December 31, 2025

Judges 1:27-36 (HCSB)
Failure of the Other Tribes
27 At that time Manasseh failed to take possession of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the residents of Dorand its villages, or the residents of Ibleam and its villages, or the residents of Megiddo and its villages; the Canaanites refused to leave this land. 28 When Israel became stronger, they made the Canaanites serve as forced labor but never drove them out completely. 29 At that time Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites who were living in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among them in Gezer.  30 Zebulun failed to drive out the residents of Kitron or the residents of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them and served as forced labor. 31 Asher failed to drive out the residents of Acco or of Sidon, or Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, or Rehob. 32 The Asherites lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, because they failed to drive them out. 33 Naphtali did not drive out the residents of Beth-shemesh or the residents of Beth-anath. They lived among the Canaanites who were living in the land, but the residents of Beth-shemesh and Beth-anath served as their forced labor. 34 The Amorites forced the Danites into the hill country and did not allow them to go down into the valley. 35 The Amorites refused to leave Har-heres, Aijalon, and Shaalbim. When the house of Joseph got the upper hand, the Amorites were made to serve as forced labor. 36 The territory of the Amorites extended from the Ascent of Akrabbim, that is from Sela upward.


Dwayne Koelling
Is it just me or does it seem like there were a lot more failures than successes by the Hebrews? I can relate to that. In yesterday's scriptures Judah failed when they came up against this time period's version of the tank, the iron chariot. A formidable enemy especially when you don't have any iron chariots yourself. No matter how formidable the foe that God has told you to overcome, if you stay focused on God, His power, and His purpose it will be eliminated. Judah focused on the problem and consequently lost. Manasseh failed because instead of driving out their foe they used them as servants or slaves to profit financially. They thought they could control their foe but later the Canaanites will enslave them. Don't we make the same mistakes? We think we can control our enemy (sin, Satan, addiction, busyness, comfort, popularity). We get too focused on the problem, forgetting that God is in control and will provide what we need, or maybe like the other tribes, we just failed to even do anything. The reasons for our failings vary but the root cause is the same. The failure to obey God is often the result of a failure to truly believe God's promises. ALL His promises: protection, guidance, empowerment, ultimate victory, justice, punishment, correction, testing, difficulty and many more. Grab hold of His promises to motivate and sustain you in your battle to overcome your enemies that keep you from enjoying His blessings.