In Judges 1 we see that sometimes the tribes fought together as allies to obtain their allotted land. In v3 Judah and Simeon fought together and throughout chapter 1 we read of partial victories and possessions of the land; then acts of disobedience – for example In chapter 1:6 we read of Adoni-Bezek (LORD of Bezek) who was captured and they cut off his thumbs and big toes and in v7, Adoni-Bezek says that God was repaying him for his cruel acts which he had done to 70 kings.
Here we see a Biblical principle – Galatians 6:7 “Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, he reaps.” God raises up people to hand out punishment on earth for crimes committed.
Deuteronomy 19:6 refers to ‘the avenger of blood’ (also in Numbers 35:12 and Joshua 20:3) for those who kill another (innocent blood). v13 “Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with you.” v15-21“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established. If a false witness rises against any man to testify against him of wrongdoing,then both men in the controversy shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days.And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother,then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you.And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.Your eye shall not pity, life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
Therefore, there should be at least two witnesses, and they must tell the truth.
It has long been a Biblical Principle that judges, the priests, the elders of the city, magistrates (Ezra 7:25; Exodus 22:8; Romans 13; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:14), even kings (e.g. Solomon) and prophets and leaders (e.g. Moses) and a body called ‘the council’ (Jesus referred to in Matthew 5:22) were given the task of making judicial decisions and pronouncing sentence upon offenders. Various laws and punishments were listed e.g. Exodus chapters 21-23 and elsewhere.
It may not be a popular statement but there appears to be no relaxing of ‘capital punishment’. It is still a Biblical Principle. In Genesis 9:6 we read that whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed for he is made in the image of God. Remember that there must be at least two witnesses.
Some have said that this was cancelled by Jesus in His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ but I don’t believe that this is true. Jesus said that He had come to fulfil the law not to do away with it. (Matt 5:17) Sadly we confuse the issue when we say that we are no longer under law but under grace (Romans 6:14) Paul goes on to say that sin shall not have dominion over us and asks the question – Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? He answers it forcibly – God forbid! He lists the works of the flesh and then the fruit of the Spirit which there is no law against. The fruit of the Spirit are absolutely pure and come only from the indwelling of God and therefore, cannot be against the law. In Romans 3:31 he states that we do not nullify the law by our faith, but that we uphold it.
Some also say that there should be no sitting in judgement against others. They wrongly use “Judge not that you be not judged” as authority for their ideas, but that is taking it out of its context. It leads to anarchy and everyone doing that which is right in their own eyes.
As Christians, God does not punish us twice for our sins. They were laid on Jesus at Calvary, but as His children He chastens us as we saw in point number 3 earlier.
Verses 8 to 11 list for us some of the battles they fought, the last one being in v11 against the inhabitants of Kirjath Sepher. In v12-15 we are again introduced to the Caleb whose story was recorded in Joshua 15:13-19. You will recall that Caleb was the other good spy with Joshua, and he promised his daughter Achsah to be wife of whoever conquered Kirjath Sepher (Debir) Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother took it, and Achsah was given to him (v13). Achsah persuaded Othniel (v14) to ask of her father a field as a present. She already had land, but it was dry, and she needed springs of water. Caleb gave her the upper and nether springs.
The first judge – Othniel.
Othniel became the first judge. He loved Achsah so much he was prepared to fight the enemy for her, and he took the town of Kirjath Sepher which was a place full of giants.
Do we love The LORD so much that earthly giants won’t deter us from serving Him? Reminds me of John Bunyan’s famous hymn we used to sing mainly at school – “He who would valiant be ……? He’ll with a giant fight to be a pilgrim.”
Whilst Achsah turned Othniel’s heart ever closer to The LORD, the men of Israel were led astray from following The LORD by the Canaanite girls they married. God is a jealous God and He refuses to allow His own to flirt with or follow other gods without any action on His part. He would not be God if He ignored such a thing. Thus, v8, the anger of The LORD was hot against Israel and He sold them into the hands of Chushan-rishathaim, the King of Mesopotamia and they served him for 8 years.
These were the very people who their forefather Abraham left many years before to follow The LORD to a land which God would show him.
In verses 9 to 11 we read that the people cried out to The LORD in their distress and in His mercy and grace, even though they had forsaken Him and served Baals and groves (Ashtorahs), when they cried out to Him He was ready to hear and gave them a deliverer – Othniel, who had not fallen in love with a Canaanite. He and his wife Achsah followed the LORD.
