Sermon Transcript:

 As we delve into the Book of Judges, we are not just exploring history; we are meditating on patterns of human nature and God’s work to redeem. This book connects directly to our journey as believers and the overarching story of salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s about us, as much as it’s about iron age warriors. 

In Judges 1:1-2:5, we already see the seeds of problems that will plague Israel throughout the book. Today, I aim to do three things: highlight Israel’s deteriorating faithfulness which sets the stage for the book, address the ethical questions of God’s command to drive out the Canaanites, and connect these themes to Jesus. The main idea is that 

God is righteous and good and His wisdom is higher than ours.

The book opens with Israel still functioning as a nation with God as their king. It begins with them seeking God’s direction after Joshua’s death, a positive beginning showing their reliance on God:

1 After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” 2 The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”

The death of a leader can be destabilizing but they faithfully seek God’s instruction as to who will lead them. They are sensitive to the will of God and seek it before acting. Wouldn’t we all be better off if we could just remember this lesson! Before we run off in whatever direction we think is right, we should see what God says. That is what they did.

God says, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.” It is a done deal. Past tense. God has already given the land into the hand of Judah and all they need to do is receive it by faith. Since this comes right after the successes in the book of Joshua, we expect more stories of triumph and victory but our hopeful expectations quickly evaporate. The downgrade begins subtly but continues to worsen.

Things start out well enough.  Verse 3 says,

3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, “Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites. And I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you.” So Simeon went with him. 4 Then Judah went up and the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they defeated 10,000 of them at Bezek. 

The Lord gives them victory and they even capture the leader of Bezek, who apparently tried to hide.

5 They found Adoni-bezek at Bezek and fought against him and defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6 Adoni-bezek fled, but they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes. 7 And Adoni-bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me.” And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there. 8 And the men of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

The word Adoni means lord so Adoni-bezek isn’t a name, it is a title for the leader in Bezek. The narrator says they cut off his thumbs and big toes but he leaves it to Bezek to explain why and it is here we first see a hint of the problems to come. Rather than kill him, they adopt the custom of the Canaanites themselves. They do not inquire of the lord, but instead adopt a Canaanite practice of humiliation. It is subtle, but the Hebrews are already beginning to act like Canaanites.

9 And afterward the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who lived in the hill country, in the Negeb, and in the lowland. 10 And Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba), and they defeated Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai.

After the events near Jerusalem they turn to the hill country where God gives them success. Then verses 11-15 records the marriage of Caleb’s daughter Achsah to Othneil, who we will meet again later. Caleb has given her a parcel of desert land so she asks him for springs as well, which he gives to her. The story shows in these early days the people were living in harmony. Then we pick up again in verse 16.

16 And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people. 17 And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they defeated the Canaanites who inhabited Zephath and devoted it to destruction. So the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 Judah also captured Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

The conquest of these other cities in the hills round out the conquests of Judah and then the narrator gives us a summary of the progress under Judah.

19 And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. 20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 

Although the lord was with Judah and we have a record of many victories, it is like someone slams on the brakes unexpectedly. Despite their many victories, Judah failed to drive out the Canaanites from the plain. Their victories come because the lord is with them so the reference to the iron chariots is interesting. There was concern about this back in Joshua 17 and Joshua tells them they will be able to drive out the Canaanites even though they have chariots of iron and are strong.

This superior technology would have been no problem for God and we are not told exactly why this became an obstacle to them. Perhaps they lost their nerve or were content with what they already won and thought it wasn’t worth the effort to completely drive them out. Whatever happened, this is the first explicit failure to obtain what God had promised. 

Even Judah falls short and it will continue to degrade from here. Verse 21,

21 But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

Benjamin intermingles with the people. This is followed by a report from Joseph, which are the tribes of Ephriam and Manasseh. 

22 The house of Joseph also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 And the house of Joseph scouted out Bethel. (Now the name of the city was formerly Luz.) 24 And the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the way into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.” 25 And he showed them the way into the city. And they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go. 26 And the man went to the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz. That is its name to this day.

The Lord was with them but rather than trusting in obedient faith they seem to be trying to repeat the events at Jericho as if it were the tactics rather than God that brought them success. The two situations are completely different. The phrase translated “deal kindly” is actually them saying that they will offer him covenant loyalty and blessing. But, unlike at Jericho, there is no repentance of faith from this man so this is a direct violation of God’s command. 

They essentially enter into a covenant with him and let him go. It is clear he was no Hebrew sympathizer. He goes to the land of the Hittites and builds a city there. The Hittites will end up causing trouble later but that is another book. The report continues,

27 Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 28 When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not drive them out completely.

29 And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them. 

30 Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

31 Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, 32 so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

33 Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

Seven times between verse 27 and 33 it says they “did not drive out”. This isn’t just a record of events, it is an accusation. If Israel was strong enough to force the Canaanites into labor, they clearly had the strength to drive them out. They chose not to do that and it gets even worse. 

34 The Amorites pressed the people of Dan back into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain. 35 The Amorites persisted in dwelling in Mount Heres, in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, but the hand of the house of Joseph rested heavily on them, and they became subject to forced labor. 36 And the border of the Amorites ran from the ascent of Akrabbim, from Sela and upward. 

