Judges 3:1

Judges 3:1 says, 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;  We are told that God left certain nations in order to prove the faith of Israel.  It says that many in Israel had not known the ways of the people of Canaan, so they could not be tempted by their ways and their gods.  I do know that when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that not all temptation is removed from our lives, but we daily face temptations, some of which we may not have even known before.. Verse two states, Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;  God did not allow them to be confronted with temptation for them to fail, but in order for them to learn to rely on Him to be successful.  God will never lead us into a situation just to see us fail, but will be with us in any situation so that we might succeed.  Verse three adds, 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.  When we look back at Joshua, we see that God told the people of Israel to drive out all the people of the land, and often they didn't.  Still, even if they had, there were other nations around them, and some of the enemies that they would face are listed here.  We need to realize that we are always going too be confronted with enemies in this world as Christians, some more powerful than others.  Verse four says, 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.  Like the people of Israel, when we encounter an enemy today, God will be waiting to see if we give in to the enemy or follow Him by faith.  Verse five adds, And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:  There were many people around to lead the people astray if they failed to follow God, just as there are for us today.  Verse six continues, And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.  We are told that the people of Israel did not remain true to God, but began to intermarry with the other people around them.  We need to be careful today that we do not begin to intermix with the people of the world in such a way that it leads us away from God.  Even when we are in the world, we cannot be of the world.  God calls us to be a separate people from the rest of the world. spiritually.  Verse seven declares, 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.  God's people forgot Him after they intermarried with the people of the world.  We might ask how they could do this knowing the power of God, but these were younger people of Israel who may not have witnessed His power.  Of course, as followers of Christ, we also at times can be tempted by the things of the world, and if we begin to compromise, we may soon forget the power of God in our life.  Verse eight adds, 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.  God was angry with the people of Israel and allowed them to be defeated and to go into servitude once again.  When we turn away from God's guidance, we should not be surprised if He allows us to end up under the power of sin once again.  Verse nine proclaims, 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.  When the people of Israel called out again to Him, He raised up a deliverer, Othniel, Caleb's nephew.  When we find ourselves under the power of sin today, we simply need to call out to God.  We already have our deliverer in Jesus Christ, and our source of power in the Holy Spirit if we are a follower of Christ.  God never forsakes us.  Verse ten adds, 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.  The Spirit of God was with Othniel, their deliverer, and the Holy Spirit is with us today to deliver us.  Verse eleven concludes, And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.  The land of Israel was at peace for forty years, as long as Othniel lived.  Fortunately, we do not have to rely on an earthly leader to keep us successful in our relationship with God.  The Holy Spirit is with us forever.