12/1/2009 9:26 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
Bible Reading &
Meditation Focus: Fighting the enemy
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: Judges 1:1-21
Message of the verses: “1 ¶
Now it came about after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel inquired
of the LORD, saying, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites,
to fight against them?" 2 The LORD
said, "Judah
shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand." 3 Then Judah said to Simeon his brother,
"Come up with me into the territory allotted me, that we may fight against
the Canaanites; and I in turn will go with you into the territory allotted
you." So Simeon went with him. 4 Judah went up,
and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they
defeated ten thousand men at Bezek. 5
They found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they
defeated the Canaanites and the Perizzites. 6
But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and caught him and cut off
his thumbs and big toes. 7 Adoni-bezek
said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to
gather up scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has repaid me." So
they brought him to Jerusalem
and he died there. 8 Then the sons of Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured it and struck it with
the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.
9 ¶ Afterward the sons of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites
living in the hill country and in the Negev
and in the lowland. 10 So Judah went against the Canaanites who lived in Hebron (now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba); and they
struck Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai. 11
Then from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name
of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher). 12
And Caleb said, "The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures
it, I will even give him my daughter Achsah for a wife." 13 Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger
brother, captured it; so he gave him his daughter Achsah for a wife. 14 Then it came about when she came to him, that
she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. Then she alighted from her
donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?" 15 She said to him, "Give me a blessing,
since you have given me the land of the Negev,
give me also springs of water." So Caleb gave her the upper springs and
the lower springs. 16 The descendants of
the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up from the city of palms with the sons
of Judah, to the wilderness
of Judah which is in the
south of Arad;
and they went and lived with the people. 17
Then Judah
went with Simeon his brother, and they struck the Canaanites living in Zephath,
and utterly destroyed it. So the name of the city was called Hormah. 18 And Judah
took Gaza with its territory and Ashkelon with its territory and Ekron with its territory.
19 Now the LORD was with Judah, and they
took possession of the hill country; but they could not drive out the
inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots. 20 Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and
he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.”
It is going
to be very different studying the book of Judges compared to studying the book
of Joshua, for the spiritual direction of the children of Israel goes
directly down after the first generation that conquered the land and in the
book of Judges this is seen. Judges is a
book that is some ways is depressing, but for those who obey the Lord the book
shows the faithfulness of God.
These first
twenty verses describe some of the faithfulness that these people had shown
by asking the Lord who would be the first to go up and begin the process of
riding the land
of Canaanites who was
still left in the Promised Land. Israel owned
all of the Promised Land, but it would be by faith that they had to conquer all
of the Promised Land and in these first twenty verses it can be seen that Judah
and Simeon were the first that the Lord had chosen to begin this process.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Just as Judah and Simenon trusted the Lord to
conquer their enemies I need to do the same thing in conquering my enemies.
My Steps of Faith for
Today:
- Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
- Put on the spiritual armor: The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit.
12/1/2009 10:19 AM
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