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OK, Judges chapter 3. I'll just begin reading in verse 
7 and read to the end of the chapter. So the children of Israel 
did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their 
God and served the Baals and Asherahs. Therefore, the anger 
of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand 
of Cushon Rishithim, king of Mesopotamia. And the children 
of Israel served Cushon Rishithim eight years. When the children 
of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer 
for the children of Israel. Who delivered them? Othniel, 
the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. The spirit of the Lord 
came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and 
the Lord delivered Cushon Rishithim, king of Mesopotamia, into his 
hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushon 
Rishithim. So the land had rest 40 years. Then Othniel, the son of Kenaz, 
died. And the children of Israel again 
did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord strengthened 
Eglon, king of Moab, against Israel, because they had done 
evil in the sight of the Lord. Then he gathered to himself the 
people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took 
possession of the city of Palms. So the children of Israel served 
Eglon, king of Moab, 18 years. But when the children of Israel 
cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, 
Ehud, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him, the 
children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. Now, 
Ehud made himself a dagger. It was double-edged and a cubit 
length and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. 
So he brought the tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. Now, Eglon 
was a very fat man. And when he had finished presenting 
the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 
But he himself turned back from the stone images that were at 
Gilgal and said, I have a secret message for you, O king. He said, 
keep silence. And all who attended him went 
out from him. Now Ehud came to him. Now he 
was sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber. Then Ehud said, 
I have a message from God for you. So he arose from his seat. Then Ehud reached with his left 
hand, took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into 
his belly. 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. Then 
Ehud went out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper 
room behind him and locked them. When he had gone out, Eglon's 
servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of 
the upper room were locked. So they said, he is probably 
attending to his needs in the cool chamber. So they waited 
until they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the 
doors of the upper room. Therefore, they took the key 
and opened them. And there was their master, fallen 
dead on the floor. But Ehud had escaped while they 
delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Sarah. And it happened, when he arrived, 
that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim. And the 
children of Israel went down with him from the mountains, 
and he led them. Then he said to them, follow 
me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into 
your hands. So they went down after him, 
seized the fords of the Jordan, leading to Moab, and did not 
allow anyone to cross over. And at that time, they killed 
about 10,000 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 80 
years. After him was Shamgar, the son 
of Anath, who killed 600 men of the Philistines with an ox 
goad. And he also delivered Israel. 
Amen. How can you not love the book 
of Judges? I mean, this is just great stuff. 
So we've gotten into the largest part of the book. Remember chapters 
1 and 2 up to chapter 3, 6 is introductory, provides the context, 
both the geography of where they had failed to conquer, and then 
the theology as to what is going to take place in this period 
of judges. In chapter 2, we see the theme 
set forth, this whole idea of sin, oppression, and deliverance. 
And then in chapter 3, beginning in verse 7, all the way to 1631, 
we have the Book of Deliverers. We have God's response to the 
canonization of Israel. In other words, there are these 
recurring cycles. The people sin, God brings them 
under oppression, and then God delivers them. And so we have 
the first three judges this evening, Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar. And basically, Othniel is a noble 
Judahite deliverer. Ehud is a left-handed deliverer. And then this man Shamgar is 
probably not even an Israelite. He is an obscure non-Israelite 
deliverer that the Lord God uses for the good of his people. Now, in chapters 3, 6, 3, 7 to 
16, 31, there's formula that is used, and to varying degrees, 
each of these particular narratives follow it. Some of the elements 
are present, more so in some of the narratives, others aren't 
present at all. In fact, in Shamgar, none of 
the formulaic stuff is present, but basically what you have is 
a negative evaluation. The people of Israel sin. You 
have a statement that God then gives them over. You have a cry 
of distress from the people. God then raises up a deliverer, 
subjugates the oppressing power. Then there is a statement of 
peace or blessing that comes upon the people, at least for 
a time, and then the death of the ruler is indicated at the 
end of those particular narratives. So that's sort of the pattern. And in many ways, Othniel sets 
forth the pattern in a very formulaic manner. We don't get a lot of 
details about Othniel. It reads pretty straightforwardly, 
