After God used Moses to bring the people out of the bondage of Egypt, he sent the spies into the promised land. Two of those spies were Joshua and Caleb. Caleb’s youngest brother was Othniel, who was the first Judge God used to rule the land.
Although the leaders of the people were known as judges, their chief function was not that of deciding cases of law, but that of providing political and military leadership in times of crises.
The historian of this period was convinced that Israel should have had a different type of leadership, and expresses this attitude.
Look at Judges 17:6, we read, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
During the time of the Judges, whenever conditions became intolerable, God would raise a Judge to deliver His people from the hands of the enemy.
The book of Kings is a history lesson about the Kings God used to lead Israel and Judah.
The Book of Judges is a history lesson on the Judges.
The period of the judges came to an end with Samuel, who is also referred to as a seer and a prophet, and who anointed Saul to be the first King of Israel.
But in this lesson let’s look at the second Judge, Ehud.
Let’s look at-
I. I. THE MAN
WHO IS EHUD? We read about him in Judges 3:11-29, in our text for this sermon. The Bible has a great deal to say about him. He is the spiritual “JAMES BOND” of the JUDGES!
When Israel sinned, God always used nations that surrounded them to be his whipping rod.
As Ehud’s story is introduced, we see that Israel’s evil-doing led to an enemy taking control. That enemy was EGLON, KING OF MOAB.
WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT KING EGLON?
• He was a very over weight King that ruled over the Moabites for eighteen years.
• He was allowed to overpower Israel and he demanded a percentage of Israel’s gross national product.
• Moab was situated east of the Dead Sea.
• Eglon crossed the Jordon and took the city of Jericho, known as the ”City of Palms.”
Look at verses 12-14, we read, “And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.”
We need to remember that Joshua uttered a curse upon any who might dare rebuild Jericho, which Eglon carelessly disregarded to his peril.
Eglon’s name means a “bullock” — appropriate, considering his size…and death!
Israel cried out to God, and Ehud became their deliverer.
Look at Judges 3:15, “But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.”
Notice, the Bible says Ehud was left handed. Ehud came from the tribe of Benjamin, for which being left-handed was not that unusual.
Look at Judges 20:16, we read, “Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss.”
In other words, these people from the tribe of Benjamin did not see being left handed as a handicap.
Illus: This is like seeing someone in America driving with the steering wheel of their car on the right side. We think that is strange, but if you go to England that would not seem odd at all.
Just because people do not do things the way we do them does not mean they are weird. IT IS A MATTER OF PREFERENCE.
Illus: For example, we have a Christian radio station in town that plays contemporary music for young people. I do not like it because I think the emphasis is on the BEAT not on the MESSAGE of a song. However, it is a matter of preference. Do I think they are weird for listening to such music? I can only say this: they have a PREFERENCE I do not care for in music. That does not make them weird, it makes them different!
Often, if people do not do things the way we do them, we are quick to criticize them.
If we look at the text where it says he was left-handed, we find that the text literally reads: “a man restricted in his right hand”.
That would mark him as a non-warrior, and one who could be safely left alone with the king. Left-handedness in ancient times was considered peculiar and unnatural by most people other than the people of the tribe of Benjamin.
God chose to use Ehud because he saw it as an asset as we will soon begin to see!
Without being left-handed, Ehud would have never been able to smuggle his dagger into Eglon’s palace. The guards, assuming he was right-handed, only checked his left side.
We have looked at THE MAN, but also let’s look at-
II. THE ASSASSIN
Look at Judges 3:16-26, we read, “But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them. When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber. And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth. And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.”
The Israelites sent Ehud with gifts to Eglon, providing him the opportunity for carrying out a daring, risky scheme. The pleased king may well have thought, “It’s about time these Jews showed me the proper respect!”
In those days it was customary to make a lavish ceremony out of presenting gifts to monarchs, appealing to their vanity. Ehud came presenting an offering to Eglon, but the king unknowingly was the real offering; he was the “fatted calf”!
