Chapter 1 of the book of Judges tells us about further conquests made by the Israelites in the promised land after the death of Joshua. In yesterday's passage we found the tribe of Judah being first to go up in battle against some of the heathen cultures still living in the land. Judah partnered with the tribe of Simeon in this endeavor. Yesterday's passage concluded with the capture of Jerusalem and today's text picks up right after that.
"After that, Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites living in the hill country, the Negev and the western foothills. They advanced against the Canaanites living in Hebron (formerly called Kiriath Arba) and defeated Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. From there they advanced against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher)." (Judges 1:9-11) Hebron was the territory allotted to Caleb of the tribe of Judah. It still contained men of giant stature, as we learned in Joshua 14 when Caleb declared that though he was eighty-five years old he would drive the giants out with the Lord's help. Hebron's original name (Kiriath Arba) was in honor of a man named Arba who was said to be "the greatest man among the Anakites". (Joshua 14:15) The Scriptures have already told us that the Anakites were giants, and we see that Caleb had the faith to believe he could conquer giants in the name of the Lord, but he also has the help of his fellow Israelites. Soldiers of the tribe of Judah come out to Hebron and defeat three Anakite clan leaders: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. In Numbers 33:22 we were told that Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai were descendants of Anak the giant and it is generally believed that these three men were brothers.
Caleb also has help in taking the region of Kiriath Sepher, which lay within his allotment. We found the following story mentioned in the book of Joshua, though it was probably a postscript added to the book sometime after Joshua's death just as the account of Joshua's death itself was added by someone else. "And Caleb said, 'I will give my daughter Aksah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher.' Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Aksah to him in marriage." (Judges 1:12-13)
As we pointed out when we studied this account in Joshua 15, though Othniel and Aksah were first cousins there was no prohibition in the Old Testament law against marrying a first cousin. In the United States today there are still twenty-four states that prohibit marriage between first cousins because at one time it was believed that the genetic similarity between first cousins enormously increased the chance of birth defects and genetic diseases in their offspring. However, studies and statistics have proven that the odds of this are actually not much greater than the odds of it happening to the children of two unrelated people. Scientists are now saying that there are enough genetic differences between first cousins that they can marry and produce children quite safely. This explains why the Lord did not prohibit marriage between first cousins in the list of prohibited relationships we studied earlier in the Old Testament. Repeatedly joining close cousins in marriage on down through the generations can, over time, result in above-average incidences of birth defects and genetic diseases (we commonly refer to this as "inbreeding") but an occasional marriage here and there between first cousins, such as that between the daughter of Caleb and the son of Caleb's brother, did not present much risk to the resulting offspring. The Lord, who is the Creator of our DNA, knew what He was doing when He gave instructions regarding which types of unions were allowed and which types of unions were prohibited.
Aksah and her husband want a particular piece of land granted to her by her father, as we studied in Joshua 15. "One day when she came to Othniel she urged him to ask her father for a field." (Judges 1:14a) Part of this verse is obscure and many scholars believe it should be rendered as, "One day when she came to Othniel he urged her to ask her father for a field." The wording of this verse is the same, in the original language, in Joshua 15, and there too it is thought that it is Othniel asking Aksah to go to her father. I agree that it makes more sense that Othniel urges Aksah to ask her father for the land. For one thing, Caleb may be more willing to grant a request made by his beloved daughter than one made by his son-and-law and nephew. For another thing, we find Aksah and not Othniel going to Caleb to make the request. If Aksah asked Othniel to make the request, it doesn't make sense that she's the one who hops on her donkey and rides out to her father's house to ask for the land, which is what happens next. "When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, 'What can I do for you?' She replied, 'Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water.' So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs." (Judges 1:14b-15) In giving Aksah the land, he is also giving it to his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and on down the family line.
It pleases Caleb to grant the request of his daughter. She is not asking for anything sinful. She is not asking for anything that will be bad for her and her family. She respectfully requests something that lines up with what a good father will be happy to provide. This is how we are to approach our heavenly Father who loves us and who wants to give us good things. If what we are asking for is not sinful, and if it is something that lines up with the Lord's will, the Lord will joyfully grant our request. It will make Him happy to see us enjoying the good thing He's given us.
How can we make sure we are asking for something good and that the Lord will be happy to grant our request? The Bible puts it like this: "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) If we are taking delight in the Lord (which means that we love Him, are faithful to Him, enjoy spending time with Him, and are obedient to Him) then the desires of our heart will line up with the Lord's will for our lives. We won't desire anything that would grieve Him. We won't desire anything that will make a mess of our lives or that will make life difficult for our loved ones. If we take delight in the Lord, we will desire the types of things that the Lord wants for us, and then when we make our requests of the Lord we can be confident that He is happy to grant them.
Aksah loved her father and her father loved her; therefore she went to him with confidence that he would patiently hear her request. Even if he said no, she had the confidence that it would change nothing about their relationship and that he was only looking out for her best interests if he said no. But she didn't think he would say no because she wasn't asking anything of him that was sinful. She didn't think he would say no because, knowing him as well as she did, she thought her request lined up with his fatherly will for her life. She thought he would be delighted to grant this desire of her heart because he, in his fatherly wisdom, knew the land would be a good thing for her and her descendants. Caleb was happy with her request because it was a wise request. The fine land with its springs of water would be beneficial to her now and beneficial to her descendants in the future.
The Lord loves it when we come to Him with requests that He can joyfully grant. We would have our prayers answered in the affirmative far more often if we delighted ourselves in the Lord enough (spent enough time with Him in Scripture study and in prayer) to discern whether the desires of our heart line up with the type of things the Lord wants for His children. We'd hear a joyful, "Yes!" to our requests far more often if we spent enough time in our Father's presence to allow Him to align our will with His. Then we wouldn't ask for the wrong things. Then we wouldn't ask for good things for the wrong reasons. Then we wouldn't ask for the right things at the wrong time. The more time we spend with our Father, the better we will know Him. The better we know Him, the more the desires of our hearts will line up with His will for our lives.
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