THE LORD TESTS ISRAEL

Judges 3:1-11 / Keywords 3:4

They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’S commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses.

3:1 These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

Othniel

7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge[b] and went to war. The Lord gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.

1. When the Israelites came to the border of the Promised Land, they were expected to go in and drive out the unbelieving inhabitants. But the Israelites didn’t live up to the Lord’s expectations of them. They complained that they were too strong with their iron chariots of war. The Lord then left those tribes in the Promised Land to teach obedience to the Lord’s word and to teach the Israelites warfare. So, many of the tribes ended up sharing the land with the Israelites. They intermarried with them and took their gods as their own. The Israelites’ compromised with the Lord’s enemies. They paid a price for that. 

2. The Lord became angry with Israel for their disobedience and their turning away from him toward other gods. So, he sent Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram Naharaim against them. The Israelites were defeated and suffered under them for eight years. But when they cried out to the Lord, he sent Othniel to them in the Spirit of the Lord. He defeated Aram Naharaim and the land had peace until Othniel died. When they turned to the Lord, he sent them a deliverer. 

Prayer Father, may you grant us the Spirit of the Lord by which we may fight against the true enemy—the sin of the world. Thank you for your mercy on repentant sinners. 

One Word By the Spirit of the Lord, drive out the enemy