tells us what's going on, how it happens, and what the Lord 
does. Now with Ehud, it tells us lots of details and it's quite 
an exciting story and it's a specific purpose and view is that the 
author is writing to encourage the people of Israel with reference 
to the power and the glory of God and the fact that he delivers 
his people. But as well, he's writing to 
show them the horrible effects of sin. I mean, Moab and Eglon 
are painted in this second scenario in a very humorous sort of way. Eglon comes across as a buffoon. He's a big, fat, pompous man. that wants to hear a secret and 
ultimately dies and he's lying in his own fecal matter. This 
was meant to get a chuckle out of the people of Israel to realize 
that their God brought deliverance in this particular form. But 
it would also indicate to them how bad things had become. Because if Aglon is a bumbling 
buffoon and the Moabites are these kinds of people, nevertheless 
Israel was in subjection to them for 18 years because of their 
sin and because of their rebellion and because of their covenant 
on faithfulness. And so there's a lot of things 
going on in these passages for the instruction of Israel to 
encourage Israel but as well to remind them and show them 
what the effects of sin does or what the effects of sin brings 
upon a people. So let's look first at Othniel 
in verses 7 to 11. We see first the sin of Israel, 
verse 7. So the children of Israel did 
evil in the sight of the Lord. Just like back in chapter 2 at 
verse 11. Then the children of Israel did 
evil in the sight of the Lord. Chapter 2 is thematic. It announces 
what's going to happen in the rest of the book. Now, in 3 to 
16, we see these things fleshed out. We see the details given 
with the particular oppressing agents, and we see the details 
given with the particular deliverer. Note that they did evil in the 
sight of the Lord. This indicates that God is not 
an absentee deity. He's not far removed. He doesn't 
not pay attention. He knows what's going on with 
reference to His people. His people live before Him, whether 
for good or for ill. Solomon in the Proverbs says, 
the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the good and 
the evil. And certainly that was true in 
Old Covenant Israel. It's certainly true in New Covenant 
Israel. In the letters to the churches 
in Asia Minor, the Lord Jesus Christ says that He's the one 
that searches the heart. Jesus comes to these particular 
churches in Asia Minor, and He highlights the good things that 
they do, and He points out the bad things that they do, and 
then He tells them to repent. We need to understand the nearness 
of our God. We need to understand that when 
we sin, the Lord God sees. The Lord God is conscious of 
that, The Lord God's eyes are in every place, beholding the 
evil, but as well the good. We ought not to forget that either. Calvinists very often, we emphasize 
depravity and sin and wretchedness and all those sorts of things, 
and well we should, but Jesus does know the good works of those 
churches in Asia Minor, and he commends that to the degree that 
a church faithfully follows the Lord Jesus Christ and obeys the 
word, and makes much of the Word, we can trust that the Lord Jesus 
is pleased with such conduct and He approves of it. And so 
this is a lesson to learn with reference to the judges. The 
Lord God sees everything. The Lord God is conscious of 
what His people are doing. The Lord God is involved in the 
lives both of individuals and corporately. So the children 
of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. This is then fleshed 
out in a couple of particulars. One, they forgot the Lord their 
God. Again, it wasn't as if there 
was no concept whatsoever of Yahweh. It wasn't as if he was 
absent from their cognitive process. They forgot him in terms of obedience. They forgot him in terms of allegiance. 
They may have had a confession in terms of externalism, but 
they certainly did not know the Lord. They certainly did not 
follow the Lord. And when it comes to the point 
where we disobey, we reject God, it can be said of us that we 
forgot Him. Because certainly if we remember 
the Lord, we want to live in obedience to Him. If we remember 
the Lord, we want to do those things that are pleasing to Him. 
If we are living in a manner that is absolutely inconsistent 
with Christian profession, then it could be said of us that they 
forgot the Lord their God. So not only did they forget the 
Lord their God, note what they go on to do, they served the 
Baals and Asherahs. They served the Baals and Asherahs. We looked at this or we considered 
this generally last week. Baal was the God who brought 
rain upon the crops. Baal was a fertility God. Baal was a God who prospered 
people's livelihood. And so no doubt the children 
of Israel get into Canaan by the power and the majesty of 
Yahweh, but when it comes to their day-to-day events, they 
look to the Canaanites and they look to Baal for how they get 
answers and how they get water on their crops. So in order to 
prime the pump, in order to get Baal and his consort to water 
the ground, the Israelites or the Canaanite worshippers would 
copulate in an attempt to get Baal to likewise copulate so 
that he would cause fertility upon the earth. It was absolutely 
heinous. It is ungodly. It is wretched. And for us to forget the Lord 
and turn to Baals and Asherahs is truly an indicator of the 
wretchedness of the heart of man. And then notice the agent 
of punishment or the agent of judgment is raised up. Verse 
8, Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel. 
