Judges 3.3 Othniel, Israel's First Judge

"So, the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and Asherahs. Therefore, the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia." -Judges 3:7-8

The refrain, "did evil in the sight of the Lord" is a common occurrence in the book of Judges. There is a sequence of events that happens repeatedly throughout this time frame. It is important to note there was still no king in Israel. There was no king because God wanted to be their King. However, the people as they prospered forgot God. They replaced Him with the thoughts, ideas, and worship of the people around them. They fell from a relationship with God into apostasy and idolatry. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. We see this as a common theme among the nations of the world today as well. Sadly, it has even crept into the church with false doctrines, different Jesuses, and man's interpretation of who they think God is without having known Him or attempted to know Him. The Canaanite tribes that remained had intermarried with the children of Israel. They had brought their practices into the family of God. God had every right to allow them to be sold into the hands of a foreign king until they could remember where their salvation came from.

A little background into this king. He is known as the king of Mesopotamia. His name here means "Cushan, of double wickedness." He had gone on a conquest to amass as many lands as possible by any means possible. He had conquered lands from Egypt to Syria. The Israelites are delivered into his hand as a punishment for their idolatrous worship of Baal and Asherah.

Baal was the Canaanite god known as the "possessor." This is the same entity they worshipped when they made the golden calf in the wilderness. This god comes in to replace the Living God. He encourages the promotion of self, in every carnal aspect of the imagination. People worshipped him because he produced for them in their lives without restraint for wrong. People today worship this entity without even being aware he exists. They do so by exalting themselves above God. By exalting selfish desires over the will of God in their own lives. By exalting wealth, prosperity, and the finer things of life above the character of God and the fruits of His Spirit. People who worship this entity do not know the true God and don't want to. Because the Living God created us with a purpose for their lives, that they don't come into agreement with.

Asherah (Ashtoreth) was the consort of this entity. In the line of demonic concession, she is the second. She is known as the "seductress." People that worship this entity promote beauty, sexuality, strong feminine, and weak masculine, rampant sexual indulgences, gratification of the flesh above the spirit, gender dysphoria, and homosexuality. Sex is the most powerful force available to the human body. It is meant to be enjoyed in only one context, that of heterosexual marriage between one man and one woman. People who worship this entity engage in sexual promiscuity with anyone or anything they want to. The only consequence they foresee is unwanted pregnancies that they then sacrifice to the 3rd god in the list of abominations, Molech.

As we get further into this study you will see this pattern emerge:

1. apostasy of Israel

2. punishments at the hands of foreign peoples

3. repentance of Israel

4. deliverance through Spirit-empowered deliverers

In Deuteronomy 32 we see the Song of Moses. This was foretold. And God's response was as well. Let's read.

"They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations, they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, to new arrivals that your fathers did not fear. Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful and have forgotten the God who fathered you. And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters, and He said, I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be before they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith. They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; they have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in My anger and shall burn to the lowest hell; it shall consume the earth with her increase and set fire to the foundations of the mountains. " -Deut. 32:16-22

"How could one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had surrendered them? For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. For their vine is the vine of Sodom and the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, and their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of cobras. Is this not laid up in store with Me? Sealed up among My treasures? Vengeance is Mine and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them. For the Lord will judge His people and have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining bond or free. He will say, 'Where are their gods? The rock in which they sought refuge?'" -Deut. 32:30-37

"Now see that i, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. For I raise My hand to heaven, and I say, 'As I live forever, if I whet My glittering sword, and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the heads of the leaders of the enemy. Rejoice O' Gentiles, with His people, For He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people." Deut. 32:39-43

"And he (Moses) said to them: "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today which you shall command your children to carefully observe all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess." Deut. 32:46-47

"Therefore, the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years. When the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother." Judges 3:8-9

We have mentioned Othniel before. We first see him in Joshua 15:15-19. We read of him again in Judges 1:11-15. He was the son of Kenaz. Caleb's nephew. He conquered the city of Debir and won the hand of Caleb's daughter Achsah. He was a member of the tribe of Judah. His name means "Lion of God" or "God is powerful."

"The Spirit of the Lord came upon Him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim. So, the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel, son of Kenaz died." Judges 3:10-11

Here we see a mighty work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit as it comes upon a person raised up for a purpose. It wasn't by his own power, his own might, or his own strength, it was by the Spirit of God that they were delivered through a willing vessel. The work of the Spirit in the life of a believer can accomplish similar results in our day. Are we living our lives as submitted willing vessels, or are we living unto ourselves, with the same thought as those who came before us? Are we doing what is right in our own eyes or what He deems right? Are we following His direction, will, and purpose for our lives, or are we following after the pattern of this world? Are we living kingdom down or hell up? Are we serving God or these demonic entities?

I hope you are enjoying this series. I pray that these scriptures and insights into the cultures of the past can shine some light on the things going on behind the scenes in today's world that we may not see. This is a pattern as old as mankind. I pray you keep an open mind and an open heart and take a deep introspective look at the fruits of your life. Are they exhibiting the fruits of the flesh or the Spirit of God?

Prayer,

Lord, thank you for this time spent in the study of Your Word. Search our minds, our hearts, and our ways. Reveal to us individually the things that we haven't fully repented to and help us surrender them all at the foot of Your cross. Help us trust in Your Salvation. Strengthen us to do Your will in the time You have allotted us. Keep us by Your mighty Right Hand. In Jesus's name, amen.