Study Questions:

1. With whom did God want to test Israel? Judges 3:1, 3

2. What was God’s purpose in testing His people? Judges 3:4

3. What was the response of the children of Israel to these tests and what results did they experience? Judges 3:6, 7, 8; 4:1, 2

Commentary and Reflection:

A reading of this story reveals the surprising way in which God works to rescue us from sin and at the same time how risky it is to settle for a partial victory. Often, we tend to come up with excuses in our Christian walk, just like those we find in Joshua 13:13; 15:63; 16:10; 17:12. In these verses, there is always a ‘but’ that informs us about those nations that simply were not expelled. Despite this reality, God had a plan that would allow them to grow in faithfulness and dependence on Him.

The children of Israel were rebellious and indifferent to both God and His Word, and as a result, their hearts were conquered by the gods of their enemies. When they turned away from the true God, Psalm 106:34-42 tells us that they served the gods of those nations, destroying both their own lives and those of their sons and daughters, and as a result, the wrath of God came upon them.

The narrative of chapters three and four presents the years of slavery and bitterness that the Israelites had to suffer because of their wrongdoing. The Lord taught them to obey in a strange way when He strengthened Eglon, king of Moab (3:12). Nevertheless, He never abandoned them, but also raised up liberators from among them like Ehud and Shamgar (3:15, 31). However, they did evil again, and God delivered them into the hands of Jabin, king of Canaan, and Sisera, who was the captain of his army. On this occasion, He did not abandon them either, but raised up Deborah and Barak to deliver them from oppression. We read the following in Psalm 83:9, 10, ” Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera,
As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon, Who perished at En Dor, Who became as refuse on the earth.” In this plea, the psalmist asks God to destroy his enemies in the same way He had done in the past, referring to chapter four of Judges.

Take time today to thank God for the countless times He has had mercy on you. Let Him use what you have at hand, just as He did with Shamgar. Decide like Deborah and Barak to do His work. Love God, obey Him, and move forward even when others retreat. He did it in the past, and He is willing to do it through us today.

May you be greatly blessed by Him on this day.