We can expect this. When we disobey the Lord God 
Almighty, we ought to expect judgment. We ought to expect 
chastisement. We ought to expect negative sanctions. Again, Revelation chapters 2 
and 3, the same thing holds true for the churches in the New Covenant 
era. What does Jesus threaten to the 
churches that are unfaithful? I will take your lampstand from 
you. That means I will shut down the 
church. If you're going to continue in 
a path of disobedience and unfaithfulness, rejecting the living and true 
God, then there's going to be judgment for that particular 
situation. And so that's what we read here 
in verse 8. Therefore, the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, 
and He sold them into the hand of Cushon Rishithim, king of 
Mesopotamia. And the children of Israel served 
Cushon Rishithim, eight years. Now eight years on this side 
of it doesn't seem like a long time, but remember that's two 
presidential terms. That's two bouts of Barack Obama 
in the White House. That is a long time. We're sitting 
right in the middle of this at this particular time. And it's 
important that we understand that. It's important we understand 
what's going on with reference to Israel. There are some, I 
understand, at least in the commentaries I read, that are embarrassed 
about the Ehud episode. There are probably Christians 
that might be a little bit embarrassed that one of our champions was 
a left-handed knife maker. that took a knife from his right 
thigh and plunged it all the way into a fat man. I mean, some 
people, I don't know why, but they get a little offended by 
that particular aspect of our biblical religion. But remember, 
they were under oppression. They were under subjugation. 
They were under a warfare situation. This is the deal. And this is 
what's happening in Kushan Rishethem. Eight years they are in bondage. Eight years they are under the 
thumb of this particular leader. Then notice, verse 9, when the 
children of Israel cried out to the Lord, Remember, this is 
the same crying out that we already looked at in chapter two. It's 
not a cry of repentance. It's not a cry of, we're sorry, 
Lord. It's not a cry of, our sins have 
brought us into this place. It is not that. It's a cry, rather, 
of pain. It's a cry of distress. It's 
not a cry because of the conduct that put us into this mess vis-a-vis 
sin. But rather, it's a cry because 
of the consequences. They're not crying out to the 
Lord for vindication or deliverance, for His honor, for His glory, 
and for His majesty. Rather, they put their finger 
in the fire, and they cried out. And so God, in his grace now, 
delivers him. This is what's most impressive 
about this entire book. If you remember when I introduced 
it, when I was a young Christian, I heard that the book of Judges 
could be, or the cycles could be, seen by the acronym S.O.R.D. S-O-R-D. You've got sin, oppression, 
repentance, deliverance. I don't think that's accurate. 
I think it's the acronym S.O.D. Sin, Oppression, Deliverance. There's no repentance going on. 
The people of Israel are not crying out because of their sin. 
They're crying out because of pain. They're crying out because 
of distress. They're crying out because of 
oppression and punishment. What the emphasis is on is the 
grace and the mercy and the kindness and the goodness of our God who 
delivers them out of that distress even when they're not sorry for 
their sins. That's the point of the book 
of Judges. You're going to hear me say that 
all the way through because if we're embarrassed or we're afraid 
or we're ashamed of how God deals in this book of Judges, we miss 
the most important point. amazing grace, how sweet the 
sound, that saved a wretch like me." These people cried out because 
of pain and then notice in verse 9, they cried out to Yahweh and 
Yahweh raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who 
delivered them. The cry like we saw in the general 
description of 2.18 is not of repentance, The emphasis is on 
the condition of distress rather than on an expression of repentance. It's just like in Exodus chapter 
2. The children of Israel cry out 
not because of repentance, not because they want to get right 
with God, but because they're in pain. And yet God hears and 
God answers. That's what's so glorious about 
our God. And that's what the author wants 
to convey to us several times in this book of the Deliverers. So he raises up for the children 
of Israel who delivered them Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's 
younger brother. We've already seen this man in 
Joshua chapter 15 and we have seen this man in Judges chapter 
1. So here Othniel is the man that 
God raises up. The Lord is sovereign in all 
of his dealings. The Lord raises him up. Now, 
Othiel was a noble Jew to height. There's nothing indicating, you 
know, no bad stuff in his background. He seems to be a good pattern 
of deliverers. As we move through the Book of 
Deliverers, however, we see some pretty unsavory fellows that 
God uses to raise up to this position. So it's not based on 
pedigree. It's not based on ability. It's 
not based on might or power, as Zechariah would tell us, but 
it's based on the power of the Holy Spirit of God. and the same 
thing holds true here. So the Lord demonstrates mercy 
and loving kindness to his wayward people, and the Lord's faithfulness 
is the background for this particular action. So his identity, Othniel, 
son of Gennes, Caleb's younger brother. Notice his strength. 
