And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and fought against him, and they smote the Canaanites and the Perizzites.
Here the war for the land narrows to one man. Judah and Simeon hunt down the ruler of Bezek and defeat his Canaanite and Perizzite forces. Commentators read the verse on two levels: a real battle won by God's power, and a lesson hidden in two names.
The name "Adoni-bezek" means the lord, or master, of Bezek. One writer finds a second sense in the word, one that turns the title upside down:
His name goes with the lesson. Bezek means "fettered," and so were these armies they destroyed. Adoni-bezek means "lord of Bezek," no doubt his chief city — but it also means, literally, "a lord in fetters." So it is with the freest, when in opposition to God, and with the mightiest, in His hand.
Commentators differ on the meaning of the name. Another reads Bezek as "lightning," which changes the picture of the enemy but not the outcome:
Bezek, meaning "lightning," looks like a fearsome enemy, but the power of God is greater.
Before the fighting began, Judah had asked his brother tribe Simeon to come with him. One writer sees that move as a small crack in his confidence:
Judah seems to mistrust his own strength. Instead of finding his resource in the God of Israel, he seeks it in Simeon, and in reality lacks confidence in the Lord. True, he does not ally himself with the enemies of God. If his faith fails, he turns to his brother Simeon, only to his brother. But still, under the excuse of pushing forward the work of God, we see in principle the first sign of human associations and alliances.
God still gave the victory. Yet the same writer sees the method leave its mark on the result:
It was not that God disowned either tribe. Verse 4 says, "the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand." But a war fought on the basis of a human alliance carries more or less the mark of where it came from.
They caught Adoni-bezek but did not kill him. They cut off his thumbs and big toes instead — the very thing he had done to others. One writer weighs this against God's command, and draws a lesson about sin in ourselves:
They captured its king, Adoni-Bezek ("lord of Bezek"), as he was fleeing. But instead of putting him to death as God had ordered, they compromised: they cut off his thumbs and big toes. … God had decreed this because of the demon worship these Canaanites had given themselves up to. That demonic influence would not be stamped out by merely maiming the ungodly king. These things teach us to show no mercy to sin. We are to "put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5).
This half-measure sets the pattern for the rest of the chapter. Another writer traces the slide step by step:
It is only a partial maiming of an enemy instead of his complete destruction. As you go on you find everything done in part only. At first they simply put the enemy to flight. Then they can no longer do that, and the enemy is driven into the mountain strongholds to live there alone. Then, a little further on, they cannot do even that; they make the enemies of God pay them tribute. … The next step shows no power even for this; they live among them. And lastly, they could not drive them out of the rich valleys, the choice pastures.
Adoni-bezek's own words explain his defeat. He had maimed other kings the same way, and he named what happened to him as God's repayment:
In Jerusalem and its people has been shown, and will yet be shown, that stern law: "whatever one sows, that will he also reap." … Such treatment of a beaten enemy seems dishonourable and cruel. But the reason for it is not hidden from us: as he had treated others, so he was treated. He at once admits that his punishment is just, and in that state of self-judgment they bring him to Jerusalem.
Another writer turns that admission on a long-standing objection:
Unbelievers have often found fault with the wiping out of the Canaanites. The confession of Adoni-Bezek answers these objections. "As I have done, so God has repaid me." Their punishment was just and well deserved.
- Promise — The Lord gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand. The win at Bezek was God's doing, not proof of Judah's strength.
- Alliance — Judah still reached for Simeon's help. God gave the victory anyway, but the way a battle is fought leaves its mark.
- Compromise — A maimed king is not a dead king. Sin left crippled but alive is sin left alive.
- Harvest — Adoni-bezek had cut off thumbs and toes; he lost his own, and said God had repaid him. He reaped what he sowed — and his own confession answers the charge that God was cruel.
- Decline — Half-finished work sets the pattern for what follows. First flight, then tribute, then living among the enemy, then losing the best of the land.
And Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.
