Judges 1:27-36 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 1:27-36. Let’s go!
Judges 1:27-36 (NIV)
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.
28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.
30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor.
31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob,
32 and because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land.
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 house of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor.
36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond.
On verses 27-36: In the first 26 verses of Judges 1 we already see hints of Israel’s tribes not going all the way in fully occupying the Promised Land, but rather compromising and allowing other nations to occupy it. This happened in verse 19 where the tribe of Judah did not fully take over the plains. This happened in verse 21 where the tribe of Benjamin did not oust the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. We see this happening even more in verses 27-36: the tribes of Manasseh (v27), Ephraim (v29), Zebulun (v30), Asher (v31), Naphtali (v33), Dan (v34), and Joseph (v35) all fail to drive out the Canaanites from the land. Instead of ousting the Canaanites out of the land, these tribes of Israel compromised and allowed them to stay, in some cases subjecting them to forced labour. The author of Judges is deliberate in mentioning all these cases where the tribes of Israel failed to drive the Canaanites out, for the author’s intent is to show how this would lead to the tribes of Israel compromising even more in their faith and veering away from the worship of God toward idolatry.
What can we learn from this? There are certain things that God wants us to drive out, that have no place in our lives. For example, Colossians 3 teaches us that we are to put to death sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed (Colossians 3:5), anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language (Colossians 3:8), lying (Colossians 3:9), and bitterness (Colossians 3:13). When we do not take steps to drive these enemies out of our lives, when we allow them to stay and occupy parts of our minds and hearts, the result is not peaceful co-existence, but poison that threatens to derail us from our God-given destiny. So don’t play games with such enemies, allowing them to remain in your life. Rather, oust them out and put them to death, lest they only do damage in your life.
How do you get rid of enemies like sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed (Colossians 3:5), anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language (Colossians 3:8), lying (Colossians 3:9), and bitterness (Colossians 3:13)? It begins with making the choice to want to honour God with your life in these specific areas, and then taking practical steps to replace old, sinful habits with new, God-honouring ways of thinking, feeling and behaving.
On this side of heaven, will we be able to get rid of all these enemies completely? Maybe not. But this is certain: whenever we allow for these enemies to remain, they will only do damage to us in the end. So we need to be vigilant and intentional about getting rid of those enemies and living lives in line with God’s plan. Believe that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
May God give you the faith to believe that these old enemies will not help you but hurt you. May He gives you strength to overcome and oust out those old enemies in practical ways.
Father, to the extent that I have allowed enemies like sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed (Colossians 3:5), anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language (Colossians 3:8), lying (Colossians 3:9), and bitterness to remain in my heart, please forgive me and help me to oust them out of my heart and mind, so that I can live in peace and please You more and more with how I live. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
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