How is it that he can conduct himself in this particular mission 
of delivering Israel? The Spirit of the Lord came upon 
him. and he judged Israel. Isn't that 
glorious? It's the spirit of the living God. Bloch says, in 
the book of Judges, when the spirit of the Lord comes upon 
individuals, it signals the arresting presence and power of God, often 
of individuals who are unqualified for or indisposed to service 
for Him. In the present instance, the 
empowering presence of the spirit of God transforms this minor 
Israelite officer from Debir into the ruler of Israel and 
the conqueror of a world-class enemy. Now the commentators, 
there's just... It's not time to bring sort of 
everything in here. But this Cushon Rishithim was 
no small potatoes. If the commentators are right, 
he was a formidable foe. He was a very powerful figure, 
a very strong leader, and he had a very big empire. And yet, 
God takes Othiel, the spirit of the Lord comes upon him, and 
he judges Israel. Notice in verse 10b, he went 
out to war, and the Lord delivered Cushon Rishithim, king of Mesopotamia, 
into his hands. You see, it doesn't matter how 
big, it doesn't matter how powerful, it doesn't matter how mighty 
the alternate or the opposing enemy is, it's God. The victory 
is of the Lord. We cannot mistake or we cannot 
miss that Romans 8 connection that we will continue to bring 
our minds to. He who did not spare his own 
son but delivered him up for us, How shall He not also freely 
give us all things? He's done the greatest in delivering 
up His Son. Will He not do the lesser and 
come and aid you in your day-to-day walk with the Lord Jesus Christ? 
The Lord God does not look at a foe or at an enemy and say, 
well, I'm not sure if we've got this one down. He takes Othniel. The Spirit of God comes upon 
him. Othniel then goes out to war and his hand prevailed over 
Cushon Rishithim. Note the sovereignty of God in 
this particular passage. What happens? The Lord God is 
angry with Israel. He sells them into the hand of 
Kushan Rishithe. When it comes time to deliver, 
he takes Cushon Rishithe and sends him into the hand of Othniel. The Lord God Most High is absolutely 
sovereign in every event and in every detail of our lives. 
There's not anything that escapes his prerogative or his power. That is another lesson that we 
have to appreciate as we work through the book of Judges. There 
is no doubt whatsoever of who is sovereign. There is no doubt 
whatsoever of who is in absolute control. There is no doubt whatsoever 
of who is calling the shots. It is God Almighty, the sovereign 
of the universe. So his identity, Othniel, his 
strength, the spirit, his victory. He went out to war and the Lord 
delivered Hushan Rishithane into his hand. Notice how the text 
ends. So the land had rest for 40 years 
then Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died. Bloch says, personally, 
Othniel is a genuinely noble figure, having demonstrated his 
faith and military skills in the conquest of Debir. Theocratically, 
by beginning here, the author announces that if Yahweh can 
deliver Israel from this emperor, he can rescue them from any foe. For in the end, the real hero 
of this story is not Othniel, but God. You see that? You see 
what's going on? We don't say, wow, isn't Othniel 
great? Yeah, name your kid Othniel, 
because it's a great name. Hopefully, it'll remind you of 
the greatness of God. Locke goes on to say, Yahweh 
hears the groans of his people. He feels pity toward them. He 
provides the deliverer, and he achieves the deliverance. This 
will be the pattern throughout the next 12 chapters. So thematically, 
it's announced in chapter 2 And with vivid detail, with flesh 
and blood and bones applied to the skeleton, we see God's handiwork 
through these various judges that he raised up to deliver 
Israel in their time of need. Certainly, it is a display of 
God's saving and amazing grace. Now let's move secondly to this 
left-handed deliverer from the tribe of Benjamin. It's kind 
of funny, isn't it? What's Benjamin mean? Son of 
my right hand. We have a lefty from the tribe 
of the son of my right hand. This whole story is just packed 
with wonderfully good things. I truly suggest that you get 
Ralph Davis' commentary and read it on this section. It's very 
good. Very stimulating. But note, the pattern, verse 
12, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the 
Lord. It's like a broken record. Or, I don't know, a broken CD 
player. Many of you don't even know what 
a record is. Back in the day, a broken record means it would 
just repeat the same thing over and over again. You'd just keep 
hearing the same thing over and over and over again. That's what 
the book of Judges is. Sin, oppression. deliverance, 
sin, oppression, deliverance. What's God trying to teach us? 
