3. (Judges 3:16-25) Ehud's daring assassination of Eglon
Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." And he said, "Keep silence." And all who attended him left him. Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat. Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them. When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, "He is only relieving himself in the cool room." They waited until they became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the floor dead.
Ehud made himself a sword: Ehud devised a plan. He would assassinate King Eglon, thereby causing turmoil and political instability between Moab and their allies. Israel would then have an opportunity to be free. Ehud fashions a specially designed sword that was unusually short in length. One cubit is about 18 inches in length. This particular weapon was a hybrid between a dagger and a sword. It had no cross piece at the top and thus it could lay flat against Ehud's leg.
He bound it under his right thigh under his cloak: Since Ehud was left-handed, he would strap the sword to his right leg. The advantage was that since he was left-handed, he would reach across his body to draw the sword from his right leg and stab the unsuspecting king. Records indicate that very few people were left-handed. So, when Ehud made his move, it was with his left hand. He would not have caused the king to suspect a coming attack. That deception would provide an extra second or two for Ehud to reach under his garment to grasp his sword and kill Eglon.
He sent away the people who had carried the tribute: As was typical, Ehud went with several other Israelites to deliver the tribute. We do not know exactly what the tribute was, but it was probably produce of some kind as this was the standard tribute given. If Ehud had come alone, he would have raise suspicion. So, after the proper respect was given to Eglon, Ehud left with the other Israelites.
But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal: The word translated as idols is the Hebrew word psillim and is better translated as sculpted statues. These were god images, statues of the Moabite gods and goddesses. It is interesting to note that they were located at Gilgal. It was at Gilgal where Joshua had erected the memorial stones in honor of what God had done for Israel in bringing them across the Wilderness, across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. Very likely, the god statutes were located next to Joshua's memorial stones because this was the standard operating procedure for a conqueror. A conqueror would move quickly to place his gods at the holy places of the conquered people as a way of demonstrating that his gods were more powerful. It was a form of constant humiliation and a reminder of who was in charge.
Ehud returns alone and tells the king there is something he must tell him in private. The king believes Ehud. Eglon was so confident in Ehud's loyalty that he dismisses his royal guards. They were in a two-story building. The king, who is said to be fat, was upstairs because a desert breeze would blow through the windows making it cooler for him.
And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you.": Eglon, anxious to hear what juicy piece of news Ehud had for him rose out of his chair. Ehud sprang into action. He reached across his body with his left-hand, pulled out the concealed weapon and plunged it into Eglon. We are given some rather gory details such as that because the weapon had no cross piece at the top, the entire length of the sword entered Eglon's body. The fat engulfed what little of a handle there was. In fact, the sword went completely though Eglon's body and poked out the other side.
Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him: Ehud left the sword embedded in the dying king and left, closing the doors and locking them behind him. Yes, they did have rudimentary door locks and keys in those days. The key was a flat piece of wood that was fitted with pins corresponding to the holes in a hollow bolt. The hole in the door gave access to the bolt, which was located inside. Inserting the flat key into the bolt pushed out the pins of the lock. This allowed the bolt to be removed from the sockets of the doorpost. The way it operated, Ehud could have locked the door without a key, but it wold have required a key to gain entry.
They waited until they became anxious: When the king's servants noticed that Ehud had gone, they went up to check on the king, but the doors were closed and locked. They assumed that he was (as the Hebrew literally translates) "covering his feet". This is a Hebrew euphemism that means he was using the toilet. So, the servants patiently waited and waited. They waited but the door never opened. Finally, they reached the point where they felt that they had to risk bothering the king at a rather private moment. When he did not respond to opening the door, they got the key, opened the door and found him lying dead on the floor. The delay had given Ehud more than ample time to make his escape.
4. (Judges 3:26-30) Ehud leads the Israelites in battle against the Moabites
Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. It came about when he had arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. He said to them, "Pursue them, for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands." So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.
