Commentary - Judges 1:22-26

Bird's-eye view

This short narrative concerning the house of Joseph and the city of Bethel serves as a crucial paradigm for the entire book of Judges. On the surface, it appears to be a success story, a faithful parallel to Joshua's conquest of Jericho. The house of Joseph goes up, Yahweh is with them, they use spies, they offer covenant mercy to a collaborator, and they conquer the city. However, a closer look reveals a subtle but fatal flaw. Unlike Rahab, who was incorporated into the people of God, the collaborator here is simply let go. He departs and rebuilds a pagan center elsewhere. This incident, therefore, is a perfect miniature of the theme of Judges: a pattern of partial obedience that looks like victory in the short term, but which ultimately amounts to a compromise that allows the cancer of paganism to remain in the land. It is a victory with a worm in it.

Outline

Context In Judges

Following the initial successes and failures of Judah and Simeon in the south (Judges 1:1-21), the narrative camera now pans north to the territory of the house of Joseph, which includes the powerful tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. This section continues the tribe by tribe report card on the conquest. The story of Bethel is set up as a direct contrast to the failure of Benjamin to take Jerusalem (v. 21). Where Benjamin failed, Joseph appears to succeed. However, this success is immediately qualified by the outcome. This account is strategically placed to show that even Israel's victories at this stage were tainted with the spirit of compromise that would soon come to define the era. It is a high water mark of sorts, but the water level is already dropping.

Verse by Verse Commentary

Judges 1:22

Likewise the house of Joseph went up against Bethel, and Yahweh was with them.

The action begins well. The "house of Joseph" indicates a unified effort by the sons of Rachel, Ephraim and Manasseh. They are taking the initiative, just as Judah did. They are going "up against Bethel," a city of profound historical and spiritual significance. This was the place where their forefather Jacob saw the ladder to Heaven and named it "House of God." For it to be in Canaanite hands was an abomination. Their task was not merely military, but redemptive; they were reclaiming holy ground. And the crucial condition for any such endeavor is stated plainly: "Yahweh was with them." This is the secret to all spiritual success. It is not about numbers, or strategy, or strength, but about the presence of the living God. When God is with His people, they are invincible. When He is not, they are contemptible. At this moment, because of their faithful initiative, God's favor rested upon them.

Judges 1:23

And the house of Joseph spied out Bethel (now the name of the city was formerly Luz).

Faith is not opposed to prudence. Just as Joshua sent spies into Jericho, the house of Joseph sends spies to reconnoiter Bethel. God's presence does not grant us a license to be foolish. We are still required to use the wits and means God has given us. The parenthetical note is supplied by the narrator for a reason. Before Jacob consecrated it, the place was simply Luz. The name Luz likely means "almond tree," a reference to something natural and common. Jacob renamed it Bethel, "House of God," consecrating it to a holy purpose. Now, centuries later, Joseph must drive out the pagans who have defiled the House of God and effectively turned it back into a common Luz. The battle is over the name, over the identity and ownership of the place. Does it belong to the world, or does it belong to God?

Judges 1:24

Then the spies saw a man coming out of the city, and they said to him, "Please show us the entrance to the city, and we will treat you with lovingkindness."

Here the narrative presents us with a striking parallel to the story of Rahab in Jericho. The spies find a local who can help them. Their offer is significant. The term translated "lovingkindness" is the rich Hebrew word hesed. This is a covenant word, freighted with the meaning of steadfast love, mercy, and faithfulness. They are not simply offering to spare his life; they are offering him covenant grace. This is the gospel in miniature. God's people, in the midst of executing His judgments, are to be a people who extend His mercy to those who will turn and receive it. On the face of it, this is a righteous and faithful offer.

Judges 1:25

So he showed them the entrance to the city, and they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all his family go free.

The deal is struck and honored. The man provides the intelligence, and Joseph's army conquers the city. The city is devoted to destruction, put "to the edge of the sword," which was the prescribed judgment (herem) for the idolatrous Canaanites. And, as promised, the man and his entire household are spared. Everything here seems to be proceeding according to the pattern of holy war established under Joshua. Judgment is executed on the impenitent, and grace is extended to the one who cooperated with God's people. If the story ended here, we would chalk it up as an unqualified success. But it does not end here.

Judges 1:26

So the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and named it Luz which is its name to this day.

And here is the poison pill. This is the difference between a true gospel invitation and a cheap bargain. Rahab was spared, and she was brought into the covenant community of Israel. She forsook her people and her gods and cast her lot entirely with Yahweh and His people. She is celebrated in the genealogy of Christ and in the hall of faith for this very reason. But this man? He is simply let go. He takes the mercy, but he does not take the God who offers it. He goes off to the land of the Hittites, a pagan nation, and what does he do? He builds another Luz. He doesn't build a new Bethel. He doesn't join Israel in worshiping Yahweh. He takes the grace that preserved his life and uses it to replicate the very paganism that God was judging. The house of Joseph failed to disciple their convert. They offered hesed without demanding allegiance. They spared a man but allowed the idolatrous idea of Luz to escape and be replanted. This is the first clear instance in Judges of the kind of compromise that will bring the entire nation to ruin. It is a victory that contains the seed of its own undoing.

Application

The lesson for the church today is sharp and clear. Our commission is not simply to get people to escape the coming judgment. Our commission is to make disciples. We offer the free grace of God, His covenant hesed, to all who will repent and believe. But this grace is not a get out of jail free card that allows someone to go on and build their own version of Luz somewhere else. True conversion means being incorporated into the body of Christ, the true Bethel, the house of God. It means leaving the land of the Hittites for good.

This passage warns us against a thin, pragmatic evangelism that is content with decisions but indifferent to discipleship. We see here the danger of partial obedience. The house of Joseph obeyed in the destruction of the city, but they disobeyed in their failure to incorporate this new family into the covenant people. They won the battle but set the stage for losing the war. We must be vigilant that our victories are complete. When we drive sin out of a place, we must be sure to fill that place with true worship. Otherwise, we have only succeeded in exporting the problem, letting a new Luz be built just over the horizon.