Judges 3:1-31

Israel was given very clear instructions as to what the Lord expected from them.  They were to take possession of the land and remove all the other nations from within the land and they were to remain separate from all the other nations.  God did not expel all of the other nations at once, but called Israel to systematically eliminate these nations with time.  This was a test of their obedience as well as an opportunity to teach the children of Israel about war and give them an opportunity to experience God’s power for themselves instead of just hearing the stories of the previous generation.  The children of Israel failed the test and began to marry from within these other nations and they quickly were drawn into the idolatry that was a part of these perverse cultures.  Today we are surrounded by sinful cultures that reject God and worship idols of man’s own making.  We must be willing to stand firm and not allow the tide of the culture to pull us away from obeying the Lord.  We are called to impact the cultures in which we live by transforming them through the work of the Spirit.

OTHNIEL, THE JUDGE FROM A FAITHFUL FAMILY: The result of Israel’s idolatry was that they were quickly drawn away into all kinds of disobedience and eventually this led them into being defeated and dominated by another nation.  When the people cried out to the Lord, God sent Othniel, the younger brother of Caleb to deliver the children of Israel.  It is amazing to consider the impact that this family had upon Israel and it leaves us to consider how strong the nation would have been had all of the families in Israel had this same level of commitment to and confidence in the Lord.  We cannot control what all the families around us and in our church choose to do.  We do, however, have control over our own families and each of us should strive to be families that have an impact on the world.  We must strive to be families of faith that God uses to further His will on the world.

EHUD, THE JUDGE WITH A STRONG LEFT HAND:  The children of Israel had forty years of peace during the time after Othniel delivered them.  Unfortunately, the following generation did not learn from the mistakes of the past and repeated the same behavior which resulted in the same consequences.  Once again Israel was dominated by a nation that forced them to serve him.  God allowed them to stay under this domination for twice as long as they had previously suffered, but God eventually rose up Ehud, who formulated a courageous plan to assassinate the king and then defeat the nation that had been dominating them.  Ehud was left handed and came into the king’s presence with the tribute money Israel was required to pay.  He then asked for a private audience with the king where he took out a dagger that he had hidden under his clothes and literally buried it in the huge stomach of Eglon the obese king.  Ehud escaped and then called the army of Israel to take control of the passage way over the river and from there was able to defeat the enemy and provide freedom to the people once again.  This period of freedom also lasted twice as long as the previous period: eighty years.  We must be willing to take risks and be courageous in our service to the Lord.