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.
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