Judges 3: Gruesome Judges

Judges 3: Nations Remaining in the Land / Othniel / Ehud / Shamgar

We begin the tale of the judges of Israel with three judges in particular

Nations Remaining in the Land: Judges 3.1-6
The nations that are left in Canaan are listed, but the reason for their their existence (and therefore Israel's failure to drive them out in the Joshua generation) is the matter of some debate. The biblical author asserts that the Canaanites are there to test the Israelites. But the first reason given in verse 2 is that the new generation should learn war. Verse 4, however, asserts that these people are there "for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their ancestors by Moses" (Judg. 3.4). So are the foreign people there to tempt the Israelites or to teach them war? Or both?

Or perhaps both are true, because living among the people inevitably leads to warfare, as described in the unfaithfulness cycle:

1. The Israelites abandon the Lord, the God of their ancestors, for other gods (also known as apostasy
2. The Lord is angered
3. The Lord gives the Israelites over to their enemies (the Israelites are plundered, enslaved, etc.) as he promised.
4. The Lord raises up a judge to save the Israelites
5. The Israelites
1. Listen to the judge and be delivered from their enemies by the hand of the Lord
2. Do not listen and suffer the consequences
6. The judge dies
7. The people relapse and behave worse than their ancestors.

The Israelites are prone to lapses in judgement, according to the biblical author. Through intermarriage, or exogamy they find themselves lapsing into the worst sin, apostasy (the worship of foreign gods).

Othniel Judges 3.7-11
Check out the unfaithfulness cycle in action: The Israelites forget the Lord and worship other gods (Baal and the Asherahs*). The Lord becomes angry and sells them to King Cushan-rishathaim of Aram-naharaim, whom they serve eight years. When the Israelites cry out to the Lord, the Lord gives them a deliverer: Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. With the spirit of the Lord upon him, Othniel leads the people in war against Cushan-rishathaim, and the land has rest for forty years.

*Baal is a Canaanite storm god. Asherah is a Canaanite fertility goddess.

Ehud: Judges 3.12-30
The Judges of Israel have remarkably rich and gruesome stories attached to them. Case in point: Ehud.

After the Israelites again fall out of God's favor, King Eglon defeats the nation so that the Israelites must serve him 18 years. When they finally cry out to the Lord, the left-handed Benjaminite (this detail is important) comes to deliver Israel. Ehud constructs a double-edged sword, one cubit in length, and conceals it by fastening it to his right thigh. [Note: Normally people would wear a sword on the left side, so that it could be easily grabbed with the right hand.]

Ehud presents tribute to King Eglon - a very fat man - in Moab. When the tribute is finished, Ehud sends his people away, goes with them a short way, and then returns to tell the king he has a secret. King Eglon sends his people away so that the two of them are alone.

Ehud approaches King Eglon, who is sitting alone in his cool roof chamber, and tells him, "I have a message from God for you." When King Eglon stands, Ehud grabs the concealed sword and drives it to the hilt into King Eglon's belly, at which point King Eglon loses control of his bowels [literally: "and the dirt came out"]. Ehud exits and locks the door behind him.

King Eglon's servants approach, are tipped off by the smell, and sheepishly wait for him to come out from relieving himself in the room. When they become embarrassed, they open the door to find their Lord lying dead on the floor. [This story really makes an effort to embarrass those pesky Moabites!]

By this point Ehud has escaped and sends the Israelites down to the Land of the Moabites. They siege the fords of the Jordan so no one may cross, and kill ten thousand Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men.

Ehud seems to have been a better judge than Othniel, for after him the land has rest for eight years, twice that of his predecessor.

Shamgar: Judges 3.31
Sometimes at the end of a post or after a particularly difficult day I just don't feel like writing anymore. It's a good thing that Shamgar only gets a two-sentence treatment by the biblical author:

"After him came Shamgar son of Anath, who killed six hundred of the Philistines with an oxgoad. He too delivered Israel."

Why is his description so short? We don't know for sure, but it might have something to do with the fact that his name isn't Semitic. Perhaps he was a mercenary? In any case, his name rounds out the number of judges to a "perfect" twelve.

Oh, and killing six-hundred Philistines with an oxgoad? That's pretty awesome. That's some Chuck Norris stuff right there.