Judges 3:1-11 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Judges 3:1-11. Let’s go!
Judges 3:1-4 (NIV)
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 forefathers through Moses.
On verses 1-4: Though the Israelites broke God’s original command to drive out the idol worshiping nations from Canaan, God in His sovereignty still found a way to accomplish a good purpose through the Israelites’ failure to obey. These verses tell us that God used this situation to (1) teach the younger Israelites who did not have previous battle experience how to fight (v2); and (2) see if this younger generation would obey the LORD’s commands (v4).
What can we learn from this?
1. In His sovereignty, God takes situations that He did not intend or desire and finds a way to use them for a greater purpose.
2. God wants His people to know how to fight. That is still the case today, except for us the battles we fight are primarily spiritual and the enemy we fight is a real but invisible one (see Ephesians 6:12). When faced with spiritual opposition, God does not want us to be like a deer in the headlights, defenseless and having no idea what to do. Like Psalm 144:1 says, He is a God “who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.”
Judges 3:5-11 (NIV)
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.
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, 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 upon him, so that he became Israel’s judge 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.
On verses 5-11: Judges 2:11-19 laid out a formula, a cycle, that the Israelites would follow, which goes like this:
– Forsake God
– Experience attack, defeat, and abuse by enemies
– Cry out to God for help
– God sends a deliverer to rescue
– Deliverer dies
– Go back to forsaking God
The first instance of this cycle is described here in verses 5-11. The Israelites intermarry with the other nations living in Canaan, forsake God and serve the gods of other nations. God is displeased and removes His protecting presence from the Israelites. The Israelites experience attack, defeat and abuse at the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram for 8 years. So the Israelites cry out to God for help. God sends them Othniel, a nephew of Caleb, to save them. The Israelites then experience peace for 40 years until Othniel dies. As verse 12 will tell us, the Israelites will then go back to forsaking God all over again and the cycle repeats itself.
In this case, what triggered the Israelites’ abandonment of their faith in the LORD? According to the author of Judges, it was their decision to intermarry with individuals who did not worship the LORD but worshiped other gods, which in turn led the Israelites to worship other gods (v5-7). It goes to show that whom you decide to partner with in life is absolutely crucial. God wants you to partner with people who you are aligned with you in terms of values and faith so that you can strengthen one another to follow and serve the LORD together. God knows that when you intertwine your life inextricably with someone who is not aligned with you in faith and values, you will be stuck in a burdensome struggle where you’re constantly fighting an internal spiritual battle and can risk losing your faith entirely.
That is why 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 (NIV) says:
14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
May you be careful and wise about whom you decide to partner with in life.
Father, thank You for being the God who trains me for battle. I know that training is not supposed to be pleasant. Thank You for using hardships and difficulties in our lives to train us to be the warriors and soldiers You made us to be for Your glory. Please give me wisdom to partner with the right people. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
