Judges 1
Before getting into the Book of Judges, we must first understand what brought Israel to this point in their history.
In the Book of Exodus, God promised the Israelites a “Promised Land” (Genesis 15:18). This was because Israel, God’s chosen people, had fallen into slavery in Egypt. This was foretold in Genesis 15:13. How did this happen? We have to go all the way back to how Israel came to Egypt and how they felling slavery:
Jacob was told by God to go to Egypt with his entire family (Gen. 46:1-4). God tells him to not be afraid, for He will make him into a great nation. It is also important to note that Jacob is also known by the name Israel. So if we are to see the symbolic nature of this story, it is that God is building the nation of Israel through Jacob’s faith.
The second story is that of Joseph. His story begins in Genesis 37 and details the jealousy of his brothers, who ultimately throw him in a cistern and leave him to die. But instead of leaving him to die - his brothers sold him to a passing by caravan on its way to Egypt where he becomes second in command to Pharaoh. When his path once again crosses his brothers, he is able to show forgiveness rather than vengeance. Because of Joseph’s presence already in Egypt, he is able to reinstate his family. His family escaped the famine and stayed in Egypt.
After Joseph’s generation dies out, we see that the Israelites continue to prosper. The land of Egypt becomes filled with them. God’s promise to Jacob has come true, but the eyes of Egypt are on them.
Time passes and a new Pharaoh emerges. Joseph, who had favor with the Pharaoh of his time, is not known by this new Pharaoh. It was common practice for the incoming Pharaoh to obliterate the successes and records of the outgoing king. So it isn’t surprising that Joseph’s legacy is not part of known history.
This new king is afraid. His fear is rooted in this growing population of Israelites. His concern is this: if they continue to grow and they align with his enemies, they will overwhelm Egypt. So the new Pharoah enslaves them. This was probably easy to do. The Hebrews most likely didn’t have a structured political system and as we will see later on, they had no military to speak of. So the Egyptians swoop in, enslave them, and create a new worker class in Egypt.
But the enslavement does not slow down their fruitfulness. The result is hard labor and ruthless treatment. The idea is for Egypt to keep the Israelites weak. Their lives consist of making bricks, erecting buildings, and work in the fields for Egypt.
The Israelites are enslaved for about 430 years before they cry out to God. God sends them a savior. Moses. Moses is to lead Israel to a place called the “Promised Land”, a long strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, north of Israel and south of Phoenicia. This land is lush, known as a land of “milk and Honey,” and is bequeathed to Israel, so that they may grow a nation, under God, to show the rest of the world what a society, under God, looks like.
The journey from Egypt the the Promised Land was waylaid because of the Israelite’s unfaithfulness and disobedience. Save for two men, none of the original adults that left Egypt were allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
The Israelites spend a generation wandering around the desert, not because they are lost, but because first they must grow into their “chosen” status. They must learn who God is (worship at the Tabernacle), understand His laws (the Ten Commandments), and grown into a strong military force (the tribes and formations of tribes). Only then, after their training, can they go into the Promised Land, because the Promised Land is not unoccupied. The Canaanites live in the land, a conglomeration of heathen people who have dismissed God and for hundreds of years lived in defiance of Him.
The Israelites fall into sin continually while in the desert, though small numbers of them followGod’s will and direction, most do not, causing the first generation to die in the desert. But the second generation, now led by Joshua, is allowed into the Promised Land.
In the Book of Joshua, Joshua cuts a bloody scythe through the Promised Land, destroying cities and people, for God told the Israelites that they could not live with these people. If they compromised with them, it would be a detriment to them. Joshua follows. But he can’t do it all himself. he grows old and eventually dies, having Israel, for the first time, without a Godly leader. For fifty years they stay poised outside the Promised Land, wondering when it is that God will allow them to enter it. Unfortunately, during these two generations, the lack of a Godly leader begins to destroy the moral tenants of the Israelites. When it is finally time for them to enter the Promised Land the Israelites are spiritually weak.
