The Bloody Business of Obedience Text: Judges 1:1-7
Introduction: After Joshua
The book of Judges opens with a question. Joshua is dead. The great, unifying leader who brought Israel into the land is gone. The initial, decisive battles have been fought and won. The back of Canaanite resistance has been broken. But the job is not finished. Not by a long shot. The land has been broadly conquered, but it has not yet been possessed. Pockets of fierce, idolatrous resistance remain, festering like boils on the landscape. And so the question arises, a question that every generation of God's people must face after a great leader departs: "What now?"
We live in a similar moment. The giants of the faith who led the charge in previous generations are, for the most part, gone. The great battles of the Reformation and the great awakenings are behind us. And yet, the task of subduing the land, of bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, is far from complete. Our culture is riddled with Canaanite strongholds, high places of idolatry dedicated to sexual deviancy, materialism, and autonomous self-worship. So the question for us is the same as it was for Israel: "Who shall go up first?" Who will lead the charge?
The book of Judges is a grim book. It is a catalogue of compromise, apostasy, and moral freefall. The refrain of the book is that "every man did what was right in his own eyes" because "there was no king in Israel." But it does not start that way. It starts here, with a moment of faithfulness. It begins with Israel doing the right thing: they asked of Yahweh. Before they drew a sword, they bowed the knee. Before they made a battle plan, they sought a divine command. This is the starting point for all fruitful, godly warfare. We do not fight for God based on our own bright ideas or strategic intuitions. We fight where He tells us to fight, when He tells us to fight, and how He tells us to fight.
This opening scene sets the stage for the entire book. It shows us the path of victory through faithful obedience and the path of failure through compromised disobedience. What we will see in these first seven verses is a pattern of inquiry, command, cooperation, and conquest, culminating in a stark and bloody display of God's retributive justice. This is not a story for the faint of heart, but it is a necessary one. For the God who justly repaid Adoni-bezek for his cruelty is the same God who will one day judge all the earth in righteousness.
The Text
Now it happened after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”
And Yahweh said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.”
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.
So Judah went up, and Yahweh gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down 10,000 men at Bezek.
Then they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and seized him and cut off his thumbs and big toes.
And 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.
(Judges 1:1-7 LSB)
Faithful Inquiry and Divine Command (vv. 1-2)
We begin with the first two verses:
"Now it happened after the death of Joshua that the sons of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, 'Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?' And Yahweh said, 'Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand.'" (Judges 1:1-2)
The first thing to note is the posture of Israel. Joshua is dead, and there is a power vacuum. They could have fallen to squabbling. They could have held a conference to elect a new general. They could have relied on their own military prowess. Instead, they "asked of Yahweh." This is the fundamental posture of faith. Faith is not a blind leap; it is an obedient step in response to a divine word. They understood that the conquest of Canaan was not their project; it was God's. He had promised the land, and He would be the one to give it to them. Their job was not to innovate, but to obey.
Their question is specific: "Who shall go up first?" This is not a question of if they should fight, but how. The mandate to drive out the Canaanites had already been given by God through Moses and Joshua. The "what" was settled. Their question was about the "who" and the "when." This is a model for our own obedience. We do not get to renegotiate God's settled commands. We are to seek His wisdom and direction in the particulars of carrying them out.
God's answer is direct and immediate: "Judah shall go up." Why Judah? Judah was the tribe from which the Messiah, the true King, would come (Genesis 49:10). The scepter belongs to Judah. By sending Judah first, God is reminding Israel that this entire conquest is messianic. It is about establishing the beachhead for the kingdom of His Son. The Lion of the tribe of Judah is the one who ultimately conquers. Every battle in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of the final victory of Christ over sin, death, and Satan.
Notice the promise attached to the command: "Behold, I have given the land into his hand." The victory is spoken of in the past tense. From God's perspective, it is already an accomplished fact. The command to go up and fight is therefore a command to go and collect what God has already won for them. This is the nature of the Christian life. We fight from victory, not for victory. Christ has already conquered on the cross. He has disarmed the principalities and powers. Our task in sanctification and in cultural engagement is to march in and possess the territory that is already rightfully His, enforcing the terms of His unconditional surrender of the enemy.
Covenantal Cooperation (v. 3)
Having received the command, Judah's first move is not to sharpen his sword, but to seek out his brother.
"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." (Judges 1:3 LSB)
This is a beautiful picture of covenantal solidarity. Judah was the largest and most powerful tribe. God had given him the promise of victory. He could have gone it alone, confident in God's word. But he doesn't. He invites his brother Simeon to share in the fight and in the spoils. The territory of Simeon was actually located within the larger allotment of Judah, so this was a natural alliance. But it was more than that; it was a recognition that God's battles are to be fought by God's people, together.
