(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Judges 3:1–7, “Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves.”
While Israel chose to make agreements with other nations, in spite of their exclusive agreement with the Lord, the Lord didn’t completely reject them. We have a catalogue of the people who were not driven out showing that the Lord was still in overall control. This section gives us a reminder of the Lord’s words during Moses farewell speech on the banks of the River Jordan. The first reminder was the fact that the Lord didn’t choose Israel because they were better than the other people but because the Lord loved them, had integrity and was faithful to His own promises. (Deut 7:7–8, “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.) Secondly, the Lord reminded them of the specific reason for individual circumstances. (Deut 8:2–3, 16, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live… “Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;” Even during the time of the Judges, the Lord was intent on humbling Israel, the Lord doesn’t humble His people to make them feel bad about themselves but so that they will feel good about God. The Lord also was teaching Israel that His word was His final communication with them so that they would know everything that they needed to know about getting the best personal and corporate advantage from their relationship with the Lord. The Lord, also let them know that He was working so that things would be good when everything was finalised. In spite of this, Israel, like all the rest of the world, proved to be slow learners and the Lord had to be patient as He kept teaching them how to take advantage of His lovingkindness.
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