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
The tribe of Judah goes into the promised Land, and they do the right thing: they wait for the word of God. In other words, they trusted God with the timing of their conquest. Judah is the selected tribe, the strongest of the twelve.
3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites went with them.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
Genesis 29:33-35 shows us the link between Simeon and Judah, and even though God did not say Simeon was to be involved, we see that He blessed it . The concept of working together can be viewed as how the Body of Christ operates: each piece doing its own part in its own way.
We see that the union works: 10,000 enemies are cut down. Adoni-Bezek (Lord of Lightning) was the leader of this area and he certainly sounded formidable, but with trust in the Lord, Judah and Simeon cut him and his forces down easily. Adoni-Bezek is dealt with by justice: he is given the same treatment he gave 70 kings. With those appendages cut off, it renders him useless as a fighter: he can’t grip or stay stable.
8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
9 After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).
12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.
14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”
15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.
17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah 18 Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each city with its territory.
19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.
This is the first recorded attack and taking of Jerusalem. Some 400 years later King David would take it back (2 Samuel 5:6-10). Hebron was another notable city they captured. This city was given to Caleb, who was the only other man with a truthful account of the Promised Land when the spies returned to Moses with their report (Numbers 13:26-33).
The last part of this string of verse is important: Verse 19: The Lord was with the men of Judah. But, what we see toward the end of this is that Judah begins to run into some problems. They took possession of the hill country, but not the plains, because the chariots were fit with iron. This is a chink in the armor, the beginning of Israel’s problem in the Promised Land. If their hearts and minds are totally with God, they can accomplish anything Yet, they can’t overcome the chariots. The next sentence is also telling. It refers to the land of Hebron being given to Caleb. But who was it taken from? The three sons of Anak. Anak is referred to, in scripture, as a giant (Numbers 13:30-33). So they were able to defeat the most deadly foes in the land, yet something is breaking a bit in Judah; they are beginning to lose trust.
21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.
The Benjamites fail in their attempt to drive the people out of the land. God’s decree to Israel was to drive all of the people from the land (Deuteronomy 20:17). Among those who are to be forced out of the land are the Jebusites. What the passage eludes to is that since the Benjamites could not drive them out, they chose to live alongside them. This is compromise, and as we’ll see moving forward, compromise gets the Israelites in a lot of trouble.
But we may look at this and ask, what’s so bad about compromise? Living alongside is far better than killing, right. We have to understand why God wanted the Jebusites out of the land. These were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a Canaanite tribe. Much more is known of the Canaanites, who held a pantheistic religious belief system. El (like Zues, or later Jupiter), was the head of the gods, but Baal probably became the most famous. He was the god of rain and thunder, the god that made the rain come, the crops grow, sustained human life. Asherah, the goddess of fertility, was also quite prevalent in their religion, and we see her name pop up all over the Old Testament. Beside their pantheon of god, they were also involved in hieros gamos, which was a sexual religious ritual between the king or priest and a woman priestess. But most despicable than even that was human sacrifice. Both adult and child sacrifice became a staple of the Canaanite religion.
When we compromise our values for the greater good, we’re complicit in the sin. We allow the sin to continue, to grow, to gain strength. And this was exactly what God cautioned the Israelites against. God wanted the Israelites to drive them from the land so that they would not be ensnared in their sin. The Benjamites have set themselves up for disaster.
The bigger issue is this: they aren’t trusting God. They aren’t listening to God. They aren’t following God’s edicts when they turn toward practicality. That’s their own plans in action. They are following their own minds and hearts.
22 Now the tribes of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz), 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.” 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.
This may seem like a great tactical move on the part of the tribe of Joseph. Give us information and we’ll let you go. But God told them not to make treaties (Deuteronomy 7:2). Again, we see another tribe falling into the pattern of not trusting God. This has a far-reaching effect. The man, who they make this treaty with does what? He goes to the land of the Hittites (also in Israel) and makes a new town! The very scourge the Israelites are trying to destroy is rebuilt because of the Israelites compromise.
