 The title of our sermon tonight is Victory Through Faith. Victory Through Faith, we're in Judges chapter one in this text that reaches from verse eight to verse 21. And as we come to this text tonight now, as we looked at chapter one in the book of Judges, the tribes of Judah and the tribe of Simeon are on the march. Tribal allotments have been distributed. Now the tribes are asked or tasked with going into the land and driving out the Canaanites who dwell there. And as they drive out the Canaanites, they're tasked with occupying the land and settling down. So if you remember now from Joshua chapter 21 verse 43, God has given them all the land that he promised to give them. God has given them all the land that he promised. Not a word has failed of all that the Lord has spoken. All of it has come to pass. However, as we think about this now, it's not that the Lord simply gave them the land and now requires that they do all the heavy lifting to go into the land now in their own strength to take it. It's not how it works. The Lord has tasked them to take the land, but the Lord has also given them a gracious promise. If they will obey the Lord, if they'll trust him, if they'll follow his lead, then the Lord himself will go before them, he will fight for them and he will deliver the land into their hand. It's a promise that God has made to his people. He told them this beforehand in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 17. Listen to this from Deuteronomy. If you should say in your heart, these nations are greater than I, how can I dispossess them? You see what the problem is, right? In their own strength, these nations are greater than we are. How are we going to take the land? He says, you shall not be afraid of them. Don't be afraid, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. There were witnesses of these things, what the Lord their God did to Pharaoh, the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. The Lord promises them, right? Gives them a gracious promise. So then, what are the people of God to do? What are they to do? They're responsible to trust and obey. Trust him and obey him, right? Trust and obey for there is no other way to drive out the Canaanites than to trust and obey. Trust and obey, that's the commandment, okay? And we see obedience to that command at the beginning of Judges chapter one, verses one and two, right? The children of Israel trusted the Lord, they sought his direction for taking the land and what happened? What happened when the Israelites trusted the Lord? What happened when they obeyed him? They went up in his strength, they went up in his power, God went before them and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Parasites into their hand. And God gave Judah, God gave Simeon a great victory. Now be mindful, it was the Lord's victory. It was the Lord's victory, but he has given it to them through the means of faith-filled obedience, okay? He's used the means of their obedience, the means of their trust to give them a great victory. So now, as we catch up with Judah in chapter one, verse eight, we see more of the same. Judah is taking the land that the Lord is giving to them and they're doing that in his power, they're doing that through the means of faithful obedience. Look at our context beginning in verse eight. The tribe of Judah is going through this allotted territory, the southern part of the land of Canaan, and city by city, they're driving out the Canaanites and they're taking possession. And then in verse eight, they come to Jerusalem. Verse eight. Now the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it. They struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire. The Jerusalem, we're very familiar with that city, one of the oldest cities in the world. I think it's been almost consistently inhabited for the last 5,000 years, it's a very old city. But I wanna make one point to help with the understanding of our texts, okay? Here in verse eight, the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and they took it. They fought against Jerusalem and took it. Look in verse 21. Here in verse 21, the children of Benjamin are fighting the Jebusites and they're fighting the Jebusites where? In Jerusalem. And specifically in verse 21, they're unable to drive them out. Now incidentally, Jerusalem in scripture and in the book of Judges is sometimes referred to as Jebus, or Jebus. The people of Jebus are referred to as Jebusites where the Jebusites come from, okay? They dwelt in Jerusalem. Now both tribes, the tribe of Judah in verse eight and we see Benjamin in verse 21, both tribes trying to take, fighting to take the city of Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was situated on two hills. There's an eastern hill and a western hill, okay? A lower hilltop area on the eastern hill was the location of what is called the stronghold of Zion. You've done your reading in the Old Testament. You know that David took the stronghold of Zion. Stronghold of Zion was on the lower section of the eastern hill. And centuries later, in second Samuel chapter five, verse seven, David took that stronghold and renamed it the city of David. What we know today is the city of David. Who do you think he took it from all those years later? Talking about about 400 years later, who did David fight to take the stronghold of Zion from? He fought the Jebusites. He fought the Jebusites. That's interesting. Think with me, okay? The eastern hill itself was called Mount