Judges 4:1 says, And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, when Ehud was dead.  Once again, after the leader, or judge, that God raised up died, the people of Israel stopped being obedient to Him and began to sin again.  This is something we cannot afford to do as Christians.  Our faith cannot be based on any earthly leader.  Verse two states, And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles.  Once again, without God's protection, the people of Israel were defeated, this time by Jabin of Canaan.  Verse three says, And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel.  The people of Israel once again called out to God.  Jabin had a powerful army, and the people of Israel saw that, so they knew that they needed God to deliver them.  Too often we wait until we are defeated spiritually before we call out to God, but if we are a follower of Christ, He will always hear us when we do call out.  Verse four declares, And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.  This time, God raised up a female judge, Deborah.  We are told that she was a prophetess.  God never has worked exclusively through men to accomplish His purpose, and He doesn't today.  Verse five states, And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.  The people of Israel came to her for judgment where she was.  I am not sure that this sat well with many of the men of Israel.  Not only was God working through a woman, but they had to go to her instead of her coming to them.  Verse six adds, And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?  Deborah called Barak, and asked him if God had not commanded him to take ten thousand men of the tribe of Naphtali and Zebulon.  This would imply that God was already speaking to Barak, but that he evidently wasn't obeying Him.  Verse seven continues, And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.  God had already promised success to Barak and his army. just as God promises us success over our spiritual enemies today if we are following the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eight declares, And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.  Even though Deborah had told Barak that God would bring him the victory, he refused to go unless Deborah went with him.  We do not need to wait for anyone else to go with us when we know what God wants us to do.  We only need to keep our faith in God.  Verse nine states, And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh,  Deborah agreed to go with Barak, but she also said that the honor would go to God and not to Barak, since God would deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman..  Whatever we do today as Christians should be done for the honor of God and not for self glorification.  Verse ten states, And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.  Now that Deborah was going with him, Barak assembled his ten thousand men and went out to do battle.  If we know what God wants us to do, we should be ready to do whatever it is without any need for someone to direct us or to go with us to do it.

Judges 3:23 says, Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.  This is really the rest of the story of Ehud killing Eglon and what happened afterward.  Ehud left the house and closed the doors behind him.  Verse twenty-four states, When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber.  When Eglon's servants came, they found the doors locked   The servants thought Eglon must be asleep and they didn't want to disturb him.  They may have been afraid to do so, but in any case this worked to Ehud's advantage.  Sometimes, even the traits of those who don't know God can work to our advantage in our battle against them.  Verse twenty-five adds, And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.  The servants waited until they were ashamed of there tarrying outside the door for so long, and they eventually opened the door and found the king dead.  Their fear of or consideration for the king gave Ehud a long time to escape.  Verse twenty-six declares, And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.  Matthew Henry says that Ehud may not have returned all the way to the place he lived before, but anyway, he returned successfully to wherever he decided to stop.  Verse twenty-seven adds, And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.  Wherever he was, Ehud blew the trumpet to call the rest of the people of Israel to him.  One day, as followers of Christ, wherever we are, God is going to sound the trumpet to call us to Him.  Verse twenty-eight says, And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.  Ehud called on them to follow him, because God had delivered the Moabites unto them.  The people had to put their faith in Elud knowing what he was talking about and in God being with them.  We today as followers of Christ have to put our faith in God's word and in knowing that He is with us at all times through the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-nine proclaims, And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.  The people of Israel defeated ten thousand strong and valorous men that day, leaving not even one to escape.  I believe that we can say that when we are following God's guidance that no matter how strong our enemies may be, or how many of them there are, that through our faith we will be spiritually victorious over them.  Verse thirty states, So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.  After Moab was defeated, the people of Israel had eighty years of peace.  Though we may have battles here on earth, through our relationship with Christ, we have everlasting peace.  Verse thirty-one adds, And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.  During this time, the Philistines were beginning to oppose the people of Israel, Matthew Henry says on the other side of the Jordan.  Wherever it was, Shamgar killed six hundred of them, not with a sword, but with an ox goad.  We can be certain that when one enemy of God is defeated that another will arise.  We can also be certain that with God's power behind us that we will be successful in our battles, even if we are not always victorious in this life.

Judges 3:12 says, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.  Once again, after a period of peace under one of the judges God had sent, the people of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD.  They were once again left without God's power sustaining them.  As followers of Christ, we cannot hope to successfully defeat the evil influences we come into contact with daily without the power of the Holy Spirit sustaining us.  Verse thirteen states, And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.  The king of Moab allied with the people of Ammon and Amalek and together they defeated the people of Israel.  We can be certain that the people of the world will be united in their stand against Christianity, even if they are at times fighting each other.  Verse fourteen declares, So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.  The people of Israel were in bondage to Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years.  When we are not living under God's leadership, we are in bondage to sin, even if we are a Christian.  We will still be a child of God, but we will not be have His protection if we are doing evil in the world.  Verse fifteen adds, But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.  Once again, the people of Israel called out to God, and He heard them.  God did not leave them, but they left Him.  When we find ourselves in a sinful situation, all we have to do is call out to God in forgiveness, and He will hear us.  God raised up another judge, Ehud, a left-handed man.  Since we are told that, I had to repeat it, being left-handed myself.  The people of Israel sent a present to Eglon by Ehud.  Verse sixteen states, But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. Ehud made a two edged dagger and hid it on his right thigh.  Verse seventeen adds, And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.  Then verse eighteen declares, And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.  We are told that Eglon was a very fat man, and that after Ehud had presented the present that the others around him were sent away with the present.  Verse nineteen declares, But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.  After giving Eglon the present, Ehud told him that he had a secret errand for him, getting him away from those who would normally be close to him.  Since Eglon had received a present, I believe that he was looking for more gifts, or was led by his greed we could say.  Verse twenty says, And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.  Ehud came to Eglon in the summer palace and told him he had a message from God for him.  When we encounter people today who do not believe in God and who may even be attempting to destroy those who do believe in Him, we must go to them with a message from God.  For us, that message is that salvation is available through Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty-one proclaims, And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:  Ehud took the dagger and thrust it into the belly of Eglon, and left.  Verse twenty-two adds,And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.  The fat closed over the dagger, and Elgon was unable to remove it, and it says that dirt came out.  In this situation, God did not send an army against the king who had defeated Israel, but one man.  We do not need to question God's methods used to defeat the evil forces in the world today, but ultimately they are defeated by One Man, Jesus Christ.  Of course, this is not done by any trick, but by the very public display of Christ giving up His life on the cross for all who will believe.

