Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 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. 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. The Spirit of the Lord came upon 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. So the land had peace for forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died.
Judges 3:7-11
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
This book of the bible is called Judges, named for the leaders appointed by God to save Israel after their sinfulness led the Lord to hand them over to oppressors and plunderers. In today’s passage, we meet the first judge, Othniel.
You’ll recall Othniel was Caleb’s brother and Caleb was a part of the group of spies who crossed into Canaan the first time Israel was on the brink of entering the Promised Land. Upon returning from the scouting mission, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who stood confident that the Lord would be with Israel despite the opposition that awaited them. You’ll remember that the rest of the spies convinced the people that the way ahead was too dangerous and the enemies too formidable. So the people rebelled against the Lord and His will and in return, He refused to allow them to enter Canaan. Instead, they were made to wander the desert for 40 years. Still, God never forgot Caleb’s faithfulness and once Israel, led by Joshua, did cross the Jordan and conquer the land, Caleb was given “a portion in Judah — Kiriath Arba”…better known as Hebron.
After defeating the “three Anakites — Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai”, Caleb led his men to Debir, also known as Kiriath Sepher where he said, “I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher." And this is where we meet Othniel for the first time. For scripture tells us that “Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother” defeated Kiriath Sepher and thus “Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage”. (Joshua 15:13-17) We don’t hear from Othniel again until our passage today in Judges but one can only assume that he was a faithful, trusted servant for the Lord because He raised up Othniel as a deliverer for Israel.
Why did Israel need a deliverer? Because they “did evil in the eyes of the Lord”, forgetting Him and serving false gods such as Baal and Asherah. This angered God so much that “He sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim” who kept Israel in oppression for eight years, leading to Israel crying out to the Lord for relief. And the Lord sent relief in the form of Othniel who saved them after the “Spirit of the Lord came upon him” and “gave Cushan –Rishathaim, king of Aram, into his hands. Through the Lord’s power, Othniel overpowered Israel’s oppressor, bringing peace to the land for forty years at which time Othniel died.
I got thinking about this period in the history of Israel and couldn’t help but wonder what Israel’s plight might have been if they hadn’t received a deliverer. My guess is that they would have remained in a state of perpetual hardship and oppression, suffering greatly with little or no hope for escape or rescue.
This wasn’t the first time that Israel had been in this position. You’ll recall their time in Egypt under Pharoah. It was a terrible plight for Israel with no end in sight until Moses came along…a man appointed by God to lead His people out of oppression and into freedom. Moses became Israel’s deliverer then. Othniel was there deliverer in today’s passage. And there was yet to come an even greater deliverer for God’s people…and He still delivers even today. His name is Jesus.
For Israel’s problems were deeper than being under an oppressor. I say this because it was sin that got Israel into oppression in the first place. Either unable or unwilling to stand firm against temptation, Israel decided to worship other gods, showing their total lack of faith and allegiance to the one true God…the maker of heaven and earth. It was this oppressor, sin, that Israel needed rescued from or else they would be destined to continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over and over. And this is just what happened throughout the entire Old Testament, Israel choosing disobedience over obedience and finding themselves needing deliverance over and over again.
Something needed to change. God had told Israel time and time again about how He expected them to live but they failed to listen. And so in the New Testament, He decided to send His Son Jesus…perfect like He was in every way…to walk among the people and not only tell them how to live but show them as well. He taught them to pray to the Lord asking Him to not lead them into temptation but deliver them from the evil one. (Matthew 6:13) And then He became a deliverer for all mankind…past, present and future…when He gave His life on the cross. You see the only way we could be rescued from sin was if God would send someone to free us from it…a holy deliverer powerful enough to ensure victory.
And so just as Israel was freed from the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim by their deliverer Othniel and led into freedom and peace so too are we freed from the hands of sin by Jesus Christ and led into the freedom and peace of knowing that sin has no power over us as long as we keep His Holy Spirit within us.
Question: Do you know Jesus Christ, your deliverer? Do you understand the price He paid on the cross so that you might be rescued from sin and set free to live and love and learn under the guidance of His Holy Spirit? Do you invite His Holy Spirit into your heart every second of every minute of every hour of every day?
Friends, we have good news today, even in the midst of what might seem to be an evil world we live in. We have a deliverer! Alleluia! We have freedom from sin’s bondage! Alleluia! And we have salvation through the One who not only delivered us from sin but also gave us victory over death. All we need to do is believe and trust in Him…Jesus Christ…our precious Savior, Redeemer and Friend. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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