One of the things God commanded the Israelites to do as to completely drive out the Canaanites from the land, and make no compromise with them.
Why? Because of all their evil. And if they did not drive them out, their sin would eventually spread to the Israelites. (Leviticus 18, Deuteronomy 7:1-5).
But in this chapter, we see time and again the Israelites failing to do this.
In some cases, it was because it was hard. (Judges 1:19, 27, 34).
But that was no excuse. In the days of Joshua, they overcame enemies stronger than they. And in chapter 4 of Judges, we see that enemies having iron chariots were no match for Israel when they followed God.
More, we see that when they sought God’s counsel and they worked together, they could overcome anyone (1:1-5).
So what was the real issue?
In most cases, they just couldn’t be bothered to drive the Canaanites out. They could have. They were strong enough to do so. They simply didn’t.
How about us? God calls us to drive out sin and evil in our lives. But how important is that to us? Do we think that there are certain sins that are no big deal? A quick temper. Selfishness. Pornography.
Or are there sins that we’re finding hard to get rid of, and so we just don’t bother to try anymore?
Don’t make excuses for your sin. God has given his Spirit and each other to help us overcome sin in our lives. (Romans 8:13, James 5:15-16).
One day Jesus will return and we will be like him. So let us strive each day to be pure as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 