27 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.
We see Manasseh falter in pushing out a variety of Canaanites. But what is the reason? The Canaanites didn’t want to go. So instead of doubling down and forcing them out, Manasseh seems to just give up.
28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.
This also seems like a good tactical move. Of the people who were captured in the battles, make them slaves. Deuteronomy 7:2 says that once they took the land, they were to destroy them completely. But this verse tells us of two important problems: one, they enslaved them, and two, they never did drive them out. On both fronts, another compromise was reached.
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
Ephraim was unable to do their job as well. Their military presence did little, for the people just continued to live there. This land, dedicated to Epharim by Moses when he divided up the Promised Land and gave each tribe a portion, now is spoiled, and the people of Ephraim will be tainted by the Canaanite’s presence.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Akko or Sidon or Ahlab or Akzib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them.
34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim, but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond.
Finally, we see a complete breakdown of the Israelites. This isn’t just because the task was too difficult: Joshua and his men single-handedly destroyed entire cities of giants. The problem is one of trust. As the Israelites forged their way into the land to take their tribal holdings, time and time again they faltered in trust. God said this to Joshua,
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9
This promise was open to all of Israel, yet they wavered when it came time to do the work. It cost them everythign, as we will see moving forward in this amazing book.
Before getting into the Book of Judges, we must first understand what brought Israel to this point in their history.
In the Book of Exodus, God promised the Israelites a “Promised Land” (Genesis 15:18). This was because Israel, God’s chosen people, had fallen into slavery in Egypt. This was foretold in Genesis 15:13. How did this happen? We have to go all the way back to how Israel came to Egypt and how they felling slavery:
Jacob was told by God to go to Egypt with his entire family (Gen. 46:1-4). God tells him to not be afraid, for He will make him into a great nation. It is also important to note that Jacob is also known by the name Israel. So if we are to see the symbolic nature of this story, it is that God is building the nation of Israel through Jacob’s faith.
The second story is that of Joseph. His story begins in Genesis 37 and details the jealousy of his brothers, who ultimately throw him in a cistern and leave him to die. But instead of leaving him to die - his brothers sold him to a passing by caravan on its way to Egypt where he becomes second in command to Pharaoh. When his path once again crosses his brothers, he is able to show forgiveness rather than vengeance. Because of Joseph’s presence already in Egypt, he is able to reinstate his family. His family escaped the famine and stayed in Egypt.
After Joseph’s generation dies out, we see that the Israelites continue to prosper. The land of Egypt becomes filled with them. God’s promise to Jacob has come true, but the eyes of Egypt are on them.
Time passes and a new Pharaoh emerges. Joseph, who had favor with the Pharaoh of his time, is not known by this new Pharaoh. It was common practice for the incoming Pharaoh to obliterate the successes and records of the outgoing king. So it isn’t surprising that Joseph’s legacy is not part of known history.
This new king is afraid. His fear is rooted in this growing population of Israelites. His concern is this: if they continue to grow and they align with his enemies, they will overwhelm Egypt. So the new Pharoah enslaves them. This was probably easy to do. The Hebrews most likely didn’t have a structured political system and as we will see later on, they had no military to speak of. So the Egyptians swoop in, enslave them, and create a new worker class in Egypt.
But the enslavement does not slow down their fruitfulness. The result is hard labor and ruthless treatment. The idea is for Egypt to keep the Israelites weak. Their lives consist of making bricks, erecting buildings, and work in the fields for Egypt.
The Israelites are enslaved for about 430 years before they cry out to God. God sends them a savior. Moses. Moses is to lead Israel to a place called the “Promised Land”, a long strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, north of Israel and south of Phoenicia. This land is lush, known as a land of “milk and Honey,” and is bequeathed to Israel, so that they may grow a nation, under God, to show the rest of the world what a society, under God, looks like.