The tribe of Dan actually ends up retreating and rather than coming to their aid, the tribes of Joseph takes advantage of their brother's weakness and takes some of their land. Instead of helping to drive out the Canaanites, the Ephriamites take land that wasn’t theirs and keep the Canaanites as laborers.

Having begun so well, the chapter ends with unfulfilled commitment, incomplete obedience, and compromising tolerance. Even when Israel has the upper hand, they do not do what God commanded. 

In verses 3-21 Israel pushes the Canaanites out of the hill country but their allies are allowed to remain and they don’t drive them out of the plain. In 22-27 they drove out the Canaanites but they let some go to live in another place. Then in 28-33 although they are victorious they allow the Canaanites to remain and live with them. Then in 34-36 The Canaanites actually pushed back one of the tribes of Israel and they cannot dislodge the people.

This is not merely a military failure but a spiritual failure. The reason to displace the Canaanites was not military, it was spiritual. Their victory was not going to be due to the power of their army but the power of God. God commanded the destruction of the Canaanites not for political reasons, but because if they remained they would corrupt Israel’s worship and threaten the souls of its people.

By failing to be obedient to God’s command to destroy the Canaanites, Israel is like a surgeon who leaves some of the cancer in the patient. There would be serious consequences for their unfaithfulness and compromise. This is made clear in the verses that follow.

1 Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?  3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 

They are confronted by the angel of the Lord, God’s official messenger. This is the one who went before them in the Exodus and is likely the captain of the army of the Lord that visited Joshua. What he says is God’s word and he proclaims an oracle of judgment upon them.

He reminds them of God’s faithfulness to them saying,

I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you

He reminds them of God’s commandment and their duty,

2 … you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ 

He then declares the charges against them,

… you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?

He then pronounces the sentence.

3 So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” 

This is not an announcement of future judgment as if God changed his mind. It is a reminder of the consequences God had repeatedly warned them about if they made covenants with the people of that land. It was by grace that God entered into a convenience with them. By grace, he revealed his will. By violating his commands they foolishly broke the covenant and defied the God who loved them and protected them.

4 As soon as the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 And they called the name of that place Bochim. And they sacrificed there to the Lord.

When the people hear this, they grieve and make sacrifices. The word Bochim means place of weeping and they seem to be genuine in their brokenness but there are consequences for their failure to keep the covenant. The lord declares that his past warning is about to be fulfilled. He will no longer drive out the Canaanites from before them. 

Instead of Israel conquering their enemies, God will allow Israel to fall into the hands of those who pursue them. As we journey through this book, it becomes increasingly clear that any good in Israel is not of their own doing but emerges solely from the abundant grace of God. In this people, marred by rebellion, there lies no merit to claim favor from their sovereign God. Yet he will never abandon them.

You may not be particularly interested in the springs of Achsah or Bezek’s toes, but there are important lessons here for us. First, this chapter shows us the danger of seemingly small acts of compromise and unfaithfulness. We are not called to drive out people, but we are called to put to death sin in our life. Just as they were promised victory so long as they relied upon the lord to fight for them, we too are promised victory over sin if we put our trust in Christ to go before us.

Just like them, the minute we try to accomplish this by our own effort, we will fail. We are not powerful enough to drive out the iron chariots of sin in our hearts, but salvation has already come to us if we receive it by faith in Jesus and in the power of the Spirit. Just as they were not to mix their lives and worship with that of the Canaanites, we are likewise called to not mix our life and worship with the fleshly desires of the world. Like them, we are to be a holy people that display the grace and glory of God. By the power of the Spirit, we are to pursue the killing of all that is sinful in us. Romans 8:12–14 says,

12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

They thought they could keep the Canaanites under control and have the best of both worlds. Additional labor and resources as well as peace in the land God gave them but it doesn’t work that way. We cannot be at peace with that which is trying to kill us. We can no more domesticate our sin than we could a grizzly bear.

Our only hope is to pursue a godly life by the power of the Spirit. Not by keeping the rules perfectly, because we cannot, but by living out the truth that these sins have already been defeated because they were nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ. 

But Israel was commanded not only to fight spiritual enemies, but to kill other sinners. How do we square the God of love revealed in Jesus who laid down his life for his enemies with the God who commands Israel to destroy the Canaanites? First, we need to realize that we cannot pick and choose the bits we like from the Bible. Our understanding of God must account for both of these realities. How do they fit together and how is it moral for God to give such a command?

I know that many people will not like the answer I am going to give. Some will even hate what I am going to say, but at the heart of this answer is a truth that is crucial to our understanding of the gospel. What it boils down to is that God is God and we are not. God is sovereign and he can do whatever he wishes with the creation he made. Unlike us, there is no law or standard above him by which he is measured. Job 40:2 says,

2 “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? …

To question if anything God does is moral is an irrational question because he is God and is himself the standard of morality. That does not mean that morality is arbitrary because God is perfect and therefore he always acts according to his own nature and he is loving, and righteous, and merciful. Therefore, we can be sure that if we knew what God knows, we would see how this commandment was ultimately loving and must be careful of putting ourselves in the place of God as if we can determine for ourselves what is right or wrong.