There is a lesson here for young people and older ones – it is dangerous to flirt with the world. God would have us go with His own children. Be patient, wait for the right one whom The LORD will provide if you really want to do His will. As a Christian you have nothing in common with a person who is not. They will invariably drag you down to their level. I’ve heard it so many times – “I’ll convert him/her”. It is very rarely the case, if ever. I only know of two or three, but I know of scores who went the other way, even my own cousins, one who once ran well and walked with the LORD, but no more.
Sentimentality, emotional involvement, seeming compatibility, physical attraction does NOT change the law of God.
The Apostle Paul warns us of this in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore, “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”
Obeying such a command may mean loneliness for a while but the rewards are incalculable. It is not worth disobeying – the end does not bear thinking about.
The Spirit of The LORD came upon Othniel (v10) and they had peace so long as he was alive – but on his death they went back to their idols.
The Ashtoreths or Astaroths (pl) were figures of a Phoenician goddess (the Astarte of the Greeks) which were worshiped as idols during the times of declension in Israel. (See Judges 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:3,4; 12:10; 31:10; 1 Kings 11:5,33; 2 Kings 23:1.) Jeremiah 44:18,19 refers to Ashtoreth as the ‘queen of heaven’. The Roman Catholics also refer to Mary in a similar way – a term which would have embarrassed her immensely since she referred to God as her Saviour.
Be it not our experience that we forget God so easily. Only serving Him when He provides a human leader with character and charisma. Let us be consistent and persistent in our Christian Living and testimony and service. So often we depend on others and how important it is that each of us are dependable and that we do not put stumbling blocks in the way of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Someone has said that we are either steppingstones or stumbling blocks.
The late Derick Bingham once said that he loves to think of Achsah having a profound effect on her husband for good and he, in turn, had a profound effect under God over Israel.
The King of Mesopotamians name mean ‘Double Wickedness’ and Satan has brought people to think that throwing out our parents’ morality will bring them freedom. They say morality doesn’t matter. Film stars and other with fame and popularity live together and have children without getting married – young people have it rammed down their throats that this is the norm. People today have followed suit and, marriage has declined and been substituted, thankfully not altogether, for living together. It is reported that Peter Ustinov, brilliant man that he maybe, said, “Everybody is basically good – they are only made bad.” Thus, denying original sin.
We see all around us this breaking away from the transcendent LORD and look what is happening to us – divorce rates rise, sexual immorality is rife, violence is prevalent. It has been said that ours is a ‘cut-flower generation’ – when a sign of life remains, we cut ourselves off from our Biblical roots and the petals begin to droop and fall. We have fast become a society without standards. Even in the church, the fervour for the things of God has become dry formalism, apathy and indifference has set in.
Maybe in the midst of this there is an Othniel and Achsah, a couple who will put God first and turn their generation back to The LORD.
The judges were just tribespeople on whom the LORD laid the burden of Israel’s idolatry and oppression. Spiritual ancestors of the prophets – men and women raised up by God to represent Him in the nation. Patriots and religious reformers because national security and prosperity were inseparably linked with loyalty and obedience to God.
When we get to v21 we read that the Benjamites lived alongside the Jebusites, v22-26 the house of Joseph spared one of the enemy and his family, who went and built a city! An apparently ‘little evil’ festers and makes a great sore. Big things have small beginnings.
In v34 The Danites despite of their fighting men (one of the largest tribes) would not fight their enemies, nor did they seem to join forces with their brothers, and consequently they did not obtain their allotted portion and their enemies retained land allotted to and promised by God to the Danites if they obeyed. Joshua had told them (1:11) that they should go and possess the land, and even better, that The LORD had given it to them.
v34 tells us that the Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country not allowing them to come down into the plain, and held out in Mt Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim. It is interesting to note that it was left to King Saul many years later (1 Samuel 14:31) to defeat the Philistines from Micmash and Aijalon. If the Danites had done their job, there would have doubtless been no Philistines in these places.
The inhabitants of Canaan were steeped in heathen idolatry and Israel was to be a separate people. Thus, the command to Israel, over and over again, was “You shall drive out the inhabitants of Canaan; destroy their images etc.” Numbers 33:50-56 laid down the instructions for the conquest of Canaan.
We read in v28 that they did this when they were strong and put the inhabitants, the Canaanites, to forced labour, but, and there was a big ‘but’, they did not drive them out completely.
This was in disobedience to The LORD’s commands and as a result Israel did not raise the Canaanites to their level, rather, Israel came down to theirs. It is always the same – disobedience leads to decline. Israel trusted in themselves rather than in God. Not only did they decline but they, the Danites, became prisoners in their own allotted land. They were confined (v34). This is what Satan does to us – we become prisoners of our own disobedience and words like, “I can’t conquer this sin or that, I seem to have no victory etc.” become commonplace.