The journey from Egypt the the Promised Land was waylaid because of the Israelite’s unfaithfulness and disobedience. Save for two men, none of the original adults that left Egypt were allowed to enter into the Promised Land.
The Israelites spend a generation wandering around the desert, not because they are lost, but because first they must grow into their “chosen” status. They must learn who God is (worship at the Tabernacle), understand His laws (the Ten Commandments), and grown into a strong military force (the tribes and formations of tribes). Only then, after their training, can they go into the Promised Land, because the Promised Land is not unoccupied. The Canaanites live in the land, a conglomeration of heathen people who have dismissed God and for hundreds of years lived in defiance of Him.
The Israelites fall into sin continually while in the desert, though small numbers of them followGod’s will and direction, most do not, causing the first generation to die in the desert. But the second generation, now led by Joshua, is allowed into the Promised Land.
In the Book of Joshua, Joshua cuts a bloody scythe through the Promised Land, destroying cities and people, for God told the Israelites that they could not live with these people. If they compromised with them, it would be a detriment to them. Joshua follows. But he can’t do it all himself. he grows old and eventually dies, having Israel, for the first time, without a Godly leader. For fifty years they stay poised outside the Promised Land, wondering when it is that God will allow them to enter it. Unfortunately, during these two generations, the lack of a Godly leader begins to destroy the moral tenants of the Israelites. When it is finally time for them to enter the Promised Land the Israelites are spiritually weak.
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, “Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Canaanites?”
2 The Lord answered, “Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.”
The tribe of Judah goes into the promised Land, and they do the right thing: they wait for the word of God. In other words, they trusted God with the timing of their conquest. Judah is the selected tribe, the strongest of the twelve.
3 The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, “Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.” So the Simeonites went with them.
4 When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek. 5 It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. 6 Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
7 Then Adoni-Bezek said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.” They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there.
Genesis 29:33-35 shows us the link between Simeon and Judah, and even though God did not say Simeon was to be involved, we see that He blessed it . The concept of working together can be viewed as how the Body of Christ operates: each piece doing its own part in its own way.
We see that the union works: 10,000 enemies are cut down. Adoni-Bezek (Lord of Lightning) was the leader of this area and he certainly sounded formidable, but with trust in the Lord, Judah and Simeon cut him and his forces down easily. Adoni-Bezek is dealt with by justice: he is given the same treatment he gave 70 kings. With those appendages cut off, it renders him useless as a fighter: he can’t grip or stay stable.
8 The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
9 After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western foothills. 10 They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. 11 From there they advanced against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).
12 And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.” 13 Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage.
14 One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What can I do for you?”
15 She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
16 The descendants of Moses’ father-in-law, the Kenite, went up from the City of Palms with the people of Judah to live among the inhabitants of the Desert of Judah in the Negev near Arad.
17 Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their fellow Israelites and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah 18 Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each city with its territory.
19 The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had chariots fitted with iron. 20 As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak.
This is the first recorded attack and taking of Jerusalem. Some 400 years later King David would take it back (2 Samuel 5:6-10). Hebron was another notable city they captured. This city was given to Caleb, who was the only other man with a truthful account of the Promised Land when the spies returned to Moses with their report (Numbers 13:26-33).
The last part of this string of verse is important: Verse 19: The Lord was with the men of Judah. But, what we see toward the end of this is that Judah begins to run into some problems. They took possession of the hill country, but not the plains, because the chariots were fit with iron. This is a chink in the armor, the beginning of Israel’s problem in the Promised Land. If their hearts and minds are totally with God, they can accomplish anything Yet, they can’t overcome the chariots. The next sentence is also telling. It refers to the land of Hebron being given to Caleb. But who was it taken from? The three sons of Anak. Anak is referred to, in scripture, as a giant (Numbers 13:30-33). So they were able to defeat the most deadly foes in the land, yet something is breaking a bit in Judah; they are beginning to lose trust.
