Conquering Their Inheritance

Click here to read Judges 1.

Each Period of disobedience went through a 5-step cycle:

Rebellion	sin
Retribution	servitude
Repentance	supplication
Restoration	salvation
Rest	silence

Each succeeding period of disobedience formed a descending spiral of increased sin. The "apostasy" grew and was contrasted by the creativity and increased severity of God's judgment and delivery (salvation).

Chapter 1 gives us an account of the progress that several of the tribes made in the conquering of their inheritance.

Judah joined with Simeon and their combined armies defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites at a place called "Bezek" (location unknown), a city named after their king, Adoni-bezek. The Israelites killed 10,000 men and while their king escaped he was later captured and his thumbs and big toes were cut off. Then they took him to Jerusalem where he later died. This treatment of their king may have seemed sever until you realize this king had done the same thing to 70 kings whom he had defeated in times past.

Judah is also recorded as having been victorious over its enemy in the "hill country" and the "coastal plains". In the attack on the city of Debir, Caleb promised that whoever would lead the forces of Israel in this attack would receive his daughter as a wife. His nephew, Othniel, led the attack and won Ach-sah as his bride.

In verse 8 we get an account of Judah conquering at least half of Jerusalem and destroying it by fire. The Lord helped these combined armies to defeat many of the cities of Canaan but they failed on the coastal areas of the Philistines where there were large armies with "iron chariots

Mention is made of the descendants of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, who lived in Midian and was a Kenite. They obviously had joined up with the Israelites during the 40 years of wandering and now were settling in the southern part of Simeon's inheritance in the Wilderness of Zin having formally been around Jericho.

The activities of other tribes is mentioned:

1. Benjamin failed to clean out their half of Jerusalem.
2. Ephraim captured a man from Bethel and offered to spare his life if he told them how to get into the city. He told them and they entered the city and killed the entire population except the man and his family.
3. Manasseh failed in their efforts against the Canaanites in their inheritance. Later, when the Israelites became stronger they overcame these Canaanites and made them their slaves.
4. Zebulun, Asher and Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites from their inheritance but most of them became slaves and servants to the Israelites.
5. The Amorites forced the Tribe of Dan into the "hill country"; later Ephraim defeated these Amorites and made them their slaves.

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