A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

attlefield or in spiritual realms. Many times a judge could determine the will of God for the
people, hence his name. None of the judges ruled over all Israel. They usually were leaders of
two or three tribes, and their sequence in the Book of Judges is not always chronological.
Sometimes they overlapped.
OTHNIEL AND THE DEFEAT OF CUSHAN
(Jud. 3:7-11) (1359-1319 B.C.)
Because Israel turned from worshiping God to worshiping the idols of Baal and
Ashtoreth (Jud. 2:13) and engaged in intermarriage contrary to the command of God (3:6), God
raised up a Mesopotamian king named Cushan to rule over Israel for eight years. The Scripture
identifies this king as “Cushan-Rishathaim,” but it appears his personal name was Cushan. The
expression rishathaim means “dirty double-crosser.” That this designation appears so often in the
biblical record with the name Cushan suggests Israel may have at one time formed an alliance
with Cushan who then “double-crossed” them forcing them into servitude. If that were the case,
this bondage was the fruit of compromise on the part of Israel.
Toward the end of the eight-year period of bondage, “the Lord raised up a deliverer for
the Children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother”
(v. 9). Of all the men and women. God chose to judge Israel, Othniel was the strongest.
Throughout the course of the book, there seems to be a progressive decline in the effectiveness
of the judges until Samson is unable to completely defeat his enemy, the Philistines. Also, this
judge would seem like the most logical choice of a judge from a human perspective. He had won
the hand of Caleb’s daughter in marriage as the result of an earlier military victory and is closely
identified with his father-in-law in Scripture who was certainly among the greatest men of faith
in his generation.
In the case of each of the major judges in this book, the Scripture draws attention to some
feature which would have been a liability in the context of their society.
Othniel was endued with power when “the Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (v. 10) and
went to war against the Mesopotamian king. The Scriptures record nothing about the battle
except that Othniel was victorious and has defeat of Cushan-Rishathaim resulted in a forty-year
rest for the land. “Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died” (v. 11).
EHUD AND THE DEFEAT OF EGLON
(Jud. 3:12-31) (1301-12:1 B.C.)
Again Israel turned from God, causing God to raise up an oppressor against His people.
The particular nature of the sin of Israel during this period of rebellion is not revealed in