Judges 3 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage:  Judges 3:7-11

A. Find Out

1. How did Israel behave? v.7

2. How did God respond? v.8

3. How did Israel eventually react? v.9a

4. So what did God do? v.9b

5. How did the Lord enable him? v.10

6. What was the result? v.11

B. Think:

1. How did Israel sin?

2. How was God’s grace revealed?

3. What was the cycle observed?

C. Comment:

We find here a cycle that will become very familiar in this book. Israel reject the Lord, the Lord allows them to be oppressed, Israel eventually cry out to the Lord, the Lord raises up a deliverer in the form of a Spirit-empowered judge, and peace reigns. Let’s observe those here.

What terrible words, “Israel forgot the Lord!” So easy to read and so easy to do in the midst of a busy and hectic life in the twenty first century! Because they forgot the Lord they ended up worshipping the gods of the people around them. Again so easy to do! Do we worship the gods of materialism, ambition, prestige, prosperity and status?

The consequence? God’s anger came against them in a very specific way. God doesn’t just feel angry, He does something about it. When God is angry with His people it is because of their stupidity which has led them into sin, and so He brings a form of discipline that will eventually drive them back into His arms, into the blessing of life and blessing again. In this case it is a king from the northwest and it takes eight years of this for them to come to their senses and cry out to God. God’s answer is to send His Spirit upon Othniel, a descendant of Caleb, who rises up and delivers Israel so they have peace throughout the following forty years of his life.  The Spirit presumably stirred Othniel  to reject the present circumstances and fight.  Hullo?

D. Application:

1. God’s discipline is always to bring us back to Him. Do it quickly.

2. Note that when God delivers it is often by the power of His Spirit.

Passage:  Judges 3:12-31

A. Find Out

1. Who now came against Israel, and why? v.12-14

2. What did Israel then do and how did God respond? v.15

3. What was Ehud sent to do and how did he prepare? v.15b-18

4. What did he do? v.19-22

5. How did he manage to escape? v.23-26

6. So what did he go on to do? v.27-30

7. Who followed Ehud and what did he do? v.31

B. Think:

1. How is the cycle seen again?

2. What was Ehud’s first step in delivering Israel?

3. What was his second step?

C. Comment:

After Othniel dies, Israel again fall away from the Lord and so again the Lord lifts away his hand of protection and Moab, from the east of the Jordan, come and oppress them. Eventually they cry out to the Lord and so the Lord sends them another deliverer. This time we aren’t told how the Lord prompted him, but somehow Ehud finds himself in the forefront of the affairs of Israel. He is sent to pay tribute to Eglon, the king of Moab and cutting a long story short, he kills Eglon. The king was the all-important figurehead of Moab and so once he has been killed Moab are vulnerable.

Thus having dealt with the king, Ehud goes on to deal with the people. Arriving back in Ephraim’s territory, calls the people to follow him and oppose the Moabites who are in their land. This they do and the land has peace from the enemy for eighty years. After Ehud, comes another judge, Shamgar who continues to deal with the enemy, in the south east this time. Peace continues.

In Ehud we see a leader exercising leadership. He goes into a situation where he is subservient, but prepared to put the enemy leader to death. Having done that he is in a position to call the people to follow him to continue the work through. Lead, then you can call followers.

D. Application:

1. Deal with the head of the problem first.

2. Having done that, you’re then ready to clear away the rest.