Moriah. It's where Abraham took his son Isaac to offer him, Mount Moriah, right? It's where Solomon built the first temple, second Chronicles chapter three, and Mount Moriah became known as the temple mount when Solomon built the first temple there. When David had earlier moved the Ark of the Covenant there, David transferred the name from the stronghold of Zion. Zion transferred that name to the temple mount, that mountain, the eastern mountain became known as Mount Zion, Mount Zion, okay? Later, as the city expanded to the west, as it expanded to the west, temple mount name stayed with the temple mount and Zion moved now to the western hill and the western hill today in Jerusalem is called Mount Zion, okay? The Jebusite city of Jerusalem is situated on the border between the tribal allotments given to Judah and given to Benjamin. The city is divided between those two tribes. In the territorial allotments, Joshua 15 verse eight explains that the western hill landed in Judah's territory while the eastern hill in Joshua chapter 18 fell within the allotment given to Benjamin. Now, one of the reasons why we go through that and talk about that is because there are textual critics who will say, oh, look, here's an error in the Bible. Here we have Judah fighting against Jerusalem in verse eight, but we see Benjamin failing to take the city in verse 21. There's a contradiction in the Bible. You can't believe it, we might as well be atheists, right? No, just slow down for a moment, right? We understand the geography of this. In Joshua 15, western hill allotted to the tribe of Judah, the eastern hill allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. But now, that's why you have both tribes mentioned in our text fighting in this city. And it's clear to see, it's clear to see right off the bat that Israel, specifically Judah and Benjamin begin to stumble right out of the gate. David is found fighting again in Jerusalem 400 years later fighting who? The same people that Judah and Simeon and Benjamin were fighting. When we did our study in Ezra, the book of Ezra, long after the period now of David, in the Ezra chapter nine, when Judah is returning from exile, they've been pushed out, vomited out of the land because of their sin, God sends them in judgment to Babylon. And now by the grace and mercy of God, the people are returning from Babylon, they're returning to Jerusalem. And when they return to Jerusalem in Ezra chapter nine, the people fall into sin, they marry pagan daughters of those who were living in the land, they threaten to begin the same tragic process all over again in their sin, right? Rebellion, retribution, repentance, restoration, and then relapse. Here we have another relapse and who were the people? Ezra chapter nine, living in Jerusalem who became a snare again to Judah who were the women that they married? The daughters of the Jebusites. The Jebusites all this time later. We have to learn the lesson, don't we? These things are written for our admonition. They're our examples. We must cut off wicked influences. We must cut off entirely destroy sinful canines in our lives, right? Inducements to sin, you must cut off your hand and pluck out your eyes, Jesus says, right? Make no compromise with the forces of darkness. Make no worldly compromises with your flesh. Cut off, cut off, cut off the Jebusites, amen? Right, excuse me, an important lesson for us to learn here. Verse nine now, verse nine, the children of Judah fought against Jerusalem, they took it, struck it with the edge of the sword, set the city on fire, but as we've seen, they were not able to possess the city. Now verse nine, afterward, the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains in the south and in the lowland. The mountains here can better be translated hill country. That's the hill country south, just south of Jerusalem. The south, some of your translations say, Negev is toward Egypt and it's mostly desert. Negev is a word that means arid or desert land. It's the Negev, okay? And then the lowlands refer to the foothills west of Jerusalem before you get to the coastal plain that sits along the Mediterranean Sea. So the mountains, the south are the Negev and the lowlands. So Judah then begins in verse nine with the hill country and the two major cities that are in the hill country outside of Jerusalem are Hebron, which is about 19 miles to the south, and Debeer, two major cities in the hill country. So in verse 10 then, Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron. Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kyriot Arba. I think with me for a moment, the word Hebron means Confederacy of four or a group of four, cities of four, right? Arba, Kyriot Arba, meaning four, city of four. It was thought that because it was called city of four, that it was a Confederacy of four cities. That's the prevailing logic here. In other words, it was a very strong, fortified, very well defended, well occupied city. It was a powerful city, Hebron. Well when Judah went in in verse 10, they killed Sheshai, Ahemon, and Talmai. From there they went against the inhabitants of Debeer. The name of Debeer was formerly Kyriot Sefer or the city of records. City of records or city of officers, they thought it might be a military stronghold, had officers there. In either case, right, verses 10 and 11, the particular parcel of land that these two cities were sitting on has very special significance. In Joshua 14, I want you to turn there with me. In Joshua 14, this