Dakota Community Church
March 4, 2012
Judges – Week Two
Othniel
Remembering back to October 30 last year when we began our study of the Book of Judges you will recall that there is a repeated cycle throughout the entire book – a cycle of sin, bondage, repentance, and devotion, followed by sin and bondage again.
Israel would follow the Lord when there was a leader who reminded them of the ways in which they should walk, but with his death they again wandered off into idolatry.
This morning we will look at the first 2 of those leaders:
Othniel
Judges 3:1-11
These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience): 3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
The passage starts with a very surprising turn of events… Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord!
Alright it is not that big a surprise, you might compare it to you on every Monday morning of your entire life.
We live on a fallen planet - we are a fallen people; let’s remember the Lord had to die on the cross to rectify the human problem.
We do evil, get off your high horse!
Why were the enemies of Israel not removed by the Lord?
Why do we face some of the hardships and in some cases horrors of life that we do?
I must have heard, “How could God let this happen to me” expressed a thousand times, a hundred different ways.
What does the text say?
To teach warfare to the inexperienced.
To test obedience to the Lord’s commands.
In Chapter 1 - For the purpose of slave labor.
Judges 1:28
When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely.
This brings up a number of important theological issues - at least for me.
How can this be true if God is our loving heavenly Father?
These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience) (3:1-2)
They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the LORD’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses. (3:4)
Let’s not dress this up in Sunday School felt board memories.
“Teaching warfare” involved swords and spears and clubs, raiding foreigners attacking and trying to reclaim lands lost to the inheriting Israelites.
Raping, pillaging, thieving, and killing were the hallmarks of these lessons. Moms lost sons!
THE LORD DID THIS TO “TEACH WARFARE”? - How do we reconcile this to our understanding of God, dying on a cross to rescue us?
Matthew 12:14-21
But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. 16 He warned them not to tell others about him. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.”
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Did the author write from a human perspective that incorrectly represents God’s true nature?
This is the Word of Faith movement answer to these passages that seem to indicate that God does or at least allows some nasty things to happen to us in the name of teaching us or furthering His ultimate purposes.
“Well the author of Judges saw that God used these horrible enemies to teach and test the Israelites and so he incorrectly assumed that God willed things to be so.”
Makes sense, answers the tough question - one problem - how do we know which verses in our Bibles are authorial misinterpretations?
Did Luke get it right when he said there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved?
Did Paul correctly interpret God’s intent in the substitutionary atonement? After all he did claim to have learned via direct revelation from Jesus - post resurrection.
2 Timothy 3:10-17
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Whether or not God is just rides on the condition of man at birth.
If people are essentially good, in need of a little education maybe, some spit and polish; but over all GOOD - then God is guilty of some horrible atrocities.
On the other hand if men are born wicked, bent on evil, fallen and rightly under the wrath of God borne for hell eternally - then everything God does - no matter what, since our condition cannot be worsened - to bring about our rescue, is a just and loving kindness!
No one thinks the firefighter who carries a child through an inferno to safety is cruel though the child suffer third degree burns in the process.
Genesis 6:5-6
The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Back to the text!
Judges 3:7-11
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the LORD burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years. 9 But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer, Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The Spirit of the LORD came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge and went to war. The LORD gave Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Cushan-Rishathaim means ‘doubly-wicked blackness’. (That was my choice but Kathy liked Joel)
King of Aram simply means ‘exalted’.
Cushan’s double wickedness is in relation to his exaltation of himself. His double wickedness is extreme pride!
Israel quit being dependent upon the Lord, and in turn, were conquered by the King of pride.
Does any of this sound relevant?
The heart of our sinful nature is pride and the self-exaltation. In fact, apart from unbelief, pride would be the sin which most besets human nature.
Why would self-exaltation and pride be considered ‘double-wickedness’?
God resists the proud because the proud resist Him.
The prideful person proud does not see the importance of God’s work on behalf of mankind, he is fine without God!
Israel forgot the Lord, and in turning from Him the Lord allowed them to be dominated by that which their own hearts leans towards – prideful independence in the form of the King of Aram.
Desperate times demand a desperate cry! (After 8 years!)
‘But when they cried out to the LORD, he raised up for them a deliverer’
Othniel was Caleb’s nephew.
The name Othniel means the power of God
Othniel judged Israel first and then went to war against Cushan-Rishathaim.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon Him and he went out and defeated Cushan!
Israel forgot their need of God, the Lord allowed them to be defeated by prideful independence. God raises up a deliver named “The power of God” to remind them again of their constant need of His power.
Are you full of pride this morning?
Have you forgotten your need of God? Are you getting on just fine without HIM?
Have you begun to worship at the alters of the false deities of the surrounding nations?
Consumerism? Lust? Pleasure?
2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
What are you to do? - Repent - Cry out to your deliverer “The Power of God” and leave here gloriously free in the good news!
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
Follow Dan on twitter: @DanCormie