Judges 3:1 says, 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;  We are told that God left certain nations in order to prove the faith of Israel.  It says that many in Israel had not known the ways of the people of Canaan, so they could not be tempted by their ways and their gods.  I do know that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that not all temptation is removed from our lives, but we daily face temptations, some of which we may not have even known before.. Verse two states, Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;  God did not allow them to be confronted with temptation for them to fail, but in order for them to learn to rely on Him to be successful.  God will never lead us into a situation just to see us fail, but will be with us in any situation so that we might succeed.  Verse three adds, 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.  When we look back at Joshua, we see that God told the people of Israel to drive out all the people of the land, and often they didn't.  Still, even if they had, there were other nations around them, and some of the enemies that they would face are listed here.  We need to realize that we are always going too be confronted with enemies in this world as Christians, some more powerful than others.  Verse four says, 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.  Like the people of Israel, when we encounter an enemy today, God will be waiting to see if we give in to the enemy or follow Him by faith.  Verse five adds, And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:  There were many people around to lead the people astray if they failed to follow God, just as there are for us today.  Verse six continues, And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.  We are told that the people of Israel did not remain true to God, but began to intermarry with the other people around them.  We need to be careful today that we do not begin to intermix with the people of the world in such a way that it leads us away from God.  Even when we are in the world, we cannot be of the world.  God calls us to be a separate people from the rest of the world. spiritually.  Verse seven declares, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.  God's people forgot Him after they intermarried with the people of the world.  We might ask how they could do this knowing the power of God, but these were younger people of Israel who may not have witnessed His power.  Of course, as followers of Christ, we also at times can be tempted by the things of the world, and if we begin to compromise, we may soon forget the power of God in our life.  Verse eight adds, Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years.  God was angry with the people of Israel and allowed them to be defeated and to go into servitude once again.  When we turn away from God's guidance, we should not be surprised if He allows us to end up under the power of sin once again.  Verse nine proclaims, And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.  When the people of Israel called out again to Him, He raised up a deliverer, Othniel, Caleb's nephew.  When we find ourselves under the power of sin today, we simply need to call out to God.  We already have our deliverer in Jesus Christ, and our source of power in the Holy Spirit if we are a follower of Christ.  God never forsakes us.  Verse ten adds, And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim.  The Spirit of God was with Othniel, their deliverer, and the Holy Spirit is with us today to deliver us.  Verse eleven concludes, And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.  The land of Israel was at peace for forty years, as long as Othniel lived.  Fortunately, we do not have to rely on an earthly leader to keep us successful in our relationship with God.  The Holy Spirit is with us forever.

Joshua 2:11 says, And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
 It didn't take long for the people of Israel to forget about God.  They began to worship a false god. Baalim.  We today should not be surprised if people who grew up in Christian families begin to worship other gods.  Christianity is based on a personal relationship with Christ.  If we do not reach people, especially the next generation, with the gospel, they cannot know God, even if they know of Him.  Verse twelve states, 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.  They forgot God, Who had brought them out of Egypt and then gave them their land and began to worship other gods.  Had they driven all the people of the land out, they might have been faithful to God a little longer, but if people do not have a personal relationship with God, they can be His people in name only.  Needless to say, God was angry with His people.  Verse thirteen adds,  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.  We are told of two of the false gods that the people of Israel were worshipping.  Verse fourteen declares, 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.  Even though this says that God sold the people of Israel into the hands of their enemies, I believe that all he really had to do was remove His protective hand from them.  They had already proven themselves to be pretty weak without relying on the power of God.  If we are a follower of Christ today and fall under the power of some evil force in the world and begin to worship some other god, it won't be because God abandoned us, but because we abandoned Him.  Verse fifteen proclaims. 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.  When we are not following God, His hand will definently be against us.  Verse sixteen declares, Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.  God had not abandoned His people and rose up judges to delver them from their enemies.  God is not going to abandon those who are called His people forever, but He may allow them to suffer the consequences for their rebellion.  Verse seventeen adds, 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.  Even when God gave them the judges to deliver them, His people still would not follow Him and obey His laws.  God has made salvation available to all who will put their faith in Christ today, but it does no good unless a person accepts Christ personally as his or her Savior and Lord.  Verse eighteen states, 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.  When God raised up a judge, then the people would be delivered from their oppressors.  God has already delivered everyone from their oppressors today if they will only accept His gift of salvation through Christ.  Verse nineteen adds, 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.  When the judges that God gave the people of Israel to deliver them died, they forgot about God again.  Once we have accepted salvation through Christ, we cannot afford to then forget about God. Verse twenty declares, And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;  Then verse twenty-one adds, I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:  This cycle repeats itself throughout the history of Israel.  God delivered them, they soon forgot Him, they were defeated, God raised up someone to deliver them, and then they soon forgot God again.  When we accept Christ as our Deliverer, we cannot afford to then forget about God and chase after the things of this world.  Jesus Christ is the only Savior that there will ever be.  Verse twenty-two states,That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.  God would deliver the people of Israel again to see if they were going to be faithful to Him.  God never failed in His part of the covenant with Israel, nor will He fail in His covenant with those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord today.  If we fail to allow Christ to be Lord after we accept Him as our Savior, then we will have problems with God, but it will be because of our actions and not God's.  Verse twenty-three states, Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.  This refers back to the time of Joshua, when all these people should have been driven out but weren't.  God allowed them to stay so the people of Israel then had a choice of remaining faithful to God or chasing after the gods of those people still in the land.  God is not going to remove all temptation from our lives today once we put our faith in Christ, but He is going to expect us to remain faithful to Him,

