Without a Leader, It’s Easy to Stray

Throughout history, God’s people have strayed without good leaders. They had the law, but still found it difficult to follow without a strong leader. We have the law too, but we also have Jesus. He is the Good Shepherd who guides and cares for us, but also laid down His life to save ours. Then, he gave us the Holy Spirit and the church. The elders are supposed to shepherd His flock and we are supposed to be good sheep who listen to them and don’t make their job difficult. So, we don’t have to be like the Israelites who go astray without a leader. We have the Bible to guide us, and in it Jesus’s example, and we have the church.

Othniel Rises as the First Judge – Judges 3:5-11

            The Israelites chose not to drive the other nations from their land, and the result was precisely what God had predicted. They soon began intermarrying with these people, which led the Israelites to serve their gods, the Baals and the Asheroth. So, the Lord was angry and gave them over to the king of Mesopotamia, which is probably Syria. The king’s name means “Double Wickedness,” and most likely is what the author called him, not his actual name. But the Lord allowed him to oppress the Israelites for eight years.

They had fallen far enough for God to turn them over to another nation less than a decade after Joshua’s death and only 35 years after settling in the land. But when they cried out to Him, God rose Othniel, Caleb’s brother, as the first judge of Israel. He is the same brother who conquered Debir for him and received Caleb’s daughter in marriage. The Holy Spirit was with him, and the Lord gave him victory over the king. After Othniel judged the Mesopotamians for oppressing God’s people, he governed over the Israelites for the next forty years. During his lifetime, the Israelites turned back to God and followed Him.

Ehud Rises as the Second Judge – Judges 3:12-30

            But soon after he died, the people turned away again. So, the Lord strengthened the king of Moab in opposition to the Israelites. Then, Eglon recruited the Ammonites and the Amalekites, all three of whom were part of Abraham’s family. The Moabites and the Ammonites were the descendants of Lot who lived east of the Israelites in what is today Jordan. The Amalekites were descendants of Esau, who lived south of Judah’s territory. God had given Lot’s descendants the land in Jordan, and He did not let the Israelites fight with them on their journey to the Promised Land. But the Amalekites had attacked them completely unprovoked as they fled Egypt, and Moses told the Israelites to defeat them after God gave them rest in the new land. Since the Israelites did not obey God and destroy the people in their midst, they became a snare. Because they did not go on to defeat the Amalekites after settling in the land, they joined forces against Israel.

            So, God allowed these nations to defeat Israel, making them a vassal state to Moab for 18 years. But when they cried out to the Lord, He rose up another man to judge their enemies who was from the tribe of Benjamin. Ehud took the tribute to Elon but hid a foot and a half, double-edged sword under his clothes. After he presented the tribute, he told Elon he had a secret. So, Elon sent everyone away and sat alone with Ehud on the roof. Then, Ehud stood and told the king that he had a message from God as he pulled the sword from his thigh and plunged it into his belly. The blade pierced him through, and the king was so heavy that the fat enclosed around the handle and the sword could not be removed.

            After this, Ehud casually walked out, closing the doors behind him. The servants thought the king must want privacy, so they did not bother him for a while. But when they could wait no longer, they got a key and went in to find the king dead.

            When Ehud arrived safely back in Israel, he sounded the trumpet in victory, and he called the Israelites to follow him. So, they took post at the crossings of the Jordan River and would not let anyone pass. They killed 10,000 strong, able-bodied Moabites there, allowing none to escape. So, they took victory over the Moabites that day and enjoyed rest in the land for the next 80 years.

Shamgar Rises as the Third Judge – Judges 3:31

            Shamgar was the third judge who rescued Israel, though we know little about him or their oppression. Maybe the Israelites just had a battle with the Philistines, and Shamgar led them to victory. He killed 600 men with an oxgoad, which was a stout stick that was about 8” long and 6” around with two metal ends, one sharp and pointed and the other flat and curved. Anath was a Canaanite goddess. So, it is possible he was a foreigner who lived in the land, and that God raised him to kill the Philistines. There’s a lot of mystery behind this judge.