intermarriage between Canaanites and the Israelites became an every day affair. There was little resistance, and most on both sides saw it as a good thing. Israel was blind to their condition, and they would not accept that they had broken faith with their God because they felt so good about themselves and their ability to contrive their own morality WITHOUT the direction of the LORD.
No comments:
Post a Comment