The Unlikely: Othniel / Judges 3:7-11

Setting the Stage: From the Wilderness to the Promised Land

Welcome to week two of The Unlikely. If you have your Bibles, we are going to be in the book of Judges and have a little fun looking at our first unlikely character.

Just by way of introduction, to catch us back up to speed and give some context to the book of Judges, we need to remember what happened beforehand. The nation of Israel went into Egypt initially as guests, but they ended up as slaves. After four hundred and thirty years, Moses led them out, and they began to wander in the wilderness. What should have been a two-week hike ended up becoming a forty-year trek.

Remember what God was doing. Clearly, He delivered the people out of Egypt, but the hard part was getting Egypt out of the people. After four hundred and thirty years, they were completely saturated with paganism. That two-week journey culminated with sending twelve spies into the Promised Land—one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.

When those spies were sent in, God had already promised them victory. This was not a scouting party sent to ask, “Do we have what it takes to win?” The victory was already secured. This was a scouting party meant to ask, “Where do we want to start? We’re going to defeat this city, and that city, and all these cities, so what is the easiest way to make this happen?” It is like dividing and conquering at Costco—which aisle should we start in? The victory was already done.

But when the spies went in, they did not have the same confidence in God that God had promised them. They saw fortified cities, and they saw strong people. In fact, they saw giants—literal giants. They said, “How are we going to defeat giants? They are too numerous, and we will just be handed over to them.”

They saw a specific city of note called Kiriath-arba, named after one of the great kings of the Anakites, these supposed giants. The spies looked at this chief city and said, “These guys are big dudes, and we just can’t do it.”

There were two men among the spies who stood apart: Joshua and Caleb. Joshua gets a lot of publicity because of the book bearing his name and because he was Moses’ right-hand man who took over leadership when Moses died. But the other guy in that duo was Caleb. Caleb was fascinating. When the spies came back and everyone began freaking out about giants, Caleb quieted the people down. He said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.”

Here was a man standing against ten others who were opposed. He said, “You are all nuts. God has already promised this—let’s go take the land!” Unfortunately, the men who went up with him insisted, “No, we are not able to go up against these people; they are too strong for us.” Fear won the day.

What makes this detail so fascinating is that the city of Kiriath-arba was formerly called Hebron. Hebron was the ancestral home of Abraham the patriarch. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are all buried in Hebron; the Tomb of the Patriarchs is there to this day. Caleb looked at the ancient city of his ancestors and said, “I don’t care who is living there. That’s ours. Let’s go!”

Because fear won out, God declared that everyone twenty years of age and older would die in the wilderness—everyone except Joshua and Caleb. For forty years they wandered in the desert while that older generation passed away.

Incidentally, if you have ever read through Exodus and then read Deuteronomy and thought, Wait a minute, I think I’ve seen this before, you have. Exodus was the law of God given to the older generation. Because of the unfaithfulness of the spies and the willingness of the nation to believe those cowards, that generation rejected God’s plan and died in the wilderness. In Deuteronomy, God gives a deutero-nomos—a “second law”—to the next generation who did not experience Exodus firsthand.

Caleb, Othniel, and the Taking of Debir

Forty years later, they finally returned to the land—back to the place they once had the opportunity to enter with ease. Joshua chapter 15 records a fascinating interaction. As land was allotted to each tribe, Caleb was the representative for the tribe of Judah, the kingly line. When it came to Caleb’s allotment, the number one city he was called to take was Kiriath-arba, formerly known as Hebron.

Remember, giants supposedly lived in this city. How big do you have to be to be a giant? Big enough to scare an entire nation, except for Joshua and Caleb. Caleb was an absolute pit bull. He essentially said, “Joshua, give me the hardest land with the biggest reputation of being tough guys.” Joshua said, “Okay, you’ve got Kiriath-arba.” Caleb said, “Bring it on.”

Joshua chapter 15 records Caleb taking the city of the giants, decimating it, and reclaiming the ancestral home of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Joshua 15:13-17 (NASB)

Now he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the command of the LORD to Joshua, [namely], Kiriath-arba, [Arba being] the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak. Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. And Caleb said, ‘The one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.’ Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife.

