Judges 3 (Listen)
3:1 Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. 3 These are the nations: the five lords of the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. 4 They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. 5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
Othniel
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. 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. 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. 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. 11 So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
Ehud
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. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen 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. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit1 in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 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. 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. 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. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch2 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.” 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.
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. 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. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Shamgar
31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.
Footnotes
[1] 3:16
[2] 3:23
(ESV)
Judges 3 Commentary
Judges 3 describes how the Lord left certain nations in Canaan to test Israel. These foreign nations would help determine Israel’s faithfulness to His commands. Despite this, the Israelites intermarried with the surrounding nations and adopted their gods which angered the Lord. As a result, He allowed them to be oppressed by foreign rulers.
When they cried out, God raised up judges. First, Othniel, empowered by the Spirit of the Lord, defeated King Cushan-rishathaim, bringing peace for 40 years. Later, after falling into sin again, the Israelites were oppressed by King Eglon of Moab for 18 years. God then raised Ehud, a left-handed Benjaminite, who cleverly assassinated Eglon with a concealed sword and rallied Israel to defeat the Moabites, securing 80 years of peace. At the end of Judges 3, Shamgar delivered Israel by striking down 600 Philistines with a cattle prod.
“Moved To Pity”
It is important to realize the difference between Joshua and Judges. In Joshua, the entire nation was united under one leader, with God’s presence among them all. In Judges, however, leadership is divided among many individuals, and God’s presence rests specifically on these leaders rather than the nation as a whole (Judges 2:18). While several minor judges are mentioned, their ministries are only briefly noted, providing little detail.
This is important because it shows the grace and mercy of God. Although Israel did exactly what God told them not to do, He still responded to their cries for deliverance. Judges 2:18 states that the Lord was “moved to pity.” Some people will never depend on the Lord unless the circumstances dictate such a dependence because humans are hard-wired to follow their own ways. God desires a consistent, submissive relationship, just like Jesus demonstrated.
Othniel – The First Judge
Othniel was a courageous warrior from the tribe of Judah. He is the son of Kenaz and the younger brother (or relative) of Caleb. In Joshua 15:16-17 and Judges 1:12-13, Caleb promises his daughter Achsah in marriage to whoever conquers Kiriath-Sepher (Debir). Othniel accepted the challenge, captured the city, and married Achsah. These qualities set the stage for Othniel’s role as Israel’s first judge here in Judges 3.
God gave Israel what they wanted. They were lured into idolatry by the people of Mesopotamia and it took 8 years before they cried out to the Lord in regret for the path they had chosen. This is true today. It often takes us many years of straying from God before we realize how far we have drifted. After Othniel delivered Israel, there was peace in the land for 40 years.
Ehud – The Left-Handed Warrior
The text tells us the Israelites once again slipped into idolatry. This time it was under the rule of King Eglon of Moab. He convinced the Ammonites and the Amalekites to join forces with him and together they conquered the city of Jericho. Israel suffered for even longer than before – eighteen years of bondage.
In many ancient cultures, the right hand was associated with strength, favor, and cleanliness while the left hand was often linked to weakness, misfortune, or impurity. Cultural preferences for right-handedness influenced practices in education, combat, and daily life. Left-handedness, as in the case of Ehud, was sometimes seen as a rare and strategic advantage. In this case, it is possible that no one suspected Ehud to be carrying a sword since he would have strapped it to the opposite side of his body as compared to a right-handed warrior.
Because Israel was under the rule of King Eglon, they had to pay him. Ehud brought a gift to King Eglon of Moab, claiming to have a secret message from God. King Eglon’s obesity symbolized his greed and indulgence on extorted tribute (most likely grain/produce). In many ways, he symbolized a sacrificial animal. His gullibility further exposed him, as Ehud easily deceived him, prompting Eglon to dismiss his guards and rise to receive what he believed was a divine message.
There is irony in the fact that Ehud uses a double-edged dagger to deliver the “message,” exploiting Eglon’s physical and mental shortcomings. The Bible, of course, uses the same analogy for God’s Word (Heb 4:12). The servants mistakenly think Eglon is relieving himself, delaying their discovery of his death. The Moabite troops, fleeing for their lives, are intercepted and completely defeated by Israel under Ehud’s leadership, securing peace for 80 years.
The lesson here is that Ehud’s great faith in God delivered Israel from their enemy because he trusted God to lead him and inspired the Israelites to do the same. Through faith, God gave them victory and broke the enemy’s oppression. Ehud exemplifies the power of trusting God, showing that faith is essential for victory as Scripture promises blessings to those who genuinely trust Him.
Shamgar And The Ox Goad
I have a friend who preached an entire sermon on this one verse in the Bible! We don’t know much about Shamgar, but he is described as a minor judge of Israel who succeeded Ehud. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Shamgar single-handedly killed 600 Philistines with a cattle prod and delivered Israel from their enemies.
The Philistines were not native to Canaan. They were most likely part of the Sea Peoples from Anatolia and the Mediterranean who arrived in Canaan in the 12th-11th centuries BC and eventually formed the Philistine Pentapolis, a federation of five cities: Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. The Philistines formed cooperative relations with the Canaanites but clashed with the Israelites, whom they saw as rivals. The Bible recounts many ferocious battles with the Philistines.
Application
As I mentioned in the beginning, Judges 3 highlights the fact that the Lord decided to allow these nations to rule over Israel and bring them into a state of dependence. This reminds me of 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul writes about the “thorn in his flesh.”
“If I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will not boast, because I do not want any of you to have a higher opinion of me than you have as a result of what you have seen me do and heard me say. [7] But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan’s messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.
[8] Three times I prayed to the Lord about this and asked him to take it away. [9] But his answer was: “My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.” I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ’s power over me. [10] I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:6-10 GNB
The purpose of Paul’s “thorn” served the same purpose as the enemy nations to Israel. They were not meant to paralyze or overcome them, but to keep them humble and dependent. It is amazing to consider that God may be doing the same thing in our lives today. There may be things in our lives that we see as a hindrance, when, in reality, God is allowing them in order to draw us closer to Him.
There are often things we wish we could rid ourselves of, but we still have to carry them. These aren’t necessarily sins, but rather unpleasant circumstances that we feel hinder us. However, God will sometimes permit these challenges to remain in our lives in order to keep us humble and help us grow. Through them, He enables us to function more effectively for His purposes.
The last point to consider here is that the Lord hears our prayers and out of His incredible grace and mercy, He is moved to action. This chapter alone is motivation to cry out to God with our deepest needs, for He is not a God who is far or distant. He is an intimate God who loves His children.