He passed the idols and escaped to Seirah: Ehud went back the same route he came, through the area where the god images had been erected in Gilgal. I suspect he looked upon those statues with a sense of dark satisfaction knowing that these gods certainly had not protected the king who had worshiped them. From there, he crossed to Seirah, which would have been on the border territory of Ephraim. Once safely back in Canaan, he went into the hill country and began sounding the shofar. This was a battle cry, a call to arms. Ehud realized that now was the favorable moment for Israel to attack their enemies while amid a vacuum of leadership in Moab. The people of Israel responded, and volunteers flooded in. Ehud would have naturally been their leader.
So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab: Their first move was to capture the fording points of the Jordan. This not only allowed no Moab reserve troops to come to Israel and fortify the garrison there, but it also served to cut-off the escape route of the Moabite soldier stationed in Israel. Ehud led the slaughter of 10,000 troops from Moab, Ammon and Amalek. The Moab's oppression over the southern Israelite tribes was broken. The land then had rest for two generation, 80 years.
The land was undisturbed for eighty years: We must assume from the pattern and what comes at the beginning of the next chapter that Ehud judged the southern tribes of Israel that entire eighty years of rest. Therefore, he must have been a very young man when he assassinated Eglon. No other period of rest was nearly as long in the remaining account of the time of the Judges.
D. The third Judge: Shamgar
1. (Judges 3:31) The brief story of Shamgar
After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.
Shamgar: Shamgar is not Hebrew: it is a Hurrian name. Shamgar, however, was a Hebrew. The family name is Anath. We see the terrible influence of the Canaanite pagan society on the tribe of Israel. Anath is the Canaanite goddess of sex and war. So here is a Hebrew man, given a gentile name and his father's family name was made in honor of a pagan god. Nonetheless, God picked this man to deliver Israel from a period of oppression from the Philistines. We are told that he must have been quite a warrior because he personally killed 600 Philistine soldiers. And his weapon of choice was an oxgoad.
Many scholars of the Book of Judges have speculated on why we find the use of improvised weapons mentioned prominently in the Book of Judges, especially as concerns Shamgar and later on Samson. Samson, you recall, killed a slew of Philistines using the jawbone of a donkey as his weapon. Every conqueror had a little different method of subjugation. One of the Philistine's methods was to carefully and completely disarm those whom they conquered. So regular weapons like bows, spears and swords would have been banned.
An oxgoad: An oxgoad, though not designed as a weapon, was deadly and formidable nonetheless. It was used to train teams of oxen. It was an eight or nine foot long wooden pole with a sharp metal point much like a spear on one end and a sharpened chisel-like end on the other end for scrapping dirt off the plow.
Shamgar is a good example of how the characteristics of a Judge cannot always be so easily defined. There is no mention of God raising him up or putting the Holy Spirit upon him. There is no mention of how long he ruled. In fact, he is never called a Judge, but he is referred to as a savior of Israel.
There is also the matter that although it says Shamgar came AFTER Ehud, it does not say it was after Ehud died. And this fuzziness is continued in the first verse of Judges chapter four when it begins with, "But after Ehud died" Israel did what was evil and was handed over to a king from the north that was based in Hazor. So the commonsense of this is that Shamgar delivered another and different region of Israel during Ehud's lifetime. The Philistines were located along the Mediterranean coast and afflicted tribes of Dan and Judah due to their close proximity. This was on the opposite side of Israel from where Moab had conquered sections of Canaan. So very probably, Ehud and Shamgar were contemporaries.
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Judges Chapter 3 Part Three (Verses 12-15)
C. The second Judge: Ehud
1. (Judges 3:12-14) The cycle continues: Israel sins and is sold into servitude
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees. The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
The sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD: This is the final part of the pattern of the era of Judges. Even after their deliverance, Israel rebels again, and God judges them as doing evil. It is significant to note that one and often two generations pass after the primary victory of a Judge. It is the NEW generation who, after the death of the Judge, did not experience war or participate in battle causes the next cycle of sin, oppression, punishment, raising up a new Judge and deliverance to begin again.
