God's Sculptural Masterpiece

Judges 1:17-21

"Then the men of Judah went with the Simeonites their brothers and attacked the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they totally destroyed the city. Therefore it was called Hormah. The men of Judah also took Gaza, Ashkelon and Ekron—each city with its territory. The LORD was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains, because they had iron chariots. As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove from it the three sons of Anak. The Benjamites, however, failed to dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites."

Technology can hardly stop the power and will of God. However it did puzzle me a bit, that if God was "with the men of Judah", how come they weren't able to drive out the "people from the plains, [just] because they had iron chariots"?

Read through the book of Judges just last month and we'll see that they will face the same problem later in Chapters 4 and 5 where Sisera had similar iron-fitted chariots and the Israelites will again cry out to the Lord and He gets the valley/river Kishon flooding to sweep these chariots away for Barak to pursue and defeat them (Judges 5:21). But we see God's reason in the next passages, which sets the tone and overarching theme of the book of Judges and possibly also the entire historical narrative of the people of Israel in the Old Testament.

Judges 2:1-3

"The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you."

This too, the book of Judges presents, was a part of God’s will no less than the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon was the will of God centuries later. It will not do to simply suggest the Bible promised Israel unconditional victory in each and every battle.

Lord, teach us to obey Your commands that we be continuously blessed tremendously and grant us victory at every turn. Empower us Holy Spirit that we measure up to the standard of Christlike obedience. Father, Your work in us not yet complete, our salvation is only the beginning, and you are sculpting us into Your image — Your Son, Jesus. You are chipping away our old selves as we go through our everyday lives. You are the potter, we are the clay, we are Your masterpieces, enable us to respond to You willingly and to take delight in Your creative process in us.

~01.09.2013