We sin. There'll be oppression, but he's there to deliver. That's 
what he's trying to get into our heads. So the children of 
Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. Note the agent 
of punishment, Aglon, king of Moab. So the Lord strengthened 
Aglon, king of Moab, against Israel. They suggest, or they 
say, the Hebrew guys say that Eglon is related to the word 
calf. It's almost like the fatted calf 
is being led to the slaughter in this particular narrative. So Eglon is strengthened because 
they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. Then Eglon gathered 
to himself the people of Ammon and Amalek. So you've got Moab, 
Ammon, and Amalek. These are all enemies of the 
of the children of Israel. And they went and defeated Israel 
and took possession of the city of Palms." What's the city of 
Palms? Jericho. Jericho, not Palm Springs 
in the Southern California desert, but this is Jericho. This is 
where Eglon sets up shop, at least in this portion of his 
conquered kingdom. So he gathers to himself the 
people of Ammon and Amalek, went and defeated Israel, and took 
possession of the city of Palms. So the children of Israel served 
Eglon, king of Moab, 18 years. As I said, one gets the impression 
that certain Christians and commentators are a bit embarrassed about what 
follows in this particular narrative. I've yet to meet a Christian 
parent named their kid Itha. Maybe they just don't like the 
name. Maybe they don't like the thought of a left-handed man 
with a dagger shoving it into a fat man and watching his entrails 
fall out. A couple commentators that commentators 
I like quoted. I don't actually have these. 
Well, actually, one of them I do. This fellow says, Ehud was commissioned 
by God to save Israel, but the mode of saving them, assassination 
by a lie and treachery, was of his own devising. Almost makes 
it sound like he was ordained by God. Well, he does. It makes 
it sound. He was ordained by God, but the way he carried it 
out wasn't necessarily sanctioned by God. Someone has said, well, 
Ehud isn't in Hebrews 11. Well, neither is Othniel. Another 
commentator says, by even the most elementary standard of ethics, 
Ehud's deception and murder of Eglon stand condemned. Passages 
like this, when encountered by the untutored reader of the scriptures, 
cause consternation and questioning. It certainly didn't to Israel 
in the Old Covenant. When they heard about Ehud's 
exploits with Eglon, they were probably doing these sorts of 
things. They were probably clapping. 
They were probably cheering. They were probably dancing because 
of the victory that God had given them. Isn't it interesting if 
those men that are a bit embarrassed about Ehud's tactics, how do 
they think that Othniel dispensed with his enemies? Do you think 
Othniel said to Cushon, Rishathame, Sir, we'd like you to leave our 
land, please. We don't want you here anymore. 
Oh, sure. Yes. Off we'll go. They killed 
them. We are not to be embarrassed 
about the God of the Bible. or the men that he raises up. 
Verse 15 could not make anything clearer. When the children of 
Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer 
for them. Ehud, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite, 
a left-handed man. There is not one shred of evidence 
to suggest that God the Lord was somehow ashamed or somehow 
disapproved of the methodology employed by this left-handed 
man. There is not one shred of evidence 
in the entire Bible to suggest that Ehud was an embarrassment 
to Almighty God. The point of the narrative is 
verse 15. If you miss verse 15, you're 
going to miss the entirety of the section. And as well, we 
need to remember that the children of Israel were oppressed by this 
man for 18 long years. God's answer was to raise up 
Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjamite. Davis says it this way, what 
is the theme of this racy little episode in the history of God's 
people? It is a story about the way God 
saves his people in their afflictions, their well-deserved afflictions 
to boot. They deserve these afflictions, 
but nevertheless, God raises up Ehud. And it says that Yahweh 
is responsible for this lefty Ehud. Yahweh raised up for them 
a Savior. I suspect that Dr. Davis is a 
lefty. In fact, his email address is 
leftyehud at gmail.com. I suspect that he has an affinity 
with Ehud because, one, Dr. Davis is an Old Testament scholar, 
but two, he's a lefty. Anyways, he says, Yahweh is responsible 
for this lefty Ehud. Yahweh raised up for them a Savior. Did you hear that? He did not 
say a murderer, or an assassin, or a liar, or a deceiver, but 
a Savior. This is a story about salvation. The focus of the story is not, 
why does God get himself all mixed up with a character like 
Ehud? but see how God delights to save 
his people in their afflictions. Amen. That's what's going on 
in this particular narrative. So the children of Israel cried 
out to the Lord. The Lord then responds by raising 
up a deliverer for them, Ehud, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite, 
a left-handed man. Now let's look at the strategy 
of this particular deliverer. the strategy of this particular 
deliverer. First, the weapon is crafted. 
The weapon is crafted. By him, the children of Israel 
sent tribute to Eglon, king of Moab. Now, Ehud made himself 
a dagger. It was double-edged in a cubit 
length and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh. 