Verse 12 does not tell us precisely what the evil was that this new generation of Israel committed. We can guess that idolatry was at its core because invariably idolatry played a starring role in all of Israel's apostasies. Apostatizing does not mean that the people necessarily renounced God. Rather, they broke faith with Him by mixing the worship of other gods with the worship of Him.
Something that needs to change in the hearts and minds of modern Believers is that our behavior plays a key role in how the LORD perceives and deals with us. We often meet as a congregation and just love to talk about "the world" as though we actually shun it or have successfully avoided being tainted by it. Yet, for other than what is inside us, our outward appearance, behavior and choices are often times nearly indistinguishable from the unsaved world. We tend to go to the same movies, watch the same TV programs, have the same jobs, act the same way when someone cuts us off in traffic, etc. And we expect our fellowships to operate in the same fashion as secular governments or organizations.
It is when Israel became indistinguishable from the Canaanites in their appearance, behavior, choices and worship that God became angry and acted. It did not matter that internally they were His redeemed. As mush as we may wish it otherwise, God watches and evaluates what we DO because He is the one who has given us redemption. He already knows who is redeemed and who is not. He does not have to observe our behavior to find that out. How must God perceive us that unless we TELL someone we are Christians, no one might ever suspect it? Our Christian bumper sticker are there to tell others of our faith because by our behavior and lifestyles, that is about the only way anyone might ever know.
Israel during the time of the Judges merely wanted what we all typically want--to blend in, not seem odd or out of step and certainly not be criticized or ridiculed and told we are ignorant and full of hate because we do not go along with what everyone else wants.
Eglon the king of Moab: In response to Israel's apostasy, the LORD divinely energizes a new oppressor, Eglon king of Moab. Like every kingdom, Moab had its allies. In this case, it was Ammon and Amalek.
The city of palm trees: Eglon attacked and took the city of palm trees (which some say was Jericho while others contend it was a place just a little but farther south of Jericho). This was an important city both politically and economically for Israel. Eglon brought this area of Israel under subjugation and after taking the city of palm trees would rule them for 18 years.
2. (Judges 3:15) God raises up a deliverer for Israel: Ehud
But when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamin, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
The LORD raises up a deliverer: The LORD chooses a man and separates him to be His servant for the purpose of delivering Israel from their oppressors. His name is Ehud.
Ehud: Ehud is from the tribe of Benjamin and the tribe of Benjamin is under the most pressure by Eglon. This is a similar pattern to God choosing Othniel from the tribe of Judah because Judah was under the most pressure from Cushan-rishathaim. Like Othniel's oppressor, this trouble is also occurring in the southern end of the tribal territories.
A left-handed man: It is prominently mentioned that Ehud is left-handed, a trait that was apparently rather common among the tribal members of Benjamin but often not present in the other eleven tribes. Interestingly, it does NOT say in the Hebrew that Ehud was let-handed. Rather, it says that he was "bound up on the right". In the Bible era, the right side of anything was seen as the "correct" side, the strong side and the best side. The right hand was used for blessing. The royal scepter was always held in the right hand because it denoted power and authority. So, for people in that time period, a person who was left-handed was considered as having a defective right hand. Not being strong and coordinated in one's right hand meant that the person had a disability. In that era, a left-handed person to be used by God was another example of the LORD using the person with the least human ability to do His divine will, which is why Ehud was mentioned as being a lefty.
It is rather ironic that Benjamin had so many people genetically predisposed to being left-handed. The name Benjamin means "son of my RIGHT hand". This so-called disability would prove to be quite helpful for Ehud.
The sons of Israel sent tribute by him: One of the main goals of one nation conquering another nation was to gain tribute, ties and wealth from the conquered people. The tribute could be anything from animals to produce to precious metals. Whatever that particular people had that the ruler prized would be the tribute.