Judges 2:1 says,  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.  The people of Israel still had Joshua as their earthly leader, but God was still their real leader.  God sent an angel to speak to them and remind them of all that God had done for them.  Even if we have an earthly leader in our local congregation, God is still in charge, just as He always should be.  The angel said that God would never break His covenant with them.  Verse two states, 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?  The angel then reminded the people that they had also made promises to God to not make any covenants with the people of the land and to destroy all their altars, and that they had not done this.  The angel then asked them why they had not done so.  We make a promise to God when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord thst we will remove all other gods from our lives, yet I believe that He too often has to ask us why we haven't done this.  Verse three declares, Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.  The angel then said that God was not going to drive the people out of the land for them, but that the people would be a thorn in their sides and that their gods would be a snare to the people of Israel.  God could have done this, just as He could force everyone to follow Christ today, but He gave them a choice to do what He commanded, and He does the same for everyone today.  God does not remove all temptation from us, but He gives us the power to overcome all temptation.  The question then is whether we want to obey God or chase after the things of this world.  Verse four states, And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.  After the angel finished speaking, all the people wept.  If we realize that we have not been obedient to God, we should weep tears of sorrow before the Lord.  Verse five adds, And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.  They then named the place and offered a sacrifice to God.  When we find ourselves disobedient to God and repent of our sins, then we need to once again offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God.  Verse six declares, And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.  This is still speaking of the time before the death of Joshua, and states that the he let all the people go to their inheritance.  Verse seven adds, 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.  Though they had not been totally obedient in driving out all the people of the land, the people of Israel served the LORD until Joshua and all the elders of that day died.  These people had seen the great works of God.  We today as followers of Christ have seen an even greater work of God, and that is salvation through Christ.  As long as we reach the next generation there will never be a time when there are not people who have seen the great work of God.  Verse eight declares, And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.  Then verse nine adds, And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.  Joshua died and was buried, as was stated at the end of the book of Joshua.  Then verse ten continues, 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.  After all the elders died, there arose a generation that did not know God and all that He had done for the people of Israel.  We have to conclude that the elders had not done a good job of teaching their children about God, and the children had no personal knowledge of Him.  If we today do not each our children about God, then the next generation will not know the gospel.

Judges 1:21 says, And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day.
Though they were told to drive out all the people who inhabited the land, the tribe of Benjamin did not do so either.  We really never can remove ourselves from all the worldly influences around us, but God expects us to remove them from our lives.  Verse twenty-two states, And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them.  The house of Joseph went up against the people of Bethel.  Verse twenty-three adds, And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)  We are told that the name of Bethel had once been Luz, but not when nor why it was changed.  Verse twenty-four declares, And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said unto him, Shew us, we pray thee, the entrance into the city, and we will shew thee mercy  Spies from the tribe of Joseph encountered a man coming out of the city and offered him mercy if he would show them the entrance to the city.  Verse twenty-five adds, And when he shewed them the entrance into the city, they smote the city with the edge of the sword; but they let go the man and all his family. The tribe of Joseph defeated the city and had mercy on the man and his family.  We have to work with the people of the world quite often, and if we make agreements with them, as long as the agreements are not contrary to God's word, then we need to honor them.  If they are not in accordance with God's word, then we don't need to make them to begin with.  Verse twenty-six continues, And the man went into the land of the Hittites, and built a city, and called the name thereof Luz: which is the name thereof unto this day.  The man did not stay in the land, but went to the land of the Hittites and built a city called Luz.  Not everyone that we show the mercy of God to is going to want to be a part of His kingdom, but that does not exempt us from sharing the gospel with them.  Verse twenty=seven says. Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.  The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out several people from their land, which God had told them to do.  When we fail to drive all the worldly influences out of our lives, it is going to cause us problems later on.  Verse twenty-eight declares,  And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.  Then verse twenty-nine adds, Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.  Another of the tribes of Israel failed to drive out the people of the land, but instead attempted to profit from them being there.  We need to be careful that we don't allow the things of this world to remain in our lives simply because they are profitable.  Verse thirty declares, Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, nor the inhabitants of Nahalol; but the Canaanites dwelt among them, and became tributaries.  Then verse thirty-one adds, Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob:  Verse thirty-two continues, But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: for they did not drive them out.  The tribes of Zebulon and Asher also failed to drive out all the inhabitants of the land.  Verse thirty-three says, Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Bethshemesh, nor the inhabitants of Bethanath; but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land: nevertheless the inhabitants of Bethshemesh and of Bethanath became tributaries unto them.  The tribe of Nephtali did not drive all the people out, but they did make some of them pay tribute to them.  In none of these cases was this what God had told them to do.  We cannot compromise what God tells us to do and still be successful in our spiritual life, even if doing so might be the easiest or most profitable thing to do.  Verse thirty-four declares, And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain: for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley:  Verse thirty-five adds, But the Amorites would dwell in mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim: yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed, so that they became tributaries.  The Amorites prevailed against the tribe of Dan, forcing them up into the mountain, but the tribe of Joseph prevailed against the Amorites and forced the Amorites in their land to pay them tribute.  Verse thirty-six concludes, And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock, and upward.  God had given specific instructions that the people of Israel were to drive out all the people in the land, but over and over they failed to do so.  God had said He would be with them to give them the victory, but they often failed to claim it.  God did not change or fail them, so the failure had to be a lack of faith or concern on the part of the people.  When we fail to carry out God's calling that He gives us today as followers of Christ, then it must be due to a lack of faith or concern on our part.  God will never fail us.

