Judges 3:7-11 – Othniel
As the generation who could remember the mighty acts of the LORD in the days of Moses and Joshua was passing away, the younger generations forgot the LORD and turned to the worship of false gods. (As we saw yesterday, this was made worse by the fact that many of them had a pagan parent). Particularly popular was the worship of the many versions of the god Baal and the goddess Ashtoreth or Asherah. For this faithlessness, God gave them over to Cushan-rishathaim (whose name means “Cushan of the double crime”), a king from Mesopotamia. After eight years of oppression under this king, the Israelites cried out to the LORD for deliverance. God sent them Othniel.
In chapter one, we encountered Othniel who captured the town of Debir and thereby won the hand of Achsah daughter of Caleb in marriage. We noted then that God was preparing Othniel through these valiant deeds to serve Him as the first of the judges whom He would use to rescue the Israelites from their oppressors. We are told “The Spirit of the LORD was upon him,” meaning that God specially conferred upon Othniel the strength, wisdom and authority he needed to lead Israel to victory. He defeated Cushan-rishathaim and liberated Israel from his oppression.
Othniel and the other judges whom God sends as deliverer foreshadow the great Deliverer, Jesus Christ. When we cry out to Him in sorrow at our sins, Jesus delivers us from the oppression of sin and death
Questions
- Why did God give Israel over to be ruled by Cushan-rishathaim?
- Why did He send Othniel to deliver them?
- Whom does Othniel foreshadow?
Prayer Points
- Thank God that He has sent us a Deliverer, Jesus Christ.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.