Judges 3:1-31

Life Without Law

Judges

Philip Smith

Chapter 3

v1 These are the nations that the *Lord left. He left them in order to test *Israel’s people. These people had not fought any wars in *Canaan. v2 He did this to teach them how to fight. They had not had any experience of battle. v3 The nations included the 5 rulers of the *Philistines. They included all the people in *Canaan and Sidon. They also included the *Hivites. These lived in the mountains of Lebanon. They lived there from Mount *Baal Hermon to Hamath’s border. v4 God left them as a test. In this way, he could see whether the *Israelites would obey his commands. He had given these commands to their *ancestors. v5 The *Israelites lived among the *Canaanites. They also lived among the *Hittites, *Amorites, *Perizzites, *Hivites and *Jebusites. v6 They married their daughters. They allowed their own daughters to marry their sons. They also served their gods.

Chapter 3 has a list of the nations that remained in the land. We read that the *Israelites married some people from these nations. They served their gods. The 5 towns where the *Philistines lived were Gaza, Ekron, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Gath. The *Canaanites lived in the valleys and they also lived near the sea. They had lived there before anyone else. The people from Sidon lived near the port called Sidon. Later, people called them the Phoenicians. The *Hivites were probably the same people as the Horites, who had been in Upper Mesopotamia. They went to live in the south-west. They lived there in the mountains of Hermon and Lebanon.

v7 The *Israelites did not obey God. They forgot the *Lord and they praised the *Baals and the *Asherahs. v8 The *Lord was very angry with them. God allowed Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Aram Naharaim to *capture them. He ruled over them for 8 years. v9 Then they asked the *Lord to help them. He sent Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz, to rescue them. v10 The Spirit of God came upon Othniel. He became the judge of *Israel and he went to war. The *Lord helped Othniel to *capture Cushan-Rishathaim. Othniel *conquered him. v11 The country had peace for 40 years, until Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Othniel was the only judge that was from the north. The other judges were from the south. This story shows the order of events in each judge’s life.

• The people did evil things.

• Their enemies caused pain and trouble to them.

• The people cried to the *Lord to help them.

• He sent a judge to make them free. He had given his Spirit to the judge.

• Then there was peace, which continued for many years.

The judges were very skilful because they had the special power of God’s Spirit. Othniel defeated the king that was the people’s enemy. Cushan-Rishathaim is not the king’s real name. It means the ‘twice wicked Cushan.’ This is probably how the writer of the story described him. Perhaps Cushan was the king of Teman in Edom. (Edom belonged to Jacob’s brother Esau. It was south from the country that God had promised to his people.) If so, it would not surprise anyone that Othniel from Judah’s *tribe defeated him. This is because Judah’s *tribe was in the south. The people in Edom had big holes in the ground. They got brown metal from these.

v12 Again the *Israelites did what God did not want. Because of this the *Lord helped Eglon, the king of Moab, to *conquer *Israel. v13 People from Ammon and Amalek’s people helped him to attack. He *captured the ‘City with *Palm Trees’. v14 He controlled the *Israelites for 18 years.

v15 Again the *Israelites prayed to the *Lord. He sent them someone to free them. This was Ehud, a left-handed man. He was the son of Gera from Benjamin’s *tribe. He took to Eglon the tax money that came from *Israel’s people. v16 Ehud made a sword with two sharp edges. It was about 18 inches (45 centimetres) long. He fastened this on his right side, under his clothing. v17 He gave the tax money to Eglon, who was very fat. v18 Then Ehud sent on ahead the men that had carried the money. v19 He turned back at the *statues near Gilgal. Then he said to the king, ‘I have a message which is for you only.’ Then the king sent away all his servants. v20 Ehud walked over to him. The king was sitting in the upper room of his summer palace. Ehud said, ‘It is a message from God.’ The king stood up. v21 Ehud reached with his left hand. He took the sword from his right side. He pushed it with force into the king’s stomach. v22 The handle went in after the sharp part. The fat surrounded it. Ehud did not pull out the sword, v23 but he went out to the entrance. He locked the doors of the room.

v24 The servants discovered that someone had locked the door. They thought that the king had gone to the toilet. v25 After they had waited for a long time, they got a key. They opened the doors. Then they discovered that their master was on the floor. He was dead.

v26 While they were waiting, Ehud escaped. He went past the *statues to Seirah. v27 When he arrived there, he sounded a *trumpet in the hilly country. This was where Ephraim’s *tribe lived. The *Israelites came down the hills to follow him. v28 ‘Follow me’, he ordered. ‘The *Lord has given you power over your enemies, the people from Moab.’ The army *captured the places where people went over the Jordan river. They prevented anyone from going across. v29 They killed 10 000 people from Moab that were strongest and most skilful. Nobody escaped. v30 So *Israel’s people controlled Moab’s people and peace lasted for 80 years.

