1:22-26
Bethel was to become an important place in the Bible, and the tribes of Joseph successfully attacked it. The reason for the success was that “the Lord was with them”. This is a key message of the whole Bible. The most important thing is to be right with God. As with Jericho, they find someone who helps them.They sent spies out and they find a man who is willing to help them get into the city. The differences between this man and Rahab are first that he is not named, and secondly that he acts purely out of self-interest, there is no indication that he has any fear of the Lord. Thirdly, after the attack he went off to build his own city elsewhere, whereas Rahab joined Israel.
1:27-36
The end of the chapter is rather depressing, giving a whole list of tribes who did not drive out the relevant people. Often, the people they failed to drive out became forced labour. This raises the question of if Israel could enslave them, why couldn’t they defeat them? No answer is given, maybe it was easier to do this. Anyway, these various peoples continued to live among the Israelites. Maybe it is like the numerous times that the church seeks an accommodation with the world. For a time it may seem to go well, but often eventually results in the church being corrupted by the world.
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