A Canaanite king runs from a lost battle. Israel's men catch him and, instead of killing him, cripple his hands and feet. Two questions follow: why this punishment, and why did Israel choose it when God had commanded something else?
His name is a title, and it ends up describing what happened to him.
In Bezek they find Adoni-bezek. They chase him down and maim him, carrying out God's judgment on him for the same kind of cruelties he had inflicted on others. He himself admits this is what it is. That is a remarkable witness to Israel of how and why God was against the Canaanites, and that He whose judgments they were carrying out was over all. His name goes with the lesson. Bezek means "fettered," and so were these armies that they destroyed. Adoni-bezek means "lord of Bezek," no doubt his chief city, but the name also means, literally, "a lord in fetters." So it is with the freest man when he stands against God, and with the mightiest man in His hand.
The mutilation looks arbitrary until you see what it took from a soldier.
In ancient times people fully recognised the special place and usefulness of the thumb of the hand and the big toe of the foot. The Bible tells us about a great king, Adoni-bezek. He lost a battle, and as he tried to escape they caught him and cut off his thumbs and big toes... Without thumbs and big toes a warrior could not fight, and getting away from the enemy became very hard.
The punishment fit the crime, but it did not fit God's command.
The allies seize Adoni-bezek and "cut off his thumbs and his big toes" (v. 6). This was not what God had commanded long ago. It was not what Joshua did to the kings of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem and Makkedah, or to all the kings of the mountain and the plain. To mutilate the enemy was simply human retaliation. Adoni-bezek had done the same to humble his own enemies. He kept them at his court, because their presence added to his glory as conqueror.
Another writer explains why maiming could never be enough.
They captured its king, Adoni-Bezek ("lord of Bezek") as he fled. God had ordered them to put him to death, but they compromised and cut off his thumbs and big toes (vv. 5-6). He had done the same to 70 kings whom he had brought under his rule, and now he says that God has repaid him in kind... God had decreed his death because of the demon worship these Canaanites had given themselves up to. Maiming this wicked king would not stamp out that demon influence. These things teach us to show no mercy to sin. We are to "put to death what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5). Yet Adoni-Bezek died, so God intervened to carry out the proper sentence against him.
Half-measures at the start of the book set the pattern for everything that follows.
It is only a partial mutilation of an enemy instead of his absolute destruction. As you go on you find everything done in part only. At first they simply put the enemy to flight. Then they can no longer do even that, and they only drive the enemy into the mountain strongholds to live there alone. Then you find, a little further on, that they are not able to do even that; they actually make the enemies of God pay them tribute. The next step shows no power even for this: they live among them. Last of all, they cannot drive them out of the rich valleys, the choice pastures. The children of Israel have to live in the mountains, and the enemy has the best of all the land. What a progress that is!
The maimed king had his own explanation for what had happened to him.
Such treatment of a fallen foe seems both unchivalrous and cruel, but the reason for it is not hidden from us: as he had treated others, so was he treated. He immediately acknowledges the justice of his punishment, and in that state of self-judgment is brought to Jerusalem.
Notice who he credits for it — not Judah, and not bad luck.
Note this. Adoni-bezek went through the ordeal of having his thumbs and his big toes cut off, which left him badly crippled. He traced what had happened to him back to God: "as I have done, so God has repaid me." The boomerang he had often thrown at others had hit himself. It is always so.
- Lord in fetters — his name meant "lord of Bezek," and Bezek means "fettered." The mightiest man becomes a captive once he stands against God.
- Boomerang — he had crippled seventy kings. The weapon he threw at others came back on him, and he named God as the one repaying him.
- Compromise — God had ordered death. Israel cut off thumbs and toes instead: human retaliation in place of obedience.
- Half-measures fail — maiming leaves the evil alive. Sin in us needs the same treatment: put it to death, do not just disable it.
- The slide — this half-job starts a long decline. Israel first routs the enemy, then only taxes them, then lives among them, and ends up in the hills while the enemy keeps the best land.