Judges 1:1

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?  After  Joshua, the leader of the people of Israel after Moses, died, they asked the LORD who was going to lead them now in their war against the Canaanites.  They had only known two leaders, and the first, Moses, had appointed the second, Joshua, before he died.  Even if we don't know who he is immediately, God will never leave His groups of believers, the local church, without a leader.  We just need to look to Him for guidance in finding that person.  Verse two adds, And the LORD said, Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand.  God said the tribe of Judah would would go up against the Canaanites, and that He had delivered the land into his hands.  If we are appointed by God, He will always be with us to give us success if we put our faith in Him.  This doesn't mean that we will physically defeat every foe we encounter, but will have everlasting spiritual victory.  Verse three continues, 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 the tribe of Simeon to go with them into the battle, and promised that they would assist the people of Simeon in their battle when they went to war.  Judah was the largest tribe, but they had no problem asking for help from and promising help to others.  We should never believe that we are so strong that we cannot use the help of fellow Christians nor that we are above offering help to others.  Verse four states, 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 the people of Judah did as God directed them to do, God delivered their enemy into their hands and they killed ten thousand men of the Canaanites and Perizzites.  God has already defeated our enemies forever by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, so we can go forth boldly and proclaim the gospel to the world.  Verse five adds, And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. They came up against Adonibezek in Berek.  Verse six adds, But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.  Adonibezek fled from them, but they caught him and did not kill him, but instead cut off his thumbs and big toes.  This made him unable to fight, and was also a witness to his followers who may have been left to his weakness.  God has effectively eliminated the power of the people of the world to have the ability to defeat us spiritually today.   This does not mean that we, like Paul and so many early Christians will never suffer a physical defeat though.  Verse seven continues, 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 off the thumbs and big toes of ten kings who ate under his table, and that now God had done this to him.  No matter how powerful our enemies may be today, they have already been defeated by God from a spiritual, everlasting view.  Verse nine concludes, 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 had taken Jerusalem and set it on fire.  God has already given us victory over all our enemies, but our reward will be in heaven.