particular parcel of land was described as an inheritance, an inheritance. An inheritance is given, isn't it? Owned by someone else and then given, particularly owned by a father, given to a son, for example, okay? Here it means specifically that the land belonged to God and that God could give it to whomever he will. In this case, it was the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jefuna, the Kennesite. Kyriot Arba, named for Arba, the father of Anak, the father of the Anakim inhabited this city. And when the spies, if you remember when the spies went in to spy out the Promised Land, number 13, right? They sent out the 12 spies. When those spies came back, it was the Anakim from Hebron, including Sheshai, Ahemond, and Talmai, named by name in number 13, that terrified the people, terrified the spies. The 10 faithless spies described them as giants. He says, we're unable to take the land. We can't take it, why? Because we are as grasshoppers in their sight, right? They were seen, the Anakim, seen as an unbeatable foe, an unbeatable foe. So what does that require then? Requires faith. Requires a man of faith, requires a hero of faith. Enter Caleb in Joshua chapter 14. Look with me at verse six. And then the children of Judah came to Joshua and Gilgal, and Caleb, the son of Japhuna, the Kennesites, said to him, they're sitting around and Caleb says, you know the word of the Lord, which the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me and Kedash Farnia? You remember when we came back from spying out the land, Joshua? We came back from spying out the land, and these are two old friends, right? They're just getting together. They've been through a lot together. They crossed the Red Sea together. They were at Sinai together. They fought battles together. They were the ones who spied out the land together with the other 10, and they were the only ones who came back with a good report and encouraged the people by faith to go in and take it, right? They were good friends, Joshua and Caleb. Friends like these, friendships like these, are precious, right? Extraordinarily blessed. When you've been through the fire together, it knits you together, right? When you've been through battles together, they were extraordinarily blessed. This was a blessed friendship. So Caleb comes into his old friend, Joshua, he comes in faith, trusting in and claiming the Lord's goodness, claiming the Lord's faithfulness to his word, and he said to Joshua, you know that word which Moses said to me and you about the land in Kadesh, Barnea? He says in verse seven, I was 40 years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh, Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. That's what matters to the Lord, right? Man judges according to the outward appearance, God judges, God looks on the heart. He says in verse eight, nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord, my God. And how did Caleb do that coming back from the land? It's by faith. How do you put his trust entirely in the Lord? We can take the land. Why? Because we're so strong? Because we have such military prowess, mighty men of war? No, it wasn't gonna be by their strength. Caleb trusted God. God said he would give it to him. Caleb believed God. Joshua believed God. So Moses swore on that day in verse nine saying, surely then, the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever. Why? Because you have wholly followed the Lord, my God. Followed him in faithful obedience, faith-filled obedience. So now, Caleb says in verse 10, behold, the Lord has kept me alive. As he said, these 45 years, credits the Lord with his endurance, his perseverance, the Lord is the one who's kept me alive, these 45 years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness. And now here I am this day 85 years old. And I love this, verse 11. As yet, I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me. Just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in, right? And all that waiting and all that time, all those years, Caleb hasn't lost heart. He hasn't lost a vigor, zeal for the Lord. Caleb is still going strong. That's what we need. Lord, please, please, when I'm 85, may I have the vigor of Caleb? May you have the vigor, the zeal, the enthusiasm of Caleb, right? Preserve us, Lord, in that way. So in verse 12, he says to Joshua, now therefore, in keeping with the promise the Lord had made, now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day. For you heard in that day how the Anakim were there and that the cities were great and fortified. Notice he doesn't say, notice he doesn't say, listen, there's nobody there. Those cities are easily taken, right? Give it to me, because we can pretty much walk in there and settle down. He didn't say that. What if you draw attention to, the giants are there. Give me that land, right? The cities are strong, they're fortified. Those are the ones I want, right? This guy was serious business, a man of faith. He was a man of faith. He says, it may be that the Lord will be with me and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. This is a picture of faith. And think about it with me, this was an opportunity for Caleb to trust God. God had promised, God said, if you go in and you go in by faith-filled obedience, I'll give you the land. And Caleb believed God. He believed it when he sat on the edge of the promise land with those 12 spies and he believes it now, okay? So he's gonna follow the Lord by faith. Caleb doesn't say here, I earned it, doesn't say that. He says it was a gift from the Lord, a promise. Still has to be possessed, right? So Caleb has to go in. Caleb has to take it, Caleb has to possess the land, but it was given to him by the word of God and if Caleb trusts the Lord, he'll go in and take it by faith. Caleb is a testimony, an example of faith. And verse 13, Joshua blessed him, gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunah, as an inheritance. