The First Judges (Othniel, Ehud, & Shamgar)

Old Sketch of the First Three Judges

At this point, I printed out maps of Israel so the kids could see the places we'd be talking about from then on. I quickly noticed Israel surrounded by enemies—enemies the people failed to drive out. God left those inhabitants there to continually test Israel. That map reminds me of my own heart, with the inhabitants representing sins I have failed to drive out. This made me think Judges is a book about purity (and obedience, of course). Its story repeats from one generation to the next:

1) The people forget God and serve idols.
2) God delivers them into the hand of their enemies
3) They cry out to Him.
4) He sends a judge to deliver them.
5) Israel repents and serves God until the judge dies.
6) Repeat.

I always read Judges like a Western. The last verse of the book says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Jd. 21:25) That sounds like the plot to almost every Western ever written. Just replace those sandals with boots, bronze-age weapons with six-shooters, and....well, you get the idea.

Just remember: The judge always gets the white hat.

The people forgot what God had done, served idols, and He sent Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. That's a pretty tall name. I looked up its meaning and found “Twice-Wicked Cushan.” Now there's a name the boys would remember! And it definitely doesn't discourage the Western version of the book in my head. God raised up Caleb's son-in-law Othniel to drive him out.

Fat King Eglon

Then there was Ehud, the most famous southpaw in the Bible. Southpaws tend to throw right-handed people off-guard, and that's exactly what Ehud did with Eglon, the fat Moabite king. Ehud assassinated Eglon, then slipped away before being discovered, rallied Israel's army, and drove Israel's oppressors out of Israel.
After Ehud was Shamgar. His judgeship seems a lot shorter than most, but his contribution is far from insignificant: Shamgar killed 600 Philistines and saved Israel.
And the people did evil again...