21 The Benjamites, however, did not drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites.
The Benjamites fail in their attempt to drive the people out of the land. God’s decree to Israel was to drive all of the people from the land (Deuteronomy 20:17). Among those who are to be forced out of the land are the Jebusites. What the passage eludes to is that since the Benjamites could not drive them out, they chose to live alongside them. This is compromise, and as we’ll see moving forward, compromise gets the Israelites in a lot of trouble.
But we may look at this and ask, what’s so bad about compromise? Living alongside is far better than killing, right. We have to understand why God wanted the Jebusites out of the land. These were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a Canaanite tribe. Much more is known of the Canaanites, who held a pantheistic religious belief system. El (like Zues, or later Jupiter), was the head of the gods, but Baal probably became the most famous. He was the god of rain and thunder, the god that made the rain come, the crops grow, sustained human life. Asherah, the goddess of fertility, was also quite prevalent in their religion, and we see her name pop up all over the Old Testament. Beside their pantheon of god, they were also involved in hieros gamos, which was a sexual religious ritual between the king or priest and a woman priestess. But most despicable than even that was human sacrifice. Both adult and child sacrifice became a staple of the Canaanite religion.
When we compromise our values for the greater good, we’re complicit in the sin. We allow the sin to continue, to grow, to gain strength. And this was exactly what God cautioned the Israelites against. God wanted the Israelites to drive them from the land so that they would not be ensnared in their sin. The Benjamites have set themselves up for disaster.
The bigger issue is this: they aren’t trusting God. They aren’t listening to God. They aren’t following God’s edicts when they turn toward practicality. That’s their own plans in action. They are following their own minds and hearts.
22 Now the tribes of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the Lord was with them. 23 When they sent men to spy out Bethel (formerly called Luz), 24 the spies saw a man coming out of the city and they said to him, “Show us how to get into the city and we will see that you are treated well.” 25 So he showed them, and they put the city to the sword but spared the man and his whole family. 26 He then went to the land of the Hittites, where he built a city and called it Luz, which is its name to this day.
This may seem like a great tactical move on the part of the tribe of Joseph. Give us information and we’ll let you go. But God told them not to make treaties (Deuteronomy 7:2). Again, we see another tribe falling into the pattern of not trusting God. This has a far-reaching effect. The man, who they make this treaty with does what? He goes to the land of the Hittites (also in Israel) and makes a new town! The very scourge the Israelites are trying to destroy is rebuilt because of the Israelites compromise.
27 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land.
We see Manasseh falter in pushing out a variety of Canaanites. But what is the reason? The Canaanites didn’t want to go. So instead of doubling down and forcing them out, Manasseh seems to just give up.
28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.
This also seems like a good tactical move. Of the people who were captured in the battles, make them slaves. Deuteronomy 7:2 says that once they took the land, they were to destroy them completely. But this verse tells us of two important problems: one, they enslaved them, and two, they never did drive them out. On both fronts, another compromise was reached.
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
Ephraim was unable to do their job as well. Their military presence did little, for the people just continued to live there. This land, dedicated to Epharim by Moses when he divided up the Promised Land and gave each tribe a portion, now is spoiled, and the people of Ephraim will be tainted by the Canaanite’s presence.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, so these Canaanites lived among them, but Zebulun did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Akko or Sidon or Ahlab or Akzib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land because they did not drive them out. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them.
34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim, but when the power of the tribes of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond.
Finally, we see a complete breakdown of the Israelites. This isn’t just because the task was too difficult: Joshua and his men single-handedly destroyed entire cities of giants. The problem is one of trust. As the Israelites forged their way into the land to take their tribal holdings, time and time again they faltered in trust. God said this to Joshua,
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9
This promise was open to all of Israel, yet they wavered when it came time to do the work. It cost them everythign, as we will see moving forward in this amazing book.