“You have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” (Heb 10:36).
Judges 1:17-36 might well be described as a catalog of mixed reviews. There were some wonderful victories, like this: “Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. So the Lord was with Judah” (vv 18-19). If only it were all like that. But the rest of the chapter describes a great deal of half-efforts. Verse 19 concludes this way: “And they drove out the mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had chariots of iron.” Wait; what? Didn’t they defeat the Midianites whose horses and chariots were like the sand of the sea? Were they looking at the chariots instead of the Commander-in-chief? I think I know what’s going on. I already feel the twinge of conscience when I think of my own life. There have been, by God’s grace, and through faith in His promises, some very bright days of spiritual triumph. On the other hand, there are far too many chapters where I’ve felt spiritually isolated and emotionally exhausted, just wanting to settle down and let the battle rage elsewhere. After all, shouldn’t we have some sympathy? These men have been fighting for almost 20 years. A little later, we’ll note the important difference between enemies they “did not drive out” (v 21) and the ones “they could not drive out” (v 19). They thought they were settling for second-best: “so the Canaanites dwelt among them, and were put under tribute” (v 30). What’s wrong with a little peaceful co-existence? And they’re paying taxes, too! But it wasn’t second-best. Could you have peaceful co-existence with cancer? Awaiting were the Canaanite altars, festivals, weddings, idolatry, and doom. Remember: God doesn’t have a backup plan for you. He only wants your very best.