1. These are the nations the Lord left behind to test all the Israelites who had not experienced any war in Canaan.
2. The Lord left them to teach Israel’s descendants about war, at least those who had known nothing about it in the past.
3. He left the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived on Mount Lebanon from Mount Baal Hermon to the border of Hamath.
4. These nations were left to test the Israelites, to find out if they would obey the commands the Lord had given their ancestors through Moses.
5. So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
6. The Israelites allowed their sons and daughters to marry these people. Israel also served their gods.
7. The people of Israel did what the Lord considered evil. They forgot the Lord their God and served other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Asherahs.
8. The Lord became angry with the people of Israel. He used King Cushan Rishathaim of Aram Naharaim to defeat them. So Israel served Cushan Rishathaim for eight years.
9. Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help. The Lord sent a savior to rescue them. It was Othniel, son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz.