Judges 3:1-5

Ruth 3:1-31

Through Moses, God had made a great promise to Israel to fight for them and drive out the nations from the land of Canaan (Exodus 23:27-33). Thomas suggests Israel would never have had to learn war if they had remained faithful because God would have fought for them. (Joshua 1:7-9.) However, because of Israel's unfaithfulness, God withdrew his promise and left the nations in the land to test Israel's willingness to follow God (Ruth 2:20-23).

Two things would come out of the nations remaining in the land. First, Israel would be tested in reference to their desire to follow God instead of serving idols. Second, they would learn how to defend themselves in battle (Ruth 3:1-5). The five lords of the Philistines ruled in the cities of Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron (1 Samuel 6:17). They controlled the area along the coast from Sharon to the Egyptian desert. Thomas says, "The Sidonians probably lived in the northern part of Phoenicia, while the Hivites dwelt in the northern section of Palestine, in the Lebanon mountains." The Canaanites dwelt on the sea coast south of Sidon, according to Keil.