Topical Bible: Israel: Under the Judges: The Original Inhabitants not Fully Expelled

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During the period of the Judges, the Israelites faced the significant challenge of coexisting with the original inhabitants of Canaan, whom they had not fully expelled as commanded by God. This era, marked by cycles of disobedience, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, is a testament to the complexities of Israel's faithfulness and the consequences of incomplete obedience.

Divine Command and Initial Conquest

God's command to Israel was clear: they were to completely drive out the Canaanite nations from the land He had promised to their forefathers. In Deuteronomy 7:1-2 , the LORD instructed, "When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations... you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy." This command was reiterated to ensure that Israel would not be led astray by the idolatrous practices of the Canaanites.

The initial conquest under Joshua saw significant victories, yet it was incomplete. Joshua 13:1 notes, "When Joshua had grown old, the LORD said to him, 'You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over.'" The task of fully possessing the land was left to the subsequent generations.

Failure to Fully Expel the Inhabitants

The Book of Judges details the failure of the Israelites to fully expel the Canaanites, leading to a period of spiritual and moral decline. Judges 1:27-28 states, "At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their surrounding settlements, because the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. When Israel became stronger, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor, but they never drove them out completely."

This incomplete obedience resulted in the Israelites living among the Canaanites, which led to the adoption of their pagan practices and idolatry. Judges 2:1-3 records the angel of the LORD's rebuke: "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. 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 tear down their altars.' Yet you have not obeyed Me. What is this you have done? Therefore, I now say, 'I will not drive them out before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.'"

Consequences of Coexistence

The presence of the Canaanites among the Israelites led to significant spiritual challenges. The Israelites frequently turned to the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, the gods of the Canaanites, which provoked the LORD's anger. Judges 3:5-6 describes the situation: "Thus the Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took the daughters of these people in marriage, gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods."

This syncretism resulted in cycles of oppression by surrounding nations, as God used these adversities to discipline His people and draw them back to Himself. The Israelites would cry out to the LORD, and He would raise up judges to deliver them, only for the cycle to repeat as they returned to idolatry.

The Role of the Judges

The judges served as deliverers and leaders raised by God to rescue Israel from their oppressors. Figures such as Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, and Samson played pivotal roles in these deliverances. Judges 2:16 states, "Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them from the hands of these raiders."

Despite the temporary relief provided by the judges, the underlying issue of incomplete obedience and the presence of Canaanite influence persisted. The period of the judges is characterized by the refrain found in Judges 21:25 : "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

The era under the judges highlights the importance of complete obedience to God's commands and the dangers of compromising with worldly influences. The Israelites' failure to fully expel the original inhabitants of Canaan serves as a cautionary tale of the spiritual and societal consequences of partial obedience.

Nave's Topical Index

Judges 1:27-36
Neither did Manasseh drive out the inhabitants of Bethshean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
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Judges 3:1-7
Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
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Library

Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
... Judges, c. vii. ... of Jeroboam thought that they worshipped the God of Israel in their ...
by the theologists of the Gentiles"deities, consecrated under the names ...
/.../mede/a key to the apocalypse/of the three woe trumpets.htm

Alexandria and Rome - the Jewish Communities in the Capitals of ...
... as to be only audible to the judges - listened to ... of Philo, as to the dispersion
of Israel throughout all ... seek the restoration of their Theocracy under a Roman ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter v alexandria and rome.htm

The First Book
... who requires the victim of the murderer; he judges who condemns ... and shows the force
of God's anger under the name ... who say that the children of Israel at that ...
//christianbookshelf.org/salvian/on the government of god/the first book.htm

From the Close of the General Conference of 1820 to the Beginning ...
... These long neglected people, the original lords of the ... lost sheep of the house of
Israel." So strong ... was blessed with an encouraging revival, under the labors ...
/.../chapter 6 from the close.htm

The First Chaldaean Empire and the Hyksos in Egypt
... As the inhabitants of Babylon had considerable resources at ... Durilu probably fell
ordinarily under Chaldaean jurisdiction ... was included in the original domain of ...
/.../chapter ithe first chaldaean empire.htm

The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
... objects of God's vengeance for the many evils they had inflicted on Israel. ... Judges
1:17 ... thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table ...
/.../chapter iiithe hebrews and the.htm

Period iii. The Critical Period: AD 140 to AD 200
... Under Commodus (180-193), Marcia seems to have aided the Christians ... then found that
much of the Greek original had been ... If they are judges, they judge uprightly ...
/.../a source book for ancient church history/period iii the critical period .htm