Judges 1:11 says, And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:  This is still speaking of the tribe of Judah in their battle against the people of Canaan.  Verse twelve states, And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.  We have the account of Caleb offering his daughter as a wife to any man who defeated Kirjathsepher.  This seems to be a retelling of events mentioned chapter fifteen of the book of Joshua.  It may be mentioned again here because this was a part of the land of Canaan that was to be defeated, and it had already been done so by Otheniel, Caleb's now son-in-law, and this was a review of what had happened..  Verse thirteen says, And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.  Othniel, Caleb's nephew, took Kirjathepher and Caleb gave him his daughter to be his wife.  Again, we may not really understand the way things were back then, or even in parts of the world today, but we do know that Caleb was a man who put this faith in God, so I believe that he was doing what he thought would be best for his daughter.  She would have a strong husband to care for her once Caleb was gone.  Verse fourteen adds, And it came to pass, when she came to him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted from off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wilt thou?  Caleb's daughter was also looking out for what would be best for her husband.  She was moved to have her husband to ask Caleb for a certain field.  I don't believe that this was from greed, but from knowing that it was going to be needed because of the water there.  When we as followers of Christ ask God for anything, it should never be out of greed or selfish desire, but should always be because we have a need for whatever it is that we ask.  Verse fifteen adds, And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.  She asked Caleb for the springs of water to go with the southland as well, and Caleb gave it to her.  Again, I believe that Caleb was attempting to insure her safety and security after he died.  We need to do the best that we can to help our children find safety and security after we die, and the best thing that we can do is to tell them about Jesus Christ.  This is the only blessing with everlasting security.  Verse sixteen declares, 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.  Some of the descendants of Moses' father-in-law went to dwell among the inhabitants of the wilderness of Judah.  Verse seventeen states, 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.  The people of Judah utterly destroyed the Canaanites that lived in Zephath, in the city of Hormah.  The people of Israel had been told to destroy all the inhabitants of the land, and sometimes they did and at other times they didn't.  We may think that destroying all the inhabitants was cruel, but once again, God sees things from an eternal spiritual prospective.  Verse eighteen says, Also Judah took Gaza with the coast thereof, and Askelon with the coast thereof, and Ekron with the coast thereof.  The people of Judah continued to defeat the people in the land, just as we must continue to defeat our spiritual enemies today.  This does not mean that we are to kill them all though, but that we are to reach out to them with the love of God.  Verse nineteen declares, 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.  We are told that the people of Judah were successful through the power of God, except against the people of the valley, who had chariots.  I don't believe that the chariots were more powerful than the people of Judah under God's power, but that they more likely saw the chariots more than they saw God's power.  We today as followers of Christ may see certain things as being to powerful to overcome if we see the problem more than we see God.  Verse twenty adds, And they gave Hebron unto Caleb, as Moses said: and he expelled thence the three sons of Anak.  We are told once again that Caleb was given his land as Moses had said for him to be.  Caleb had remained faithful to God, and his faith was rewarded.  When we remain faithful to God today, our faith will be rewarded, if not in this life, then in the one to come.

Judges 1:1 says, 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?  Although it says after Joshua died, some of this will be a repeat of what was said in the book of Joshua.  After Joshua died, the people of Israel had no one earthly leader as they had with Joshua and Moses before him, but they still had their real Leader, Who was God Himself.  There may be times when a local church is without a pastor, but that does not mean that they are without a leader, nor that they have no purpose during that time.  God is still their leader as always.  The people of Israel were still charged with fighting the Canaanites.  Verse two states, And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.  God answered the question of who was to go against the Canaanites.  God said the tribe of Judah would go, and He also promised them victory.  We can be certain that when God sends us into battle against evil in the world today, that if we go by His direction and under His power, that victory is ours ultimately.  This does not meant hat we will always be victorious in this world, but we know that God has given us the everlasting victory.  Verse three declares, And Judah said unto Simeon his brother, Come up with me into my lot, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with thee into thy lot. So Simeon went with him.  The people of Judah asked the people of Simeon to go with them to fight, and promised to go with the people of Simeon when they fought.  It is always nice to have fellow believers with us in the fight against evil today, but we really aren't told that this was God's guidance.  If God had assured the tribe of Judah of success, if they went in faith, then they would have been successful by themselves.  God may have led them to this decision, but it doesn't really specify that He did.  When we work together with other Christians today, we need to make certain that it is by God's direction and not from a lack of faith on our part.  Verse four adds, 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.  When Judah went up against the people of Canaan, God gave them the victory.  They slew ten thousand men.  Judah was not successful because of who they were, but because of who God was.  We as followers of Christ today will not be successful because of who we are in our battle with evil in the world but because of Who God is.  He gives us the victory.  Verse five continues, And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites.  Judah continued to be successful in their battles because they were following God's guidance and putting their faith in Him.  Verse six declares, But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.  One of the kings fled, and they caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.  This made him unable to fight or run effectively.  Verse seven says, And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.  Adonibezek said that he had cut the thumbs and big toes off seventy kings who were then subjected to him, and now God had done thr same to him.  We can be certain that one day people who do not believe in God and fight against His people will face their judgment by God.  Verse eight states,  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.  The people of Judah took Jerusalem and burned it.  Verse nine declares, And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites, that dwelt in the mountain, and in the south, and in the valley.   Verse ten adds, And Judah went against the Canaanites that dwelt in Hebron: (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba:) and they slew Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.  Then verse eleven concludes, And from thence he went against the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher:  The people of Judah continued to be successful against the Canaanites because tey were doing what God had instructed them to do under His power.  We today will be successful against the enemies we face as long as we are following God's commands and are relying on His strength.

We will continue to look at some things learned from Joshua.  The first thing is that we must rely on God to be behind whatever we are blessed with in this life.  The people of Israel did not just see a particular area and claim it for their own, but they relied on God to distribute the land.  Had they just claimed what they wanted, they could have been fighting each other over a particular area.  We today as followers of Christ must ask not for what we may want but for God's will to be done in our life.  We also saw that in some of the areas that the people of Israel did not destroy all the other people living there.  In one case, they were tricked into making a covenant, and in at least a few others it was stated that they were unable to drive them out.  We cannot afford to compromise with the people of this world, but must drive all ungodly attitudes out of our lives.  God had given them the ability to do this, and He gives us that same ability today.  We are told that when the people of Israel were faithful to God that they were victorious and that God gave them the land and an ability to live at peace.  When we are living by faith in Christ, we should be at peace in our lives.  God has already given us our heavenly home, so the question then becomes how content we will be in this life.  We also see that those who are God's leaders die.  The book of Joshua began after the death of Moses and basically concluded with the death of Joshua.  We need to realize that the earthly leaders of the church today are going to die, but that we need to look to God for the next leader.  Sometimes, they don't die but simply move to another place to serve, but God is still in charge.  Just as the people in that day had to accept Joshua as Moses' replacement, we today must accept new leaders when they come.  Finally, we see that at times there can be misunderstandings even about worshipping God, but if they occur, we need to get the facts under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  When we do, we like the people on the one side of the Jordan may find that the people on the other side really aren't being disobedient to God.  Just because we do not all worship exactly the same way does not mean that the way that others worship is wrong.  I do believe that we have a responsibility, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, to make sure that nothing that is not consistent with God's word is done in His name though.  Next, we will look at the book of Judges.

