The Path of the Lion (Othniel, Judges part 1)

Othniel: The Path of the Lion

1. Judges has been called “The worst book of the Bible.”

2. The latter part of Joshua centers on the distribution of land. Joshua lead the nation to take strategic strongholds, and then it was up to each tribe to take hold of the land they’d been given. Judges is supposed to be the story of each tribe taking what belongs to them; but instead, it’s a book of monumental failure.

3. Judges tells the story of faith passed down. What happens when a once great nation forgets her roots?

4. We’ve all seen people wander. Judges 1-3 shows us the danger of spiritual pigg-backing. You cannot ride on someone else’s back spiritually forever. The old generation can only carry you so far.

Text: Judges 1-3

I. They Start Out Strong.

A. Judah and Simeon fight a regional powerhouse named “Adoni Bezek.”

Once captured, they cut off his thumbs and big toes. This has a military purpose in preventing him from running or wielding a sword. But he makes it clear in his own confession that that’s exactly what he did to kings he conquered. So this is actually divine vengeance. “so God has repaid me.” (Judges 1:7)

B. Caleb:

• One of the original spies. The other ten (besides Caleb and Joshua) said they could not inhabit the promised land because there were “giants” in the land. In particular descendants of Anak. In Judges 1:20, Caleb personally drove the three sons of Anak from the hill country Joshua had given him.
• Caleb offers his daughter Acsah to the man who conquers Kiriath-sepher. His family member Othniel takes the city and is rewarded with the marriage to Acsah. She tells him to ask for a field, but Caleb does not give them water rights. So, she personally goes and asks her father for the water rights.
• Acsah means “ankle bracelet.”
• Othniel is referred to as Caleb’s brother. However, Caleb and Othniel had different fathers. “brother” in Hebrew can just refer to close family member.

II. The Path of Wanderer:

What happens when the old generation passes? Those brought up in the faith, in the church, in the word will either personalize their faith and dig deeper, or they will wander. The generation after Caleb and Joshua never personalized their walk with God, they just wandered from one god to the next.

Consider these insights to the path of the wanderer:

1. (Joshua 1:19) Judah does not take their land because the inhabitants have chariots of iron. Of course, chariots of iron are no problem for the lord; at that moment Pharoah’s chariots were rusting on the flood of the Red Sea. When Judah had to face the reality of war, and not just hear old war stories from Joshua and Caleb, they cowered away in fear.

2.

• (Joshua 1:22, Joshua 1:26, Joshua 1:21, Joshua 1:28, Joshua 1:32, Joshua 1:33, Joshua 1:34)
• Notice the troops from Joseph come to Luz but need insights to take the city. They let a man go for information. But that man just builds another city called Luz in the land of the Hittites. They were supposed to destroy everything. By not fulfilling the command to the letter, they city literally just moved to another spot.
• Luz is really Bethel, the place where Jacob saw the ladder between heaven and earth.
• In chapter 2 the Angel of the Lord goes to Gilgal and walks to Bochim. Gilgal is where the nation made covenant with God by circumcising. Bochim is in the hill country and means weeping.
• After the Lord’s sermon, the people “bochim” (weep) and call the place “weepers.”

3.

• It twice they “abandon” the Lord. (Joshua 2:12, Joshua 2:13)
• In 2:5 they were repenting. 7 verses later they “abandon” the Lord. What happened in 7 verses? Joshua died. When a spiritual leader dies, it’s easy to slide away.

III. The Path of the Lion:

Judges 2:16 introduces the role of Judges. Yahweh raised up “Shoftim” which means, “Judge” or Deliverer.” There are 12 judges in the book of Judges, a total of 14 judges in the Bible because Eli and Samuel were also Judges.

Notes on Othniel:

• Othniel is the first Judge.
• His name means, “Lion of God.”
• He is the only judge from Judah.
• From Othniel comes a line of warriors. One of David’s mighty men in 1 Chronicles 27 (Heldai) traces his line back to Othniel.

The Path of a Warrior:

1. The Lord Orchestrates (Judges 3:8-9)

• Sold = Hebrew, “MKR” means to “Hand over.” It’s an economic term for transferring ownership.
• The enemy is from Cush.
• ‘Rishathaim’ means “double-wickedness”
• He is a lion from Judah. (The lion from Judah, prophesied in Gen. 49:9)
• Othniel was raised by to be a judge after the 8^th year of Bondage. 8 in Biblical numerology represents Resurrection. God raised the nation back to life, raised up the deliverer, on the 8^th year of their bondage.

2. The Holy Spirit (Judges 3:10)

• God’s spirit was on Othniel.
• Though the nation abandoned God, the Lord did not abandon them.

3. The Lord brings His (Judges 3:10)

Othniel went out in war and did what had been impossible for eight years; he defeated Cushan-rishathaim. Note that he was capable because “the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim… into his hand.”

4. The Godhead gives us (Judges 3:11)

• God will not give you rest if you’re playing with sin. God’s peace is a gift bestowed to the righteous. Those committed to sin might have fun for a season, but they will not have peace.
• Othniel ruled for 40 years. He did not just win a battle and quit, he lived in the victory. In those 40 years, there were still problems; there were still conflict and still enemies from the outside. But Othniel had peace in dealing with those problems because he was faithful to the Lord.

Questions for reflection:

1. Piggy-backing anyone’s walk? Are you following the Lord because your heart hungers for Him, or because someone else wants you to follow him?

2. Is there any perpetual sin you have not yet been broken of?

3. DO you have rest?