Judges 1 - "Juda Shall Go Up"

Judges 1 had a lot of overlap from the Book of Josue.  It describes many of the battles the Israelites fought against the Canaanites to rid the Promised Land of their pagan influence.  But there were a few notable moments wherein new information is presented.  Almost immediately it is made clear that the tribe of Juda is going to play a prominent role in the upcoming history of Israel.  This is of course the tribe that Jesus will be born into.  Juda clears out a wide swath of territory and cities of Canaanites, including the sacred city of Jerusalem.  The tribe (along with Simeon) will control almost all of the southern portion of the Promised Land, and it appears God aided them in this.  However, just as we saw in Josue, the rest of Judges 1 seems to indicate that the Israelites more times than not failed in getting rid of all the Canaanites, and instead allowed some to remain, sometimes as tributaries.  In fact, there is a general sense in this chapter that after Joshua's death the Canaanites were emboldened and rose up with vengeance against the Israelites.  There is some fierce fighting, especially in the Judean territories, but mostly it's the Israelites exhibiting apathy or slothfulness in response to the enemy's presence.  And if we view the Canaanites as a figure of sin, the whole chapter takes on a new and more significant meaning.  For God wills us to defeat sin, as He willed His chosen people to defeat the pagan Canaanites in the Promised Land.  But time and time again the Canaanite is allowed to remain, just as we allow sin to remain in our lives over and over again.  There are some who valiantly and triumphantly defeat the Canaanite, as Joshua did.  These are the saints who have by and large defeated sin and gained access to the eternal kingdom of heaven.  But most of us have weaknesses too great to be so triumphant, and we need a Joshua (i.e., Jesus Christ) to fight for us in order to make it to the Promised Land.  The Canaanites (sin) remain in the Promised Land for many reasons.  Some of the tribes simply want to avoid war, possibly out of fear, just as some of us are too afraid to do God's will.  Some of the tribes don't fight out of laziness, just as we are often too spiritually slothful to ever gain the upper hand against sin.  And some of the tribes actually keep the Canaanites around for personal profit!  They allow them to stay on their lands if they pay a tribute, thus they become (materially) enriched by the enemy.  How many of us keep sin in our lives because of some "advantage" it gives us?  Though the advantage is material only, and will become our disadvantage spiritually at the time of judgment.