{"id":27210,"date":"2023-07-17T22:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-07-18T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-thessalonians-3_6-18-copy\/"},"modified":"2023-07-04T22:39:12","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T05:39:12","slug":"judges-1_1-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/judges-1_1-15\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Hold of All God Has for You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Judges 1:1-15\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/strong>Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

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Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book of Judges.\u00a0 The book of Judges describes a time in Israel\u2019s history after Moses and Joshua had led the Israelites into the Promised Land and before Israel\u2019s kings had begun to rule.\u00a0 This period is known as the time of the judges.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Judges 1:1-15.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Judges 1:1-2 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The LORD answered, “Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.”<\/p>\n

On verses 1-2:\u00a0 By the time Israel\u2019s leader Joshua had died, there were still parts of the Promised Land that the Israelites had yet to conquer and take over (see Joshua 23:4-5).\u00a0 So Judges 1-3 describe how Israel tried to conquer those remaining lands.\u00a0 The Israelites start well by inquiring of the LORD for advice on who to send to fight the Canaanites.\u00a0 And God answers by saying that Judah is to go.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?
\n–\u00a0 \u00a0When you\u2019re not sure what to do<\/strong>, look to the LORD for guidance and advice.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God has an inheritance He has reserved for you, but it is up to you to boldly grab hold of it and take possession of it by faith.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Paul in Philippians 3 would write, \u201cNot that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but\u00a0I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me<\/strong>. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.\u201d (Philippians 3:12-14 (NIV))\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t settle for anything less than everything God has for you.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u00a0–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A good start does not guarantee a great finish.\u00a0\u00a0How you finish is even more important than how you start.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Judges 1:3 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the men of Judah said to the Simeonites their brothers, “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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 3:\u00a0 The tribe of Judah decides to partner with the tribe of Simeon in pursuing the land that God had allotted to them.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0It is important whom you decide to partner with\u00a0<\/strong>as you seek to take possession of all that God has for you.<\/p>\n

Judges 1:4-7 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When Judah attacked, the LORD gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites.
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then 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.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 4-7:\u00a0 As part of defeating the Canaanites and Perizzites at Berek, Judah takes a captive a ruler called Adoni-Bezek, which may mean \u201cPrince of Bezek\u201d.\u00a0 Apparently it was customary that when a ruler was taken captive back then, that ruler\u2019s captors would cut off that ruler\u2019s thumbs and big toes, possibly to prevent that ruler from holding a weapon or standing easily on his own.\u00a0 When the tribe of Judah does that to Adoni-Bezek, Adoni-Bezek sees that as divine retribution against him for the way he treated 70 other kings in the past.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0No matter how powerful someone may become in their lifetime, God always has the final say and is the only truly sovereign and powerful one.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Judges 1:8-11 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0After that, the men of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western foothills.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai.
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0From there they advanced against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 8-11:\u00a0 More conquests by the tribe of Judah.<\/p>\n

Judges 1:12-15 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0One 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?”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0She replied, “Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.” Then Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 12-15:\u00a0 In response to Caleb\u2019s open challenge, Caleb\u2019s nephew Othniel conquers the region of Kiriath Sepher and, as promised, Caleb gives to Othniel his daughter Acsah, who must have been quite a prize.\u00a0 Like her father before her, Acsah was not afraid to boldly ask for what she wanted, at first requesting that her father give her land and then later asking for springs.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Blessed are the proactive, the ones who are not afraid to ask for what they need and grab hold of it by faith<\/strong>, rather than always passively waiting for someone to give it to them.
\n–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just as land needs to be well irrigated with water<\/strong>, so the lives God has given us need to be watered well with the Holy Spirit (see John 4:10 and 7:38 as well as Revelation 7:17).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Father, thank You for showing me today that while You have allotted us an inheritance, it is up to us to grab hold of it and take possession of it.\u00a0 Please help me to be courageous in grabbing hold of all that You have reserved for me.\u00a0 May I not settle for anything less than everything You have for me.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today we begin the book of Judges.\u00a0 The book of Judges describes a time in Israel\u2019s history after Moses and Joshua had led the Israelites into the Promised Land and before Israel\u2019s kings had begun to rule.\u00a0 This period is known as the time of the judges.
\n\u00a0
\nToday\u2019s passage is Judges 1:1-15.\u00a0 Let’s go!
\n\u00a0
\nJudges 1:1-2 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, “Who will be the first to go up and fight for us against the Canaanites?”
\n2\u00a0\u00a0The LORD answered, “Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands.”
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 1-2:\u00a0 By the time Israel\u2019s leader Joshua had died, there were still parts of the Promised Land that the Israelites had yet to conquer and take over (see Joshua 23:4-5).\u00a0 So Judges 1-3 describe how Israel tried to conquer those remaining lands.\u00a0 The Israelites start well by inquiring of the LORD for advice on who to send to fight the Canaanites.\u00a0 And God answers by saying that Judah is to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27212,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27210"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27213,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27210\/revisions\/27213"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}