Now After the Death of Joshua Judges 1:1

In the book of Judges in chapter one and verse one the writer shared what happened, “after the death of Joshua” where we read,

Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?

The verse reads, “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying …” he writer began with the words, “now after the death of Joshua” which means “following the time when Joshua whose name means ‘Jehovah is salvation’ and was the son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim and successor to Moses as the leader of the children of Israel; led the conquest of Canaan” “it came to pass” or “the following happened and occurred”, “that the children of Israel” which means “that the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “asked the LORD” or “inquired of and questioned Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God”, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring, proclaiming and asking” the following words. The writer shared that following the time when “Joshua” took his last breath, the offspring belonging to “Israel” asked Jehovah God the following question.

The verse goes on to say, “… Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “who shall go up for us” which means “what person or group of people will arise and ascend on behalf of us, the people of Israel” “against the Canaanites first” or “as the initial tribe to fight and battle in opposition to the Canaanites whose name means lowland and possessed the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua”, “to fight against them” which means “to do battle and war in opposition to them, the Canaanites?” The writer shared how the people of Israel questioned Jehovah God as to what person or people group were to initially ascend in opposition to the people of “Canaan”. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we see how the people of Israel desired to follow the directive of “Joshua” before he died. (See Joshua 24:29-30) “Joshua” told them to capture more territory that had not yet been seized, and their question to Jehovah God was, “who” was to ascend to fulfill this charge. Going to Jehovah God with our questions is best for our lives, and God wants us to align with Him and His ways through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth with our questions and give us the ability to obey Him wherever He instructs us to “rise up”. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1::8)

Next time we learn how, “the LORD said, Judah shall go up”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".