Now, some of the commentators suggest that this is the opposite 
of the way things would traditionally be. Most people are right-handed. And most people would put their 
dagger on their left, sort of the cross-draw idea is what is 
going on. So with lefty Ehud, he puts the 
dagger on the right side so that bodyguards or attendants of the 
kings are looking for bulges, not on the right side of the 
man because no one's left-handed. They're looking for a bulge on 
the left side of this man's leg. to see if he's in fact armed. You see, Ehud has to have a private 
audience with this gang in order to plunge a dagger into his big 
fat belly. The story truly is amazing how 
it is crafted. So he fastens this double-edged 
dagger on his right thigh, which would be the appropriate place 
for a left-handed man and would not be what a guard would be 
looking for. Note, secondly, the tribute rendered. The tribute was either dough, 
money, or it was food. What would happen is that when 
a nation would go in and conquer another nation, that conquered 
nation would be vassals. And that vassal nation would 
have to pay tribute. That vassal nation would have 
to pay high taxes. That vassal nation would have 
to provide for the coffers of the state. And so it was very 
common for the people of Israel to take tribute and to pay it 
to Eglon. in this particular instance. 
Note that it indicates in verse 17 that Eglon was a very fat 
man. Very fat man. This guy's a behemoth. He's huge. He's massive. Again, 
they were laughing when they read this initially. They saw 
the demise of their enemies. They saw victory that God wrought 
through this left-handed son of Gera in this particular instance. Davis says it this way, and this 
might be offensive to some of you, but here's what he says. 
Try to hear this story as an Israelite would have heard it 
or told it. An Israelite, remember, who for 
18 years who had been oppressed and taxed to the bone under blubbery 
King Aglon, an Israelite therefore living in persisting poverty, 
eking out some sort of borderline existence in the hill country 
of Ephraim. Then you won't be surprised, 
but rather will understand the pure enjoyment, the devastating 
humor, the biting satire, and the sheer hilarity of this particular 
narrative. He's weaving it together to display 
the power and omnipotence and the glory of God and the futility 
of Eglon and the Moabites. But again, we mustn't forget 
that emphasis. Bloch says, the author's deliberate 
satirizing of Eglon in particular and the Moabites in general should 
not blind the reader to the ridicule he is casting upon his own people. 
After all, the Book of Judges was not written primarily to 
mock foreigners. It challenges the Israelites 
to reflect on their own condition. Far from being the noble people 
they claim to be, in their Canaanite state they have been reduced 
to less than the Moabites. I mean, if the Moabites are that 
bad and that foolish and Aglon is that much of a bumbling fool, 
he's still over us. So there is an effect here, yes, 
to encourage the people of God, to encourage them with the victory 
and power of God, raising up an Ehud and using him to bring 
judgment upon an Aglad. But nevertheless, it was sin 
that brought them to this place. It was their unfaithfulness. 
It was their rejection. It was their forgetting the Lord, 
them pursuing the Baals and the Asherahs. Notice, thirdly, the 
secret message offered. So they go and they pay tribute, 
verse 18, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 
But he himself, Ehud, turned back from the stone images that 
were at Gilgal. The narrative seems to be bracketed 
by these stone images, which indicates for us that this is 
a place of idolatry. This is a place that does not 
reflect the glory of the God of Israel. It has been canonized. This is Gilgal. This is where 
they celebrated the mercy and the kindness of God. This is 
where they camped. And yet, it is rife with idols. So he comes 
back to the king. He says, I have a secret message 
for you, O king. Who can refuse a secret message? 
Don't our ears just burn? Somebody says, I have a secret 
for you. What do you say? No, can't hear 
it. Don't want anything to do with it. Just go tell it to someone 
else. No. Most of the times, our ears are 
burning. Who could possibly reject a secret? Certainly not a fat, 
indulgent, oppressive king. So Eglon says, keep silence. And all who attended him went 
out from him. This is incredible. This would 
again be akin to the President of the United States sending 
his secret service away and having a private meeting with a foreigner, 
with somebody under subjection. Truly, God is involved in this. 
These things just don't happen. So then, verse 20, Ehud came 
to him. Now, the layout and how everything's 
structured and how he could so easily get away by locking the 
door Some of that conceptually is difficult to sort of figure 
out. We're just going to take the narrative as it's played 
out. So the secret message is offered. Then fourthly, the private 
audience is gathered. So Ehud came to him. Now he was 
sitting upstairs in his cool private chamber. Then Ehud said, 
I have a message from God for you, which technically isn't 
a lie. The word message, as Bloch says, 
is deliciously ambiguous. It means word or message, but 
it also means thing or object or even experience. So I have 
a message from God for you. It just happens to be in the 
shape of a double-edged dagger, and it's sitting on my right 
thigh. He doesn't get into all of those details. You see, he's 
coaxing the king in. I have a message from God for 
you. So he arose from his seat. Now, being a very fat man, he's 
probably not very quick. Being a very fat man, he's probably 
very slow. He's a target that is sitting. He's a target, rather, that is 
a sitting duck. And so Ehud reached with his 
left hand. Again, it wouldn't be suspecting 
that. That's one of the reasons why we shake with the right hand, 
or why people salute it with the right hand, to show that 
our good hand does not have a weapon. When you come to somebody, you 
salute them, or you shake their hand. Now, I know that's not 
what it means for us. Usually it means, hi, it's good 
to see you. I haven't seen you for a while. But it's an indicator 
that we don't have a gun in our hands. We don't have a baseball 
bat in our hands. We don't have a two-edged dagger in our hands. 
