(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Judges 3:8–11, “Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years. And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushanrishathaim. And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.”
There are many people who say that this section shows that the Lord God is both brutal and cruel because of the vicious things that happen during this episode in history. However, this section has to be read in context. From the beginning of His relationship with mankind, the Lord has offered us the choice of enjoying His will. The Lord is gracious, knowing that if we choose to enjoy His love them we will have a greater appreciation of His love. On the other hand, if the Lord just forced us to enjoy His love them that extra level of pleasure would be denied us. This is all about allowing to take full advantage of the Lord’s goodness. The Lord also demonstrates prefect integrity throughout His ongoing relationship with His people and giving us what we choose, even though the process is inevitable it is slow and gracious. Before the Spirit of the Lord began to move the earth was chaotic, confused, random and arbitrary. (Gen 1:2, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”) When the Lord finished that work everything was perfect, predictable and orderly. (Gen 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”) The book of Judges contrast the good and order of obeying the Lord with the evil and chaos of rejecting the Lord. The Lord is entirely innocent of any of the evil or chaos because it comes in the context of His absence. In this section we see a simple statement of the underlying premise: Israel rejected the Lord and He gave them their choice. The king of Mesopotamia came and occupied Israel so that they could see what it was like to be outside the Lord’s ordered protection. After a while, Israel realised what was going on and cried out in their agony, the Lord heard this cry and raised a leader to deliver them and bring them back to the Lord. This leader, Othniel restored the contract and Israel enjoyed the Lord’s order for forty years.
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