1. (Judges 3:12-14) The cycle continues: Israel sins and is sold into servitude
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees. The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
The sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD: This is the final part of the pattern of the era of Judges. Even after their deliverance, Israel rebels again, and God judges them as doing evil. It is significant to note that one and often two generations pass after the primary victory of a Judge. It is the NEW generation who, after the death of the Judge, did not experience war or participate in battle causes the next cycle of sin, oppression, punishment, raising up a new Judge and deliverance to begin again.
Verse 12 does not tell us precisely what the evil was that this new generation of Israel committed. We can guess that idolatry was at its core because invariably idolatry played a starring role in all of Israel's apostasies. Apostatizing does not mean that the people necessarily renounced God. Rather, they broke faith with Him by mixing the worship of other gods with the worship of Him.
Something that needs to change in the hearts and minds of modern Believers is that our behavior plays a key role in how the LORD perceives and deals with us. We often meet as a congregation and just love to talk about "the world" as though we actually shun it or have successfully avoided being tainted by it. Yet, for other than what is inside us, our outward appearance, behavior and choices are often times nearly indistinguishable from the unsaved world. We tend to go to the same movies, watch the same TV programs, have the same jobs, act the same way when someone cuts us off in traffic, etc. And we expect our fellowships to operate in the same fashion as secular governments or organizations.
It is when Israel became indistinguishable from the Canaanites in their appearance, behavior, choices and worship that God became angry and acted. It did not matter that internally they were His redeemed. As mush as we may wish it otherwise, God watches and evaluates what we DO because He is the one who has given us redemption. He already knows who is redeemed and who is not. He does not have to observe our behavior to find that out. How must God perceive us that unless we TELL someone we are Christians, no one might ever suspect it? Our Christian bumper sticker are there to tell others of our faith because by our behavior and lifestyles, that is about the only way anyone might ever know.
Israel during the time of the Judges merely wanted what we all typically want--to blend in, not seem odd or out of step and certainly not be criticized or ridiculed and told we are ignorant and full of hate because we do not go along with what everyone else wants.
Eglon the king of Moab: In response to Israel's apostasy, the LORD divinely energizes a new oppressor, Eglon king of Moab. Like every kingdom, Moab had its allies. In this case, it was Ammon and Amalek.
The city of palm trees: Eglon attacked and took the city of palm trees (which some say was Jericho while others contend it was a place just a little but farther south of Jericho). This was an important city both politically and economically for Israel. Eglon brought this area of Israel under subjugation and after taking the city of palm trees would rule them for 18 years.
2. (Judges 3:15) God raises up a deliverer for Israel: Ehud
But when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamin, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
The LORD raises up a deliverer: The LORD chooses a man and separates him to be His servant for the purpose of delivering Israel from their oppressors. His name is Ehud.
Ehud: Ehud is from the tribe of Benjamin and the tribe of Benjamin is under the most pressure by Eglon. This is a similar pattern to God choosing Othniel from the tribe of Judah because Judah was under the most pressure from Cushan-rishathaim. Like Othniel's oppressor, this trouble is also occurring in the southern end of the tribal territories.
A left-handed man: It is prominently mentioned that Ehud is left-handed, a trait that was apparently rather common among the tribal members of Benjamin but often not present in the other eleven tribes. Interestingly, it does NOT say in the Hebrew that Ehud was let-handed. Rather, it says that he was "bound up on the right". In the Bible era, the right side of anything was seen as the "correct" side, the strong side and the best side. The right hand was used for blessing. The royal scepter was always held in the right hand because it denoted power and authority. So, for people in that time period, a person who was left-handed was considered as having a defective right hand. Not being strong and coordinated in one's right hand meant that the person had a disability. In that era, a left-handed person to be used by God was another example of the LORD using the person with the least human ability to do His divine will, which is why Ehud was mentioned as being a lefty.
It is rather ironic that Benjamin had so many people genetically predisposed to being left-handed. The name Benjamin means "son of my RIGHT hand". This so-called disability would prove to be quite helpful for Ehud.
The sons of Israel sent tribute by him: One of the main goals of one nation conquering another nation was to gain tribute, ties and wealth from the conquered people. The tribute could be anything from animals to produce to precious metals. Whatever that particular people had that the ruler prized would be the tribute.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Yom HaAtzmaut: Please pray!
