Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Judges
Chapter 3: The First Deliverers
The cycle set out in chapter 2 now begins to turn in earnest. Israel forgets God and is sold into bondage; they cry out, and God raises up deliverers. Here we meet the first three: Othniel, on whom the Spirit of the LORD came; Ehud the left-handed, whose secret errand freed a nation; and Shamgar, who struck down six hundred with an ox goad. God saves by whom He will.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Judges chapter 3. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 3 gives us the first full turns of the Judges cycle and our first deliverers, each an unlikely instrument in the hand of a saving God. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Othniel and the Spirit of the LORD (Judges 3:1-11)
The nations remain as a test; Israel fails it and falls into bondage, and God raises up Othniel, the first judge, empowered by His Spirit.
The Spirit of the LORD Came Upon Him
"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. 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."
Word Study
"the Spirit of the LORD," Hebrew ruach YHWH (רוּחַ יְהוָה). This is the first time in Judges we read of the Spirit of the LORD coming upon a man, and it becomes the mark of every true deliverer in the book (Gideon, Jephthah, Samson). Ruach is the breath, wind, and Spirit of God, God Himself in action, moving upon a person to equip him for God's work. It is crucial to see that this is not a second divine person; it is the one God, whose Spirit is His own presence and power, reaching out to work through a chosen vessel. The same Spirit that "moved upon the face of the waters" at creation (Genesis 1:2) came upon Othniel for war. And what came "upon" men in the Old Testament for a task, the risen Christ pours out to dwell "in" His people, "I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2:17). The power that made Othniel a deliverer is the same Spirit that fills and empowers the Apostolic believer today.
Explanation
God left the nations "to prove Israel," to test whether they would obey. Israel failed at once: they intermarried with the Canaanites and "served their gods," precisely what God had forbidden. So He "sold them" to Chushanrishathaim of Mesopotamia for eight years. Then the cycle turns to mercy: "the children of Israel cried unto the LORD," and He raised up Othniel. We already met Othniel in chapter 1, the young man who took Kirjathsepher and won Achsah; now he becomes the first judge. The pattern is complete, sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and it ends with the refrain "the land had rest forty years." But then comes the ominous note that will toll through the book: "and Othniel died." The deliverer does not last.
Gospel Focus
Othniel's deliverance did not come from his skill or strength but from the Spirit of the LORD coming upon him. This is the pattern of all true service to God: "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD" (Zechariah 4:6). Israel could not save themselves; they needed a man anointed by God's Spirit. And so do we, only in far greater measure. The whole book is a cry for a Deliverer who is filled with the Spirit "without measure" (John 3:34) and who lives forever to save. Every Spirit-empowered judge points to Jesus Christ, upon whom the Spirit descended and remained, and who now baptizes His people with that same Spirit and power.
Ehud and Eglon King of Moab (Judges 3:12-25)
When Israel falls again, God raises up a left-handed man from Benjamin, whose daring act of courage breaks the yoke of Moab.
I Have a Message from God Unto Thee
"And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them. When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber. And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth."
Word Study
"lefthanded," Hebrew itter yad-yemino (אִטֵּר יַד־יְמִינוֹ), literally "bound/restricted in his right hand." The phrase describes a Benjamite, and there is irony in it, for the name "Benjamin" means "son of the right hand." A son of the right hand who is restricted in his right hand: an unlikely, seemingly limited man. Yet that very "limitation" became the means of deliverance. Eglon's guards would have checked the left thigh, where a right-handed man wears his weapon; Ehud, drawing with his left hand, hid the dagger on his right thigh and passed unsuspected. God delights to save through the overlooked and the unlikely. The world sees a handicap; God sees an instrument. "God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty" (1 Corinthians 1:27).
Explanation
Israel sins "again," and God strengthens Eglon of Moab, who seizes "the city of palm trees" (Jericho's region) and oppresses Israel eighteen years. Ehud is chosen to carry the annual tribute, but he comes armed with a homemade two-edged dagger hidden on his right thigh. Under cover of "a secret errand," he gains a private audience, declares "I have a message from God unto thee," and drives the blade into the fat king so deep that the haft is swallowed. Then, coolly, he locks the doors and escapes while the servants wait, assuming the king is only relieving himself ("covereth his feet"). The account is told with grim, unflinching realism, Scripture does not sanitize the violence of a fallen age, but the point is God's deliverance of an oppressed people who cried to Him.
