Judges 3:7-11: Othniel and the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.

Title: Judges 3:7-11: Othniel and the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.         

 

Announcements / opening prayer:

 

 

JDG 3:7 And the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

 

JDG 3:8 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

 

JDG 3:9 And when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

 

JDG 3:10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.

 

JDG 3:11 Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

 

Othniel finds his power from God the Holy Spirit in strength and wisdom, in rallying Israel to war, winning on the battlefield, and judging the civil matters of Israel for 40 years.

 

The Spirit's work upon a man in the OT was always temporary, but during that time He empowered and influenced that person to perform extraordinary feats.

 

The Spirit does not come upon every judge.

 

In Judges we see the Holy Spirit come upon or clothe Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson and in each case it is always to accomplish a certain task.

 

Not in one case is the condition of the man's mind or soul mentioned. The context is always to do a certain thing in a supernatural way. Gideon was empowered by the Spirit in gathering Israel to repentance and fighting the Midianites but certainly not when he constructed a graven image to be worshipped. Therefore, the Spirit's ministry upon them was temporary.

 

In the NT the filling of the Spirit is always a spiritual matter whereas in the OT the Spirit empowered a particular task without reference to the person's spirituality.

 

In the church, whether a believer is fighting toe to toe with Satanic temptation or he's driving to work, he may be filled with the Spirit. In other words, it does not depend on the task at hand but upon his spiritual condition. When Samson is killing a thousand men with a jawbone we may conclude that he is empowered supernaturally by the Spirit of God, but nothing like this is seen in the time of the church, except in the very early church in the spectacular, temporary spiritual gifts. We have the privilege of being indwelt by the Spirit for all time and we may use His power and wisdom and guidance to do anything and everything no matter how large or small.

 

The communication of this Spirit under the Old Testament was generally made in the form of extraordinary and supernatural influence upon the human spirit.

 

In the OT the power of the Spirit is given to accomplish something, and God may choose whomever He wishes to fulfill it.

 

The Spirit's work upon the judge is not necessarily a sanctifying influence as it always is in the NT. The fruit of the Spirit is a life lived unto God in all circumstances.

 

Instead of fighting Philistines or Midianites or judging the people in civil matters, in the church the Spirit is producing in us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, which is revealed in almost everything that the believer does.

 

It would seem clear that the work of the Spirit in these cases is solely for the accomplishment of something beyond the ordinary faculties of the man and not for any spiritual sanctification.

 

The influence of the Spirit in the OT is not the abiding presence of the Spirit within the heart as it always is in the NT.

 

The church age believer who is spiritual is always influenced or controlled by the Holy Spirit within his heart. The teaching, guiding, and empowering of the Spirit is always from within and always a spiritual matter. The Spirit influences the thoughts, motivations, knowledge, will of the believer, and He does so for even the most mundane of practices in life. In the OT the Spirit's influence was mainly to perform a certain act and once it was accomplished, that influence was removed.

 

The gifts of the Holy Spirit in the OT were miraculous rather than graciously spiritual, much like the miraculous gifts of the early church.

 

1CO 14:26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

 

1CO 14:27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret;

 

1CO 14:28 but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God.

 

1CO 14:29 And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.

 

1CO 14:30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent.

 

1CO 14:31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted;

 

1CO 14:32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets;

 

1CO 14:33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

 

Did you ever wonder how a Corinthian could function in the gift of tongues or prophecy in the selfish way that he sometimes did? It would seem from Paul's instruction that they were interrupting each other, which would mean that they had the desire in their hearts to be heard rather than give deference to one another in love and good manners and yet they still had the gift of tongues and prophecy functioning within them. If he was selfishly causing division and chaos in the church with his spiritual gift, wouldn't we assume that the gift of the Spirit wouldn't function in him at all? It would seem that the miraculous gifts were performed by God through some of His own children, even at times when they were not spiritual, but this would never be true of the permanent spiritual gifts or of the fruit of the Spirit. The temporary, miraculous gifts of the first 70 or so years of the church look a lot like the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in the OT.  

 

The recipients and bearers of the Spirit were thereby endowed with the power to perform miraculous deeds. In many cases after the time of the Judges, the Spirit came up on a man to give him the ability to prophesy. He also gave the power to work miracles or to accomplish deeds which surpassed the courage and strength of the natural man. It is in this latter case that the Spirit worked upon the judges.

 

In the case of the judges, they not only needed the power to rally Israel to arms and display strength and cunning on the battlefield, but they also had to judge Israel after the enemy was defeated. This required wisdom.

 

The judges not only attacked the enemy courageously and with success, but they also judged the nation, for which the spirit of wisdom and understanding was indispensably necessary, and put down idolatry, which they could not have done without the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

 

JDG 3:9 And when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

 

JDG 3:10 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim.

 

"he judged" - shaphat = to restore right to a situation. It is not limited to judging civil matters but also to lead to nation's attitude towards the Lord.

 

The weakness of the people is revealed in many ways, first and foremost by not following the commands of the Lord and secondarily in the fact that the Lord alone isn't enough to restore them to right thinking, but a judge empowered by God to victory on the battlefield and removal of the yoke of slavery, they respond to. They are willing to follow a visible hero, but when he dies, they go right back to idol worship. The Lord as their invisible hero and husband is not enough for them.

 

Othniel as judge was a military leader, a civil leader, and a moral leader.

 

JDG 3:11 Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

 

Israel had rest for forty years, which means prosperity for a generation.

 

During this time they grew stronger and wealthier, however, they did not use that strength in an attempt to expel the Canaanites in their land, but rather they forced them into tribute as the king of Mesopotamia had done to them.

 

In so doing they compromised the law of God, which is always an open door to apostasy and thus over time they returned to idol worship and the cycle begins again.

 

In the peace and strength that God had given them for forty years they compromised the Law of God. Failing the prosperity test opens the door for more idolatry.

 

The subsequent acts of the next judge are given in more detail.

 

2. Oppression by the Moabites, (3:14), 18 yrs.

  Deliverance by Ehud, and rest, (3:30),      80 yrs.

 

JDG 3:12 Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.

 

JDG 3:13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and defeated Israel, and they possessed the city of the palm trees.