Sunday Devotional: Judges 3:12

And the sons of Israel continued to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord strengthened Eglod, king of Moab, against Israel because they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

We’ve seen how Israel so easily strayed from the Lord to the worship of idols not long after Joshua’s death. But the Lord didn’t forget them, nor leave them in their sin. He provided judges to lead them back. When they cried out to the Lord because He handed them over to their oppressors, He raised up judges to rescue them. In verse 9 of chapter 3, we are introduced to Othniel. He was empowered by the Spirit of the Lord to lead Israel, give them military victory, and oversee a forty year period of peace. When he died, however, Israel strayed back into their idolatrous ways.

Once again, we read that God empowers an enemy of Israel to strike out against His people. We later read that the people of Israel cry out to God (yet again), and the Lord raises up another savior for them: Ehud, the left-handed warrior, who defeats the rather tubby King Eglon in a particularly gruesome fashion. I wanted to focus on verse 12, however, because of what it tells us about the Lord. Notice that when Israel repents and cries out to the Lord for relief, He provides that relief. When Israel falls back into sin, it is the Lord who gives strength to Israel’s enemies. In other words, there is nothing in this whole situation that is a matter of chance. God is sovereign. But notice that God’s sovereignty doesn’t protect His people from harm. Indeed, it’s His sovereign act that sends harm to His people to chastise and bring them back. And it’s God’s sovereign hand that ensures Israel’s enemies don’t inflict more damage than He permits. The Lord raises up a judge as an instrument of justice against the enemies of His people.

This may not, at first, seem fair: to incite Israel’s enemies to beat them, and then punish Israel’s enemies for doing just that. However, we must remember that God’s judgment was already against Israel’s enemies because of their godlessness. The Lord empowers them–he doesn’t put the sinful thoughts into their heads. He doesn’t need to; they’re already there. The Lord merely needs to give them the the strength and the opportunity to do what He intends. And the purpose is not to favor the enemies of God, but to make for Himself a people after His own heart. His concern is with His people, not with His enemies.

It should give us comfort to know that even during the most difficult trial, the Lord is in sovereign control. That trial is there by His will for our good. But He will not allow that trial to ultimately destroy us. The Lord brings these things into our lives to make us into the people He created us to be.

Have a great week!