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunah, the kenozite, to this day because he wholly followed the Lord, God of Israel. Do you think the scripture here wants to get a point through to us? It repeats that several times, right? He wholly followed the Lord, God of Israel. And the name of Hebron, formerly, was Kyriot Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the great Anakim and then the land had rests from war. It's an unusual statement in a book that has very little rest in it. But here's a picture in the very beginning of this book where the land had rests. God judges those who were faithless at Kadesh Barnea and an entire generation of faithless disobedient Israelites die in the wilderness. God says, I swore in my wrath, they would not enter my rest and their corpses were strewn in the wilderness. But then God also made and kept promises to those who put their faith in Him, namely, Joshua and Caleb. An entire generation dies in the wilderness with two exceptions, Joshua and Caleb. And we see the blessedness here of the one who puts his faith in the Lord. Look over at Joshua 15. So the next section over, Joshua 15, look down at verse 13. We see what happens. Verse 13, now to Caleb, the son of Jefuna, he gave a share among the children of Judah. Remember, Caleb was a kenozite, right? He gave Caleb an inheritance with the children of Judah and the grace of Almighty God. And that was according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, namely, Kyriot Arba, which is Hebron. Arba was the father of Anak. Now Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there, Sheshai, Ahimon and Talmai, the children of Anak. Then he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir. Formerly the name of Debir was Kyriot Sefer. Let me ask you this question, thinking about our texts here. Was Caleb stronger than the Anakim? Certainly not. It's the whole point of their description. They were considered an unbeatable foe. Was it Caleb's expertise in military strategy that won him that city? No. Was it Caleb's superior military tech that won him that city? No. Who sustained Caleb through the wilderness wanderings, through years of battle, through danger, through death, through waiting 45 years in the wilderness? Who sustained Caleb? God did. God did. This was all a work of God. God gave Caleb his inheritance. God gave Caleb his victory. And God gave him that through his faith. Through faith, Caleb was a man of faith and God is faithful to his promises. So what follows then in Joshua 15 is then repeated in our text back in Judges chapter one. Go back to Judges chapter one with me and notice Caleb's contract in verse 12. Caleb's contract in verse 12. Having taken the land now, having gone in, having received the land as an inheritance, Caleb begins the conquest and in verse 12 he makes a contract. Then Caleb said, whoever attacks Kyriot Sefer, city of records or city of officers, whoever attacks that city and takes it, to him I will give my daughter Axa as wife. The next main stronghold of the Anakim, past Hebron, the next main stronghold was Kyriot Sefer. Now Caleb wants a man of faith to rule that city. Caleb being a man of faith that would only be normal, right? He wants a man of faith to take that city. Not only that, but Caleb, if he's a good and godly father, wants a man of faith to marry his daughter. So he announces a challenge. Whoever takes it gets my daughter Axa as wife. That'd be like me saying, whoever takes Geneva for this church, gets to marry Lauren, right? It's a challenge. That sounds to our modern day sensibilities. Sometimes that sounds a little offensive and people do take offense with that. But think about it, what kind of man would do such a thing? What kind of man would go into De Beer, Kyriot Sefer? What kind of man would go in and take that city? Knowing that it was inhabited by Anakim, a heroic man, a courageous man, certainly, a warrior champion would go in there and take that city, but also a man of faith. A man of faith would do that. A man of faith acts as husband. The man charged with providing for her, the man charged with protecting her is the warrior champion of De Beer, right? That's the kind of man. This guy was a leader. He was a go-getter, a man of action, a military hero. He was heroic. He was also a man of faith. That said specifically in verse 13, that Othniel, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother took it and made this man Othniel, Caleb's nephew. We'll see Othniel here pretty soon because Othniel will be the first judge that we'll encounter in chapter three, right? This is Othniel, Caleb's nephew. And so Caleb then gave him his daughter, Aksa, as wife. Now Aksa is very wise in her own right, very perceptive, very thoughtful, very resourceful. She's respectful, but she's assertive. She's bold, so she thinks of something here that neither Caleb nor Othniel consider themselves. And Aksa then takes action, verse 14. Now it happened that when she came to him, that she urged him to ask her father for a feel. And