Judg 3:3 | KingComments | STEP | The enemies mentioned by name are the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites. The area of the enemies is also described. Each enemy has its own field of activity. The Philistines are mentioned first. So we find it also in Joshua 13 ( ). There the LORD says that there is still much land left to take possession of. When the land not conquered is listed, the area of the Philistines is mentioned first. The Philistines occupy a special place among the enemies of Israel. They are the most persistent enemies. Only when David is king he will take away the strength from this enemy, but even then he is not completely eliminated. Even then he remains active, even if he is no longer the ruler over the people. It is remarkable that not the Philistine people are mentioned here, but “five lords of the Philistines”. In Joshua 13 we read about the same five lords and the names of the places they reign are listed ( ). Three of these places Judah has captured ( ). But here it turns out that they have not done this adequately. The Philistines are a people who have nestled in the land and claim it for themselves. In Exodus 13 we read that God allows His people to leave Egypt and that He “did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near” ( ). The shortest route to Canaan would have been via the land of the Philistines. Yet this is not the way God has shown His people. He has had a different way for them in mind, a way in which they have had experiences with Him and through which they have come to know Him and also themselves better. The Philistines entered the land by another way. They are a picture of a people who do not know the salvation out of Egypt, although they are connected to it, because they originally come from Egypt. In Genesis 10 Mizraim is mentioned as an ancestor of the Philistines, and Mizraim is Egypt ( ). This means that both Israel and the Philistines had to deal with Egypt. The difference is that Israel has been there in slavery and redeemed by God, while the Philistines are a wandering people who have left Egypt but have never known salvation. They also know nothing of experiences with God in the wilderness and of a passage through the Jordan to get into the promised land. The Philistines represent people who say they are Christians, who say they are entitled to the blessings of God, but who have no life from God. They have never sincerely confessed their sins before God and do not participate in salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus. They are nominal Christians. They are people who, in their so-called being Christians, are guided by their own thoughts and feelings. Nominal Christians bend the Bible to their will. Serving God they do so in the way that seems best to them. Their religion is determined by the ‘five lords’. We can compare this with the five senses of man. In serving God, the nominal Christian is guided by what he hears, sees, smells, feels and tastes, that is to say, purely by his own perception and not by the Spirit of God, for he does not possess Him. This way of religion is common in professing Christianity. It is not what God says that determines, but what man thinks. When the opinion of nominal Christians becomes decisive in the things of God, the Philistines as it were are in charge, and the people of God are robbed of God’s blessing and the enjoyment thereof. About the second enemy mentioned here, the Canaanites, some things have been written about in the discussion of Judges 1:8-9. Further on, at of this chapter, some more will be added. The third enemy comes from Sidon. This is in the area of Asher ( ). Because of the unfaithfulness of Asher, this enemy is still alive and exercises his influence. Because of this, the Israelites began to serve the gods of Sidon ( ). The judgment prophecy about Sidon ( ) shows that Sidon was for Israel a ‘prickling brier or a painful thorn’. God blames this city for the inhabitants having enriched themselves with His silver and gold and for having traded His people as merchandise ( ). The enemy Sidon represents to us is the thirst for wealth. When greed reigns over the people of God, it becomes a plague that prevents them from enjoying God’s blessings. The relationship between Sidon’s greed for money and the pain that Sidon brings to the people of God in all times is aptly expressed in 1 Timothy 6. There we read: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” ( ). Can it be said clearer? The Hivites are discussed when we discuss .

‏ Judges 3:3

The Enemies

The enemies mentioned by name are the Philistines and all the Canaanites and the Sidonians and the Hivites. The area of the enemies is also described. Each enemy has its own field of activity. The Philistines are mentioned first. So we find it also in Joshua 13 (Jos 13:1-2). There the LORD says that there is still much land left to take possession of. When the land not conquered is listed, the area of the Philistines is mentioned first.

The Philistines occupy a special place among the enemies of Israel. They are the most persistent enemies. Only when David is king he will take away the strength from this enemy, but even then he is not completely eliminated. Even then he remains active, even if he is no longer the ruler over the people.

It is remarkable that not the Philistine people are mentioned here, but “five lords of the Philistines”. In Joshua 13 we read about the same five lords and the names of the places they reign are listed (Jos 13:3). Three of these places Judah has captured (Jdg 1:18). But here it turns out that they have not done this adequately.

The Philistines are a people who have nestled in the land and claim it for themselves. In Exodus 13 we read that God allows His people to leave Egypt and that He “did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near” (Exo 13:17). The shortest route to Canaan would have been via the land of the Philistines. Yet this is not the way God has shown His people. He has had a different way for them in mind, a way in which they have had experiences with Him and through which they have come to know Him and also themselves better.

The Philistines entered the land by another way. They are a picture of a people who do not know the salvation out of Egypt, although they are connected to it, because they originally come from Egypt. In Genesis 10 Mizraim is mentioned as an ancestor of the Philistines, and Mizraim is Egypt (Gen 10:13-14). This means that both Israel and the Philistines had to deal with Egypt.

The difference is that Israel has been there in slavery and redeemed by God, while the Philistines are a wandering people who have left Egypt but have never known salvation. They also know nothing of experiences with God in the wilderness and of a passage through the Jordan to get into the promised land.

The Philistines represent people who say they are Christians, who say they are entitled to the blessings of God, but who have no life from God. They have never sincerely confessed their sins before God and do not participate in salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus. They are nominal Christians. They are people who, in their so-called being Christians, are guided by their own thoughts and feelings.

Nominal Christians bend the Bible to their will. Serving God they do so in the way that seems best to them. Their religion is determined by the ‘five lords’. We can compare this with the five senses of man. In serving God, the nominal Christian is guided by what he hears, sees, smells, feels and tastes, that is to say, purely by his own perception and not by the Spirit of God, for he does not possess Him.

This way of religion is common in professing Christianity. It is not what God says that determines, but what man thinks. When the opinion of nominal Christians becomes decisive in the things of God, the Philistines as it were are in charge, and the people of God are robbed of God’s blessing and the enjoyment thereof.

About the second enemy mentioned here, the Canaanites, some things have been written about in the discussion of Judges 1:8-9. Further on, at Jdg 3:5 of this chapter, some more will be added.

The third enemy comes from Sidon. This is in the area of Asher (Jdg 1:31). Because of the unfaithfulness of Asher, this enemy is still alive and exercises his influence. Because of this, the Israelites began to serve the gods of Sidon (Jdg 10:6). The judgment prophecy about Sidon (Eze 28:21-24) shows that Sidon was for Israel a ‘prickling brier or a painful thorn’. God blames this city for the inhabitants having enriched themselves with His silver and gold and for having traded His people as merchandise (Joel 3:4-6).

The enemy Sidon represents to us is the thirst for wealth. When greed reigns over the people of God, it becomes a plague that prevents them from enjoying God’s blessings. The relationship between Sidon’s greed for money and the pain that Sidon brings to the people of God in all times is aptly expressed in 1 Timothy 6. There we read: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1Tim 6:10). Can it be said clearer?

The Hivites are discussed when we discuss Jdg 3:5.