We recoil at the idea that God would tell other sinners to execute his judgments. It is difficult enough to accept it when God acts directly through a tornado or an earthquake, but when he directly expresses a command that people be put to the sword that is jarring.

First, we need to understand that it is wrong for any people to pursue a course of action like this on their own. This was a unique time in history where God was acting as the king and military leader of a nation. We are not under that setup now. God is working through the gospel to call all nations to himself. It is evil to take into our own hands what only God can rightfully command.

Crusaders who slaughter people to take so-called holy land, or settlers who murdered and drove indigenous people out of their homelands, or people who blow up abortion clinics, or beat up homosexuals in the name of Christ are committing acts of evil. They have no mandate from God for such things. We struggle not against flesh and blood but against dark spiritual forces. 

But God is sovereign and whatever he does is right. God does not owe us anything. We owe our very existence to his grace and he is under no obligation to be merciful to rebellious sinners who have rejected his law added to the evil in the good world he made. He doesn’t owe us anything.

Listen, if God sent someone here this morning to take all of our lives, he has done us no wrong. Yes, the command against Canaan was brutal, but it was not unjust. No person has ever received injustice from the hand of God. Many have received mercy and many have received justice but not a single one has ever been treated unethically or unjustly by God.

In all of history there has only ever been one innocent man who died and he volunteered. We often think in terms of not deserving salvation but it isn’t just that we don’t deserve to be saved. The truth is that what we do deserve is hell. The judgment that befell the Canaanites was far less than any one of us have earned. God deserves our praise and worship even if we did not have the hope of heaven because we get to experience any joy or peace whatsoever. 

If we really fully understood what we have been given in Christ I hardly think we could think or speak of anything else. God sent his son to die for us while we were his enemies. Even as he hung on the cross, he was praying for us, “God forgive them, they don’t realize what they are doing.” We may not fully understand why a God like this does some of the things he does, but we do know we can trust him.

Candidly, if I must choose between the moral values of a holy God who is willing to offer himself in sacrifice so that the world can be saved and those of a world that celebrates the murder of 60 million unborn children and sacrifices its living youth to the idol of selfishness, greed, and lust, well I don’t think that is a difficult choice to make. It is a strange thing that so many people who say they believe we are each able to come up with our own standards of morality are often the first to ask why God doesn’t do something about evil when they recognize it. In Canaan, we have an example of God doing something about it. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the world apparently likes neither the patience or the decisiveness of God.

We know from the Bible as well as historical records and archeology the religious and cultural practices of the Canaanites were horrific. Just to highlight one example, they engaged in child sacrifices. Not in some cult, but as a regular practice. They would build large metal idols of their god Molech with outstretched arms, and heat it with fire until it was extremely hot. Then they would place children onto the statue where they would be seared on the hot metal until they died.

Back in Genesis 15 God tells Abraham he will not judge them until their iniquity was full. They had 400 years to turn away from their demon worship before God intervened. This is a reminder that the judgment of God is just and we must not confuse his patience with indifference. 

In Luke 13 Jesus tells a story about a tower that fell on some people. Many of the Jews thought that was the judgment of God upon those who died. Jesus warns them to not think they were any better than those who died. The command to drive out the Canaanites is just one example among many in the scriptures to remind us that God is gracious in offering the opportunity to repent. That offer is made today to anyone who will believe and find shelter under the sacrificial blood of Jesus. There will be a day when the sins of this world will be full and Christ will return with thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon the earth.

The Canaanites and Israelites are reminders of two things. God is patient and merciful and offers salvation to all who put their faith in him but that a time comes when God will act in judgment and the evils of the world will be punished. This grace extends even to those of us as sinful as the Canaanites. God’s word doesn’t tell us to earn his favor, it tells us to receive it by putting our trust for salvation and holiness in Jesus.

Probably the most famous Canaanite woman of all time was a prostitute that lived in Jericho named Rahab. Although she was a Canaanite and a prostitute she put her faith in the one true God and her life was spared. She is mentioned in the book of James to show that faith produces action. She is included in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews 11. But the most amazing thing about her is what we find in Matthew chapter 1 when he gives us the genealogy of Jesus. In verse 5 we find this,

5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah …

Jesus Christ, the lord and savior of the world is descended from a Canaanite prostitute. God will judge sin but he also offers grace. Judgment was pronounced, but repentance was accepted. Through her these bloody Canaanites play a part in bringing salvation to all who believe. That salvation is possible because Jesus, the Son of God, offered himself as an innocent sacrifice to purchase forgiveness and new life for anyone who will trust him to do it.

Earlier I asked how we can reconcile a God who brutally punishes sin and yet is all loving. The answer to that is that these two truths about the character of God are reconciled on the cross of Jesus Christ. God is both the just and justifier. He is the holy judge and the merciful savior. The cross reminds us that God will pour out his wrath upon sin. It also reminds us that we need not pay that price ourselves.

There will be a great day when these questions will not disturb us but we will still be singing the praises of Jesus. I would like to end this morning with what Revelation 15:2–4 says regarding that.

2 And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. 3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”