she dismounted it from her donkey. And Caleb said to her, before Aksa ever said anything, Caleb took the initiative, when he saw Aksa coming to him and said, daughter, what is it that I can do for you? What do you wish? What can I do for you? It's not what do you want. It's not that. It's what can I do for you? What favor can I give you? It's what it literally means. So she said to him in verse 15, listen, give me a blessing. Since you've given me land in the South, give me also springs of water. Now remember this issue of the land in the South. Debeer wasn't in the South, right? But remember that translation there, translated negative or arid dry desert land. What Aksa is saying here is give me a blessing since you have given me a dry land, since you have given me negative like land, arid land, give me also springs of water. We need water, Aksa thinks to herself. So she says, with respect, show me a favor toward me as I go, bless me. It's not a dowry, right? Debeer was the dowry. This is a blessing, daughter requesting of her father a blessing, give me a field with a spring honor. So what does Caleb do? Verse 15, Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs. Caleb lavishes her with a blessing. This is likely a figure of speech called a marism. Marism is two contrasting things mentioned specifically to refer to one thing that makes sense to you, right? Upper springs, lower springs. It means all the springs, right? That's a marism. Here, upper and lower springs means that Caleb gave her rights to all the water in the area. He didn't just bless her, he lavished a blessing upon her. Now being such or being given such lavish blessing from God, Caleb becomes a lavish giver. He knows he's undeserving that the land, the inheritance that God has given him is entirely a gift of God's grace. So having been given so much, what does Caleb then do? Caleb becomes a generous giver. He's generous with his own giving. He's been given much and so he gives much. I think about all this with me, right? This picture is vignette now that is painted for us in Judges chapter one. In a book that is riddled throughout with the tragic consequences of faithlessness, this is a breath of fresh air. All right, it's the very beginning. It's an open window, so to speak. Breath of fresh air, a beautiful portrait of the blessings of faith. It's a picture of what it looks like when we follow the Lord holy with all our heart as Caleb did by faith. It's a beautiful picture, a beautiful picture. It's like we're flying, you're flying a plane. It's like the clear blue sky rays of sunlight above the clouds. Before you turn the nose of the plane down, you plummet through the clouds into the storm. That's what we're about to do. We're about to turn the nose of the plane down. We're plummeting into the storm, but here's a clear blue ray of sunlight picture prior to that storm. You have a stalwart man of faith. You have a loving and generous man of faith blessed by God. Obedient loves the Lord. You have a champion of faith and Ocneal, a wise, thoughtful, perceptive, bold daughter. You have a blessed marriage, a blessed marriage. And all that from the example of those who are not native Israelites, right? These are kenozite proselytes. They're not native Jews. All here at the beginning of an account that deals primarily with the apostasy of the nation of Israel. And we don't need to let that lesson be lost on us. This is the blessedness of the one who places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what it looks like to walk in faith. What a contrast, right? What a contrast. You know what comes in the book of Judges and as we'll see together what comes in the book of Judges, this is an amazing contrast. What we see as we work through the book is the storm, the tragedy of a people who have departed from their God. Incidentally, all those who would want to impose their own so-called wisdom on a passage like this and criticize what we would call chronological snobbery. They look down the quarter of time to those antiquated, old-fashioned, irrelevant ideals from a past bygone age that don't work today. Anyone who would look at this picture like that thinking that today we're so much more civilized, right? We treat women so much better today. Well, take a look around. Take a look around for a moment. Are things today better? Are we the before picture or the after picture? Are we the clear blue sky or does our society, our culture, look like the storm? God's wisdom, God's wisdom is continuously proven to be good, true, right, holy, just, pure, always God's wisdom is seen that way. We simply need to put our faith in him and walk in it. But sometimes when you do that, right, when you're raising kids, for example, and you're making guidelines, rules for your household, knowing that the circumstances in which you're raising your kids are so counter-cultural, trust in the Lord, trust in the Lord. Don't let worldly influences dictate how you're going to manage your household, manage your household by the word of God, right? When you bring up your daughters to consider what kind of man she will marry, think of Othniel, right? When you bring up your sons and they're considering marriage, be an Othniel, young ladies, be an Axa, right? Walk in faith, put God's wisdom to work, trust him, put your faith in him, walk according to his wisdom. This world has no wisdom, no wisdom, and it has no wisdom because it has abandoned the word of God. We have wisdom here that we can follow, put