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

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

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.

Joshua Review Continued

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.

Joshua Review

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

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

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.