We will review some of the things we learned from Joshua.  The first is that the earthly leadership of God's people changes, but God does not.  Moses was dead, and Joshua took his place.  Our faith today should never be in a earthly leader of the church, the people of God.  Even in the local fellowship of believers, the earthly leadership is going to change, but God's leadership will not.  We also see that lack of faith can cause us to wander in the wilderness, but if we return to faithfulness in God then we can go where God wants us to be.  A whole generation, except for Joshua and Caleb, were denied access to the promised land.  They were still God's chosen people, but they didn't receive all the benefits from being God's people.   A lack of faith on our part as followers of Christ today may keep us from enjoying all the blessings that God has in store for us, but that does not mean that we are not a part of His people if we have truly accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord.  We also see that even though they already had the land promised to them, that the two and a half tribes were still responsible for helping the rest of the people of Israel to possess the rest of the promised land.  Just because we feel secure and prosperous in the world as followers of Christ does not exempt us from helping others, especially fellow Christians, in their struggles.  I don't believe that God blesses us just so we can enjoy His blessings and ignore those less fortunate.  I do not see anywhere in the Bible where God said keep it all for yourself, but I find many examples where He said share with others.  Even the feeding of the five thousand began with one person, a boy, sharing what he had to help the others.  Also, we see that if we look to God instead of at the problem, then we will be successful.  The people that the Israelites were going to war with had not changed in the years that the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness, nor had God.  Once they put their faith in God, they went over the Jordan to claim the land promised to them by God.  If we put our faith in God, even those enemies that once seemed so insurmountable will seem small.  It is always a question of faith in God.      

Joshua 24:26 says, And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.  Joshua recorded the words of their covenant in a book of the law of God.  God's word has been preserved for ages by His people, and we today have the completed book of God, the Bible.  He placed the book close to the sanctuary,  Verse twenty-seven states, And Joshua said unto all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us; for it hath heard all the words of the LORD which he spake unto us: it shall be therefore a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God.  Joshua said that the stone that he set up would be a memorial to the people of Israel and their covenant with God.  The cross is our symbol of our covenant with God today.  Joshua said that God had heard all the words that the people of Israel had said to Him that day, when they promised to be faithful to Him, just as He will hear any person who promises to be obedient to Him today.  Just as the stone was their witness, the Holy Spirit is our witness to let us know if we are straying away from God.  Verse twenty-eight declares, So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance.  Joshua then let the people go to their own inheritance, or homes.  They had committed themselves to God as a group, but it would be up to each individual to keep that commitment in the world.  We today gather together as churches, local fellowships of believers, where we profess our obedience to God, but then we go to our separate homes, where it is up to us individually to remain true to God.  Verse twenty-nine states, And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.  After this, Joshua died, and once again the people of Israel were without an earthly leader.  Those who lead the church today will die, but God is still in charge.  We have a personal relationship with God through our faith in Christ which is not dependent on any earthly person, so when one leader dies, we can be certain that God will call another until the time of the return of Christ.  Verse thirty adds, And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.  We are told where they buried Joshua.  This does not mean that we need to attempt to find his burial place today though.  Joshua is not there, but he is in heaven with his Savior, Jesus Christ, even though Jesus did not come until centuries later.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.  The people of Israel continued to serve the LORD all the days of Joshua and the elders who out lived him who knew the LORD and His works.  I don't believe that means that every person followed God, but that the people as a whole did.  Likewise, not every person who is a Christian or proclaims themselves to be one will always be totally obedient to God's word and will.  Verse thirty-two adds, And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.  Joseph's bones, which had been brought out of Egypt, were buried in a parcel of ground bought by Jacob.  The people of Israel had been in the promised land before until they went into Egypt.  If we have made a sincere profession of faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we have a home in our promised land, heaven.  We may have to struggle through this world below, but we can be certain that God will bring us safely home, just as He did the Israelites.  Verse thirty-three concludes, And Eleazar the son of Aaron died; and they buried him in a hill that pertained to Phinehas his son, which was given him in mount Ephraim.  Eleazar, the high priest, the son of Aaron, died as well and was buried.  The old leaders were passing away, so it would be time for new leaders to arise.  There remained the question of whether they would or not.  As has been stated many times, we as followers of Christ are just a generation away from total lack of believers.

Joshua 24:14 says, Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.  Joshua called on the people of Israel to put away the other gods that they had once had in their lives in Egypt and on the other side of the flood, and to serve the only true God in sincerity and truth.  We, as Christians, can substitute the cross for Egypt and the flood, and we need to put away anything that was a god to us before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Then we are to serve God in sincerity and truth.  Verse fifteen declares, And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  Joshua called on them to make a choice.  They could either choose to serve some false god or the one true God.  There were many other gods to choose to worship, from those worshipped before the flood to those of the people of the land the people of Israel had just conquered.  We today must at some point choose whether we are going to serve the gods of this world or the God Who created this world.  Everyone will choose one or the other by their acceptance or rejection of Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Joshua said that he and his family chose to serve the true God.  We really can't make that determination for our family, but we can and should point them to Christ.  Verse sixteen states, And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;  The people of Israel proclaimed faith in God.  This did not mean that they all would remain faithful to God though.  It is one thing to proclaim ourselves to be faithful to God, but the proof will come when we are faced with temptation or a fearful situation.  Verse seventeen adds, For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:  The people professed that God had delivered them from Egypt and bondage.  Christ has already delivered everyone from the bondage of sin today, if people will only accept that deliverance by putting their faith in Him.  Verse eighteen continues, And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.  They testified to what God had done for them, just as we must testify to what God has done for us today if we are followers of Christ.  Verse nineteen declares, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.  Then verse twenty adds, If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.  Joshua warned the people of Israel that they could not serve God and serve false gods at the same time.  He said God was  jealous God, expecting their total allegiance and He still is today.  We cannot serve God effectively and allow anything to become more important to us than He is.  Verse twenty-one says, And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD.  Once again, the people declared there obedience to God.  I believe that we must each day declare our obedience to God, or we may find ourselves chasing after the things of this world, which in effect become gods to us, since they become more important than our relationship to God.  Verse twenty-two declares, And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.  Joshua said that their declaration of obedience to God served as a witness against them.  When we proclaim ourselves to be followers of Christ, our words of faith serve as a witness against us.  If we are not sincere in our profession of faith, or if we later falter in our relationship with God, we alone are responsible.  Verse twenty-three adds, Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.  Joshua charged them to put away any strange gods, just as we must today.  Verse twenty-four states, And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.  The people of Israel once again stated that they would serve the LORD their God.  Joshua made the choice very clear, and every time the people of Israel said they would serve the Lord.  Though salvation is a one time decision that lasts forever, we must daily choose whether or not we are going to allow God to be first in our life.  Verse twenty-five declares, So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.  Just as Joshua made a covenant with the people, we as followers of Christ make a covenant with Him, and then we are called on to daily fulfill our part of the covenant.  Christ has already fulfilled His, when He died for us on the cross.

