I. Introduction
The story we are looking at this morning is in my opinion one of the wildest maybe one of the grossest stories in the Bible. In fact, the first time I heard it I said is that really in the Bible? We are looking at the second judge this morning in the book of Judges. The Judges’ name is Ehud. A friend of mine is a youth pastor in Winkler and I told him I was preaching on this passage this morning he got excited. He said one of his youth had wanted him to preach on this character, but he had not done it yet. This passage is a challenge to preach on because all the different commentaries have differing ideas and differing outcomes of this story. I want to point some those out to you, but I decided to look at one aspect of this story that can maybe speak to the more practical things on our lives today. But first, let you me tell you the story of Ehud in my words.
• The story starts out with the Israelite people falling back into their cycles of sin. They forgot the how God raised up Othniel to deliver them the last time they screwed up and worshiped other gods.
• Well they screwed up again and God allowed the King of Moab, King Eglon to become stronger and over –take the people of Israel and they became their slaves.
• So the Israelites screwed up and now are slaves of Kiln Eglon and his people.
• Once again the people of Israel called to God after this captivity went on for 18 years
• And once again God raised up a judge to deliver them, God raised up Ehud
• Now Ehud is from the Tribe of Benjamin and the Bible says he is left handed.
- This one little part about him being left handed is one of the causes of disagreement between theologians.
- Some say he was considered under privileged because he was left handed
- Some say he must have been deformed in his left hand
- So the sermon text could then be “God takes the weak and makes them strong” and that would work too!
- There are some that say he was ambidextrous, same strength in both hands.
- Some also point to Judges 20:16 that talks about the 700 men from the tribe of Benjamin who are called chosen men who were left handed and could not miss with their slings. Excellent fighters. So there is also good evidence that Ehud was one of these 700 warriors.
- Regardless, at the end of the day, despite all the opinions of the different theologians, we know that this guy is left handed!
• So the Israelites get Ehud to take a gift to King Eglon.
• Before Ehud goes to bring this gift he makes a sword with two edges that was 18 inches long and he attached it to his right tight under his clothes so it was concealed.
• When he arrives he presents the gift, the tribute to King Eglon.
• Now King Eglon is described as a very fat man.
• After Ehud had presented his gift to King Eglon, Ehud sent his team of people away that had helped him carry the gift for King Eglon.
• When he had sent his people away he turned back to the king and said I have a secret message for you.
• The King commanded silence and all of his attendants went out of the room.
• Ehud came up to the King who was sitting and they were up in his roof top chamber.
• Ehud said to King Eglon “I have a messaged from God for you”
• The King arose from his seat
• Ehud reached with his left hand and grabbed his dagger on his right tight and plunged it into the Kings belly.
• The Bible says the blade and handle went in and the kings fat covered it so that the knife could not be pulled out.
• Now here is where some of the story is lost in the translation.
• The NIV, The Message and others leave out the grouse part, but the Hebrew text would indicate that when he stabbed the King, the king’s poop came out of him. He soiled himself. The ESV and NASB translate it as dung, they bring out the gory details. The King James calls it dirt.
• Anyways, after Ehud does this, he escapes through the doors and locks them.
• After awhile, The King’s servants wonder where he is and go to the room, but they find the doors locked.
• The Nazarene Theologian Robert Branson says that maybe the smell of the King’s poop causes the servants to think that the King locked the door because he was relieving himself.
• Anyway, the Bible says that they did not disturb the King because they thought he was going to the washroom (that’s me putting into English)
• The servants waited a long time until it said they got embarrassed, but the doors still did not open.
• Finally they went to get a key, opened the door and found their King dead on the floor
• The story goes on to say that Ehud escaped while the servants delayed checking on their king.
• When he arrived back to his people he assembled the people by blowing a trumpet!
• He tells them to follow him for the Lord has given us our enemies in our hands.
• It says they went down and seized the strong holds and they killed 10,000 men.
- Now there is also some discrepancy here too!
- Some translate that these 10,000 men were strong and well able.
- Some translate that they were stout.
- My Nazarene Theologian friend says that these 10,000 men were all fat like their King, but they were strong
• The story ends with the Israelite people subduing their enemies And Judges 3:30 says that they had peace for 80 years.
Well what did you think of that story? Not your typical parable or story about Noah and the Ark, is it? I just want to look at this story briefly today and look at the implications for us. In all of this drama I see a group of people that realize they have sinned again and need help. I see a man that is ordained by God to help these people out of their predicament. Furthermore, I see a plan unfold and four steps to ensure this plan is successful, successful for the people of Israel. This same plan for success can work in our spiritual lives and also in our daily lives.
II. First, To be Successful, Ask God for Help
Judges 3:15 states:
Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer
The people of Israel cried out for help. There was some memory, some recognition that God had delivered their forefathers before them and they cried out to Him. This was the first step. They asked God to help them.
We too need to make this the first step in our lives. We need to ask God to help us. Whether it is in our spiritual lives, in our work, in our financial decisions, with our families, if we want success we need to ask God for help. Period.
