Judges 3:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

NIV: The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.

NASB: So the sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth.

CSB: The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; they forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs.

NLT: The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. They forgot about the Lord their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.

KJV: And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.

NKJV: So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.

The main body of the book of Judges begins with this verse. The writer has established all the reasons for what will happen in the stories to follow (Judges 1—2). Key details are that Israel disobeyed God by not removing all the wicked Canaanites from the Promised Land, so God will allow those remaining influences to harass Israel (Judges 2:20–23). In fact, this first verse is almost identical to the statement in Judges 2:11–13.

God's reasons for wanting to remove the Canaanites were moral, rather than racial or ethnic. Israel's evil, as condemned here, is directly tied to imitating the lifestyles of the local cultures (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). Israel not only failed to destroy these nations, but they even endorsed their culture by common marriages. They abandoned faithfulness to the Lord and served idols.

Worship of false gods is, of course, a grievous sin in and of itself. Deities associated with names like Ba'al, Asheroth, and Ashtaroth were fertility gods who promised wealth and abundance in return for worship. The worship of the Baals and the Asheroth, though, involved great evil on top of spiritual adultery against God. Worshipers of these gods participated in gross sexual immorality, debauchery, and even child sacrifices, in hopes of receiving blessings from these false deities.

Israel's fall into sin will result in oppression (Judges 3:8), and the rise of the first judge: Othniel (Judges 3:9).

Judges 3:7–11 describes Israel's first cycle of rebellion and rescue. The very first generation after Joshua forgets the Lord and serves the Canaanite gods known as Baals and Asheroth. In anger, God allows them to be conquered and enslaved by the king of Mesopotamia. The people cry out to God eight years later, and He raises up the first "judge:" Othniel, Caleb's nephew. He leads the people to victory over the Mesopotamians. This is followed by forty years of peace.

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).