So for him to go to his right thigh, the king's not expecting 
this. He's fat. He's slow. He's pompous. And 
then what we find is that Ehud reaches with his left hand, took 
the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 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." ESV has 
excrement. NASB has refuse. What does NIV 
have? Oh, okay. Wow. They sanitized 
it right out. Entrails is probably not the 
best. It's probably excrement. It's 
probably feces. You see, that's what happens 
when a human body dies. There's a release and they soil 
themselves. Well, they don't soil themselves 
at that point. Just when the body dies, that's 
what happens. That's very important because 
in a few moments, the attendants are going to think, that he is 
relieving himself. Probably they smell the excrement 
and that's one of the reasons why they think he's doing that. 
It may sound crass and it may sound carnal, but while they're 
standing outside smelling Eglon, as far as they're concerned, 
alive and well, simply relieving himself as men are wont to do, 
Ehud's walking out of the palace. Beautiful. It's absolutely amazing. Even the hilt went in after the 
blade, the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the 
dagger. Talk about vivid. Talk about 
descriptive. Talk about, you should be enjoying 
Bible reading. Right? God describes this in 
vivid detail. The Bible is not an uninteresting 
book. I defy anybody to say, well, 
the Bible's boring. How is this boring? Even if you 
don't agree with Ehud, even if he's not your cup of tea, even 
if you think this is barbaric and it is the throwback to a 
different age and time where it's just not the way we like 
to do things. It's exciting. It's descriptive. I think you could picture it 
with your mind's eyes. You see that knife going into 
that big fat man's belly and all the stuff coming out of him 
and him falling down into a pile of his own fecal matter. That's 
what the picture is of this particular man. Verse 23, then Ehud went 
out through the porch and shut the doors of the upper room behind 
him and locked them. And this is when the brilliant 
escape is executed. When he had gone out, Eglon's 
servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of 
the upper room were locked. So they said, he is probably 
attending to his needs in the cool chamber. He is covering 
his feet in the cool of the chamber. He's having bathroom break. I mean, that's a nice way to 
say what it really is. And that's what the Bible is 
doing. That's what it's saying. The man is relieving himself. 
That's what they thought. He is probably attending to his 
needs in the cool chamber. The thought that the excrement 
is now sitting on the floor and they're smelling it only adds 
weight to that particular interpretation. You can see them standing there. 
We're not going to bug the king. He's doing royal business. Let's 
leave him alone. That's our job. And all the while, 
where's Ehud? He's walking right out of the 
palace. Why does he leave his dagger there? Because he doesn't 
want evidence all over his body. If he grabs that dagger, it's 
dripping with blood and fecal matter. If he puts it back into 
his sheath, there's going to be transfer of evidence, and 
he's going to look like a mess. Ehud wants to walk out without 
anybody even wondering what it is he's doing, and he's successful. He's got all this time. He's 
probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber. So they 
waited till they were embarrassed. It had been a while. Sir, are 
you finished yet? And still, he had not opened 
the doors of the upper room. Therefore, they took the key 
and opened them. And there was their master, fallen 
dead, on the floor. Imagine finding your king in 
such a mess. Imagine finding your king in 
such a situation. Imagine finding the man who has 
gathered together a coalition of Ammonites and Amalekites to 
defeat Israel, a man who did what Joshua said no man should 
ever do, was to build on Jericho in Joshua 6.26. Eglon did that 
and now Eglon is reaping the judgment of the living and true 
God and these servants now look and there was their master fallen 
dead on the floor. And then notice the battle plan 
initiated. Verse 26, but Ehud had escaped 
while they delayed and passed beyond the stone images and escaped 
to Sarah. And it happened when he arrived 
that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the 
children of Israel went down with them from the mountains, 
and he led them. Then he said to them, follow 
me, for the Lord has delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into 
your hand." So you see, he executes this plan without flaw. Eglon's 
dead. The people are in disarray. He 
rallies up the troops of Israel. They seize the fords of Jordan. 
