Othniel
HOR Book 3 Studies • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Scripture reading: Judg. 3:7-11
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Othniel’s name comes from two words
Ataq (עתק) = to move, to advance forward
Atun (עֹתֶן) = violent, strong
El (אֵל)= God
Othniel (עָתְנִיאֵל) = God is strength, God moves forward
Othniel was from the tribe of Judah. He was Caleb’s nephew, the son of his brother Kenaz, and he was a courageous man. When the Israelites were conquering the land of Canaan, they began by fighting as a whole. These were the major battles between the allied forces of Israel, and the forces of Canaan. But after these battles, the Israelites got together and allocated the land according to each tribe. So Ephraim got this part. Reuben got this part. And Judah got this part down in the south. Each tribe had to conquer their part and make it their own. And Caleb was in charge of the tribe of Judah.
But there was a city within Judah’s territory which was hard to conquer because it was easy to defend and hard to attack. It’s name was Debir or Kiriath-Sepher. And so Caleb says that whoever conquers the city can have his daughter’s hand in marriage. Maybe Othniel really liked Caleb’s daughter, we don’t know, but he went ahead, conquered the city, and married her.
And Caleb said, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.” And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
How many women today would agree to such an arrangement? It’s not easy right? But Achsah obeyed her father’s will and married Othniel without question. Whether he was prince charming or the hunchback of notre dame, we don’t know. But Achsah’s obedience shows us that she inherited the faith of her father Caleb. They saw things the same way.
Achsah’s name means “anklet” as in the piece of jewelry worn at the ankles. By faith and obedience, she became like an anklet to God’s feet. If God goes this way, she’s there. If God goes that way, she’s there.
But more than that, Achsah was wise. The Bible says that she urged Othniel to ask her father Caleb for a field. And after that, she asked Caleb for springs of water.
When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
The word for “field” here is tsade, which refers to a flat plot of ground that can be farmed. If you have a field and water, you can start doing agriculture. So we see that Achsah was a practical woman.
So this all happened during the time of the individual conquests. The major battles have been won, and now the Israelite tribes are given the task to conquer their own territories.
And when do they succeed in driving out all the inhabitants? They don’t. In fact, the first chapter of Judges talks about how they failed to drive out the inhabitants of the land.
But the people of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites have lived with the people of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.
And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.
Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.
Asher did not drive out the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob,
Naphtali did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.
By allowing the Canaanites to dwell in the land, they allowed the Canaanite idols to remain. And so idolatry began to spread within Israel, whereas the worship of the true God died with the older generation.
And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.
The keyword here is “served,” which is the Hebrew word abad. It means to serve or to worship. Abad is when you obey a command either because you want to avoid the consequence or to gain the reward. So when Pharaoh commanded the Israelites to make bricks, they had to abad. In this case, the Israelites wanted the rewards promised by these idols. Baal was the Canaanite storm god, and Asheroth was the Canaanite goddess of fertility. Put together, you have agriculture and children. In other words, you have prosperity.
So in pursuit of prosperity, the Israelites sacrifice to these Canaanite gods and hope they follow through on the promises. If you’re not sure a vending machine is going to work, you might still put in a dollar. What’s a dollar to you right? But the Canaanites and now these Israelites are putting in their children. And do these false gods follow through on their promise? It’s impossible. They’re just raw materials, blocks of wood and stone. That’s called oppression right?
Psalm 115:4–8 (ESV)
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
Here we see an important principle: We become like the thing we put our hopes in. If we think that love is going to solve all our problems, then all we think about is love. Likewise for money and the other things of this world.
God’s saying here that if we place your hope in lifeless idols, we’ll end up dead and lifeless on the inside. Our souls will shrivel up.
We can think of the woman in the Gospels who was bleeding for 12 years, and she spent everything she had on doctors but they couldn’t cure her.
And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone.
They just took her money. That’s what it’s like living in idolatry. We give all that we have but it can’t satisfy us.
On the other hand, if we place our hope in the living God, we will be filled with eternal life and the Holy Spirit. Amen?
So what does He do? He raises up Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia, to oppress them.
Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.
Cushan-Rishathaim’s name means “double-evil.”
But what God’s really doing is He’s making them feel physically what their souls are feeling spiritually.
And so what happens is that after 8 years of oppression, the Israelites repent and cry out to God, and God sends Othniel to go to war against Cushan-Rishathaim, and Othniel wins, and the Israelites have peace for 40 years until Othniel dies.
But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
Othniel is called a deliverer. This word in Hebrew is Moshia, which comes from the word ‘yasha’, meaning ‘to save.’ It’s where we get the word Yehoshua, Joshua, and Yeshua, Jesus. So Othniel foreshadows our Deliverer, Jesus Christ, who defeats the enemy and delivers us from the forces of evil.
And what’s important is that in verse 10, the Bible says “The Spirit of the Lord was upon him.” (v.10).
The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.
This tells us that Othniel was a type of Messiah. Anointed by the Holy Spirit. It also says that Othniel judged Israel.
The word for “judge” here is “shaphat”, and it means “to administer” or “to exercise authority.” In other words, he applied the Word of God to the situations of the people, and brought order into their chaos. Because sin brings chaos and disorder into our lives, our circumstances, and our relationships. But the Word brings us back into alignment with God.
And finally, we see that as long as Othniel was alive, the people didn’t fall back into sin. He must have been diligent in getting rid of their idols and leading the people back to God. But unfortunately, once he died, the people fell back into sin.
But for us, we can give thanks because our redeemer lives. Amen? And He is at work, even at this moment, interceding for us, praying for us to be freed from the power of sin.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Finally, let us realize that the Spirit of the Lord that came upon Othniel is the same Spirit who fueled, energized, and empowered Jesus, and that same Spirit dwells within our hearts today. How can we know? Because our lives have been brought into order. Because we reflect Jesus’ actions of praying at dawn.
So I pray that through God’s Holy Spirit and His Word, we will defeat and overcome the double-evil that oppresses our souls. Jesus is our trustworthy and reliable Othniel. Let us follow Him into victory and peace.