our faith and trust in him for it. Now, so we work through the rest of our texts. We begin to see a storm brewing. From Caleb's contract, we now see Caleb's contrast, beginning in verse 16. Storm is brewing, verse 16. Now the children of the Kenite, Moses' father-in-law, who is Moses' father-in-law? Jethro, right? Jethro. They went up from the city of Palms. That word city of Palms, that name used of many cities. It mainly means an oasis settlement, a city that was made at an oasis. Later in the book, we'll see that term referred to Jericho. Here it's not Jericho. Probably a city called Tamar near the South, near the Dead Sea, city of Palms. They went up from the city of Palms with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the South near Arid, and they went and dwelt among the people. They went and dwelt among the people. In other words, they did not destroy them as they had been commanded to do. Now, if you remember from the sermon last week, God had put these peoples under the ban, right? They were under a law called harem, harem, which means devoted to destruction. These peoples, not innocent, they're being judged by God. They're put under a law, law of harem means devoted to destruction. It referred to the total annihilation of men, women, children, livestock, the entire race of people, right? Put under harem, devoted to destruction. Now, if you think with me, this was the judgment of God against a deplorably, hopelessly wicked and perverse people. A wicked and perverse people. It also served as great protection for the people of God from the influence of their paganism. If you remember the Jebusites, right? The Jebusites, a continuous snare to the people of God for centuries, for centuries, led them into paganism. This is also a protection of God for the people of God to keep them from idolatry. Disobedience to God's command here would mean ruin. We see that littered across the Old Testament. It would mean devastation later. In other words, you can't compromise with Canaanites. You can't compromise with Canaanites. God knows what is right. He has devoted these peoples that he is judging, devoted them to destruction. The Israelites were the tip of the sword, so to speak, of God's judgment against them, and the Israelites simply didn't do what they were commanded to do. In that, Judah makes an attempt to actually obey the Lord. Look at verse 17. So Judah then went with his brother Simeon and they attacked the Canaanites who inhabited Zephaph and they utterly destroyed it, utterly destroyed it. So the name of that city was called Horma. That word Horma, that name is derived from the word harem, meaning destruction. So they named the city destruction. Judah knew what they were doing. They knew what they were commanded to do. And so they went in and destroyed the city. Look at verse 18. Judah took Gaza with its territory, Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory. And mentioning those three cities, we can see that Judah wasn't entirely, entirely obedient. How is that? Their obedience wasn't complete. It wasn't uncompromising. Those three cities, the name of those three cities sound familiar to you? That's right. In Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, but Judah could not hold Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron. Why these cities became Philistine strongholds? They became Philistine strongholds. Samson is fighting against them again in Judges chapter 14. The Israelites lose miserably and lose the ark to them. In first Samuel chapter five, Saul fails to take those cities. David is fighting against them again in second Samuel. Judgment is proclaimed against those cities in Jeremiah, in Amos, in Zephaniah, and at the very end of the Old Testament, before the inter-testamental period, that period of silence, the prophet Zechariah pronounced his judgment against them. They've become snares to the children of Israel all that time, so the pattern continues. Right, the pattern continues. As the pattern continues, look at verse 19. So the Lord was with Judah, and they drove out the Mountaineers, but they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland. Why? Because they had chariots of iron. In other words, in other words, verse 19, Judah was fighting against superior military tech. This marked the transition between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. You begin to see iron instruments, iron weapons coming to use. But let me ask you, did it matter how many chariots they had in the lowlands? Did it matter? Nope. Did it matter what they were made at? What they were made at, they could have been made of titanium. It didn't matter. Didn't matter. Might as well as been made of husk, of chaff, right? It didn't matter what they were made of. Did it matter how many people they had in the land? No. Though all the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord and against his anointed, he who sits in the heavens shall laugh and hold them in derision. In Joshua chapter 17, verses 16 to 18, God promised the Israelites victory in spite of the fact that the people of the land would have iron chariots. In spite of this very circumstance, God promised them victory. Verse 18, the Lord says, for you shall drive out the Canaanites though they have iron chariots and are strong. How are they to do that? They're to do that by faith. They're to do that by faith. Judah simply didn't trust the Lord. What was required? Faith, trust and obey. There is no other way to drive out