Since last week Friday, Hamas and Palestinian Istalic Jihad have launched over 600 rockets at Israel. This latest attack comes as Israel prepares to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's Independence Day. Four Israeli civilians have been killed.
Today marks Israeli's 71st birthday. For 71 years, tiny Israel has survived in the midst of enemies all around her. Time and time again, Israel's neighbors have attacked her. And time and time again, Israel stands her ground...and sometimes such as the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel gains more land.
During World War II, one in every three Jews in all the world were killed. After the war, the Jews who survived the onslaught of concentration camps and having most of their cities destroyed were faced with a new dilemma--a place to call home. With nothing more than a determination to start a new life, thousands of Jews sought their native homeland, Israel. Amazingly, in 1948, Israel became a nation...and by God's protection, tiny Israel has survived!
Now, Israel bustles with commerce. It is a leading exporter of agriculture and grows almost every kind of fruit except pineapple. A scan of the land reveals thousands of tour buses packing the streets and Biblical landmarks as Christians and Jews travel from around the world to experience the Holy Land. Shops and kiosks line the streets selling every kind of sacred trinket imaginable--t-shirts, key chains, miniature menorahs, magnets, matzah bread and even ram's horns (just in case you want your own personal shofar to wake up all your neighbors).
Please pray for Israel as the nation continues to recover from the recent attacks. Please pray for all the people injured and for the families of those who passed away. Please pray the land has peace. Happy Independence Day Israel!
"Now that LORD said to Abram, 'Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed'" (Genesis 12:1-3)
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Judges Chapter 3 Part Two (Verses 5-11)
B. The first judge: Othniel
1. (Judges 3:5-7) The apostasy of Israel in the days of Othniel
The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizztes, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
They took their daughter for themselves as wives: Part of the accommodation of Israel to the pagan nations surrounding them was their sin of intermarriage.
The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD: Verse seven sets the stage for the entrance of the first judge of Israel. It says that Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. This is an important little phrase that is in the middle of the sentence. It was NOT from Israel's perspective that they were doing evil, but it was from God's viewpoint that Israel was doing evil. Israel believed they were doing nothing wrong. They believed they were doing nothing evil, or they would not be doing it. We will see illustrations of this attitude in the next several chapters. In the end, however, God did not submit to Israel's rationalizations and excuses. Moreover, He did not accept their denials. Disobedience is disobedience, whether from willful ignorance of the Law of from willful intention to violate it. He has given them a manual for living redeemed lifestyles in the Torah and told them to use it. They have instead chosen to incorporate some of their own ideas and to disregard many of God's commands. But at the bottom of it all was idolatry. Israel adopted the Canaanite gods into their worship practices.
2. (Judges 3:8) Israel's servitude to the king of Mesopotamia
Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel: The result of Israel's idolatry was that a ruler came down and subjugated parts of Israel.
Cushan-rishathaim: The first part of the ruler from Mesopotamia's name means Cush; he was a descendant from Cush. It is said by most scholars that this man came from an area near the Euphrates River. Now this name for him is Hebrew; so, it could have not been this king's actual foreign name. Rather, it is a title roughly translated as "the double-wicked Cushite". This was how the Israelite tribes who were conquered by his armies saw this king.
Now comes an interesting problem: Cushan-rishathaim conquered southern tribal areas of Israel even though we are told in verse eight that he was from Mesopotamia (a better translation is Aram, another name for Mesopotamia). Aram is located far to the north. So we have that: 1. Cushan was a northerner, 2. he was a Cushite, but 3. he attacked the southern Israelite tribes. That does not make much sense. Why would the king have led his army all that way only to attack the southern tribes? It defies any known political or military agenda.
Jewish scholars have long known that the words Aram and Edom are often transposed in the Bible. It is rather common. Why? Aram is spelled in Hebrew resh-mem. Edom is spelled dale-mem. A resh and dalet look nearly identical; they were common copyist errors. Therefore, it is more likely than not that Cushan was actually from the area of Edom, which is where the Cushites were known to live. Edom was located in the southern desert areas adjacent to the souther Israelite tribes.