Gospel Focus
"I have a message from God unto thee." Ehud's words to a tyrant are, in a larger sense, the word that comes to every heart in bondage: God has a message, and it is a word of deliverance for the oppressed and of judgment for the oppressor. The "city of palm trees" that Moab seized had to be retaken; the enemy that had settled in had to be struck down. So it is with the strongholds sin builds in a life. God still raises up the unlikely and hands them the two-edged sword, "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword" (Hebrews 4:12), to set captives free. He is not looking for the impressive; He is looking for the available.
Victory, and Shamgar's Deliverance (Judges 3:26-31)
Ehud rallies Israel to a great victory and long rest, and a third deliverer strikes down the Philistines with nothing but a farmer's tool.
He Also Delivered Israel
"And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath. And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them. And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years. And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel."
Word Study
"an ox goad," Hebrew malmad (מַלְמַד) from the root meaning "to teach, to train." The ox goad was a long wooden staff, tipped with a metal point at one end to prod the ox forward and a small blade at the other to clean the plow; it was a farmer's everyday tool, not a soldier's weapon. Shamgar had no sword, no army, only the implement of his labor, and with it he "slew of the Philistines six hundred men." God takes what is already in a man's hand and makes it enough. He had asked Moses, "What is that in thine hand?" and turned a shepherd's rod into an instrument of miracles (Exodus 4:2). The same God armed Shamgar with a goad, David with a sling, and a boy's five loaves fed thousands. The lesson stands: surrender to God what is already in your hand, and He will make it mighty.
Explanation
With Eglon dead, Ehud sounds the trumpet, gathers Israel, and seizes the fords of the Jordan, cutting off the Moabite escape. Ten thousand of Moab's finest fall, and "the land had rest fourscore years," the longest rest recorded in the book. Then, in a single verse, we meet Shamgar son of Anath, who "delivered Israel" from the Philistines with an ox goad. He gets no cycle, no long story, just one line, one weapon, one deliverance, but it was enough to earn him a place among the saviours God raised up. Not every servant of God gets a chapter; some get a verse. But heaven records the faithful whether the deed is great or small in the eyes of men.
Gospel Focus
These three deliverers, Othniel with the Spirit of the LORD, Ehud with his hidden dagger, Shamgar with his ox goad, all preach one gospel truth: salvation is of the LORD, and He saves by whom and by what He pleases. He chose the Spirit-filled, the "handicapped," and the man with a farm tool, so that the glory would be His and not theirs. This is exactly how God still works. He does not wait for the strong, the gifted, or the well-equipped; He takes the yielded and does wonders. And all these partial, dying deliverers point to the one eternal Saviour, Jesus Christ, who needs no army and no earthly weapon, but by His own Spirit sets His people free forever. What is in your hand? Give it to Him.
Chapter 3 in Review
Judges 3 turns the cycle for the first full time and gives us our first deliverers. The nations left to "prove Israel" expose the people's hearts; they intermarry, serve idols, and fall into bondage. But when they cry out, God answers with saviours: Othniel, on whom the Spirit of the LORD came and who won forty years of rest; Ehud, the left-handed Benjamite whose daring courage broke Moab and won eighty years of rest; and Shamgar, who felled six hundred Philistines with an ox goad.
For the Apostolic reader, the message is unmistakable. God delivers by His Spirit and through unlikely instruments, the overlooked, the "limited," the man with only a farm tool in his hand, so that all the glory returns to Him. Each of these deliverers rose by God's power and each, in time, passed away, and their repeated rising and dying is the book's long ache for the Deliverer who is filled with the Spirit without measure and who never dies: Jesus Christ our LORD.
- The Spirit of the LORD, God's own presence and power, is the mark of every true deliverer.
- God saves through the unlikely; Ehud's "restricted" right hand became the means of rescue.
- Shamgar's ox goad shows God takes what is already in your hand and makes it enough.
- Every rising-and-dying judge points to the Spirit-filled, ever-living Deliverer, Jesus Christ.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you rely on the Spirit of the LORD for God's work, or on your own strength and skill?
- What "limitation" in your life might God intend to use, not remove?
- What is already in your hand that you could surrender to God for His service?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The nations left to prove Israel; Othniel and the Spirit of the LORD: Judges 3:1-11; Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:17.
- Not by might, but by the Spirit: Zechariah 4:6; John 3:34.
- Ehud the left-handed Benjamite: Judges 3:12-25; 1 Corinthians 1:27; Hebrews 4:12.
- Shamgar's ox goad; what is in your hand: Judges 3:31; Exodus 4:2.