CHAPTER 3

(1406 B.C.)

PROVING ISRAEL

¹Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan (the younger generation had not witnessed the miracles of the recent past; they would now need to be proven, as to whether they would follow the Lord or heathen idols; every Believer, in one way or the other, is proven; this is not that the Lord might know, for He already knows, but, rather, that we might know);

²Only that the generations of the Children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof (a considerable period of rest had followed Joshuas conquests, during which the younger Israelites had no experience of war; but, if they were to keep their hold of Canaan, it was needful that they understand war and victory; every generation of Believers must be proven; will they lean on the arm of flesh, or will they look to Christ and the Cross? Unfortunately, the sword held by most in the modern Church is not of the Spirit, which is actually the Word of God, but rather something else altogether [Eph. 6:17]);

³Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

⁴And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the Commandments of the LORD, which He commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

⁵And the Children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:

⁶And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

⁷And the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. (As we have stated, friendship with the world doesnt make the world more Godly, but rather the Christian more worldly.)

OTHNIEL

⁸Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the Children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years. (Idolatry always leads to slavery in some way. For Israel, it was to a heathen power; presently, it is to Satan himself. And we must remember, any worship thats not anchored in Christ and the Cross is unscriptural, and, in fact, in one way or the other, is idolatry!)

⁹And when the Children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the Children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Calebs younger brother. (Any time that Israel cried to the Lord, irrespective as to how wrong they had previously been, He always heard their cry, and answered with deliverance. It is the same presently! No matter the problem, if you will sincerely cry to the Lord, He will hear and answer, irrespective as to what you may have done in the past that is wrong.)

¹⁰And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim. (Othniel was the first Judge of Israel. He was able to perform this mighty feat of valor, because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. The secret then was the Spirit of the Lord, and the secret now is the Spirit of the Lord. There are all type of things greater than we are, but there is nothing greater than the Spirit of the Lord, for He is God [Jn. 14:17-20].)

¹¹And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died. (After the death of Othniel, Israel will, once again, be without proper leadership, and apostasy was the result, as apostasy is always the result in such case.)

APOSTASY

¹²And the Children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. (If it is to be noticed, it was the Lord Who strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, even though this heathen had no personal knowledge of the reason for his military strength. As well, the Lord directed the mind of this man toward Israel. Why? Unless they were in dire straits, Israel simply would not function properly. So the Lord brought upon them great misery through this heathen king.

All of this tells us that the Lord presently does the same thing with Believers who are going in the wrong direction. Paul called it, chastisement [Heb. 12:5-14]. Sometimes the Lord uses sickness, sometimes He uses the unredeemed, etc.; however, everything He does, irrespective as to what it might be, is all done for our good. So, even though the person who wrongs us, that is, if the Lord uses such, is wrong himself or herself in what is being done, to be sure, such an individual will answer to the Lord. Still, we must understand that the Lord has allowed such, and not allow bitterness to get in our heart toward such a person. Even though the Lord may use such, it doesnt mean that He condones their action. To be sure, as Eglon, they will ultimately answer.)

¹³And he (Eglon) gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees (Jericho).

¹⁴So the Children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years (eighteen years of bondage that wasnt necessary at all; it was because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord).

EHUD

¹⁵But when the Children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the Children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. (In some way, each one of these Judges expressed some form of weakness; Othniel was the son of a younger brother; Ehud was left-handed; Shamgar had but an ox goad; Deborah was a woman; Gideon was the least in the poorest family in Manasseh; Jephthah was the son of a harlot; and Samson was a Nazarite.)

¹⁶But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

¹⁷And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.

¹⁸And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people who bore the present (that he and Eglon might be alone).

¹⁹But he himself turned again from the quarries (should have been translated, graven images) that were by Gilgal (we learn from this that idols had been set up at Gilgal an outrage upon the hallowed associations of that sacred spot; it was the dwelling-place of the Angel of Jehovah, or had been [2:1]. Gilgal pictures the broken and contrite heart in which God dwells. If He be grieved away from such an heart, very quickly it becomes the home of graven images Williams), and said, I have a secret errand unto you, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all who stood by him went out from him.

²⁰And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto you. And he arose out of his seat. (The Message from God is always that every enemy in our life be put to the sword, i.e., the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, which means that the enemy not merely be defeated, but be slain [Eph. 6:17].)

²¹And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:

²²And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out (spiritually speaking, this is the only way to get the dirt out of our lives).

²³Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

²⁴When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covers his feet in his summer chamber (is asleep).

²⁵And they tarried till they were ashamed (could have been several hours, or even as much as a whole day): and, behold, he (Eglon) opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

VICTORY OVER MOAB

²⁶And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries (graven images), and escaped unto Seirath.

²⁷And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the Children of Israel went down with him from the Mount, and he before them (Ehud, the second Judge of Israel, blew the trumpet of war, because the Lord through him would deliver Israel; if there was ever a time in the modern Church to blow the trumpet, it is now!).

²⁸And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over (Moab was on the eastern side of the Dead Sea; it was the area occupied, as well, by the Tribe of Reuben).

²⁹And they killed of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man (no casualties of Israel are listed; therefore, the indication is that there were none; when Israel had the Lord with them, nothing could defeat them, and when they didnt have the Lord, they were already defeated).

³⁰So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years (80 years).

SHAMGAR

³¹And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which killed of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel. (Nothing more is known of Shamgar, except the mention of him in Deborahs song [5:6]. The Text indicates that this one man, armed with nothing but an ox goad, which was something like a spear, killed 600 Philistines single-handedly. Obviously, the Spirit of God helped him mightily. But, despite the help of the Lord, which was obvious to all, still, again and again, Israel would go into apostasy. Such is the heart of the natural man!)