Judg 1:16 | KingComments | STEP | Opposite the “spirit of … power and love and discipline” ( ) of Caleb, Achsah and Othniel are the Kenites. The Kenites come from Midian, to which also belonged the wife of Moses ( ). Midian is a descendant of Abraham through his wife Ketura ( ). Because of this, Midian is connected with Israel in a double way, namely through Moses as well as through Abraham. It seems that the Kenites, at the invitation of Moses, went with the people when Israel left Egypt ( ). Yet they have never made themselves one with the people of God. It may be that Israel is a kind of nest for the Kenites, but not more than that ( ). This verse seems to confirm this (cf. ). They do go up with the sons of Judah, but they go to live with Harad, without any fight. They will just live there “with the people”. They are people who maintain their wilderness habits while living in the land of blessing. They benefit from the security that the land gives them, without worrying about the blessings that the land contains. They adapt easily to their surroundings. The meaning of the name Harad is in line with this. Harad means ‘place of the wild donkey’. A wild donkey represents a person who thinks and acts according to his own nature, without having a connection with God. To that place the Kenites go to live. In professing Christianity we meet people who resemble the Kenites. These are people who talk a lot about the things of God, while their daily lives show that they’re busy with the things of men. They “are not setting” their “mind on God’s interests, but man’s” ( ). Let us be careful not to resemble them. This can happen if we feel comfortable with the people of God because they offer some protection, but we do not want to identify too much with them. We also feel at home with the people of the world. This kind of half-heartedness is not an adornment for someone who knows the blessings with which God has blessed him in Christ. Therefore we see this contrast between the Kenites and Caleb and his family.

‏ Judges 1:16

The Kenites

Opposite the “spirit of … power and love and discipline” (2Tim 1:7) of Caleb, Achsah and Othniel are the Kenites. The Kenites come from Midian, to which also belonged the wife of Moses (Exo 2:15-21). Midian is a descendant of Abraham through his wife Ketura (Gen 25:1-2). Because of this, Midian is connected with Israel in a double way, namely through Moses as well as through Abraham.

It seems that the Kenites, at the invitation of Moses, went with the people when Israel left Egypt (1Sam 15:6). Yet they have never made themselves one with the people of God. It may be that Israel is a kind of nest for the Kenites, but not more than that (Num 24:21). This verse seems to confirm this (cf. Jdg 4:17).

They do go up with the sons of Judah, but they go to live with Harad, without any fight. They will just live there “with the people”. They are people who maintain their wilderness habits while living in the land of blessing. They benefit from the security that the land gives them, without worrying about the blessings that the land contains. They adapt easily to their surroundings.

The meaning of the name Harad is in line with this. Harad means ‘place of the wild donkey’. A wild donkey represents a person who thinks and acts according to his own nature, without having a connection with God. To that place the Kenites go to live.

In professing Christianity we meet people who resemble the Kenites. These are people who talk a lot about the things of God, while their daily lives show that they’re busy with the things of men. They “are not setting” their “mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Mt 16:23).

Let us be careful not to resemble them. This can happen if we feel comfortable with the people of God because they offer some protection, but we do not want to identify too much with them. We also feel at home with the people of the world. This kind of half-heartedness is not an adornment for someone who knows the blessings with which God has blessed him in Christ. Therefore we see this contrast between the Kenites and Caleb and his family.