Just south of Hebron was another city called Debir. Caleb issued a challenge: “Whoever attacks and captures Debir, I will give my daughter as a wife.” A young man rose up named Othniel—a name that means “Lion of God.” Having just fought alongside Caleb to take Hebron, Othniel stepped up: “What do you have for me?” Caleb said, “Go take that city.” And he did. This nephew of Caleb, who clearly caught that same chutzpah—the Jewish word for bold audacity—went to Debir, conquered it, and took Caleb’s daughter as his wife.

The Cycle of the Judges

That backstory sets up the context for Judges chapter 3. In chapters 1 and 2, we saw two primary problems that triggered a repeated cycle: disobedience—because even partial obedience is disobedience—and the breakdown of the family. The home was designed to be the hub of spiritual formation, but they punted that responsibility, and a generation arose that did not know God.

This triggered the classic cycle of Judges: prosperity leads to laziness, which leads to indulgence, which causes God to raise up an oppressor. The people cry out, God raises up a deliverer, the land has rest, and then the cycle repeats all over again.

God left certain pagan city-states in the land to test Israel: Would they remain faithful followers of God, or would they be wooed by the surrounding fertility cults?

Judges 3:7-8 (NASB)

The sons of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, so that He sold them into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the sons of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years.

Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, forgot Him, and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. God’s anger burned against them, and He raised up an oppressor from Mesopotamia named Cushan-rishathaim—one of the coolest names in the Bible. Imagine that on the back of a soccer jersey. Cushan-rishathaim oppressed Israel for eight years. Apparently, it took eight years of getting beaten down for the people to realize, “We are blowing it,” and cry out to God.

Meet Othniel: The Seasoned Deliverer

When they cry out, God raises up an unlikely deliverer.

Judges 3:9-11 (NASB)

When the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the sons of Israel to deliver them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. Then the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

What makes Othniel unlikely is not his character, his physical stature, or his family background. In fact, he is the only judge in the entire book with no inherent flaw recorded. Every other judge has massive issues where you wonder, How in the world did God use that person? Othniel was a great judge. What makes him unlikely is that you have seen him before.

Othniel gets three verses in Judges 3: verse 9, the people cry out; verse 10, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him and he defeats the enemy; verse 11, the land has rest for forty years until he dies. That is his entire recorded body of work as a judge. But behind those three verses lies a profound story.

Consider the math. Everyone twenty years and older died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb. If Caleb was around thirty when the spies were sent out, plus forty years in the wilderness, he was at least seventy years old when taking Hebron, strapping on his sword and setting his walker aside. Othniel was with him back then as a young man. Fast-forward through Joshua’s conquests, the initial settling, and eight years of oppression under Cushan-rishathaim. By the time God calls Othniel to deliver Israel, he is sixty or sixty-five years old—a man of a seasoned vintage.

Think about what he witnessed: forty years in the desert where between 600,000 and 1,000,000 funerals took place. He lived through a catastrophe of death while God systematically rebuilt their theology. And now, God raises up a deliverer—not a twenty-year-old, but a sixty-year-old.

Principle 1: You Are Never Too Old to Be Used by God

The first principle we glean from Othniel is this: You are never too old to be used by God.

We often assume that we serve the Lord for a season, retire, buy a Winnebago, and spiritually check out. Physically, you should retire from your career at some point—you have paid your dues. But you do not spiritually retire.

At twenty, we don’t even know what we don’t know. At thirty, we know we don’t know some things, but fifty-year-olds still chuckle when we talk. At forty, you have earned a little street cred, but don’t get cocky. But at fifty and beyond, something changes. You have lived. You have earned every gray hair. You have walked through decades of marriage, buried friends, walked through illnesses, endured tragedies, and seen God’s faithfulness through it all. You have lived long enough to pay the “dumb tax” and see cultural trends come full circle. You have something vital to say.

Yet in the church, we often look at gray hair and put people on the shelf, as if their usefulness is finished. Othniel proves that is not God’s design.

