For my next trick, I'll make the Canaanites disappear!

As we move along in our reading plan, pay close attention to what is happening right now. This is the early history of Israel, a nation with a geographical home. The majority of Joshua (thought not all) is devoted to the defeat of many of the large cities in the region and the division of the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. In the course of Judges 1, we see Judah (one of the tribes) get a pretty good start at taking over the land completely. Remember that the Israelites were supposed to demolish all the people who inhabited the land completely, something that the other tribes did not do (second half of Judges ch.1). So we see that they start to compromise that command and the result is God metaphorically saying "I told you so." They ended up compromising their beliefs and customs along with God's command. So God allows those people to be a "thorn in Israel's side," bringing unnecessary struggles and strife into the picture. This sets the stage for all the coming Old Testament History, intensifying and leading up to the exile in Babylon.

On another note, this is where we start to see some AWESOME stories! Ehud in Judges 3 and Deborah (the prophetess) in Judges 4 are both stories worthy of scenes in Hollywood blockbusters. Keep reading!