1. God trains his people (1-6)

God decided to leave the Canaanites in the land (i) to train the new generation of Israel to fight and (ii) to test them to see if they would obey the Lord's commands. We too live in a real world. We must learn to fight spiritual battles. We must not surrender to the world, or be melted in the melting pot. The Israelites lived among the Canaanites. They forgot the Lord and served Baal, the god of material success and physical pleasure. Marriage is the touchstone of faith. God's people should marry to please God, not to please themselves. They shut God out of their marriages and intermarried with the Canaanites. God removed his protecting hand and they were overrun by the Arameans.

2. The first judge (3:5-11)

When, after eight years of suffering, they cried out to the Lord, he raised up Othniel to deliver them. He was Caleb's son-in-law. The Spirit of the Lord came on him and he defeated the king of Aram. The land had peace for forty years, until Othniel died.

Application: Lord, help me to fight the good fight of faith. Raise up faithful shepherds for your people.
One Word: Don't compromise; please God