The First Judge — TDW Kids

What Is a Judge?

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The book of Judges is named after the leaders God sent to rescue Israel. Othniel was the first one. But what exactly was a judge?

Not a courtroom. Today a judge wears a robe and sits in a courtroom. The judges in this book were different. Most of them were rescuers and leaders.

Chosen by God. “Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them” (Judges 2:16). The people did not vote. God chose.

God was with them. “The Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge” (Judges 2:18).

Moved by pity. God sent judges because “the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning” (Judges 2:18). God's rescue came from His kind heart.

A judge rescued. Judges 3:9 calls Othniel “a deliverer.” A judge's first job was to set God's people free from their enemies.

A judge led. Othniel “judged Israel” (Judges 3:10). After the rescue, a judge helped the people live God's way again. A judge pointed people back to the Lord.

The first judge. Othniel was the first judge named in the book. He shows what a good judge looks like: chosen by God, filled with the Spirit and faithful to the end.

More judges came. After Othniel came Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Samson and others. Each one was a gift from God to a people who did not deserve it.

Every judge died. “When the judge was dead,” the people went back to idols (Judges 2:19). No judge could change the people's hearts for good. Only God can give a person a new heart.

The real Rescuer. Behind every judge stood the Lord. He saw the sin, heard the cry and sent the help. The judges were His tools.

Jesus, Savior and Judge. “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Jesus came first to save, and one day He will judge the whole world with perfect fairness.

What we learn. God does not leave His people without help. He raises up rescuers, and He sent the greatest Rescuer of all.

What to do. Thank God this week for the leaders He has given you: parents, pastors and teachers. Pray for one of them by name each day.

The Hebrew name of the book is Shophetim (say: shoh-feh-TEEM), Judges. Othniel is the first judge named, and his life shows what a judge was meant to be.

Shaphat (say: shah-FAHT). The verb means to judge, rule and put things right. In Judges it describes leaders who rescued Israel and then led the people. Deborah is the one judge shown hearing cases, as Israel “came up to her for judgment” (Judges 4:5).

Raised up (2:16). The judges were not elected and did not inherit the job. Every time, the Lord raised up the deliverer. Leadership in Judges came from God's call, not from human ambition.

Moved to pity (2:18). The Hebrew nacham (say: nah-KHAHM) here means to be moved with compassion. God's rescue came from His heart, not from Israel's goodness.

A small savior. In 3:9 Othniel is called a moshia (say: moh-SHEE-ah), a deliverer or savior. Ehud is given the same title in 3:15. The judges were small saviors who point to the great Savior.

A model judge. Othniel is raised up, filled with the Spirit, judges, wins and gives rest. Later judges are often fearful or deeply flawed, like Gideon and Samson. Othniel stands at the start as a faithful example.

Borrowed strength. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (3:10). Even the best judge needed God's power. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6).

Temporary saviors. “When the judge was dead… they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers” (2:19). The judges could change Israel's situation, but not Israel's heart.

Waiting for a king. The book ends, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The judges left Israel longing for a better leader.

Jesus the Judge. Jesus said the Father has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). The perfect Judge of the world is the One who died for it.

Jesus the Savior. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).

One Mediator. Each judge stood between Israel and its enemy for a time. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). He “always lives to make intercession” (Hebrews 7:25).

Application. Leaders in your church and home are gifts, but they are not your savior. Honor them, pray for them and put your final trust in Christ.

A Man God Made Ready

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Othniel did not appear out of nowhere. Long before he became a judge, God was making him ready.

Caleb's family. Othniel was “the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother” (Judges 3:9). He grew up close to Caleb.

A faithful example. Caleb was one of the twelve spies. He trusted God when ten others were afraid of the giants. Caleb “wholly followed the Lord God of Israel” (Joshua 14:14).

A hard city. When Israel came into the land, Caleb promised his daughter Achsah as a wife to the man who captured the city of Kiriath Sepher. Othniel took the city and married Achsah (Judges 1:12-13).

Courage before the call. Othniel was brave in a smaller battle long before God called him to rescue the whole nation. God often trains us in small things first. Telling the truth, helping at home and being kind when nobody is watching are small battles too.

A family of faith. Faith can be passed down. Paul wrote to Timothy about “the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” (2 Timothy 1:5).

Waiting for God's time. Othniel did not make himself the leader. When the time came, “the Lord raised up a deliverer” (Judges 3:9).

Still needing God. Even a brave man with years of experience needed God's power. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (Judges 3:10). Being ready is good, but it never takes the place of depending on God.

A real win. “His hand prevailed over Cushan-Rishathaim” (Judges 3:10). Prevailed means won. The Lord gave the victory.

Peace for a lifetime. Under Othniel, “the land had rest for forty years” (Judges 3:11). One faithful man, filled with God's Spirit, blessed a whole nation.

God's Son, sent at the right time. “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus came at exactly the right moment, full of the Spirit, to win the greatest victory on the cross.

Training at home. “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).

What we learn. God prepares the people He uses. The faith you learn at home and the courage you show in small things matter to Him.

What to do. Ask an older Christian in your family or church how God has helped them. Then ask God to make you ready for whatever He has for you.

Othniel led Israel to forty years of rest, but God had been preparing him for many years before that, in Caleb's household.

Son of Kenaz (3:9). Othniel came from Caleb's family. Caleb is called “the Kenizzite” (Joshua 14:14), so the family name Kenaz ran through both of them.

Wholehearted (Joshua 14:14). Caleb “wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.” Forty-five years after the spies went out, he still asked for the hill country where the giants lived (Joshua 14:10-12). Othniel grew up hearing that kind of faith.

Kiriath Sepher (Judges 1:11-13). Kiriath Sepher (say: KEER-yath SEH-fer) means city of the book. It was also called Debir. Caleb promised his daughter Achsah to the man who captured it, and Othniel did (Joshua 15:15-17).

A family that asked boldly. Achsah then asked her father for springs of water to go with her land, and Caleb gave them (Judges 1:14-15). Othniel's household knew how to ask for good gifts and trust them to be given.

Prepared, then raised up. Experience did not make Othniel a judge. “The Lord raised up a deliverer” (3:9). God uses preparation, but the call is His.

Prepared, then empowered. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon him” (3:10). Training and courage were not enough. Othniel needed God's power for God's work.

Faith passed on. Paul honored the “genuine faith” that lived in Timothy's grandmother and mother before it lived in him (2 Timothy 1:5). He also reminded him, “from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Generations matter. Judges 2:10 describes a generation “who did not know the Lord.” Othniel's family is the opposite picture: a family where the Lord was known and followed.

The prepared Son. Jesus grew up in a faithful home in Nazareth, and “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son” (Galatians 4:4). God's timing in sending Jesus was perfect.

The Spirit without limit. At His baptism the Spirit came down on Jesus, and He began His work in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14). Othniel's victory freed Israel for forty years. Jesus' victory frees His people forever.

Application. Your faithfulness now, in small things and in your family, is part of how God prepares you. Ask Him to make you ready, and depend on His Spirit, not on your experience.

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