After Joshua died the children of Israel asked the Lord, Who should go up first to fight against the bad ones in the land? The Lord told them, Judah is to go up first. I have given the land into his hand.

So the family of Judah took their brother Simeon’s family and went together and won great victories against two really big families of bad ones, 10,000 of them.

They found a king in Bezek who ran away and they caught him and did a bad thing to him that he had done to 70 other kings. He said to them, By this God paid me back for the 70 kings that I did this to.

Judah fought and took much land. Othniel was a mighty warrior for God and took a city called Kirjathsepher. His wife, Caleb’s daughter asked Caleb for a blessing and Caleb gave her two springs of water.

Then Judah went with Simeon to conquer the land God had given to Simeon. The Lord was with Judah and they drove out three giants and gave the city of Hebron to Caleb, like Moses had said.

 

The family of Benjamin did not drive out all the bad ones that lived at Jerusalem.

The family of Joseph went to Bethel and the Lord was with them. They found a man who showed them how to get into the city past its big gates and let the man and his family escape because he helped them.

The family of Manesseh did not drive out all the bad ones in their land. The family of Ephraim also did not drive out all the bad ones in their land. But when they grew strong the children of Israel made them do hard work for them.

The Angel of the Lord came to Israel and said, I brought you out of Egypt and into this land I swore to your fathers and said, I will never break my promise to you.

You are not to make promises or deals with any of the ones who live in these lands because they will not stop following the bad ones, leading their people to forever death. You are to throw down their altars.

But you have not obeyed my voice. Why have you

done this?

 

 

Because you have done this, I will not drive them out from before you but they will stay and be trouble for you. They will be thorns and traps for you.

When the children of Israel heard these words, they began crying and made offerings to tell God they were sorry.

The leaders who saw all the great works God did for Israel served Him all their days, but when those leaders were dead and their children grew up, they turned their backs on God and bowed down to other gods that are not god, ones that didn’t make the heavens and the earth.

They followed the bad ones and God became really angry because of all the bad things they were doing and the hurt it was causing them. God wanted only good things for them.

So He didn’t protect them or help them so that they could learn that He is the One who helps and protects.

 

He let their enemies take their stuff and rule over them making them work hard, like when they were in Egypt.

But God still loved them and heard their troubles and raised up helpers to save them out of their troubles and to save them from their enemies. The helpers were called Judges.

But when their helper got old and died, the people turned their backs on God and bowed to the bad ones again.

 

 

 

God left some of the nations in the special land to test His children to see if they would listen to Him or to the bad one and to show them that He is the one all good things come from.

The children of Israel bowed to the bad ones again so the Lord let a bad king rule over them for 8 years.

 

 

 

When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. He told Israel God’s judgments in court cases and led them in battles.

 

 

When they were strong in God’s strength they won the battles. So the land had rest for 40 years.