The *Israelites did not expect the attack by the army from Moab. The people who lived in Moab were *descendants of Lot. They did not live in the country that God had promised to *Israel’s people. They had *captured the ‘City with *Palm Trees’ (Jericho). The *Israelites had *captured this city when Joshua was alive. Moab’s people controlled the *Israelites for 18 years. Then God sent Ehud to free them. In the story, we read that Ehud was left-handed. The *Hebrew word might mean that he was unable to use his right hand. Perhaps it was deformed (badly shaped). However, in chapter 20 we learn that many people in Benjamin’s *tribe were left-handed. The name Benjamin actually means the ‘son of my right hand’. Ehud carried the tax money in his right hand. The people let him go where the king was. They did not think that he was dangerous. He told the king that he had a message. The message was for the king only. This ‘message’ was actually his sword, which he was carrying on his right side. Nobody thought that it would be there. ‘The *statues near Gilgal’ could be stone *statues. These marked the boundary of Eglon’s land. From here, Ehud could easily escape. The king went into his summer room. This was on the roof of the house. It was cool there. Ehud killed him when he stood up. He stood up to hear God’s message. Then Ehud locked the door. The writer tells us everything about how he killed him! The king’s servants were slow to find him. They thought that he had gone to the toilet. Then they discovered what had happened. By then, Ehud had escaped.

God does things that we do not think will happen. We can see the idea of the left hand in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29. There the writer says that God uses those that are nothing. They will bring to nothing those that are something. Nobody should be proud in the place where God is. After Ehud’s success, people followed him and they defeated the people from Moab. He *captured the places where people went over the river. This stopped other people that would have helped Moab’s people. He also stopped Moab’s army so that it did not escape.

Ehud used his left hand. Contrast this with God’s use of his own right hand. God promises that he will bless his people. And he promises that he will destroy their enemies. And he will do these things with his right hand. At his right hand, there is complete satisfaction, which will last always. His Messiah sits at his right hand. (The Messiah is a very special person that God sent. God chose the Messiah to save his people.) That is the place where power, *blessing and praise are. We always know the results of the wrong things that *Israel’s people did. We know them before they happen. We also know what the result of God’s plans will be. But we do not know how people will attack *Israel’s people. We do not know what God will use to rescue them. We can ask God to do what he has promised. But we cannot tell him how to do it.

v31 After Ehud came Shamgar the son of Anath. He killed 600 *Philistines with a sharp stick. People used such a stick to control an ox. (An ox is a large animal. People used it to plough their land.) Shamgar too made *Israel’s people free.

Shamgar may not have been from *Israel. Perhaps he was a mercenary (a hired soldier) that was a leader of the *Canaanites’ army. He helped in the *opposition to the *Philistines. The sharp stick was an ox-goad. An ox-goad was 8-10 feet (about 3 metres) long, with a sharp metal top. It was like a *spear. People used it to make animals move. This may have been an event that happened only once. That is, Shamgar may have killed all the 600 *Philistines at one time. In this story, the writer does not follow the usual plan of the other stories.

Lord ~ a name for God. It means that he is the master, the ruler over all. Also, people often use this word to translate Yahweh, a very special Hebrew name for God.

Yahweh ~ the name of God. It means ‘I am what I am’. Or it can mean ‘the same always’.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.

descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Philistines ~ a group of people that came from Egypt. They came to live on the coast between Egypt and Gaza. They lived in the plain that was there.
Hivites ~ a group of people that lived in Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Baal ~ the false god of rain and good crops.
Israelites ~ the people that belonged to the nation called Israel. God had chosen them as his own special people.

Israel ~ the nation that consisted of Jacob’s descendants; the country where they lived; another name for Jacob.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
ancestors ~ people that lived before you in your family.
Canaanites ~ people that lived in Canaan. Sometimes the word means one particular group of people that lived there. And sometimes it means all the people that lived in Canaan. They lived there already, before the Jews lived there.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Jew ~ a person who is from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Hittites ~ a group of people that lived in Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Amorites ~ a group of people that lived in Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Perizzites ~ a group of people that lived in Canaan.

Canaan ~ the country that later was called Israel.
Jebusites ~ the people that first lived in the town called Jebus (Jerusalem).
Asherah ~ a female god.
capture ~ take someone as a prisoner; take control of a place in war; or take an object in war.
conquer ~ take control of something or somebody by force.
tribe ~ a large group of people that are all relatives of each other.
statue ~ a figure that represents a person or animal. People make it from stone or metal.
trumpet ~ a musical instrument that people blow in order to play it. They make it from metal.
descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
Hebrew ~ the Hebrew people were Abraham’s descendants; and they spoke a language called Hebrew.

descendants ~ members of your family that are born and live after you.
opposition ~ when someone is against somebody or something.
spear ~ a weapon that has a metal point and it has a long handle.

weapon ~ a thing that some people use to hurt other people.