A few weeks ago at Hume Lake Christian Camps, I saw Chuck Colburn, a retired firefighter who spends his summers mentoring young summer staff. I asked him, “Chuck, how long have you been married?” He said, “It will be sixty years this summer.” When you have been married sixty years, you have secret sauce to share. You have the kind of wisdom that needs to speak into a twenty-year-old who thinks he knows marriage from reading a book. You can sit him down and say, “Son, let me tell you what sixty years looks like. Let me tell you what it means to be faithful through bankruptcy, through the loss of a child, through moments we thought we wouldn’t make it, and into the deep joy of lasting covenant.”

In a church where the demographic tends to be younger, you might feel like putting in earplugs during worship and wondering if you belong. You are wanted here. You are needed here. Be Gandalf. Be Yoda. Pass on what God has shown you. Younger believers have energy and passion, but they do not yet have your wisdom.

You have to initiate, because they may be too intimidated to approach you. Invite a few young adults over for dinner. Barbecue some ribs—they will walk over broken glass barefoot for free ribs! You don’t have to give formal lectures; just tell your stories. Share the hard times and the good times. Invite them into your Life Group, serve alongside them on ministry teams, and let them see the faithfulness of God in your life.

And this doesn’t just apply to senior citizens. If you have been married five years, or if life has put heavy “dog years” on you through trial, share what God has taught you. You are never too old—and never too seasoned—to be used by God.

Principle 2: Your Best Days Spiritually Should Never Be Behind You

The second principle from Othniel’s life is this: Your best days spiritually should never be behind you.

Othniel had already accomplished massive victories in Joshua 15. He could have rested on his laurels and said, “I took Hebron with Caleb, and I took Debir on my own. I did my part.” Over the passing decades, his life had grown more complex. He had a wife, children, a household to manage, and community responsibilities. His schedule was full. Yet when the call came, he showed up again.

We cannot rest on the accomplishments of yesterday because God always has new assignments, new spheres of influence, and new people to reach. We cannot live off the spiritual vapor of the past.

On our staff, we joke about how I played in the Freedom Bowl for Fresno State back in 1992. After we won, they threw a parade; I was riding on a fire engine waving at the city. People at the mall asked for autographs, and I’d joke and sign them “Trent Dilfer.” People still bring that game up to me today. But that was 1992! If you are still living off the haze of a thirty-year-old football game, you need to move on.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. I frequently hear people say, “I used to lead a Life Group back in 2004,” or “I used to serve before life got busy.” Years ago, I used to counsel newlyweds to take their entire first year off from serving to focus on their marriage. Some came back, but others vanished as if they had been raptured! We cannot coast on what we used to do.

Time to Stop Floating

The vision and purpose of our church has never changed. It has always been a revolution—grabbing your torch and pitchfork to storm the gates of hell for the gospel.

For over a decade, we have used the illustration of an above-ground Doughboy pool. When you run around the edge of a circular pool, you create a powerful whirlpool. When someone jumps in broken and exhausted, they can float for a while and let the current carry them. That is healthy and good. But at some point, if everyone floats, the current stops and the few people running get completely exhausted. To keep the momentum going, people have to put their feet down and start moving.

Across our campuses, we see thousands of adults each weekend. Yet we still face moments where children’s classrooms risk closing for lack of volunteers, or mission trips struggle to find team members. If all of us decided to light a torch, grab a pitchfork, and contribute, we would revolutionize our city for Jesus Christ.

If you are not currently in a Life Group, get into one. If you are not serving, find a place to serve. We cannot settle for being an entertaining religious show where people attend, listen to good music, hear a message, and go home unchanged. We are called to be a movement of disciples who make disciples.

Let’s learn the lesson from Othniel, the Lion of God: do not spiritually retire, do not let your best spiritual days stay in the past, and step up to serve God’s mission today.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, I am grateful that when You created the Church, You did not create an institution of passive religious enjoyment. You created a movement—a movement where You transform our hearts so that we live differently in our communities.

Lord, even as life becomes more complex and seasons change, help us to faithfully lead, disciple, and serve because that is who You have called us to be. Remind us that we never age out of Your purposes.

Continue the work of gospel influence through our church. May we be inspired by the example of Othniel, stepping forward in the power of Your Holy Spirit to make an eternal difference. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.