Othniel, the Judge

Judges 3:9-11

The book of Judges makes for pretty grim reading. The nation of Israel gets into a cycle of rebellion against God which leads them to idolatry. God then hands them over to other nations as a sign of His judgement and the nation is oppressed by foreign rulers. The people eventually remember God and cry out to Him. He sends a judge to deliver them from their enemies. The nation is then at peace again until the cycle re-runs itself.

Although it is fairly depressing to read of a people who never seem to learn and whose commitment to God seems fleeting at best, the judges do point us to Jesus. To illustrate this we shall look briefly at the first judge, Othniel.

Othniel was the man whom God raised up to deliver the people from the oppression of Cushan-rishathaim (v8). We read that Othniel was filled with the Spirit of God: ‘The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel’ (v10). Othniel led the people into battle and they won back their freedom. He demonstrated God-ordained, Spirit-empowered leadership. God sent Othniel to rescue His people from oppression.

The role of the judge was to deliver the nation but then also lead or judge the people in the time of freedom and peace which followed the overthrow of the oppressor. We read in verse 11 that ‘the land had rest [or peace] forty years’. The legacy of Othniel was a generation of peace. A sign of the kingdom of God is peace (Romans 14:17) and so whenever His kingdom breaks out it is accompanied with peace.

Jesus, like Othniel, was sent by God to rescue people from bondage. Jesus did this in the power of the Holy Spirit (e.g. see Luke 4:14). At the end of time Jesus will judge in righteousness the world and usher in an everlasting kingdom of eternal peace.

So when we read of the God-sent, Spirit-filled judges who bring about temporary freedom from bondage and a reign of peace in the nation of Israel why not look for a glimpse of Jesus who will ultimately usher in a kingdom rule of perfect freedom and peace?

Further reading:      Revelation 20:11-21:4

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To think about:
Do you experience God’s peace in your life? Do you take this kingdom peace to others e.g. at work, in school, outside of the church? What does this look like?

Creative Response:

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