Eglon fattened himself on the gifts he had extorted from the Jews.
Look at the scheme that Ehud was to carry out. He had to come up with two things:
(1) HE NEEDED A WEAPON
Look at verse 16, we read, “But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.”
Ehud likely fashioned the blade appropriate to the size of Eglon, yet small enough to conceal. It was more like a dagger or stiletto.
The double-edge is to ensure the fatality of a quick thrust. He then hid it in his flowing garments, giving the appearance of one unarmed.
(2) HE NEEDED A PLAN
Ehud then devised a means of gaining a private audience with the king with his “secret”.
Ehud sent the tribute-bearers away, giving greater plausibility to his claim that he had a “secret message” for Eglon’s ears only.
King Eglon was flattered by Ehud’s willingness to share this confidential information so he ordered everyone to depart, oblivious to danger. His gullible pride dictated that he alone should receive this privileged message.
Illus: It’s often said that “knowledge is power”, and thus many people hold close their information, not wanting others to share the wealth.
• We see this in corporations large and small.
• On a national level, leaks can compromise homeland security.
Eglon expected to learn things that would increase his hold on the throne. He shut the doors in eager anticipation. This was a private “upper room”
Look at verse 20-23, we read, “And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.”
The room was situated on the roof of the house, with several windows to catch the breeze.
Here we catch his sense of divine calling, that he’s acting as God’s servant. Ehud said, “I have a message from God unto thee.”
Ehud is admittedly a controversial character, and people have questioned his actions, but he was not a terrorist; he was defending God’s people against Moab’s oppression.
Verse 15 clearly calls Ehud, “Israel’s deliverer”. Alone with Ehud, Eglon struggled from his seat and stood up out of superstitious respect to hear the divine message.
The detail at this point becomes a bit graphic. The Bible gives us all the gory details:
• Ehud then brutally stabbed the king, and the Hebrew text indicates that Eglon’s muscles that closes a bodily opening exploded from the deadly blow and a stench filled the room.
• Ehud was not able to retrieve his weapon, which remained inside the king.
• Ehud quickly locked the door and departed without incident or suspicion, putting the king’s servants in an embarrassing position.
• The king appeared to be using the latrine; but after a long while, they gradually got up enough nerve to unlock the door and realize the “foul” odor that filled the room was due to “foul” play.
Ehud then swiftly rallied his army, giving credit to God, shouting to his troops. In verse 28-30, we read, “And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.”
The Moabites, like Eglon, are “struck down” by the hand of Israel.
We looked at THE MAN and THE ASSASSIN, now look at -
III. THE LESSON
We sometimes let ourselves be defeated by our limitations; by things no more significant than being left-handed.
Thinking we’re not good enough keeps us from offering God our service. God’s ability to use us should raise our expectations. When we recognize our weakness, we turn things over to God.
Illus: Missionary Hudson Taylor stated: “God chose me because I was weak enough.”
I’ve tried to not dwell on the gruesome details, but we need to understand that Ehud’s actions saved Israel from cruel enemy oppression.
Ehud recognized that this was war, and war is always cruel and brutal.
The thing that our military is trained to do is to DESTROY and KILL. However, when they do their jobs, these liberal politicians and the news media start attacking the very ones that give them the right to say the ridiculous things they say.
Conclusion:
We learn something else about Ehud. God used one man to motivate a whole army to defeat the Moabites.
Illus: We hear a great deal today about the evil influence of Hollywood actors and entertainers We do not hear that:
• One person can take it upon themselves to turn a cold church into becoming a friendly church.
• One person can be used of God to get a youth group on fire for the Lord.
• One person can be used of God to motivate a church to do things that have failed in the past but that may work in the future.
• One person can be used of the Lord to reach the lost.
We have looked at:
I. THE MAN
II. THE ASSASSIN
III. THE LESSON
