Chapter 3. Deliverers.
This chapter gives an account of the nations who remained in Canaan to prove Israel's faithfulness, and who became a snare to them. It describes the servitude of Israel under a king of Mesopotamia because of their sins, a servitude from which they were delivered by Othniel. It speaks of their subjection to the Moabites, from which they were freed by Ehud, who privately assassinated the king of Moab, and then made his escape. And it briefly describes the destruction of a large number of Philistines by Shamgar, with an ox goad.
The Nations Who Remained To Test Israel's Faithfulness (Judges 3:1-6).
‘ Now these are the nations which Yahweh left to prove Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan.'
The first wars were over and Israel were experiencing a time of relative peace and slow expansion. But because of their disobedience, and because they had allowed Canaanites to remain living among them, God was not planning to aid them in removing the remainder of the unconquered nations. Thus while they were at peace the presence of other nations was an ever constant threat.
Indeed a new and more powerful enemy had come among them. For the Sea Peoples from the Aegean had invaded the coast of Syria and some had spread down into Palestine. These were the fierce Philistines, and they were there to stay. They occupied the fertile coastal plain, their main cities being Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, and were ruled by five Tyrants, one in each main city, who worked in unison. They also later occupied Bethshean and Gerar and a number of other towns. They are mentioned in the annals of Raamses III (c 1185 BC) as a new threat for they had to be repelled from Egypt.
They wore head-dresses of feathers, and were armed with lances, round shields, long broadswords and triangular daggers. They would gradually incorporate iron into their lifestyles and weaponry, learned from the Hittites. They were a ruling class with native Canaanites, and at certain stages Israelites, under them.
‘ Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at least such as beforehand knew nothing of it.'
The idea of the land of promise had been that it would be a land of peace and plenty. But, because of their continual disobedience and fraternising with the people of the land and its religions, Yahweh was now determined that they should learn their lesson by facing constant warfare.
“To teach them war” did not mainly refer to their learning how to fight, but to their learning because they had to fight. To teach them what war meant for men. By having to fight they would learn the bitter lessons they could learn in no other way. This again comes out later in the book.
They had begun to settle at peace but now they were to know bitter wars to teach them their lesson, that Yahweh must be obeyed. It would, of course, also eventually teach them how to fight, but that was secondary to the main lesson of the consequences of disobedience. Indeed their need to learn to fight came about for that precise reason. Yahweh no longer fought for them.
Once they turned back to Yahweh they did not need the art of war for He would deliver them through His power. He Himself directed their warfare. That is the lesson of Gideon and his three hundred. Again and again this lesson comes over. Egypt was defeated because Moses lifted his rod and they marched into the sea (Exodus 14). Israel triumphed because Moses' hands were held high (Exodus 17:11). The walls of Jericho fell because they marched round them (Joshua 6). Joshua defeated the Southern Alliance because hailstones fell from the heavens (Joshua 10:11). Barak and Deborah triumphed because they attacked when Yahweh commanded and the rains and floods fought for them (Joshua 4 & Joshua 5). Gideon triumphed because Yahweh caused panic in the hearts of the enemy (Joshua 7).
‘ Namely, the five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Zidonians, and the Hivites who dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon to the entering in of Hamath.'
For the five lords of the Philistines see what was said above. The word for ‘lord' is a unique one used only of Philistine lords (seren). We will translate it as Tyrant although they were no more tyrranical than other powerful kings. ‘All the Canaanites' covers all previous dwellers in the land. ‘The Zidonians' were the Phoenician occupants of Zidon and its surrounding lands. It was a great seaport and the Phoenicians, were renowned sailors and merchant seamen. The Hivites mainly dwelt in the Lebanon hills and the Carmel range, thus in the northernmost part of Canaan. Compare for this Joshua 13:2-6.
“From mount Baal-hermon to the entering in of Hamath.” Compare ‘from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon to the entering in of Hamath' (Joshua 13:5) where it is the northern boundary of Canaan. See also Numbers 34:8; 1 Kings 8:65; 2 Chronicles 7:8.
‘ And they were in order to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would listen to the commandments of Yahweh, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.'
Israel were now decidedly on probation. These nations would test them out and prove how faithful they were willing to be to the covenant, the covenant which included the commandments given through Moses to their fathers, which had included the commandments to drive out the Canaanites, which they had disobeyed.
It also included the commandments concerning having only one God, concerning covenant brotherhood and love, concerning the central sanctuary, concerning the offerings and sacrifices unique to Yahweh and concerning the priesthood, and concerning His strict moral requirements.
‘ And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites; the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.'
They should have driven them out, but now they lived among them and were indeed in danger of losing their identity to them. They were fast becoming assimilated with the Canaanites. Those they had conquered were conquering them by assimilation, as so often happened in history. Outwardly what was distinctive in their religion was in danger of being lost. Note here that the term Canaanite here included the others. This was only finally prevented because of the troubles that came on them.
‘ And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.'
In direct disobedience to God's covenant they intermarried with the Canaanites (Joshua 23:12; Exodus 34:15-16; Numbers 25:1-2; Deuteronomy 7:3). This was not a question of race but of culture. The Israelites were of widely mixed race, but they shared the covenant of Yahweh, and the high moral standards related to it. The Canaanites were idol worshippers following a debased religion with low moral standards. Now these were being intermingled with devastating effects on the morality and religious attitude of the Israelites. This is brought out by the fact that ‘they served their gods'.
We must not assume this was true of all. Otherwise they would have disappeared without trace. It was describing a tendency. Fortunately enough remained sufficiently loyal to Yahweh to ensure that the future lessons would enable their restoration.