As Chapter 3 opened we were told that many members of the new generation of Israelites living in the promised land fell prey to the seductive lure of idolatry.
The Lord promised the Israelites that no enemy could stand before them if they would remain faithful to Him. Likewise, He warned them that they would not be able to stand before their enemies if they do not remain faithful to Him. "If you follow My decrees and are careful to obey My commands...I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you...But if you will not listen to Me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject My decrees and abhor My laws and fail to carry out all My commands and so violate My covenant...I will set My face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you." (Leviticus 26:3,6-8,14-15,17)
In today's passage, as we learn about the first judge of Israel, we find the Lord's warning coming true. Some of the new generation chose not to follow His decrees and obey His commands. As discipline He allows an enemy to gain the upper hand over them for a time. "The Israelites did evil in the sight 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-Rishahaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years." (Judges 3:7-8)
Nothing is known of this king outside of the Bible; or rather, he is not known by the name of "Cushan-Rishahaim" outside of the Bible. The name by which he is called in the Bible means "double wickedness" or "twice evil", which is probably a derogatory title given to him by the Israelites or by his other enemies. No details are provided to us about how he managed to make the Israelites his subjects for eight years but these details weren't as important to the author of Judges as the reason for Israel's subjugation: their unfaithfulness to the Lord.
When we are unfaithful to the Lord, unpleasant circumstances are going to befall us sooner or later. There are natural consequences to living in opposition to God's holy laws, for one thing. For another thing, He disciplines His children. If we do not heed His voice of warning and keep rushing toward danger, He will have to do something to cause us associate unpleasant circumstances with our disobedience. Our earthly parents often had to resort to causing us to associate an unpleasant circumstance with our disobedience (a timeout, the removal of a privilege, etc.) and the Lord, who is a good Father, employs similar methods to impress upon us the importance of not making the same mistakes over and over. In our passage today we find the Lord bringing an unpleasant circumstance upon Israel: becoming subject to a heathen king. The Lord allowed this circumstance to continue for eight years, perhaps because it took eight years for widescale repentance to occur. When the Lord allows unpleasant circumstances for correction, He only leaves us in those circumstances as long as is necessary.
"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." (Judges 3:9) The first judge of Israel is Caleb's nephew and son-in-law, Othniel. Othniel already demonstrated his bravery and his faithfulness to the Lord when he led the charge to attack the heavily fortified city of Debir (also known as Kiriath Sepher) in Joshua 15.
Othniel is still a brave man who is still faithful to the Lord. "The Spirit of the Lord came on 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 3:10-11) This victory was so decisive that no enemy dared trouble Israel for the remainder of Othniel's lifetime. He led the nation as judge for forty years after winning this battle.
As we move through the Old Testament we'll find a number of the people falling into idolatry a number of times. But the Lord always has a remnant who are faithful to Him. Othniel is an example of this, as are those who followed him into battle. More importantly, though, we find that the Lord is always faithful to Israel. He never turned His back on Israel and walked away, no matter how many times a portion of the people turned their backs on Him. Though some of the people violated the terms of their covenant with Him, He never violated the terms of His covenant with them. Many of the promises of the Bible are conditional upon man's faithfulness but some of them are conditional only upon the faithfulness of God. He made a covenant promise long ago to Abraham to make a great nation---a chosen people---of Abraham's descendants. This promise was not conditional upon anything Abraham did or didn't do. It was conditional only upon the faithfulness of God.
He has been faithful to you and to me as well. I am in a covenant relationship with God the Father through God the Son, and although I have failed Him a number of times, He's never turned His back on me and walked away. My inclusion in the family of God depends solely on what Christ did on the cross; I did nothing to save myself (other than to believe) and it is Christ who keeps me saved. My heavenly Father has to correct my behavior from time to time but He has never disowned me. Nor will He. My salvation doesn't hinge on perfectly keeping every law and commandment (which I cannot do) but it hinges on the One who did perfectly keep every law and commandment and who gave His life for me and who rose in victory from the grave to prove that His sacrifice on my behalf was enough once and for all.
In the Bible we see the depravity of man clearly illustrated. We see the unfaithfulness of man on display. But at the same time we see the holiness of God clearly illustrated. We find the faithfulness and goodness of God on display. It is only because of His faithfulness and His goodness that we have obtained mercy and forgiveness. It is only because of His great love that He offers us a means of salvation.
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