Judges 3:15-30
Ehud (continued)
15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch[b] and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Growing up as a preacher’s kid included jokes on how awful the preacher’s children really are. That comes with the position, I guess. But I beg to differ! it’s not that we are evil or more mischievous than others, like the deacon’s kids. But, it’s the preachers’ kids who are more noticed by the church. There was one time, my father lost his fountain pen in the baptistry during church. While having our after-church, Sunday dinner, dad said he needed one of us boys, for I have four brothers, to get your swim trunks on, go over and open the church building, and go to the baptistry and get dad’s fountain pen. I drew the shortest toothpick, so I got to go. Foolish me! I went to go into the baptistry. Instead of walking down the steps, I dove in and splash! The water went everywhere. From that day on, the choir members had to use hymn books that were wrinkled from the water spots. On the day of choir practice, dad made sure that I apologized to the choir and confess my guilt and ask for forgiveness. This was a humbling experience and a good lesson I will never forget. However, I was always known as the culprit who went diving and swimming in the baptistry. In today’s lessons, we are going to see how God disciplined Israel for their rebellion and disobedience. Israel was negligent in their repentance and that cause them to suffer longer than needed. Additionally, because their repentance was delayed so long, their affliction became so intense. Finally they cried out in desperation to the Lord. In conclusion, we will see the attributes of God, his faithfulness to his promises, His people, and mercy when his people repent and return to Him.
Our passage today is a continuation of our lesson on Ehud, Israel’s second judge. In verse 3:15, the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, He heard them, and provided a deliverer. It is important to note how God is directly involved in all the affairs of His people. in our previous study in verse 3:12, the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord after the death of Othniel. Therefore, it was the Lord their God who disciplined them by strengthening Eglon the king of Moab. He suppressed Israel and place them under subjection. After 18 years, when Israel finally cried out to God, then the Lord God of Israel heard their cry and answered their prayers. God sent them a deliverer. God, the one true God, the Creator and covenant-making God of Israel, who is not made of stones, wood, gold, or silver, is a spirit, and those that worship Him worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24-26). The one true God gave His son Israel what they needed: discipline when they needed discipline, and answered prayers when they cried out to the Lord. We too have His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5). Herbert Locklear, author of All the Promises in the Bible, found 7,147 promises for God’s people. The Bible is an infinite source of encouragement for the children of God. To worship Him in the way God prescribes is to trust Him and His Word, for His word is sufficient for all our needs (Psalm 19:7-11).
Another important thing to note is the desperation of Israel when they cried out to God. We are reminded of Hannah, the wife of Elkana in 1 Samuel 1. She was barren and desperately wanted a child. When she went to the tabernacle to pray, she was moaning in agony. The High Priest, Eli, thought she was blasphemous for coming to the tabernacle drunk with wine. Hannah said to Eli in 1 Samuel 1:15-16, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” A broken heart is a burden that seems like one cannot bare alone. But our loving, sovereign God is in control and has a plan for all our afflictions that come our way. These afflictions are designed by God. I like the way the old puritan preacher says that we are in Christ’s school because of the afflictions He sends (John Dod, Ralph Venning, William Ames, et al.). Psalm 51:16-17 says, “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Today, we also have burdens, afflictions, and brokenness that are too difficult to bear. We must come to Christ, pray, and cast our cares upon Him. But don’t delay as the Israelites did. Why should we carry this load so needlessly, if we would only come to Him? These burdens are the sacrifices that He has ordained. All our tears are precious gems in His sight. With them, we offer our sacrifice of praise and worship. No one can wipe a tear away, heal a broken soul, and set the captives free, more than the Lord our God. No one can worship God more than one who is healed and made whole.
The deliverer that God provided was Ehud from the tribe of Benjamine. The first judge, Othniel, was from the tribe of Judah. It is interesting to note that these two tribes, Judah and Benjamine, were the two competing tribes when Israel rejected God as their leader and desired a king, like the other nations. The first king was Saul from the tribe of Benjamine. He was a man of great stature who won the hearts of the people. However, Saul was rejected by God because of his disobedience. The next king that God chose was King David from the tribe of Judah. King David was a man after God’s own heart and through him, the promised Messiah would come. First Samuel 16:7 says, “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” We also need to have a walk with God knowing that His omniscience and sovereignty dictate our affairs. Like David, who confessed in Psalm 139:7-10,
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
In our passage, Ehud was chosen to take Israel’s tribute to King Eglon of Moab. However, he hid a weapon so he can fulfill God’s call to him as the deliverer of Israel. Ehud went to meet with Eglon the king of Moab, who was a very fat man. At the meeting, Eglon went to roof and Ehud followed him because he told Eglon he has a word for him from God. But, while alone in the cool roof chamber (also known as the “helelua”, the Hawaiian word for toilet). Ehud struck Eglon down, bringing deliverance to Israel. Ehud escaped to Ephraim and mustered up an army. They went with Ehud, struck down Moab, and gained their freedom. As a result, Israel enjoyed peace and rest for eighty years under Ehud’s leadership.
A few applications are meaningful for us. We need to realize that all Christians, through God’s process of sanctification, will enter Christ’s School of Affliction sometime in their life. Affliction is how God trains and increases our faith so we can be like Him. However, in afflictions, we must not be like the Israelites who took eighteen years before they cried out to the Lord. No! Instead, we need to humble ourselves under the disciplining hand of our loving Lord and submit to His will in repentance. A lesson is to be learned and we are to be willing. Additionally, we need to reflect on God’s attributes and be reminded of His love, omniscience, and sovereignty when we are suffering under God’s hand. It is easier to humble ourselves knowing that God is doing good work in us to conform us to His image. And He will continue the good work He started (Philippians 1:6). Therefore, we must be watchful, prayerful, and quick to repent.
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My Lord and my God, I cry out to You because of my sin. Help me Lord, cleanse me and make me whole. Forgive me. I confess that I have treaded upon You precious blood You shed for me in atonement for my sins. Sanctify Lord God. Make me holy and cause me to hate sin. Give me a godly repentance that leads me to salvation. May everything I do and say, give all glory to my Lord Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee, by Martin Luther (1524); Translator: Catherine Winkworth (1863)
