Why are chariots so difficult? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing,
majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him and what came to my mind and heart in Judges 1:19,

"The Lord was with the men of Judah. They took possession of the hill
country, but they were unable to drive the people from the plains,
because they had iron chariots."

Here is an amazing thing! The Lord told Judah to be the first to go up
and fight against the Canaanites. We are told the Lord was with them,
but when they came against the people from the plains, they could not
beat the them "because they had iron chariots." What was it about
those chariots that the men of Judah were unable to win the victory?
With these chariots, were these Canaanites too great a match for the
Lord and his people?

The answer to this lies in the context. The Lord was with the men of
Judah and they did enjoy some victories. However, the men of Judah
were not entirely with the Lord and as such their victories were not
consistent or complete. Their failures ultimately led to their own
downfall as the Canaanites that remained led the Israelites into
idolatry.

The men of Judah manifested their incomplete faith in the Lord by
asking for additional help from the tribe of Simeon after the Lord
told them he would give them the victory. Apparently, for no reason,
the Lord's help was not something they had complete confidence in.
"Judah is to go; I have given the land into their hands." Judges 1:2.
It wasn't just the men of Judah, the other tribes experienced only
partial victories as well, as given to us later in the chapter.
Eventually the Lord brought his indictment against Israel by pointing
out they had made treaties with the inhabitants of the land in
violation of what the Lord had told them to do, Judges 2:2. Treaties
are entered into when one people determines it wants reciprocal help
from another. Israel was to destroy all these peoples. Instead, they
were entering into treaties with some of the peoples to vanquish
others. Again, their confidence in the Lord's promises was not there.

Faith in the Lord is message the of all of Scripture. Israel's
existence as the Lord's people was due to one thing alone: "Abram
believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."
Genesis 15:6. The Lord promised Abraham an inheritance. Unfortunately,
we see that Abraham's offspring often failed in this crucial issue of
faith. And, so it is with all peoples. This is why faith in the Lord
is such a stumbling stone and why the gate into eternal life is
narrow. "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a
rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be
put to shame." Romans 9:33. The one who does not trust in him will
surely stumble as the Israelites demonstrate so well in the book of
Judges.

May we all pursue a different outcome by placing our entire faith and
trust in Jesus Christ.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to
hear from you!

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com