Judges (Part 2)
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7 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 pattern begins (the cycle of sin and judgement)
Forgot God > served idols
Agriculture
8 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.
Again, God’s burning anger
God sells Israel
Serving other gods = serving another nation
8 long years
Cusham-rishathaim
“Dark, doubly wicked”
Traveled all of the way from Aram; traveling farther than any other oppressor in Judges
We don’t know who this is exactly
Othniel overcomes the worst of the oppressors
9 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.
Crying out > Deliverer raised
Not repentance; a cry of pain (yelp!)
God’s response is not based on their repentance
Othniel, Caleb’s nephew
A Kennizite (not an Israelite by birth)
Q. What tribe does he belong to again?
Judah
Not surprising; first to fight Canaanites, and best record against them
Starting off straight-forward
“He saved them”
God or Othniel?
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.
Empowered by the Spirit
“He judged Israel”
Hence, he’s the first judge
“The Lord GAVE...”
Language usually used for the Lord handing Israel over to the enemy
This is the only time in the book here it is the other way around
“Into his hand… and his hand prevailed...”
No need for deception, outside help, vows, etc.
11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
40 years of rest
The first judge dies
Some final thoughts
Othniel = the ideal judge
Nothing negative written about him
A demonstration of how things could be
Not limited by backing (Kennizite)
12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.
The cycle continues “again...”
“The Lord strengthened” the enemy
Only occurs here in Judges
Because… (phrase repitition)
Eglon
13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms.
The city of palms = Jericho
The undoing of Joshua
14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
From 8 years to 18 years
15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
The pattern of “Israel cried” and “the Lord raised up”
Again, not repentance
Ehud
A Benjaminite (important later)
Left handed
“Restricted in his right hand”
Benjamin: “Son of my right hand”
We also see another left handed Benjaminite in 20:15.
Sending tribute
16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes.
Right thigh = the opposite of what was expected
A sword hidden away in an unexpected place = sneaky
They would have only checked for a weapon on his left side
A cubit = a foot and a half
17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
Eglon = calf
A fattened calf, ready for slaughter
Quite the contrast from Cusham-rishathaim
Eglon becomes the true tribute/offering
18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute.
19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence.
Idols near Gilgal = Israelite territory marker
A secret message
Is this deceptive?
20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat.
Cool roof chamber = bathroom
Again; is this deceptive?
21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly.
22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.
Gross
A humiliating defeat
And again, remember; he was in the bathroom
23 Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.”
Bathroom proven
25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
Total embarrassment and humiliation
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.
27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader.
“and he was their leader...”
28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.
Giving credit to God
29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.
10,000 people
Not just anybody: strong, able-bodies men
and not even one of them escaped!
Ehud escapes, but not the Moabites
30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
From forty years of rest to 80 years
As the people faithfulness decreases, God’s faithfulness increases
31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.
Is this a judge?
A minor judge (noncyclical)
The ideal minor judge
Anath = Canaanite goddess of war
A foreigner
The Philistines
Become more of a problem later
Oxgoad = Cattle prod
“An instrument of learning”
Shamgar teaches them a thing or two!
The first of many unusual instruments of deliverance
… “a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.”
The Bottom Line:
The Bottom Line:
Even when we forget God, He never forgets us.
