Back to full study

Judges · Men's Leadership Study

Week 1: The Ground You Refuse to Take

Judges 1

Name:  

Date:  

Read Together

Judges 1

Read the whole chapter aloud before discussing the handout.

Hidden in the Text

Weekly Devotional

God told Judah to go first. Judah still asked Simeon to go with him. Asking for help was not wrong, but it points to a problem that grows through this book: weak courage often leads to half-done obedience. Caleb's family gives us a better example. His nephew Othniel takes a hard city. His daughter Achsah boldly asks for springs along with her land. She knew that land needs water to bear fruit. Do not only ask God for more work, responsibility, or influence. Ask Him for what you need to make it fruitful. Then finish the work He gives you.

Discuss Honestly

Hard Questions

  1. 01

    What sin have you chosen to manage instead of remove? Be specific. Name the habit, relationship, person, or time of day.

  2. 02

    Israel gained money from its compromise. What do you gain by leaving part of God's command undone? Are you willing to give that up?

  3. 03

    What sin have you called impossible to defeat, even though the Bible tells you to put it to death?

  4. 04

    Caleb still asked for hard ground at age eighty-five. When did you last ask God to help you do something truly hard?

  5. 05

    Judah succeeded and still let Jerusalem stand. How does a season of real ministry success make a man careless about a private area?

  6. 06

    If the men you teach copy the way you deal with sin, what will their lives look like in ten years?

  7. 07

    The chapter tells us what Israel did, not what they meant to do. If God looked at what you did this week, what would the honest report say?

Look Them Up

Cross-References

  • Joshua 23:12-13

    Joshua warned that the nations Israel spared would become traps and thorns. Judges 1 shows that warning coming true.

  • Numbers 33:55

    Sin that is left alone will not stay harmless. It will turn against you and cause pain.

  • Romans 6:12-14

    Paul gives the same warning: do not let sin rule you. The issue is not temptation. The issue is letting sin be your master.

  • Colossians 3:5

    'Mortify' means to put to death. Paul tells believers to kill sin instead of letting it stay.

  • Hebrews 12:1

    Lay aside every weight — including the ones that are not obviously sin but are obviously slowing you.