Judges 1:20-21
The Continuing Conquest of Canaan (continue)
20 And Hebron was given to Caleb, as Moses had said. And he drove out from it the three sons of Anak. 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.
Sibling rivalry does exist even in the most healthy environments. Rivalries can be subtle and are not necessarily fighting or face-to-face combat. The Oxford Dictionary says that rivalry means “competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field.” So, pure and simple, rivalries can be viewed as a healthy competitive spirit as the siblings strive for superiority. Take, for example, the competition between two families as the rightful heir to the kingdom’s throne. That’s exactly what we see here in the Book of Judges. As we mention in the introduction, some scholars have placed the time of writing of this historical narrative sometime in the early reign of King David while he lived in Hebron, before capturing the Jebus, or Jerusalem, where the Jebusites lives in their city in the territory of Benjamine. To these scholars, the purpose of the narrative is to present a historical authentication that supports King David as king over the debunked lineage of King David. Which, indeed, can be most plausible allowing the Scriptural evidence on how gingerly and judicially King David had to win over the northern tribes of the kingdom (1 Samuel 16 – 2 Samuel 10). During those years, Israel actually had two kings: King David from the tribe of Judah in the South, and King Ishbosheth from the lineage of King Saul of the tribe of Benjamine to the North. Yet, by God’s divine providence and through His sovereign will, King David did prevail, as it says in 2 Samuel 5:1-5,
1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Behold, we are your bone and flesh. 2 In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led out and brought in Israel. And the Lord said to you, ‘You shall be shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince[a] over Israel.’” 3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
As Charles Dickens said in his book The Tales of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” In our passage today, which begins in verses 1:20-21, we will consider this tribal rivalry in the eyes of the authors who wrote the book to support Judah over Benjamine as the rightful heir to the kingdom.
First, on the one hand, let’s consider what our passage says about Judah in verse 1:20. Here, we have Caleb from the tribe of Judah. As soon as you mention the name Caleb, all eyes take notice. Oh, yes! This is Caleb who is the only man with us who is over forty years of age. As a matter of fact, he is now over 85 years and is still as strong and mighty as a 45 year of old (Joshua 14:10-12). Caleb was a mighty man who led his tribe to follow Moses out of Egypt in the exodus. Caleb was chosen by Moses as one of the twelve spies to scout out the land of Canaan. Caleb and Joshua were the only two who came back with a favorable report and encouraged Israel to go in and take possession of this good land, a ‘land flowing with milk and honey.’ However, the other ten spies came back with an unfavorable report, causing Israel to fear and doubt God. The Israelites did not want to go in and fight the giants in the land. God was angry with these people and as Numbers 32:13 says, “And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.” Therefore, Caleb was a man of renown.
Caleb was given the city of Hebron, that is, Kiriath-Arba. This was the city where the sons of Anak lived, who were giants. Caleb successfully drove out the sons of Anak and took possession of the land. He renamed Kiriath-Arba Hebron. Caleb defeated the giants, the sons of Anak, who caused Israel to fear and wander in the wilderness for forty years. The mere mention of Caleb’s name brings awe to all the Israelites who would dare to even aspire to his likeness. He is the epitome of Hebrew national greatness.
And in verse 1:21, on the other hand, there’s the people or tribe of Benjamine. As it says in Scipture, they were not successful and did not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem. Therefore, the Benjaminites had to live with the Jebusites in Jerusalem to that very day (as it says in verse 1:21).
If you were to choose a leader for the nation of Israel, from which tribe would you go to get a leader? A tribe that was obedient to God and was able to drive out the giants in the land? Or from a tribe that did not obey God and was not able to take out the inhabitants in their land? Especially from an important city that has huge religious significance for the Israelites. It was here where God provided a sacrifice to Abraham when he obeyed God by offering his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-24). This was the place where Jacob had a dream of a ladder ascending into Heaven and he called the place Bethel (house of God) in Genesis 28:11-17). In years to come, King David buys the threshing floor from Ornan the Jebusite to make a sacrifice to the Lord and make atonement for his sins (1 Chronicles 21:14-18). And finally, this is where King Solomon built the temple of God (2 Chronicles 3:1).
Our passage presents a tale of two tribes. One tribe was successful in its exploits to take possession of its inheritance. The other was not.
In application, God uses people to lead his people. Some, those who God chooses, may be obscure and of lesser notoriety. Yet, they have the character and bear the image of God in all they do. In other words, they are obedient and their walk matches their talk. Others, on the other hand, may politic and ‘kiss the baby’ to gain influence, yet their character will always remain questionable. When we chose leaders, for our nation and especially for the church, the family of God, we must follow God’s guidelines for character and ask ourselves, who is obedient to God, who bears the likeness of Christ in all that they do, and who is God’s person for this job? Scripture is our guide in all matters for life, faith, and practice.
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My Lord God Almighty, thank You for Your Word that endures forever. Give me a love for Your Word and a zeal to be obedient to Your ways. Help me to be a man of character and to aspire to be like Christ. Help me to define greatness as me being obedient to You rather than promoting myself before others. Help me to use Your Word that defines a man of God as I chose leaders for my nation and for my church. Bless my country, Lord God. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, by Elisha A. Hoffman in 1887, and the chorus by Anthony J. Showalter in 1887
