"After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the Lord, 'Who of us is to go up first to fight the Canaanites?'" (Judges 1:1) They don't need to ask the Lord whether they should fight the Canaanites; He's already told them they are to utterly destroy them. But they are without Joshua, their former army commander, and they need advice regarding military strategy. The question is not whether they are to go into battle. The question is who is to go into battle first.
This inquiry of the Lord was almost certainly made by the high priest by using the objects known as the Urim and Thummim which were worn in his breastpiece. We studied these objects earlier in the Old Testament and learned that they were to be worn over the heart of the high priest whenever he enters the presence of the Lord so that he will "always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord". (Exodus 28:30) The Urim and Thummim may have been smooth stones or something like ancient dice that were cast after prayerfully consulting the Lord. They are not to be confused with any type of divination practices that were used by the heathens. They are not to be compared to the flipping of a coin. Only the high priest of Israel, in a reverent and submissive attitude, could use these in the presence of the Lord (at the center of worship where the ark of the covenant was housed) and then the Lord Himself would cause the answer to come out according to His will for the people.
The people consult the Lord for direction and He faithfully answers them. "The Lord answered, 'Judah shall go up; I have given the land into their hands.'" (Judges 1:20) Judah was the largest tribe and had the greatest number of fighting men, which made them a logical choice to go first in battle. The tribe of Judah was the first to be assigned an allotment on the west side of the Jordan, so in that sense it's their duty to go into battle first. Judah was essentially Jacob's chief heir because Judah's three older brothers disinherited themselves from that position by their sinful actions, so just as Judah was given the first allotment on the west, Judah will be given the first turn at driving more Canaanites from the land. On top of all that, Judah is going to be the royal tribe of Israel and the tribe from which the Messiah will come. When asked who is to go up first, the Lord gives the tribe of Judah the preeminence for all these reasons.
The territory given to the tribe of Simeon lies within the borders of Judah. The men of Judah ask the men of Simeon to partner with them in battle. "The men of Judah then said to the Simeonites their fellow Israelites, 'Come up with us into the territory allotted to us, to fight against the Canaanites. We in turn will go with you into yours.'" (Judges 1:3) This partnership is mutually beneficial to both tribes. Though they are two separate tribes, they are inhabiting the same section and it is in their best interests to get along well with each other. There's also the close familial relationship to be considered. Jacob's sons Simeon and Judah were full blood brothers born by Jacob's wife Leah.
"When Judah attacked, the Lord gave the Canaanites and Perizzites into their hands, and they struck down ten thousand men at Bezek." (Judges 1:4) The heathens of the promised land (the land of Canaan) are often referred to as a whole as "Canaanites". Other times they are mentioned as separate tribes, such as Perizzites, Amorites, Hittites, and so on.
Judah, and Judah's partner Simeon, are fighting in Bezek which was situated north of their own allotments. They are fighting on behalf of all Israel, not just on their own behalf, and they don't look after their personal interests first. They begin the fight outside of their own land. They win the battle of Bezek and capture its king. "It was there that they found Adoni-Bezek and fought against him, putting to rout the Canaanites and Perizzites. Adoni-Bezek fled, but they chased him and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and big toes." (Judges 1:5-6) This may sound like a bizarre thing to do but it rendered him incapable of going into battle ever again. In ancient times, men who did not want to be conscripted into the army would sometimes cause intentional injuries to themselves such as having an "accident" that resulted in the loss of the thumb of their primary hand or the thumbs of both hands.
Adoni-Bezek had been a very great warrior (we'll see in a minute that his impressive resume includes conquering seventy kings) but now he is incapable of participating in battle. His injuries are a form of poetic justice as well, and he will recognize them as such, for he has inflicted these same injuries on many other men. "Then Adoni-Bezek said, 'Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them.' They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died there." (Judges 1:7) Adoni-Bezek is using a figure of speech when he says seventy kings picked up scraps under his table. They did not literally sit under his table eating scraps; he made them his subjects. They had to serve him and pay tribute to him. He will now become a subject himself. The Israelites don't put him to death or else the Bible would have said so. Instead it says he died at Jerusalem, which indicates a natural death, meaning he lived the remainder of his life in servitude to those who defeated him.
The fighting men of Judah and Simeon took the city of Jerusalem which lay within the southern portion of Benjamin's territory. "The men of Judah attacked Jerusalem also and took it. They put the city to the sword and set it on fire." (Judges 1:8) The Israelites will not retain control of Jerusalem from here on out, for the Jebusites who live within the borders of Benjamin will occupy it for a time because the Benjamites will not rid their land of the Jebusites. But David will later destroy the Jebusites from Jerusalem and take the city from them. It will become the religious and political capital of Israel.
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