Judges 1:8-15 – Success for Judah
After Adoni-bezek is defeated, his men take him to Jerusalem, where he dies. The army of Judah follows soon after, captures the city and destroys it. However, probably because Jerusalem is on the edge of their territory and, properly speaking, is within the inheritance of Benjamin, Judah does not occupy the city. Instead, they head south into the hill country as far as the Negeb desert. Numbers 13 tells us that in the time of Moses, twelve men, including Joshua and Caleb had been sent into Canaan, to spy out the land and report back. One of the things they discovered was that there were still “sons of Anak,” a very tall and strong group of people, living in the land. This included three giants living at Hebron, named Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. Because of this, the other ten spies discouraged the people from invading Canaan. Only Joshua and Caleb were confident in the LORD. Because of Joshua and Caleb’s faithfulness, only they, of the entire generation whom God had rescued from bondage in Egypt were allowed to enter the Promised Land. As a reward for his service, Caleb, who was of the tribe of Judah, had been promised the city of Kiriath-arba (Hebron) as his inheritance. So Judah attacks Hebron and defeats Seshai, Ahiman and Talmai, winning the city for Caleb.
As Judah moves against nearby Debir, Caleb encourages valiance by offering his daughter Achsah’s hand in marriage to the man who captures the town. Caleb’s nephew, Othniel, rises to the challenge and leads the successful assault on Debir. Later, Othniel will be the first of the judges God uses to deliver Israel. Here we see Othniel being prepared for that service as his valiant character is brought into play. As He did with Othniel, God gives us experiences in life that prepare us for His service later. What has God done with you in the past to prepare you for serving Him today?
Questions
- Why were Caleb and Joshua allowed in the Promised Land?
- Who were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai?
- Who was Othniel?
Prayer Points
- Ask God to use your experiences to prepare you to serve Him.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.