So, now we have the first part of the God-pattern for the era of the Judges established. It is a pattern we will see throughout all the Book of Judges. First, the people sin (idolatry in this case); second, the LORD declares them guilty and punishes them with the oppression by a gentile nation.
3. (Judges 3:9-11) God's deliverance through Othniel
When the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
The sons of Israel cried to the LORD: The third thing which happens over and over again is the people of Israel cry out to God to save them from their oppressor.
The LORD raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them: The fourth item which occurs is God hears Israel and raises up a savior to rescue them.
Othniel: The first Judge God raises up is a logical choice. Othniel, who name means lion of God and is from the tribe of Judah, is Caleb's younger brother. Othniel was the husband to Caleb's daughter Akhsah. Othniel is a logical choice because he won the hill country of the south from some of the descendants of Anakim as a challenge from his older brother, and Akhsah was the prize. Why would Akhsah be such an attraction for Othniel? Understand from a clan perspective, the brother next in line in Caleb's clan who then marries the clan chief's daughter makes it almost a guarantee that Othniel would eventually become the new clan leader. Thus, the reward was worth the risk. Furthermore, it is equally obvious that Othniel must have been considerably younger than Caleb, who was one of the 12 spies sent out by Moses many years earlier.
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him: This statement sounds simple enough; however, it opens up many questions. There is perhaps not a more difficult person, essence or manifestation of the Godhead to describe that the Holy Spirit. We also have the challenge to understand what, if any, difference there is between the concepts of the Holy Spirit being UPON someone versus the Holy Spirit being AROUND someone versus the Holy Spirit DWELLING IN someone.
Although we can often skip right over these words to seemingly greater theological issues, fundamental to our understanding ought to be to answer the questions, "What IS the Spirit of God, and what does He do?"
The Spirit of God
The Spirit of God is the spiritual essence that creates or induces life both into the world of nature and into the human being. For humans, there are two discernible aspects of the work of the spirit. First, it is this kind of life spark which is given to cause general physical human life by means of the normal birth process. This life spark continues our existence and operation into the physical realm. The second aspect of the spirit in humans is that it provides a means of eternal life for operation of our spiritual souls in the spiritual realm. It occurs only by divine declaration. One could make the case that for mankind, the Spirit of God first enables GENERATION of life (pregnancy and childbirth), and then it enables RE-GENERATION of a higher life.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is a spirit of wisdom, understanding, strength and the proper fear, awe and knowledge of the LORD. In Judges, the Spirit of God is usually an enabling power. It is a power given or loaned to a human to carry out a special assignment of heavenly purpose and by means of heavenly direction that otherwise could not be done or would not produce an outcome that is in harmony with the will of God were it merely a humanly directed endeavor.
The expression "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him" indicated a supernatural and extraordinary influence of God's spirit upon the human spirit. It is something that only a handful of people in the Old Testament era would ever experience.
In verse 10, the Hebrew word used which is translated as "came upon" is the word hayyah. Hayyah is a general term that depending on the context can mean "became", "come to pass" or "befell". When the Holy Spirit hayyah, (comes upon) a man, it operates in a manner to overcome the resistance of the man's own natural free will such that it is God's will that replaces it. It is this ability to perform bravely in the face of humanly impossible odds against him, or showing equally impossible strength and battlefield skills that most of the Judges displayed.
Once we enter the New Testament, we have nothing but Greek texts available and precise word comparisons between Old Testament Hebrew terms and New Testament Greek terms become very difficult. This becomes especially so when trying to determine what exactly is the difference between the Holy Spirit being upon someone versus the Holy Spirit indwelling someone. Other than that we do know, the outcome of a Believer in Messiah being indwelled by the Holy Spirit since Pentecost immediately following Jesus' death and resurrection is that something fundamental about our souls and spirit nature changes such that we qualify to live eternally in the presence of a Holy God. This was not the case with the Judges and the Prophets. So far as we know upon death they dwelt in a specially prepared chamber that at some point became known as Abraham's Bosom. This was their temporary spirit residence (a short term paradise) until Christ gave them the good news that because of His work, they were now free to leave that abode and go live with God. (For more information about Abraham's bosom, please read Luke 16:19-31.)