Joshua 24:1 says. And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.  Joshua gathered all the leaders of Israel to Shechem to present themselves to God.  They were not there simply to appear before Joshua, even if he was their leader.  They were there to appear before God.  When governmental leaders gather today, it would be good if they appeared before God first and foremost.  Verse two states, And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.  Joshua told the people what God had to say to them.  He reminded them first of where the came from, before the flood and to the time of Abraham.  Joshua said that they had worshipped other gods at that time.  We need to occasionally remember where we came from before accepting Christ as our Savior and Lord, when we worshipped other gods, so that we never forget God's gracious gift of salvation.  Verse three says,  And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.  Joshua then reminded them of God's promise to Abraham and His fulfillment of that promise, through Isaac.  God made Abraham a great nation through his one son of promise, Isaac.  God makes His great nation today through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  Verse four states, And I gave unto Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave unto Esau mount Seir, to possess it; but Jacob and his children went down into Egypt. Then, Joshua reminds them of Jacob and Esau, and Jacob going into Egypt.  Verse five declares, I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them: and afterward I brought you out.  Joshua was now getting closer to their time, when Moses and Aaron had delivered the people of Israel from Egypt by the power of God.  I believe that we should always remember the day that God delivered us from the bondage of sin by our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  If we have not done this, then the Bible is just another book instead of the divine word of God.  Verse six adds, And I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and ye came unto the sea; and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea.  Joshua reminds them of the faithers coming to the Red Sea as they were departing Egypt.  Sometimes, we have to reach the point of total despair before we turn to God for deliverance, but the good news is that He will always be there to deliver us, unless we do say no to Him too many times.  Verse seven says, And when they cried unto the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season  Joshua said that when the people cried out to God that He delivered them, and that the people gathered there knew personally what had occurred during the wilderness wanderings.  We may only know of what happened to the people of God in the past from reading about it, but if we are a follower of Christ, then we know personally about what has happened in our lives as we wandered in the wilderness of sin before accepting Christ.  Verse eight states, And I brought you into the land of the Amorites, which dwelt on the other side Jordan; and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand, that ye might possess their land; and I destroyed them from before you.  Joshua said that God brought the people of Israel into the land of the Amorites and gave it to them.  God was responsible for them being where they were and for their victory over their enemies, just as He is responsible for our salvation and victory over our spiritual enemies today.  Verse nine adds, Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you:  Joshua then reminds them of one particular enemy, Balak, who rose against them in the name of his god Balaam.  We today are going to have many spiritual enemies if we are Christians.  Verse ten declares, But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.  Joshua said thst he would not harken to Balaam, so God delivered them from Balak.  God will always deliver us from the forces of evil around us, if we remain faithful to Him.  Verse eleven adds, And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I delivered them into your hand.  Joshua then spoke of their victory over the people in the land on this side of the Jordan.  This was all accomplished by the power of God.  Verse twelve continues, And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.  Joshua reminded them that God had defeated two kings, not with the sword, but with hornets.  We may not have the strongest weapons today, but we will always have the strongest God if we are followers of Christ.  Verse thirteen concludes, And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat.  God gave the people of Israel the land, just as He will give us our heavenly home today if we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Just as the people of Israel did not work for the promised land, neither can we work for our salvation.  Just like the promised land, salvation is a gift from God because of His mercy to us.

Joshua 23:11 says, Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.  This is still Joshua's command to the Israelites, and it is a good command for the followers of Christ today.  We need to take good heed, or make sure that we are committed to loving Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Though salvation comes once and for all time for those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, it is continual commitment to allow Him to be Lord.  Verse twelve states, Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:  Joshua warned the people of Israel if they did not remain committed to God that they could be drawn back into sinful relationships.  The same is true for Christians today.  We cannot compromise our faith in God in any aspect, no matter how appealing it may be to do so.  Joshua spoke specifically about marrying outside the people of Israel, but there are many other ways to be led astray besides marrying outside the faith of those who are followers of Christ.  Verse thirteen declares, Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.  Joshua told the people that they should know for a certainty that God had already driven the enemies of Israel out and that He wouldn't do it again.  God had given them the victory and He expected them to remain faithful to Him, and as long as they did, there would be no need to drive out any other people.  God gives us victory over sin through our faith in Christ, but He does not remove all temptation from our life.  It is only as we remain faithful to Christ in our everyday life that we are victorious over sin.  Though we are commanded to go into the world, we are also reminded to not allow the things of the world to begin to rule us.  Verse fourteen adds, And, behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.  Joshua said that he was going to die, but that the people needed to remember that God had not failed them in any way.  God had fulfilled His promise to them in all aspects.  They had not claimed the promised land of their own power, but by the power of God.  God has not and never will fail us in any promise that He has made to us, and this is something that we should remember daily.  Religious leaders may die, but God's word does not die with them.  Verse fifteen continues, Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.  Joshua warned the people of Israel that just as God had brought all good things to them when they were faithful to Him that He could allow all evil things to come upon them if they turned away from Him.  When we falter in our faith in God, we should not be surprised that evil comes into our life.  Verse sixteen concludes, When ye have transgressed the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourselves to them; then shall the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.  Joshua said there was a penalty for serving other gods, and that was that God would drive them out of the land that He had given them.  If we have truly accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we will never lose our heavenly home, but we will lose the joy of our salvation.  We cannot afford to allow anything in this world to come between God and us.

