“The Lord was with the people of Judah, and they took possession of the hill country. But they failed to drive out the people living in the plains, who had iron chariots. The town of Hebron was given to Caleb as Moses had promised. And Caleb drove out the people living there, who were descendants of the three sons of Anak. The tribe of Benjamin, however, failed to drive out the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live in Jerusalem among the people of Benjamin. The descendants of Joseph attacked the town of Bethel, and the Lord was with them. They sent men to scout out Bethel (formerly known as Luz). They confronted a man coming out of the town and said to him, “Show us a way into the town, and we will have mercy on you.” So he showed them a way in, and they killed everyone in the town except that man and his family. Later the man moved to the land of the Hittites, where he built a town. He named it Luz, which is its name to this day. The tribe of Manasseh failed to drive out the people living in Beth-shan, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and all their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in that region. When the Israelites grew stronger, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves, but they never did drive them completely out of the land. The tribe of Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, so the Canaanites continued to live there among them. The tribe of Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron and Nahalol, so the Canaanites continued to live among them. But the Canaanites were forced to work as slaves for the people of Zebulun. The tribe of Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Aczib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob. Instead, the people of Asher moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land, for they failed to drive them out. Likewise, the tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath. Instead, they moved in among the Canaanites, who controlled the land. Nevertheless, the people of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath were forced to work as slaves for the people of Naphtali. As for the tribe of Dan, the Amorites forced them back into the hill country and would not let them come down into the plains. The Amorites were determined to stay in Mount Heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim, but when the descendants of Joseph became stronger, they forced the Amorites to work as slaves. The boundary of the Amorites ran from Scorpion Pass to Sela and continued upward from there.”
Judges 1:19-36 NLT
The repeated pattern in the book of judges is that of an unfinished victory. The Israelites would push into an area but not fully conquer the land. This would lead to a mixing of the people which would devolve into a mixing of practices. This eventually turned into idolatry and a corporate guilt that would make the Israelites as corrupt as those they were sent there to purge. This is because the Israelites weren’t sent to Canaan because they were better than them. They were sent there because Canaan had been too corrupt to justify their continued existence. This seems extreme by modern eyes but the nature of sin and its ability to flourish is extreme. The origin of Luz illustrates this point. One man and his family eventually flourished into an entire town again. As we enter the time of Judges, it is clear that the problems ahead of Israel came from their propensity to not fully exorcise the land. This is a macrocsom of the more nuanced issue. They refused to be personally diligent toward God. This led to a flourishing of the now beaten idolaters. Israel should’ve well known how this worked. Only one generation ago, they had left Egypt as a slave nation that flourished in captivity. And now after enslaving, instead of purging, they would give opportunity for these heathens to do the same among them.
Unfinished Conquest: Israelites failed to fully conquer Canaan, leading to a mixing of people and practices.
Religious Corruption: The mixing of practices resulted in idolatry and corporate guilt, mirroring the corruption of the Canaanites.
Lack of Diligence: The Israelites’ failure to fully exorcise the land reflected their personal lack of diligence toward God.
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