We can come to God in pray any time and ask Him for guidance. Even a short sentence when walking into a situation is a good first step. I often to that before a task or an event, I offer up a quick prayer as I am walking and ask God to guide my words and thoughts and ask for His leading. To be successful we need to ask God for help and His leading. He gave us prayer; we just need to do it.
III. Second, to be successful we need to utilize our strength
Judges 3:21 says: Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly.
Like I mentioned before, there was a special acknowledgement the Ehud was Left handed. Regardless whether Ehud was disabled in his right hand or was naturally left handed or was ambidextrous, we get the picture that Ehud had an advantage being left handed. For Ehud his left handedness was a strength for him. Maybe even the element of surprise with the attack coming from the left as opposed to the right was the strength that Ehud had. It seems like a small detail, but the Bible does mention it.
So what are your strengths and are you utilizing them? Just like God gave Ehud strengths he has given you strengths. What do they look like? Are you using them?
Maybe hospitality is your strength,
- or doing something physical with your strength
- maybe book keeping is a strength for you
- maybe you’re a great conversationalist
- maybe you’re a creative person
- or you have the strength of compassion
There is so many strengths that we have and I see them in all of you. Ask me and if you give me a moment I will point out a gift in you. I may be putting myself on the spot here, but I believe others see the true strengths in our lives before we do sometimes or we are too modest.
Whatever the strengths we have, the question is this: Are we utilizing our strengths for the glory of God’s Kingdom? Are we using our strengths to share the love of Jesus with those we come in contact with?
Two shoe salesmen were sent to Africa. One sent a telegram home that said: “Get me home, nobody here wears shoes.” The other salesman’s telegram said: “Send me all of the shoes you can, nobody here wears shoes.”
Now I do not know if this was a true story, but one of the salesmen saw opportunity and took advantage of his strengths. Are we utilizing our strengths to be successful?
IV. Thirdly, to be successful, we need to have a plan
We see in the story of Ehud that Ehud had a plan. We see that from when he made a double edge knife; we see it in how he concealed that knife; in how he told the King he had a secret and how that got the King separated from the servants or guards.
But Ehud’s plan did not stop there. He had a plan of escape that would leave enough time before his enemies found out he had killed their King. Judges 3:23-26 states: Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them. 24 After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house.” 25 They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead. 26 While they waited, Ehud got away.
Ehud had a plan to be successful and he put it into action and Ehud’s plan was extensive. His plan got him into the King’s court, his plan got him alone with the King, his plan got the King killed and his plan got him safely back to his people to assemble his army.
Do you make plans and carry them trough to completion? When I was working towards becoming an ordained minister I had to go through behavioural interviews. There was a question that was worded this way: “Tell us of a time you started something and saw it through to completion”. They wanted to hear the planning, execution and end product. To get to the end product we need to have a plan. We need a plan to share our faith; we need a plan to use our strengths and we need a plan to accomplish great things for the kingdom.
British sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein was once visited in his studio by the eminent author and fellow Briton, George Bernard Shaw. The visitor noticed a huge block of stone standing in one corner and asked what it was for. "I don't know yet. I'm still making plans. "Shaw was astounded." You mean you plan your work. Why, I change my mind several times a day!" "That's all very well with a four-ounce manuscript," replied the sculptor, "but not with a four-ton block."
I think we all have known people that have had great ideas, but did not take the time to make a plan. And we cannot establish these plans apart from God. Tracie read from Proverbs 16 this morning and verse 3 said: Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. When you are planning turn to God in prayer and give you plans to him. That is the greatest partnership you can ever establish.
V. Conclusion
In conclusion I want to look at the fourth step to being successful. In order for us to be successful we need to seize opportunities. In Judges 16: 27-29 it says that Ehud arrived back at his men and he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them. 28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped.
Their King had been killed and their leadership was gone. Ehud did not hesitate; he assembled his troops and marched against this floundering group of people with no King.
How about you, how about us? Are we seizing the opportunities that are before us? Are we seeing to opportunities we have to share our faith and doing it? Often we can get a conversation started, even steer it towards spiritual questions, but can we see it through to completion when the opportunity arises.
God had called us to be a church in this community of Glen Elm. Are we seizing opportunities? On Tuesday we have 16-20 grades 5 and 6 kids coming to the church. On Friday there is often just as many Sr. high teens. Many of these kids have never come into a church before. We have an opportunity.
We have people outside our doors that are hurting, we have an opportunity.
We have people walking by our church each day, we have an opportunity. We have alcoholics and addicts living in our community, we have an opportunity. My dream is that we truly become a community church for the community God has placed us in. If every church in this city truly became a community church we would truly rock this city for Jesus.
Are we seizing these opportunities?
Benediction:
Shamgar, Judges3:31: Well the last verse of Judges three introduces to the third Judge in the book of Judges and there is only one verse about him. It says: After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.
Not much is said about Shamgar, but as we learned in the story of Othniel, that may not be a bad thing. No news is often good news. Shamgar did what he needed to do and he too saved Israel. We have a calling, we have our strengths, and we have our mission field right here. What we need is a plan and we need to seize the opportunities and we too can save our people!
Let’s Pray!