There is no room for lone wolf Christianity in the Bible. We are called into a body, an army. The fight against the modern Canaanites in our culture is not a job for isolated individuals. It requires churches, families, and brotherhoods standing shoulder to shoulder. Judah promises reciprocity: "I in turn will go with you." This is the law of love. We bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. When one part of the body is engaged in a fierce fight, the other parts must rally to its aid. This is practical, muscular Christianity.
Promised Victory Delivered (vv. 4-5)
The result of this faithful inquiry and covenantal cooperation is exactly what God promised.
"So Judah went up, and Yahweh gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down 10,000 men at Bezek. Then they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek and fought against him, and they struck down the Canaanites and the Perizzites." (Judges 1:4-5 LSB)
The text is emphatic. Judah went up, "and Yahweh gave" them the victory. The human action of going and fighting is the instrument, but the divine action of giving is the cause. This is the biblical balance between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God gives the victory, but He gives it to those who go up to the fight. Faith without works is dead. To say "God has given the land into my hand" and then sit on the couch is not faith; it is presumption. True faith hears the promise and then acts upon it, confident that God will be true to His Word.
The victory is decisive. Ten thousand men are struck down. This is not a polite skirmish. This is herem, the holy war of dispossession commanded by God. And we must not be squeamish about this. The Canaanites were not peaceful farmers being displaced by imperialists. They were a culture saturated with the most grotesque evils: child sacrifice, ritual prostitution, and demonic idolatry. God had given them over 400 years to repent, since the time of Abraham, but their iniquity was now full (Genesis 15:16). This was not ethnic cleansing; it was divine judgment, executed by the sword of Israel. To object to this is to claim to be more moral than God, which is the central folly of our sentimental, secular age.
The Justice of God (vv. 6-7)
The narrative then zooms in on one particular individual, the king of Bezek, whose name means "Lord of Bezek."
"But Adoni-bezek fled; and they pursued him and seized him and cut off his thumbs and big toes. And 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." (Judges 1:6-7 LSB)
This is a brutal scene. Why cut off his thumbs and big toes? This was a common practice in the ancient world for dealing with conquered kings. Cutting off the thumbs meant he could no longer wield a sword or draw a bow. Cutting off the big toes meant he could no longer run or stand securely in battle. It was an act of total humiliation and neutralization. He was rendered permanently unfit for rule or for war.
But there is more going on here than just military strategy. This is an act of divine, poetic justice. And the victim himself, Adoni-bezek, recognizes it. His own conscience, awakened by the sharp edge of God's judgment, becomes the key witness. "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."
This is the principle of lex talionis, the law of retribution. The punishment fits the crime, not just in degree, but in kind. Adoni-bezek was a cruel and arrogant tyrant who had built his throne on the humiliation of others. He treated other kings, men made in the image of God, like dogs. Now, the God of justice has brought his own cruelty back upon his own head. The pagan king himself becomes a theologian in his final moments, testifying to the righteous judgment of Yahweh. He confesses that his punishment is not an accident of war, but a direct repayment from God. This is a terrifying and glorious truth. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man, or a nation, sows, that shall he also reap (Galatians 6:7).
Our culture despises this kind of justice. It wants a God who is all therapeutic affirmation and no wrath. But a God who does not hate and punish monstrous evil is not a good God; He is a moral monster Himself. The cross of Jesus Christ is the ultimate display of this principle. On the cross, the full measure of God's retributive justice against our sin was poured out. But it was poured out on His own Son, so that mercy could be poured out on us. The justice of God is not set aside in the gospel; it is satisfied. And because it is satisfied, we can be forgiven.
Conclusion: The Ongoing Conquest
This brief episode at the beginning of Judges sets a crucial pattern. When Israel seeks God, cooperates in covenant, and obeys His commands, God gives them the promised victory and executes His perfect justice on His enemies.
The tragedy of the rest of the book of Judges is that Israel quickly abandoned this pattern. They stopped asking God. They stopped cooperating with one another. And they started compromising with the enemy, leaving Canaanites in the land, which the Bible says became snares and thorns in their sides. This is a perpetual warning to the church.
We too have been given a great commission, a command to go up and possess the land. We have been given the promise that the gates of Hell will not prevail against us. We have been assured that Christ has already won the decisive victory. Our task is to walk in that victory through faithful, uncompromising obedience.
This means we must first ask of Yahweh. Our plans, our strategies, our cultural engagement must be born out of prayer and submission to His Word. Second, we must go up together. We must lock arms with our brothers and sisters, fighting for and with one another. Third, we must be ruthless with the Canaanite idols in our own hearts and in our culture. There can be no compromise with sexual sin, with materialism, with the idolatry of the self. We are to make no treaty with them. We are to tear down their high places.
And as we do, we can be confident that the God of Adoni-bezek still reigns. He will repay. Every act of tyranny, every wicked law, every blasphemous curriculum, every assault on His created order will be brought into judgment. He will bring the proud and the cruel to nothing. Our job is to be the faithful instruments of His kingdom, the army of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who goes up first, and to whom the victory belongs.