The Continuing Conquest of Canaan (continued)
Judges 1:8-15
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. 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.
11 From there they went against the inhabitants of Debir. The name of Debir was formerly Kiriath-sepher. 12 And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter for a wife.” 13 And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter for a wife. 14 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” 15 She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
The translators for the ESV titled this section the continuing conquest of Caanan. I really like that. I know that this title is not in the inspired Word of God, but it does summarize the Christian life quite well. Christians are on a conquest for Christ against the tyranny of the enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy. We are called to declare God’s glory to the world and walk by faith in Him. In other words, we are to trust and obey God as He speaks in His Word. After wandering in the desert for forty years because of rebellion and sin, the men of Judah now have an opportunity to do things right.
In our passage today, the men of Judah are doing just that. They prepare for battle, as the Lord their God said. These men of valor fought against Jerusalem and captured it, setting it against the sword. It must be noted that some, that is, the Jebusites, must have escaped and lived in the region until the time of King David as seen in 2 Samuel 5:6-7, which says, “The king [David] and his men went to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived in that region … 7 But David captured the fortress Zion (that is, the City of David).” This is important to the Jewish narrative. The first city captured in their conquest was the city of Jerusalem, which became known as the City of David centuries later and where Mt Zion, the mount of God, is located. After defeating Jerusalem, the armies of Judah went down to the Negeb in the southern regions. The Negeb is a hot, dry land. The most southern part of the Negeb is called the Wilderness of Paran in Numbers 13:1-3. This is where most of the Israelites wandered through the Desert of Paran and the Desert of Sin with Moses as their leader. Additionally, the Desert of Paran was where Moses was commanded by God to send the twelve spies into Caanan to scout the land. We must take note that this section of Judges begins with the tribe of Judah as the protagonist who is called by God to go and defeat the Caananites. This may be a hint that the tribe of Judah is important, so take note! They captured Jerusalem (the future City of David) and the Negeb (the place where the Israelites should have obeyed God and entered into the Promise Land of Caanan, but did not.
After these successful conquests, the tribe of Judah went back to the hill country up north to Hebron, that is, Kiriath-Arba. This is the city the 12 spies went to when they saw the sons of Anak, who were giants. The report from 10 of the spies (all except Joshua and Caleb) caused the nation of Israel to fear and tremble at this news, and they did not go into the land. The sons of Anak were Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. But this time, instead of being discouraged with fear as they did 40 years ago in the wilderness, the armies of the Lord defeated the giants of the land.
The next section in today’s passage, Judges 1:11-15, introduces a new character. This man is important in this historical narrative of Israel. He is a relative of Caleb in the tribe of Judah. Caleb was given the city of Hebron as his inheritance as promised by Moses. West of Hebron was the city of Debir where the descendent of Anakim, who were also giants, lived. Caleb, the great man of valor and faith who was 85 years old when Joshua led the Israelites into Caanan, had a daughter named Achsah. Caleb promised his daughter to them in marriage to any man who would go and capture the city of Debir. Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother did. Therefore, Othniel married Achsah. We will hear more about Othniel very shortly in our study of Judges.
Caleb blessed his daughter and gave her his inheritance; that is, pasture lands and springs to bring water to the land. Oh, how Caleb loved his daughter and provided for her! The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:14, “I’m ready to visit you for the third time, and I won’t bother you for help. I don’t want your possessions. Instead, I want you. Children shouldn’t have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children.” 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” And in regards to teaching your children about the Word of God, it says in Deuteronomy 11:19, “You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” We have a responsibility to provide for and teach our children.
In application, we must come to trust and obey God. No longer are we to wander in the wilderness because of our unbelief. Instead, we are to put on the full armor of God, praying in the Spirit to tear down all strongholds and to bind the strongman, yet Christ the Lord is stronger and has defeated His enemy at the cross. We have been given His Spirit so we too are to walk by faith in Him. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith (1 John 5:4).
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My Jesus, my Lord God and Savior, I praise and worship You for Your infinite mercies and for Your steadfast love. Thank You for being loving and patient with me, Consecrate me, O Lord, to Your will. I want to pursue You and Your righteousness, and to know Christ and Him crucified. Help me, Lord, to grow in holiness. Sanctify me according to Your will. I Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Go Labor On, by Horatius Bonar in 1843
