JUDGES 3
4
Outlines
Judges 3
GOD'S VOLUNTEERS
Have you ever noticed how much community work is done
by volunteers? (Use examples familiar to your congregation.)
Much of the work in our church is done by volunteers.
(Use examples from your congregation.)
Just as community organizations and churches actively
seek volunteers, God also recruits volunteers willing to serve Him at His
request. Judges 3 tells of three judges
(leaders) who were God's volunteers. Each one was different.
OTHNIEL - THE REUSABLE JUDGE Vss. 8-11
Many people hit a certain age and think that their
work is done for the Lord. They often
"retire" without the Lord ever telling them to retire.
There are others, however, who are reusable. They've been used by God in the past, but
keep on volunteering until they are no longer able.
Othniel had been used by the Lord earlier
(Judges 1:9-15), and he was used again, as mentioned in this passage.
EHUD - THE REFLECTIVE JUDGE Vss. 12-30
Serving the Lord often takes thought. Often, there needs
to be a God-directed plan in order to get the job done. Ehud thought through a plan that used his job
of delivering money to the king, his being left handed, his locking some doors,
and calling together Israel to fight.
It was a successful plan because God was in it, and it
was a well thought plan.
SHAMGAR - THE RESOURCEFUL JUDGE Vs. 31
Shamgar's name is only mentioned twice in the
Bible, but he teaches us an important lesson. We should use what we have in
order to volunteer for God's service. Shamgar used an
ox goad, an instrument used to prod oxen, in order to defeat 600 Philistines,
and deliver
God expects us to use what we have in order to serve
Him.
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Judges 3:1-11
DELIVERANCE FROM BONDAGE
Because of
She flunked the test by intermarrying and worshiping
false God's
She was placed in bondage.
They cried out to God for help.
Through Othniel the enemy
was defeated.
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Judges 3:7-11
WHEN THE SPIRIT WORKS
Have you ever watched a
craftsman at work? It's fun to watch someone who has a specific skill perform
his skill well.
A friend of mine named Dan
took a couple of old doors, and transformed them back to life. He also took an old chair and restored into
something beautiful.
Ed, another friend of
mine, can take a dirty old wooden floor, sand it down, put materials on it, and
turn it into a beautiful, shiny wooden floor.
Glass blowers can make
beautiful vases, bottles, and other things simply by blowing into hot glass.
Have you ever thought of
God as a craftsman? He takes a crusty
old sinner and turns him into a trophy of God's grace. And the Spirit of God, who entered your life
the moment you were saved, is also a craftsman. He is inside your life to
produce learning, power, peace, fruit, and a host of other things. As the Spirit works, using us as the natural
resources, He produces a masterpiece of mature Christianity. That is, if we
cooperate.
The Book of Judges
covers a dark time in the history of
We want to examine a
brief account of the career of the first judge, Othniel.
Othniel was either a nephew or brother of Caleb. He
had already distinguished himself as a military hero, winning the hand of
daughter by conquering a city (Judges
The most important
characteristic of Othniel's life was that "the
Spirit of the Lord came upon him".
God's Spirit, craftsman
that He is, produced a wonderful masterpiece in the life of Othniel.
Using Othniel as an example, I want us to see what happens when
the Spirit of God works. The Spirit hasn't changed. If He produced a
masterpiece in Othniel, he can inside of us as well.
There are five things that will happen when the Spirit of God works.
1. THERE IS A PERSON -
Vs. 9
It was a dark time -
Talk about verses 1-7.
In answer to prayer God
raised up Othniel as a deliver.
God's Holy Spirit works
through people. Therefore there needs to
be a person available whom the Spirit of God can use. 1 Corinthians 12:13,
Romans 8:9,14,16
The Spirit of God worked
inside of Othniel, but the verses listed above make
it obvious that the Spirit wants to work inside of every Christian.
Othniel was obviously available. We must make ourselves available
to the control of the Spirit of God. We are available when we do not grieve nor
quench the Spirit. Ephesians 4:30-32,
1 Thessalonians 5:19
2. THERE IS CONTROL -
Vs. 10
We do not know exactly
what Othniel did to defeat the enemy, but we do know
that God's Spirit controlled him. If you are going to defeat the enemies of
God, and be used of God, you must be under the control of the Holy Spirit!
Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:16
3. THERE IS LEADERSHIP -
Vs. 10
It says that "He
judged
When you are controlled
by the Holy Spirit there will be times when the Spirit will lead you to take
charge of a situation. God might call upon you to talk to a sinning brother or
sister, or invite a person to church or teach a Sunday School class, or work on
the building or serve on the board. Even when not in charge, we should lead by
example. Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Timothy 4:12
4. THERE IS DELIVERANCE
- Vs. 10
The enemy was defeated,
and
The Spirit of God is in
your life to deliver you from the bondage of sin. Romans 6:14
The Spirit of God is in
your life to help others be delivered from sin. Acts 1:8, Hebrews 3:11-12,
5. THERE IS REST - Vs.
11
There was rest for
almost 40 years because of the Spirit working upon Othniel.
We are promised rest as
the Spirit of God works inside of us. John 14:16-17, 26-27
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Judges 3:12-20
LIMITED ABILITY,
UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES
If you use this message
in a prayer meeting, Sunday School class, or evening
service, you might want to begin by asking these two questions:
"There is at least
one thing you do well. What is it?"
"There is at least
one thing you don't do well. What is it?"
In this passage of
Scripture we meet Ehud, a man who was probably handicapped. Although he had
limited ability, because God controlled his life, he had unlimited
possibilities for usefulness.
Othniel, the last judge, had passed away (Vs. 11).
Eglon and his helpers were allowed by God to dominate
Because God was in
control of Ehud's life:
HE WAS ASSIGNED - Vs. 15
God raised up a
deliverer. He assigned Ehud to the task.
God does not always assign the most obvious person to a task. Ehud had a problem. In a right-handed world, he was left-handed.
Although we can not be certain, there is evidence that Ehud had little or no
use of his right hand.
The phrase left-handed
can be translated 'handicapped in the right hand.'
There is encouragement
here for you and I. When God makes it obvious that He
wants us to do something, we look at our limitations or
"handicaps." We think that God
surely find someone better for the job. However God has a way
of using those who just may not appear to be as talented or skilled as others
(Zechariah 4:6, 1 Corinthians
HE WAS AVAILABLE
We have no record that
Ehud ever thought of doing other than what God called Him to do.
He could have used his
handicap as an excuse, but didn't. When God calls us we can find all sorts of
excuses, but shouldn't! God is looking for men and women who are available
(Ezekiel
HE WAS ALERT - Vss.
16-26
God guided Ehud to
devise a plan. A great plan it was. It even took advantage of his handicap.
When we are called upon
to serve the Lord, our plans should be as well thought out and prayed over as
these apparently were (Ephesians
HE WAS AGRESSIVE - Vss. 27-30
Ehud put quite a thrust
into the belly of Eglon.
Then he took leadership
responsibilities.
The fords were guarded.
Nobody was allowed to escape.
Jesus told us to be
"...wise as serpents, and harmless as doves"(Matthew
If we are wise we will
take initiative. We will be involved. We will often be zealous.