Finding Jesus in Judges 1
The Book of Judges is a difficult book to read. It is filled with rebellion, compromise, idolatry, violence, and spiritual decline. Again and again, God's people turn away from Him, experience the consequences of their sin, cry out for deliverance, and discover that God remains faithful.
Judges is not a book about heroes as much as it is a book about our need for the Hero.
Judges 1 begins with Israel standing at a crossroads. Joshua has died, and the people ask the Lord, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?" God's answer is clear: "Judah shall go up" (Judges 1:1–2).
That command may seem like a small detail, but Judges 1 teaches us something essential about following God: partial obedience eventually produces spiritual captivity, but God remains faithful to provide His people with a Deliverer.
How to Ensure Failure
Judges 1 shows us several ways Israel began moving toward failure, and the first was simple: they disregarded what God had clearly said.
God said, "Judah shall go up." Judah responded by asking Simeon to come along. It might seem like a reasonable adjustment, but God had not said, "Judah and Simeon shall go up." Judah heard God's command and modified it.
Isn't that often how we approach God's Word? We hear what we want to hear. We assume God surely couldn't mean exactly what He said. We think we have a better plan, more information, or a more reasonable approach.
The problem isn't that God hasn't spoken clearly. The problem is that we don't always trust Him enough to follow what He has said.
And partial obedience doesn't remain partial for long.
Israel began settling for mediocrity. God had commanded them to remove the inhabitants of the land, yet tribe after tribe stopped short. They made compromises. They tolerated what God had told them to remove. What began with Judah eventually became a pattern throughout the nation.
Manasseh failed to drive them out. Ephraim failed. Zebulun failed. Asher failed. Naphtali failed. The people of Israel increasingly learned to live with what God had told them to remove.
That is the danger of spiritual mediocrity. We begin by tolerating something we should confront, and eventually we become comfortable with it.
What does that look like for a Christian? It can look like prayer becoming optional, Scripture becoming occasional, worship becoming convenient, serving becoming conditional, generosity becoming comfortable, and obedience becoming negotiable.
We begin to ask, "What do I have to do?" instead of, "How can I faithfully follow Jesus?"
What We Think We Can Control Can Eventually Control Us
The final verses of Judges 1 show where this compromise eventually leads. The people of Dan were pushed into the hill country by the Amorites. They were supposed to possess the land, but instead they were living on the outskirts.
Judges 1 doesn't show us one spectacular rebellion. It shows us something more frightening: a thousand little compromises.
They wouldn't drive the enemy out. They allowed them to remain. They lived among them. Eventually, the enemy pushed them into the hills.
That is often how sin works in our lives.
A lie here. A look there. A little flirting. A little cheating. A little stealing. A little coveting. Nothing that seems significant at first.
But James 1:14–15 reminds us that sinful desire gives birth to sin, and sin, when fully grown, brings forth death.
What we think we can control can eventually control us.
That is why Jesus tells us to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). The question isn't simply whether we have made Jesus part of our lives. The question is whether we have made Jesus the priority of our lives.
What would happen if we actually arranged our days around the kingdom? What would the Holy Spirit have us reprioritize? What would change if we put Jesus first and allowed everything else to find its proper place afterward?
Our Way Works—Until It Doesn't
You might wonder why Judah's decision to modify God's command was such a big deal.
One reason is that Scripture repeatedly shows us that our ways can work—up to a point.
Peter and the other disciples could fish. They were experienced fishermen. They had worked all night. Yet Jesus told them to cast their nets again. Their skill and experience had taken them as far as they could go, but obedience to Jesus took them where their own ability could not.
That's what Israel eventually discovered.
Their strategy brought some initial success. But then they encountered iron chariots, and their own strength wasn't enough.
The problem wasn't really the chariots. The problem was that Israel had begun measuring success by its own ability rather than by trusting God.
Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Proverbs 3:5–6 gives us the alternative: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Our plans will only take us so far.
Eventually, every one of us will encounter our own "iron chariots"—something too big for our strength, wisdom, experience, or resources.
And when we do, we discover that the answer was never to trust ourselves more. The answer was to trust God more.
Judah Was Pointing Us to Jesus
But there is an even greater reason Judges 1 matters.
God was not simply teaching Israel how to fight battles. Throughout the Old Testament, God was progressively revealing His plan to send a Deliverer.
Judah's place in that story becomes increasingly significant. In Genesis 49, Jacob identifies Judah with royal authority. David comes from Judah. God establishes His covenant with David and promises an enduring kingdom. Micah later points to a ruler who would come from Bethlehem in Judah. Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus through David and Judah.
Then Revelation gives us the fulfillment.
John hears the declaration, "Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered" (Revelation 5:5).
The biblical story moves from Judah to David, from David to the promised King, and ultimately to Jesus.
This means Judges isn't merely telling us that Israel needed better leadership. It is showing us that God's people need a perfect Deliverer.
They needed Jesus.
And so do we.
Jesus Goes First
This is why the Christian life is fundamentally about following Jesus.
Jesus goes first.
He went first into temptation and remained faithful. Because He has faced temptation, we can look to Him when we are tempted and trust that God will provide a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).
He went first into suffering. First Peter 2:21 reminds us that Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example to follow in His steps.
He went first into death. His death means that those united to Him can die to the power of sin rather than remain enslaved to it (Romans 6:5–6).
He went first into resurrection. Because Christ has been raised, those who belong to Him have the sure hope of resurrection.
He went first into glory. Philippians 3:20–21 reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven and that we await the Savior who will transform our bodies to be like His glorious body.
And one day, because Jesus went first, we will join the worship of heaven.
Revelation 5 pictures countless voices around God's throne declaring the worthiness of the Lamb who was slain. The Lion of Judah conquered through the cross, and He alone is worthy of our worship.
Follow the One Who Has Gone Before You
Judges begins with Judah being commanded to go first. But the larger biblical story takes us much further. Through Judah came David. Through David came the promised King. And through that line came Jesus Christ.
The everyday people of Judges repeatedly demonstrated that human strength, wisdom, and leadership could never provide the lasting victory God's people needed. Generation after generation showed us the same truth: we need a perfect Deliverer.
That Deliverer is Jesus.
So don't simply try harder.
Look to Jesus.
When temptation comes, follow Jesus.
When suffering comes, follow Jesus.
When obedience is difficult, follow Jesus.
When your strength runs out, follow Jesus.
When sin needs to be surrendered, follow Jesus.
When death comes, follow Jesus.
And when we finally stand before the throne of God, we will discover that the One we followed was worthy all along.
The question isn't simply, "Will I do better?"
The question is, "Will I follow Jesus?"
Have you trusted Him as your Savior and King? Have you repented of your sin and placed your faith in the One who died and rose again for you?
And if you already belong to Christ, is there an area where you've settled for partial obedience? Is there a compromise you've tolerated? Is there a sin you think you can control? Is Jesus truly first in your priorities, or have you given Him whatever is left over?
Don't settle for the hills.
Don't settle for mediocrity.
Don't trust your own strength to overcome what only Christ can conquer.
Jesus has gone first.
Now follow Him.