Judges 3 Devotional

Rescue from Unlikely Hands

“But when the Israelites cried out to the LORD, He raised up Othniel son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz as a deliverer to save them.”Judges 3:9 (BSB)

Chapter 3 runs the cycle three times. Israel intermarries with the nations around them and serves their gods (3:6-7). God sells them to Cushan-rishathaim, they cry out, and he raises up Othniel, on whom the Spirit of the LORD comes (3:9-10). Again they do evil and fall under Moab. Again they cry out, and God raises up Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, whose hidden sword ends Eglon's reign in a scene the text tells bluntly (3:15-22). Then Shamgar saves Israel with an oxgoad (3:31).

What stands out is how little Israel brings to their own rescue. The text never says they repented, only that they cried out, and each time God answered. He chose the deliverers, sent his Spirit, and handed the enemy over (3:10, 3:28). The tools are odd and the men ordinary, which keeps the credit where it belongs. God's mercy is not a prize for people who finally get everything right. It is his answer to people in trouble who call on him, and you may call on him today.

To think about: What trouble have you been trying to escape on your own instead of crying out to God about it?