Judges 3:1-12

Here is a list of the nations that YAHWEH permitted to remain in the land so he could use them to test the Israelites who had not known what it was like during the Canaanite wars. He wanted the succeeding generations of Israel, who had not known war before, to learn the art of warfare. So he left in the land the five Philistine principalities and all the Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon as far as Lebo Hamath. They remained in the land to test Israel to see if they would obey YAHWEH’s commands that Moses had given to their ancestors. So the Israelites settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons; and the Israelites served their false gods. The Israelites did what was evil in YAHWEH’s sight. They ignored YAHWEH their God, and they served the Baal gods and the Asherah goddesses. Therefore YAHWEH’s blazing anger rose up against them. He surrendered them to Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia. He kept the Israelites in bondage to him for eight years. Then the Israelites, with shattered hearts, cried out to YAHWEH for mercy, and he answered them by raising up a champion-deliverer to rescue them, Othniel. He was Caleb’s nephew, the son of his younger brother Kenaz. And the Spirit of YAHWEH was upon him and empowered him to liberate Israel from bondage. He became Israel’s champion and went out to war, and YAHWEH delivered into his hands Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia. Othniel overpowered him, and after the land had peace for forty years, Othniel the son of Kenaz died. The Israelites again did what was evil in YAHWEH’s sight, and because they did what was offensive to YAHWEH, he gave King Eglon of Moab power over Israel.

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