Judg 3

Devotion 1 of 1: Judg 3

In this chapter, we see the 1st three of the 12 judges in this book: Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar. The following pattern is repeated over and over: the judge dies, Israel wanders away from God, their enemy overcomes and torments them, they cry out to God, God raises up a judge who delivers them from their enemy. Let’s live a life of victory and moving forward in Christ rather than this endless cycle seen in Judges!
One important lesson we can learn from the judges is that they all overcame handicaps to become great leaders who delivered Israel from her enemies. Othniel’s handicap was having a famous and courageous uncle, Caleb (v.9). When we have a famous sibling or relative, we can feel inferior about ourselves. But let’s learn to overcome inferiority complexes by believing what God’s Word says about us and walk in our Bible identity, not our fleshly identity!

JUDG 4: Free sharing!
We find the story of the only woman judge, Deborah, in this chapter. The OT age was one in which women were not highly regarded and not given high positions. Yet Deborah accomplished the great feat of being recognized as a prophetess and the judge leading Israel in her day!
Although women have come a long way in modern times, they still have many barriers to face when trying to pursue their ambitions in society. In the recent U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in a resounding victory.
It was the 2nd time Trump had won the election, both times against women, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Harris in 2024. Actually, Trump also ran in 2020, against a male opponent, Joe Biden, but he lost.
The U.S. has never had a female president, so women still face an uphill battle in becoming the leader of that nation. Also, Japan has never had a female Prime Minister to lead her. So Deborah was an amazing woman who accomplished an amazing feat several thousand years ago! Let’s pray for women to be able to rise up more and more in nations around the world.