Canaanites than to trust and obey. Remember Jericho? Jericho, if that wasn't a victory of faith, what was it? We're gonna march around this walled city seven times, seven days, right? On the seventh day, seven times, you're gonna blow some trumpets and all the walls are gonna fall down? I mean, really? That's a victory that God won for them through faith. They just had to trust and obey. The Lord was with them in the mountains. So why should the lowlands be any different? They shouldn't have been, they shouldn't have been. But in contrast to all this, we have then Caleb's conquest. Caleb's contract, Caleb's contrast. Now Caleb's conquest. Verse 20, they gave Hebron to Caleb as Moses had said. Then he expelled from there the three sons of Anac. But verse 21, in conclusion, the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem. And so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day, to the date of this writing. And that's the recurring theme, isn't it? The chapter one. We'll see that as we work further through the chapter. We end on a note of pessimism. We end, so to speak, with a nose of our plane in the clouds, preparing to enter the storm. The Israelites start strong, but they cannot finish strong. It's because they don't finish by faith, faith-filled obedience to the Lord. There's nothing to hope for in this life. Nothing good to say. Nothing that is optimistic, everything that is pessimistic, if the Lord isn't fighting for you. Only a foreboding doom. If you're outside the Lord Jesus Christ, and what lies ahead for you is the nose of your plane in the storm and a foreboding doom. You must turn from living life for yourself. You must turn from your selfish, self-indulgent life, living for your sin. You must turn from your sin, put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. John Bunyan in his book, classic book, Pilgrim's Progress, captures the hope of one who puts his faith in Christ. Mr. Valiant for Truth stands at the river's edge about to cross over into his inheritance in the celestial city. Listen to what Mr. Valiant for Truth says. He says, I'm going to my father's. And though it has been with great difficulty that I have come to this point, Christian life is not promised to ease and comfort. Not going to be easy. We're not promised leisure. We're not promised flowery beds of ease, right? He said, although it's been with great difficulty that I've come to this point, yet now I do not regret all the trouble I've been through to arrive where I am. He stands at the edge of the river. The celestial city lies on the other side. And Mr. Valiant for Truth is about to cross over and enter. It's a beautiful picture of death and heaven that awaits on the other side, right? I do not regret all the trouble I've been through to arrive where I am. My sword, I give to him who shall follow me in my pilgrim, pilgrimage and my courage and skill to him that can get it. What do we call the sword of the spirit? What is the sword of the spirit? It's the word of God, right? The word of God. Mr. Valiant for Truth. Valiant for Truth is leaving behind his sword to all those who had followed the Lord by faith and put their faith and trust in him that would obey his word. He leaves it to him who shall follow me in my pilgrimage and my courage and my skill to him that can get it. My marks and my scars I carry with me to be a witness for me that I have fought his battles who now will be my rewarder. When the day that he must go hence and come, many accompanied him to the river side into which as he went he said, death, where is thy sting? And as he went down deeper, he said, grave, where is thy victory? And so he passed over and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side. So brother, sister, consider the example of Caleb. Take the battle to the enemy. Don't give up. Don't give in. Don't compromise, finish, strong. All praise, honor, and glory to the one who goes before us, right, to the one who has already fought and has already won the victory for us. See to put our faith and trust in him, amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, the Lord, we praise you and worship you and thank you that the victory in our Lord Jesus Christ has been won. The work is finished. We praise you, Lord, now that we can go in and possess our inheritance by faith in you, strengthen our faith, build and mature our faith, help us or go before us, lead us in the way, work in us your will, which is good and perfect and help us, Lord, to follow you, as Caleb did, not compromising with the world, the flesh or the devil, not making excuses for sin, not turning back, not turning aside, but being meticulously faithful to you, meticulously faithful to your word, knowing, Lord, that the strength to fight the battle, knowing that the victory in the battle is not ours, we are powerless against our enemy, but is entirely yours. And so we put our faith and our trust in you and thank you, Lord, for the joy of knowing that our faith is well placed, that we, Lord, know and trust and believe in you who are able to preserve us to the end and we thank you, Lord, for those blessed promises. Help us now, Lord, as we live for you and help us to live for you faithfully and fervently, joyfully, may your work be our delight until we come to the river's edge. Lord, and hold your hands, so to speak, as you lead us across, awaiting the blessed trumpet on the other side. Thank you, Lord, for these glorious promises. In your name, we pray all these things. Amen.