# Judges 03 đź“–: Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] These were the nations the Lord permitted to remain so he could use them to test Israel—he wanted to test all those who had not experienced battle against the Canaanites.Â
[[#Verse 02.]]Â He left those nations simply because he wanted to teach the subsequent generations of Israelites, who had not experienced the earlier battles, how to conduct holy war.Â
[[#Verse 03.]]Â These were the nations:Â the five lords of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath.
[[#Verse 04.]] They were left to test Israel, so the Lord would know if his people would obey the commands he gave their ancestors through Moses.
[[#Verse 05.]]Â The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] They took the Canaanites’ daughters as wives and gave their daughters to the Canaanites; they worshiped their gods as well.
### Othniel: A Model Leader
[[#Verse 07.]] The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.
[[#Verse 08.]] The Lord was furious with Israel and turned them over to King Cushan Rishathaim of Armon Haraim. They were Cushan Rishathaim’s subjects for eight years.Â
[[#Verse 09.]] When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he raised up a deliverer for the Israelites who rescued them. His name was Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.Â
[[#Verse 10.]] The Lord’s Spirit empowered him and he led Israel. When he went to do battle, the Lord handed over to him King Cushan Rishathaim of Armon and he overpowered him.Â
[[#Verse 11.]]Â The land had rest for forty years; then Othniel son of Kenaz died.
### Deceit, Assassination, and Deliverance
[[#Verse 12.]] The Israelites again did evil in the Lord’s sight. The Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because they had done evil in the Lord’s sight.Â
[[#Verse 13.]] Eglon formed alliances with the Ammonites and Amalekites. He came and defeated Israel, and they seized the city of date palm trees.Â
[[#Verse 14.]] The Israelites were subject to King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.
[[#Verse 15.]] When the Israelites cried out for help to the Lord, he raised up a deliverer for them. His name was Ehud son of Gera the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent him to King Eglon of Moab with their tribute payment.Â
[[#Verse 16.]] Ehud made himself a sword—it had two edges and was 18 inches long. He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh.
[[#Verse 17.]]Â He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.)
[[#Verse 18.]]Â After Ehud brought the tribute payment, he dismissed the people who had carried it.Â
[[#Verse 19.]] But he went back once he reached the carved images at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon said, “Be quiet!” All his attendants left.Â
[[#Verse 20.]] When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated upper room all by himself. Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” When Eglon rose up from his seat,Â
[[#Verse 21.]] Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon’s belly.Â
[[#Verse 22.]] The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for Ehud did not pull the sword out of his belly.Â
[[#Verse 23.]] As Ehud went out into the vestibule, he closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.
[[#Verse 24.]] When Ehud had left, Eglon’s servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the well-ventilated inner room.”
[[#Verse 24]] When Ehud had left, Eglon’s servants came and saw the locked doors of the upper room. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the well-ventilated inner room.”
[[#Verse 25.]] They waited so long they were embarrassed, but he still did not open the doors of the upper room. Finally they took the key and opened the doors. Right before their eyes was their master, sprawled out dead on the floor!Â
[[#Verse 26.]]Â Now Ehud had escaped while they were delaying. When he passed the carved images, he escaped to Seirah.
[[#Verse 27.]] When he reached Seirah, he blew a trumpet in the Ephraimite hill country. The Israelites went down with him from the hill country, with Ehud in the lead.Â
[[#Verse 28.]] He said to them, “Follow me, for the Lord is about to defeat your enemies, the Moabites!” They followed him, captured the fords of the Jordan River opposite Moab, and did not let anyone cross.Â
[[#Verse 29.]] That day they killed about 10,000 Moabites—all strong, capable warriors; not one escaped.Â
[[#Verse 30.]]Â Israel humiliated Moab that day, and the land had rest for eighty years.
[[#Verse 31.]] After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. He killed 600 Philistines with an oxgoad. So he also delivered Israel.
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
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###### Verse 24
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###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Othniel is the only judge from the tribe of Judah and the first judge named in the book (3:9).
2. Cushan-Rishathaim's name means something like "Cushan of double wickedness," possibly a mocking nickname.
3. Aram Naharaim (3:8) means "Aram of the two rivers," a region in northern Mesopotamia.
4. Ehud was from Benjamin, a name meaning "son of the right hand," yet he was left-handed. The Hebrew literally describes him as restricted in his right hand.
5. Benjamin later had 700 left-handed soldiers who could sling a stone at a hair and not miss (20:16).
6. The word for the length of Ehud's dagger (*gomed*, 3:16) appears only here in the Bible, so its exact measurement is uncertain.
7. Eglon's name sounds like the Hebrew word for "calf," and the text notes he was very fat (3:17).
8. The City of Palm Trees (3:13) is Jericho (Deuteronomy 34:3).
9. After Ehud's victory the land had rest for eighty years (3:30), the longest period of peace recorded in Judges.
10. An oxgoad (3:31) was a long pointed stick used to drive oxen, sometimes tipped with metal.
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Deliverer God raises up when His people cry out (3:9, 15). Like Ehud, He came in unexpected weakness, yet He defeated the enemy (1 Corinthians 1:27-28; Colossians 2:15).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. God left nations in the land to teach a new generation about war and to test them (3:1-4). How does God use battles to grow our faith?
2. The Spirit of the Lord came on Othniel (3:10). Why is God's Spirit essential to any real victory?
3. Ehud's left hand became his advantage (3:15-21). How might God use something that makes you different?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verses 9-10: The Lord raises up Othniel, and His Spirit comes upon him.
- đź“– verse 15: The Lord raises up Ehud, a left-handed Benjaminite.
- đź“– verse 31: Shamgar strikes down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
## đź”— Related Passages/Cross Reference
- đź”— [[1 Corinthians 01#Verse 27.|1 Corinthians 1:27-29]] - God chooses the weak to shame the strong.
- đź”— [[Judges 20#Verse 16.|Judges 20:16]] - Benjamin's left-handed slingers.
- đź”— [[Joshua 15#Verse 17.|Joshua 15:17]] - Othniel captures Kiriath Sepher.
- đź”— [[2 Corinthians 12#Verse 09.|2 Corinthians 12:9-10]] - God's power is made perfect in weakness.
- đź”— [[Psalm 106#Verse 43.|Psalm 106:43-45]] - God delivered them many times.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Judges 03 - SOAP|God Made You The Way You Are For A Reason]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes