The book of Judges in the Old Testament represents a fascinating time in the nation of Israel as they transitioned from a people who trusted God to abandoning Him in favor of false deities. The book documents this incredibly painful journey as the result of
“each man doing what was right in his own eyes".
But, at the beginning of the book, the nation is still struggling to fulfill God’s command to conquer the land, and ridding it of the incredible evil that was there. Under Joshua, the nation had experienced victory after victory! This was exactly what God had promised! However, once Joshua was
dead, the people began to falter, and the evidence of that became very real. Consider this passage, one of several that say a similar thing…
"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."
Judges 1:27 (!)
Why? Why couldn't they drive them out? Of course the Canaanites were determined to live in all these places. But they couldn't resist God, no matter what the odds were, as long as the Israelites' faith was strong.
So, what happened? The Israelites were still armed, they're experienced at war, God was still on His throne, and His command to remove the evil people still stood. What changed?
Their faith. If their faith in
God had remained strong, no amount of "determination" on the part of the Canaanites could have withstood the power of God.
There's something for me to learn here. What "powers" am I facing that God has already defeated? What faith do I have to tap into that power? How am I weakened - and perhaps defeated - by not having the faith to believe
that God is stronger than the evil facing me?
I think about this passage often, and it helps to take me back to one of the basic elements of Christianity - simple faith!
