Judges 3:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether Israel would obey the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

NIV: They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.

NASB: They were left to test Israel by them, to find out if they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers through Moses.

CSB: The Lord left them to test Israel, to determine if they would keep the Lord’s commands he had given their fathers through Moses.

NLT: These people were left to test the Israelites — to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the Lord, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.

This verse restates again why the Lord allowed all the nations listed in the previous verse to continue to exist. His original command to Israel was to entirely remove those cultures from the region (Deuteronomy 20:16–17). This was, in part, to prevent Israel from imitating those depraved, evil practices (Deuteronomy 20:18). Another was to punish the Canaanites for those very sins (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4–5). Since Israel refused to complete their mission (Judges 2:20), God chose to use the remaining Canaanites to serve His own plans (Judges 2:21–23). Even in their battles and wars against Yahweh's people Israel, they would prove and accomplish God's purposes.

God intended to use these nations and their oppression of His people as a test. When faced with oppression by foreign enemies, would God's people turn to Him in faithfulness for help or would they continue to stubbornly turn to false gods in hopes of being rescued by them? Naturally, God already knew the outcome of those events. This "testing" is in the sense of a demonstration: repeatedly showing the truth about how Israel would respond to their own sin and God's correction.

Judges 3:1–6 names the nations the Lord leaves in existence in and around the Promised Land. These nations will plague future generations of Israelites to see if they will be faithful. Some of these represent unconquered territories whose inhabitants will raid and oppress Israel: the Philistines, Canaanites, Sidonians, and Hivites. Groups living amongst the captured regions will tempt Israel in different ways. These are listed as Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite peoples. Starting with the very first generation after Joshua, the people betray God, intermarrying with these depraved nations and serving their gods.

God leaves several Canaanite nations in and around the Promised Land to test Israel's reliance on Him. Some live among the people, others are part of unconquered territories. The Israelites immediately ignore God's commands and begin serving other gods. First, the Lord subjects them to Mesopotamia. After eight years, the first judge, Othniel, leads them to victory and peace. Israel again rebels and is conquered by Moab for 18 years. Ehud's brutal assassination of the Moabite king sparks another period of freedom and peace. In a single brief statement, the obscure Shamgar is celebrated for his victory.

After Israel's failure to complete their mission, as described in chapters 1 and 2, chapter 3 begins by describing the idolatrous nations God left intact to test Israel. In the first of many such cycles, the people sin, are conquered, then are rescued by a "judge." This chapter describes the victories of Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. Chapter 4 mentions the first of the truly famous names among the judges, describing the careers of Deborah and Barak. This is followed in chapter 6, which introduces Gideon.

The Book of Judges describes Israel's history from the death of Joshua to shortly before Israel's first king, Saul. Israel fails to complete God's command to purge the wicked Canaanites from the land (Deuteronomy 7:1–5; 9:4). This results in a centuries-long cycle where Israel falls into sin and is oppressed by local enemies. After each oppression, God sends a civil-military leader, labeled using a Hebrew word loosely translated into English as "judge." These appointed rescuers would free Israel from enemy control and govern for a certain time. After each judge's death, the cycle of sin and oppression begins again. This continues until the people of Israel choose a king, during the ministry of the prophet-and-judge Samuel (1 Samuel 1—7).