Joshua 23:1 says, And it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and stricken in age.  Several years after God had given peace to Israel, Joshua was old and age was beginning to catch up with him.  No matter how successful we are in doing God's work, age will eventually slow us down, some more quickly than others.  Verse two states, And Joshua called for all Israel, and for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said unto them, I am old and stricken in age:  Joshua gathered all the other leaders of Israel together and told them that he was old and stricken with years.  He knew that the could not lead them forever, and he was preparing them for that.  Whether we are a leader or a follower in God's kingdom, we must realize that we will not live on this earth forever, and we must be prepared for new leadership to come in to do God's work.  Verse three adds, And ye have seen all that the LORD your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the LORD your God is he that hath fought for you.  Joshua reminded them of all that they had done through the leadership and power of God.  Joshua did not take the credit, but gave it to the people and more importantly to God Who had impowered them.  We must not attempt to take the credit for what God is doing today, but must give the credit to all Christians who are working under the power and leadership of God.  We like Joshua will not be here forever, so we must be teaching others to take our place under God's leadership and power.  Verse four declares, Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.  Joshua said that he had divided the land between them by lot, or according to God's will.  Today, if we are followers of Christ, He will gives us different blessings according to His will, but even then they are temporary.  The things God blesses us with here on earth like all things will eventually pass away.  Verse five adds, And the LORD your God, he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the LORD your God hath promised unto you.  Joshua said that God, and not Joshua himself, would drive out all their enemies.  When one earthly Christian leader gets old and can no longer serve today, we need to realize that it is God Who is in charge and brings success and peace and not a particular person.  Verse six warns, Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left;  Joshua called on the people of Israel to remain true to the teachings of the laws of God that had been give to them by Moses.  It was not Moses' law, but God's law.  They were  warned to not turn away from God's law in any way.  We are still to follow God's law today, even though we are saved by the grace of God, as they really were in Joshua's day.  Verse seven adds, That ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them:  Joshua reminded the people of Israel that that they were not to intermingle with the rest of the world and begin to give credit to their gods.  We today, though we are to be in the world physically, must always be separate from the world spiritually.  We cannot allow any other god to come into our lives and still effectively serve and worship God.  Verse eight continues, But cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day.  Joshua told them to stay close to God as they had one so far.  We too must continue to stay close to God. as we always are when we first accept Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse nine declares, For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day.  Joshua said that when God was with them that no one had been able to stand before them.  It was not the power of the people, but the power of God that made them successful, just as it is for us today.  Then verse ten adds, One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.  Joshua sad that one man of Israel would chase a thousand under the leadership and power of God.  We need to realize this today.  No matter how powerful the people who oppose God may seem, they cannot stand before the power of God.  If we as his followers truly believe this, then we never have a reason to fear the forces of evil in the world.

Joshua 22:30 says, And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them.  Phinehas and a few of the heads of the tribes had come ready to pronounce the doom of these two and a  half tribes because they thought that they were being disobedient to God.  When they herd the explanation of the tribe of  Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, they were pleased.  We as followers of Christ cannot simply go ready to condemn others, especially fellow believers, because of what we think they are doing, but we must instead go under the guidance of God and get the facts about what they are doing.  Verse thirty-one declares, And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.  Phinehas, again identified as the son of Eleazar the priest, was the spokesman.  He said that the rest of the nation now perceived that the LORD had not left them because of the actions of these two and a half tribes.  We should never assume that God is going to leave us because of the worship practices of others, but I do believe that we should always question practices that may seem to be inconsistent with God's word, not to condemn others but to at least attempt to make them aware of what we believe to be contrary to God's word.  Some people who profess to follow and worship God and pronounce themselves to be a part of His people include beliefs and practices in their worship service and even daily life that are not in accordance with the Bible.  Some even attempt to rewrite the Bible, and we cannot accept this.  Verse thirty-two adds, And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.  Phinehas and the others went back home.  When we are certain that other believers are living in accordance to the word of God and under His leadership, we need to simply leave them to their worship and know that they are a part of God's people.  Verse thirty-three continues, And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.  The rest of the people of Israel were pleased with the report and decided that they did not have to go to war with the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.  It is never a good thing for those who call themselves Christians to go to war with each other.  Of course, I do believe that we have a responsibility to make sure that what we are doing in the name of God is in accordance with the Bible, and we should question any practice that does not seem to be.  This should all be done under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-four concludes, And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.  The people of Reuben and Gad proclaimed the altar to be a witness between the LORD and them.  Whatever we do in worship of God today as Christians should be done as a witness between God and us.  We may not all worship the same way, but we all worship the same God, the only true and living God, if we are followers of Christ.

Joshua 22:21 says, Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,  Then verse twenty-two adds, The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)  The people of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh who were there answered the charges against them.  We should always be ready to answer anyone who accuses us of being unfaithful to God, if we are followers of Christ and are truly faithful to Him.  They first called on the LORD to be their witness, and only He can be the ultimate witness to our faithfulness or lack there of.  They said if they were guilty of rebellion then they should not be saved that day.  We need that same kind of faith.  Verse twenty-three declares, That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;  They had called on God as their witness that they had not built the altar for any purpose but to worship Him, but they were still willing to allow Him, and those accusing them, to be the judge.  Their faith was in God and their relationship to Him.  As long as we know that what we are doing is in accordance with God's will and we put our faith in Him, we do not have to worry about what others may do to or say about us.  We have the ultimate victory through our faith in Christ.  Verse twenty-four states, And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?  They then said that they had built the altar to honor and worship God, and so that their children would know of God.  Our worship today should honor God, but it should also lead our children to know about Him.  We really cannot get our children to know God, because that is a personal decision, but we can lead them to know about Him.  Verse twenty-five proclaims, For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.  They then said that God had put the border of the Jordan between them and the rest of the people of Israel.  They were not there simply because they chose to be, but were there by the leadership of God.  Verse twenty-six adds, Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice to a false god.  They then stated the purpose for the altar.  They were not building it for burnt offerings or sacrifices to a false God.  Verse twenty-seven continues, But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.  They said that they were building the altar for a witness between themselves and the rest of the nation on the other side of the Jordan, so that they might do service to the LORD to identify with the rest of the nation.  The altar would also be a witness to their children.  We do not all worship at the same place as Christians, but we must be certain that all we do when we worship brings honor and glory to God and is a witness to the world, and especially to our children, that we are being faithful to Him.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.  Again, they stated that the purpose of the altar was as a witness to God between themselves and the rest of the nation.  When we gather together today as followers of Christ, it should be to honor and worship God and to identify ourselves as a part of the family of God.  Verse twenty-nine concludes, God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.  They said they were not attempting to turn away from following God, but were simply building an altar to identify with His people.  When we worship today, we must do so to bring honor and glory to God, wherever we worship Him.

