Judges 3 – Part 3

QUESTION: Obesity/Left-Handedness - 3

ANSWER:

Judges 3 – Part 3

by Pastor Nathan Shepherd (Dive Chapel, Candle Key, Florida)

“When Ehud was safely inside the summer parlor of the palace, where big Eggie was hanging out, he gave the king the gifts and told Eglon the Enormous he had a secret message for him. The king made all of his court: bodyguards, food tasters – and there were probably a whole bunch of them, cupbearers, ladies in waiting, knights in shining armor, Moabite bean counters, scribes, harp players, you get the picture. He sent them all out of the room. When they were all gone, Ehud jumped up, pulled out his homemade dagger and thrust it into Eglon’s fat belly. The Bible says in verse 22, ‘Even the hilt went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out.’

“Wow. Now that dude probably had some serious, serious entrails. I imagine Ehud having to really make a run for it so he wouldn’t get run over by them.” There were boos and ooohs from the congregation.

“Okay, okay. Ehud then locked the main door and snuck out through a porch window and got away. Eglon’s servants came to check on him, but when they found the door locked, they figured he was in the bathroom. So, embarrassed, they waited and waited. That gave Ehud time to make his getaway. When the servants finally broke into the room, well, you can only imagine how bad that was.

“When Ehud got back to the mountains, where the nation of Israel had been in hiding for 18 years, he mightily blew a trumpet, fired up the Israelites and led them into battle against Moab. Verse 29 and 30 say, ‘And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.’

“Verse 31 of chapter 3 tells the story of Shamgar, the one-verse wonder who killed six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad, which is a sharp stick used to prod cattle. But the main thing I want you to get from Judges 3 has to do with Ehud. He was left-handed, supposedly cursed, from the looked-down-upon tribe of Benjamin. Yet, the Lord had huge plans for his life. No matter what you think your limitations are, the Lord can use you for greatness.

“I heard a guy on the radio the other day say, ‘The Lord does not call those who are qualified, He qualifies those who are called.’ Pretty cool, huh? Well, that’s how God works. He designed you His way. In Psalm 139, it says that while you were in your mother’s womb, God was fitting you together and ordaining your days. He designed you. Separately, you. You are built the way God wants you to be and He has a plan for your life if you will follow Him. Ehud did and he defeated the fattest king ever to squash a throne.”

Judges 4 – Go!