When he went out to war: Othniel, with the Spirit of God upon him, went to war with Cushan-rishathaim to try to eject him and his army from the areas of Judah and southern Ephraim. Othniel prevailed, and the area of the Promised Land under his jurisdiction had rest from oppression for 40 years. That period of rest ended upon the death of Othniel. This seems to be the pattern in the era of the Judges. A Judge would be raised up and would be a Judge until his death. During his lifetime, he would be victorious against gentile enemies.
1. (Judges 3:5-7) The apostasy of Israel in the days of Othniel
The sons of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizztes, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and they took their daughters for themselves as wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
They took their daughter for themselves as wives: Part of the accommodation of Israel to the pagan nations surrounding them was their sin of intermarriage.
The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD: Verse seven sets the stage for the entrance of the first judge of Israel. It says that Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. This is an important little phrase that is in the middle of the sentence. It was NOT from Israel's perspective that they were doing evil, but it was from God's viewpoint that Israel was doing evil. Israel believed they were doing nothing wrong. They believed they were doing nothing evil, or they would not be doing it. We will see illustrations of this attitude in the next several chapters. In the end, however, God did not submit to Israel's rationalizations and excuses. Moreover, He did not accept their denials. Disobedience is disobedience, whether from willful ignorance of the Law of from willful intention to violate it. He has given them a manual for living redeemed lifestyles in the Torah and told them to use it. They have instead chosen to incorporate some of their own ideas and to disregard many of God's commands. But at the bottom of it all was idolatry. Israel adopted the Canaanite gods into their worship practices.
2. (Judges 3:8) Israel's servitude to the king of Mesopotamia
Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel: The result of Israel's idolatry was that a ruler came down and subjugated parts of Israel.
Cushan-rishathaim: The first part of the ruler from Mesopotamia's name means Cush; he was a descendant from Cush. It is said by most scholars that this man came from an area near the Euphrates River. Now this name for him is Hebrew; so, it could have not been this king's actual foreign name. Rather, it is a title roughly translated as "the double-wicked Cushite". This was how the Israelite tribes who were conquered by his armies saw this king.
Now comes an interesting problem: Cushan-rishathaim conquered southern tribal areas of Israel even though we are told in verse eight that he was from Mesopotamia (a better translation is Aram, another name for Mesopotamia). Aram is located far to the north. So we have that: 1. Cushan was a northerner, 2. he was a Cushite, but 3. he attacked the southern Israelite tribes. That does not make much sense. Why would the king have led his army all that way only to attack the southern tribes? It defies any known political or military agenda.
Jewish scholars have long known that the words Aram and Edom are often transposed in the Bible. It is rather common. Why? Aram is spelled in Hebrew resh-mem. Edom is spelled dale-mem. A resh and dalet look nearly identical; they were common copyist errors. Therefore, it is more likely than not that Cushan was actually from the area of Edom, which is where the Cushites were known to live. Edom was located in the southern desert areas adjacent to the souther Israelite tribes.
So, now we have the first part of the God-pattern for the era of the Judges established. It is a pattern we will see throughout all the Book of Judges. First, the people sin (idolatry in this case); second, the LORD declares them guilty and punishes them with the oppression by a gentile nation.
3. (Judges 3:9-11) God's deliverance through Othniel
When the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
The sons of Israel cried to the LORD: The third thing which happens over and over again is the people of Israel cry out to God to save them from their oppressor.
The LORD raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them: The fourth item which occurs is God hears Israel and raises up a savior to rescue them.