Joshua 22:11 says,  And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.  The rest of the people of Israel noticed that the tribe of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had built an altar on the other side of the Jordan.  When we do something to worship God, other people should notice, especially other Christians.  Verse twelve states, And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.  The rest of the nation of Israel were ready to go to war against these two and a half tribes.  It might have been that they felt that God could only be worshipped and sacrificed to on their side of the Jordan and at a particular place.   We can never feel that the worship of God is limited physically to a particular group of people and a particular place.  Of course, in order to worship God, we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but when we do, we are simply a part of the family of God throughout the world and are no better or worse than any believer anywhere else.  Verse thirteen says, And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,  At least they sent someone, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to get the facts about what was going on.  Before we go to war with other Christians about worship practices, we need to first seek God's guidance and then go to those that we may think there is a problem with and discuss it with them under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  I don't believe that we should ever just condemn their worship practices simply because they don't agree with ours.  Verse fourteen adds, And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.  Phinehas took with him the heads of the nine and a half tribes of Israel.  This represented everyone on this side of the Jordan.  They were united in their stand against the other two and a half tribes.  Verse fifteen says, And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,   Then verse sixteen adds, Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?  Phinehas and those with him represented themselves as the spokesmen for the LORD and asked why the people of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had turned away from following the LORD and built their own altar.  We cannot assume that we are the only ones who are worshipping God in the right place or in the right way.  There might be a need to question others if they are doing things in the name of worshipping God that are contrary to the word of God, but that was not the case at this time.  They had simply built an altar at which they were worshipping God.  Verse seventeen continues, Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,  Phinehas and his group referred to a past sin of one of the people of God that they still had not been cleansed from.  We cannot allow what someone else did in the past to influence how we view those worshipping God today, but we should be certain that we nor they are allowing things to go on in the name of worshipping God that are not in agreement with God's word.  Verse eighteen declares, But that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.  Phinehas and those with him were worried that God would punish them because of this altar built on the other side of the Jordan.  We are not told that they consulted God about their actions, but they seem to have simply acted because of what they feared that He would do.  If we have doubts about the worship practices of others, we should first pray about it and ask God what we should do.  Gathering facts and making accusations is never enough without seeking God's guidance first.  Verse nineteen says, Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over onto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle leith, and take possession among us, but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.  Phinehas and those with him told the two and a half tribes that if the land they had claimed was unclean, then come back over the Jordan with them to where the tabernacle was.  We need to remember that this land was given to them by Moses under the leadership of God, so it could not be unclean land anymore than the land on the other side if the Jordan was.  Phinehas was attempting to limit the worship of God to a particular place, and we can never afford to do that.  Verse twenty concludes, Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his iniquity.  They were still basing their concerns not on what was happening now, but on what had happened in the past.  We cannot afford to judge people today based on what someone else did in the past, but must judge the acts of others based on God's word.  Even then, if we are to judge at all, it must be because what is being done brings dishonor to God and not simply because it does not agree with how we worship God.

Joshua 22:1 says. Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Then verse two adds, And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:  Joshua called together the tribe of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh and told them they had fulfilled the commandment of Moses to them and had also done all that Joshua had commanded them.  We need to be just as faithful in our commitment to God, even when it is made to other people under the guidance of God.  Verse three states, Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.  These two and a half tribes had stood with the rest of the people of Israel in their fight to possess the land, even though their inheritance was already secure on the other side of the Jordan.  We cannot just rest secure in our own possessions when there are other people struggling  in their life, especially our fellow Christians, no matter where they may be.  Verse four declares, And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of Jordan.  Joshua gave God the credit for the victory and he acknowledged that God was their God as well.  God had given rest to all of them, and now it was time for these two and a half tribes to return to their land beyond the Jordan.  Until He returns, Christ will not give us the total victory over sin and death, but He will give us peace.  We will be scattered throughout the world until then, but as long as we are following God's guidance, then we will be where we should be.  Verse five adds, But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.  Joshua reminded them that even though they were to be physically separated that they were to still obey God's law.  So must we today, no mattwr where we are in the world.  Verse six says, So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.  Joshua actually pronounced the blessing of God on them I believe.  I don't believe that we can really bless people, but we can ask for God's blessing on them.  Verse seven states, Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,  At the same time, Joshua sent the half of the tribe of Manasseh on this side of the Jordan to possess their land with God's blessing on them.  Verse eight adds, And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.  They were to go and return with a lot of the spoils that they had gained and divide them with the other half of the tribe.  I don't believe that God expects us to hoard our possessions that He blesses us with, but that He expects us to share them with our fellow believers when they have need.  Verse nine continues, And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.  The two and a half tribes went on their way.  We may gather together at times today as followers of Christ, but eventually we go our own way physically, but we are still a part of God's people spiritually.  Verse ten concludes, And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.  When they got across the Jordan, they built an altar to God, for all to see.  We need to let people see today that we are worshiping God in all that we do.

Joshua 21:13 says, Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,  The next several verses simply name the cities given to the priests, stating with the descendants of Aaron.  Verse fourteen states, And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,  Verse fifteen, And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,  Verse sixteen, And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.  Verse seventeen, And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,  Verse eighteen, Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities. Then verse nineteen concludes, All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.   Aarons descendants received a total of thirteen cities.  Verse twenty states,  And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.  Now, we have a list of the cities given to the descendants of Kohath, a Levite.  Verse twenty-one says, For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs, Verse twenty-two, And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse twenty-three, And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,  Verse twenty-four, Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse twenty-five, And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.  Then verse twenty-six concludes, All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.  Kohath and his descendants received ten cities.  Verse twenty-seven says,  And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.  We now have a list of the cities given to the descendants of Gershon, another Levite.  Verse twenty-eight, And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,  Verse twenty-nine, Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty, And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,  Verse thirty-one, Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty-two, And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.  Verse thirty-three, All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburb.  Gershon and his descendants received thirteen cities.  Verse thirty-four states, And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,  Now we have a list of the cities given to Merari and the rest of the Levites.  Verse thirty-five, Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty-six, And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,  Verse thirty -seven. Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.  Verse thirty-eight, And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,  Verse thirty-nine, Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.  Then verse forty concludes, So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.  Merari and the rest of the Levites received a total of twelve cities.  These cities of the Levites were spread throughout the land of Israel, and each group included a city of refuge.  We today as Christians are spread throughout the world, and wherever we are should be a place of refuge from the sins of the world.  Verse forty-one says, All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.  Verse forty-two adds, These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.  The priests had a total of forty-eight cities and their suburbs.  Verse forty-three declares, And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.   God fulfilled His promise to the people of Israel, just as He always has and always will fulfill His promises.  Verse forty-four adds, And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.  God had defeated all their enemies when they were obedient to Him, and He will defeat all our enemies if we are obedient to Him today.  Verse forty-five concludes, There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.  Nothing good that God had promised to the people of Israel failed to be fulfilled, nor will what God promises us today.