Jg. 1: Some Conquering, Some Failing

Judges 1:7 "Adoni-bezek said, Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off had to gather their food under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died."

So, Joshua is gone, and it's time to conquer the land. So apparently this chapter takes place right around the time of Joshua's death. The Israelites (or a priest?) inquire of God as to who will take the lead, and God says Judah, since it's his land basically. So they kick butt, slay 10,000 dudes...which actually probably only means "a lot."

An interesting little vignette takes place here where Bezek's leader is tracked down and has his thumbs and big toes cut off. Weird, but think about how important those appendages are to you. Adoni-Bezek recognizes that this is God's hand of judgment upon him, as Adoni-Bezek apparently had de-thumbed and de-toed bums scavenge for scraps at his table. God has paid him back (eye for an eye). Israel was (being) used by God to pay back these other nations for their wickedness. They had to. Mystical law of the universal God.

Also interesting that the city of Jerusalem's destruction is given brief mention in only one verse here.

Verses 9 through 15 recall the section of Joshua 15:16-19, where Caleb offers his daughter to a military victor and gives her and her new husband springs of water. This occurs before Joshua's death in Joshua, but after Joshua's death in Judges. Probably simply a retelling. I don't tell stories from my life in chronological order to the same people.

Iron chariots...too much for God? Or too much for the Israelites? They were fighting without a unifying leader, apparently. Also, they were probably tired from fighting, and probably (most likely) weren't keeping their end of the bargain. That's what God said would happen if they didn't hold up their end of the covenant. Without a unifying national leader, there's also a lack of a unifying spiritual leader. And that spiritual decay made its way down the chain to the fighters. As imposing as iron chariots were, with God they would have been no match at all. They took the hills, but not the plains. Have you tried dragging an iron chariot uphill? Me neither.

The Canaanites, an important contingent in the HACPHAJ would simply not be driven out of their land by the Israelites...virtually any tribe. So while they remained, Israel enslaved them...which can only be a good thing. Right?