Judges 1: A Mixed Bag

As the torch is passed to a new generation and the settling of the Promised Land continues, Judges 1 shows us that the results are "a mixed bag."  Judah, along with Simeon, appears to be the most successful in acquiring most of their territory - but it wasn't a complete victory, either.  Judah could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain (vs. 19.)  The other tribes fell into a wary co-existence with the people that had been living in the land, in many cases putting them to forced labor - but keeping them within their borders.  Despite the repeated warnings that the non-Israelites would become a snare for them, Israel permitted them to remain.  The tribe of Dan seemed to have the worst time of it.  They were pushed back by the Amorites into the hill country.  The stage is now set for what will follow in the Book of Judges.