by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
“And Yahweh said, ‘Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his<\/em> hand’<\/em>” (Judges 1:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nJudges opens with a simple but important moment. Israel asks Yahweh who should lead the fight, and Yahweh answers clearly. Judah goes first. It’s not flashy, but it reminds us that Yahweh still directs His people, even when the situation is messy. The tribe of Judah wasn’t perfect, but they were willing to move when Yahweh spoke. That willingness mattered.
\nThe rest of the chapter shows mixed results. Some tribes obeyed. Some hesitated. Some settled for partial obedience. The pattern is obvious. When Israel listened and acted, they moved forward. When they stalled or compromised, they got stuck.\nIt’s easy to read this and think it’s just ancient history, but the dynamic is familiar. We ask God for direction. He gives it through Scripture, wise counsel, or conviction. Then we face the real test. Will we move or stall? Partial obedience feels easier, but it never brings the full blessing.<\/p>\n
Judah’s example is simple. When Yahweh speaks, take the step. You don’t need perfect conditions. You don’t need every detail. You just need willingness. Forward motion with God beats hesitation every time.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores “And Yahweh said, ‘Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand’” (Judges 1:2). Judges opens with a simple but important moment. Israel asks Yahweh who should lead the fight, and Yahweh answers clearly. Judah goes first. It’s not flashy, but it reminds us that Yahweh still directs…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[54],"class_list":["post-98732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-obedience"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":65408,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-am-i-having-so-much-trouble\/","url_meta":{"origin":98732,"position":0},"title":"Why Am I Having So Much Trouble?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores I'm a faithful child of God! So why am I having so much trouble? Hezekiah may have been asking himself the same thing when the Assyrian king Sennacherib threatened to overrun Judah. Though Hezekiah made many good religious reforms during his rule, God still allowed him to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Hezekiah-Praying-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":98802,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/they-were-for-testing\/","url_meta":{"origin":98732,"position":1},"title":"They Were for Testing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"They were for testing Israel, to find out if they would obey the commandments of Yahweh, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses\" (Judges 3:4). Judges 3 explains something important. Yahweh allowed certain nations to remain in the land as a test. Not a trap, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/necessary-inconveniences\/","url_meta":{"origin":98732,"position":2},"title":"Necessary Inconveniences","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 29, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"At that time Yahweh said to Joshua, 'Make for yourself flint knives and circumcise again the sons of Israel the second time.' And Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel ...\" (Joshua 5:2-3). Joshua 5 is a surprising chapter. Israel has momentum. They've crossed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26650,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-only-yahweh-gods-name\/","url_meta":{"origin":98732,"position":3},"title":"Is only Yahweh God’s name?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In \"The Divine Name,\" you did not explain the name YAHWEH\/YHWH and how it was taken out of the Scriptures.\u00a0 God, Lord, Father are all titles(mother, daughter, son, worker), but not His true name.\u00a0 Please explain verse Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name;\u00a0 Extol Him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98221,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-rahab-knew\/","url_meta":{"origin":98732,"position":4},"title":"What Rahab Knew","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"And she said to the men, 'I know that Yahweh has given you the land ...\" (Joshua 2:9). Rahab's words in Joshua 2:9 are striking because they come from someone outside Israel. She isn't quoting Scripture or repeating something she heard from a prophet; she's interpreting the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98689,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/fueling-our-obedience\/","url_meta":{"origin":98732,"position":5},"title":"Fueling Our Obedience","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"You have seen all that Yahweh your God has done ... for Yahweh your God is He who has been fighting for you\" (Joshua 23:3). Joshua's farewell speech starts with an observation: \"You have seen.\" He doesn't ask Israel to believe blindly; he points to reality, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98732","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98732"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98732\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98736,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98732\/revisions\/98736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}