After the children of Israel entered the Promised Land with Joshua in charge, they actually experienced incomplete conquest in the new land. A new strategy must be formulated, the people mobilized, and the borders secured. Now, let’s go to Judges, chapter 1, where we read: “Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying ‘Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?’ And the Lord said, ‘Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.’ So Judah said to Simeon, his brother, ‘Come up with me to my allotted territory, that we may fight against the Canaanites, and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.’ And Simeon went with him” (Judges 1: 1-3).
The Canaanites represented the embodiment of everything unholy and ungodly. They had to go – they had to be driven out. Their strongholds had to be loosed and their high places taken down. These ungodly people were a formidable enemy in the natural sense, but compared to the presence and power of God, they were nothing. Yet, how would the children of Israel bring an effective strike against the Canaanites’ kings? Giants were also among them, as well as soldiers of renown. The Israelites gathered together and sought the Lord. He spoke to them with clarity and decisiveness: “Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.” God gave a prophetic revelation of His strategy that would overcome kings, giants, and the best warriors when he instructed, “Judah shall go up.” Judah, as the first to go out, was a principle throughout all of Israel’s occupation efforts. This principle remains as true for us today as it was in that day. However, it is verse 3, that gives us the fuller tactic for today. It is our example of alliances for conquest: Judah said to Simeon, his brother, “Come up with me to my allotted territory that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I will likewise go with you to your allotted territory.”
Here is the significance of this alliance: Judah means ‘praise’ – but not just any kind of praise. It means to excitely and aggressively raise up a decree of God’s Word in thanksgiving, blessing, and worship: “God, You are awesome! God, You cause me to overcome! I will bless You today because You make me more than a conqueror!” There is an interesting prophecy over Judah in Genesis 49: 8: “Judah … your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.” When we’re praising God, our hand is on the neck of our enemies!
Simeon, on the other hand, means ‘heard’, as it relates to prayer and intercession. When we join together in praise and intercessory prayer to sound forth the proclamations of the Lord, we activate the full force of power and authority given to men. When we combine high praise, prayer, and proclamation to utter forth the decrees of the Lord, God’s enemies are dislodged and our full occupation is secured.
From the book, Dominion Surges; used by permission of the author – Randy DeMain. Available through XP Publishing, P. O. Box 1017, Maricopa, Arizona 85139 (866) 980-5464.