Othniel: The first Judge God raises up is a logical choice. Othniel, who name means lion of God and is from the tribe of Judah, is Caleb's younger brother. Othniel was the husband to Caleb's daughter Akhsah. Othniel is a logical choice because he won the hill country of the south from some of the descendants of Anakim as a challenge from his older brother, and Akhsah was the prize. Why would Akhsah be such an attraction for Othniel? Understand from a clan perspective, the brother next in line in Caleb's clan who then marries the clan chief's daughter makes it almost a guarantee that Othniel would eventually become the new clan leader. Thus, the reward was worth the risk. Furthermore, it is equally obvious that Othniel must have been considerably younger than Caleb, who was one of the 12 spies sent out by Moses many years earlier.
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him: This statement sounds simple enough; however, it opens up many questions. There is perhaps not a more difficult person, essence or manifestation of the Godhead to describe that the Holy Spirit. We also have the challenge to understand what, if any, difference there is between the concepts of the Holy Spirit being UPON someone versus the Holy Spirit being AROUND someone versus the Holy Spirit DWELLING IN someone.
Although we can often skip right over these words to seemingly greater theological issues, fundamental to our understanding ought to be to answer the questions, "What IS the Spirit of God, and what does He do?"
The Spirit of God
The Spirit of God is the spiritual essence that creates or induces life both into the world of nature and into the human being. For humans, there are two discernible aspects of the work of the spirit. First, it is this kind of life spark which is given to cause general physical human life by means of the normal birth process. This life spark continues our existence and operation into the physical realm. The second aspect of the spirit in humans is that it provides a means of eternal life for operation of our spiritual souls in the spiritual realm. It occurs only by divine declaration. One could make the case that for mankind, the Spirit of God first enables GENERATION of life (pregnancy and childbirth), and then it enables RE-GENERATION of a higher life.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is a spirit of wisdom, understanding, strength and the proper fear, awe and knowledge of the LORD. In Judges, the Spirit of God is usually an enabling power. It is a power given or loaned to a human to carry out a special assignment of heavenly purpose and by means of heavenly direction that otherwise could not be done or would not produce an outcome that is in harmony with the will of God were it merely a humanly directed endeavor.
The expression "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him" indicated a supernatural and extraordinary influence of God's spirit upon the human spirit. It is something that only a handful of people in the Old Testament era would ever experience.
In verse 10, the Hebrew word used which is translated as "came upon" is the word hayyah. Hayyah is a general term that depending on the context can mean "became", "come to pass" or "befell". When the Holy Spirit hayyah, (comes upon) a man, it operates in a manner to overcome the resistance of the man's own natural free will such that it is God's will that replaces it. It is this ability to perform bravely in the face of humanly impossible odds against him, or showing equally impossible strength and battlefield skills that most of the Judges displayed.
Once we enter the New Testament, we have nothing but Greek texts available and precise word comparisons between Old Testament Hebrew terms and New Testament Greek terms become very difficult. This becomes especially so when trying to determine what exactly is the difference between the Holy Spirit being upon someone versus the Holy Spirit indwelling someone. Other than that we do know, the outcome of a Believer in Messiah being indwelled by the Holy Spirit since Pentecost immediately following Jesus' death and resurrection is that something fundamental about our souls and spirit nature changes such that we qualify to live eternally in the presence of a Holy God. This was not the case with the Judges and the Prophets. So far as we know upon death they dwelt in a specially prepared chamber that at some point became known as Abraham's Bosom. This was their temporary spirit residence (a short term paradise) until Christ gave them the good news that because of His work, they were now free to leave that abode and go live with God. (For more information about Abraham's bosom, please read Luke 16:19-31.)
When he went out to war: Othniel, with the Spirit of God upon him, went to war with Cushan-rishathaim to try to eject him and his army from the areas of Judah and southern Ephraim. Othniel prevailed, and the area of the Promised Land under his jurisdiction had rest from oppression for 40 years. That period of rest ended upon the death of Othniel. This seems to be the pattern in the era of the Judges. A Judge would be raised up and would be a Judge until his death. During his lifetime, he would be victorious against gentile enemies.
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