They ambush Moab, and they end up killing 10,000 Moabites in 
this exchange. The victory is the Lord. This is what Ehud ascribes. He says, the Lord has delivered 
your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand. So they went down 
after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and 
did not allow anyone to cross over. And at that time, they 
killed about 10,000 men of Moab. Notice, all stout men of valor. Not a man escaped. This was the 
oppressing power. Israel was subject to them. Israel 
had been the oppressed. These were trained, ready, valiant 
warriors. And yet, because of this particular 
battle plan, the king is dead. The country is destabilized. 
Ehud has this plan to seize the fords of Jordan. and they converge 
upon these people and they destroy Moab. Again, if we were the first 
context hearing this, we'd be cheering. We'd be roaring. We'd 
be so thankful. We'd praise God from whom all 
ye hoods flow. We would be thankful for this 
man from Benjamin that brought destruction to bear on Eglon 
because it was God who raised him up. It was God who raised 
up a deliverer for them, Ehud, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite, 
a left-handed man. So Moab was subdued that day, 
verse 30, under the hand of Israel, and the land had rest for 80 
years. That's good. That's a long bit. That's a long time. That's a 
long stretch that the land had rest for 80 years. And then notice, 
thirdly, in this narrative, Shamgar. After him was Shamgar, the son 
of Anath, who killed 600 men of the Philistines with an ox 
goad. And he also delivered Israel. Again, the commentators I read 
said he's probably not even an Israelite. He might have been 
a servant or an agent of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. But he has this 
much in common. He likes pointing weapons as 
well, or stabbing weapons, just like Ehud. And he's also a deliverer 
of Israel. And he's obscure. That's it. 
That's all we know. He comes up in Deborah's song 
in chapter 5 at verse 6. But that's all the play that 
Shamgar gets. That's it. Matthew Henry made 
this comment, and I think it's perceptive. He says, see here, 
one, that God can make those eminently serviceable to his 
glory and his church's good. whose extraction, education, 
and employment are very mean and obscure. He that has the 
residue of the spirit could, when he pleased, make plowmen 
judges and generals and fishermen apostles. He says, too, it is 
no matter how weak the weapon is if God direct and strengthen 
the arm. and ox goad when God pleases 
shall do more than Goliath's sword. And sometimes he chooses 
to work by such unlikely means that the excellence of the power 
may appear to be of God. Isn't this the point in 2 Corinthians 
when the apostle says that he has put this gospel treasure 
into earthen vessels so that the excellence of the power may 
be of God and not of men. When an apostle Paul stands up 
or hobbles into an area where sinners are gathered, there's 
nothing about him that endears him to us. I mean, he probably 
limped. He got stoned. He probably had 
some problems with his eyes. He comes hobbling into a group, 
he preaches the gospel, and sinners get saved. Who gets the glory? Paul? No, Jesus. When a Spurgeon stands up and 
preaches the gospel and God saves through him, who gets the glory? 
Christ. The excellence of the power may 
be of God and not of men. So we have this noble Judahite, 
Othniel. We have this left-handed dagger 
maker, Ehud. And we have Shamgar, men from 
all different walks of life, men from different stripes and 
men from different areas and places and positions. But the 
common denominator is the Spirit of God is upon these men to carry 
out the will of God in delivering His people from their oppression. So some lessons that we learn, 
we learn the persistence of sin. It continues that chapter 4 verse 
1 starts off with, when Ehud was dead, the children of Israel 
again did evil in the sight of the Lord. Again, this is a persistent 
continuing cycle that we see. Secondly, we see the amazing 
grace of God. Verse 15 in this particular section. Verse 9 in this particular section. the end of verse 31, and he also 
delivered Israel in this section. This is God's grace. Remember, 
it wasn't as if the children of Israel were crying out in 
repentance, they were crying out in faith, they were rejecting 
their bails, they were forsaking Asherah, and they were following 
the Lord with a whole heart. That wasn't it at all. It was 
God who heard their cry of distress, and God comes and delivers them, 
out of that distress. And again, when we jump into 
the New Covenant context, and we consider the fact that we 
are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are children 
of our great God and Father, when we cry out to Him in distress, 
shall He not avenge us? Isn't this what Christ teaches 
with reference to that persistent widow? When that widow comes 
to the judge and asks for a verdict to be rendered, and the judge 
who doesn't fear God The judge who doesn't regard men finally 
says, I'm going to give this widow what she wants because 
she's wearing me with her persistency. What's Jesus' implication? Shall 
not God avenge his own elect who cry to him day and night? 
If you need something to stir up the prayer juices in your 
heart and life, Go to Judges 3 sometime. See how Israel conducted 
themselves and see how God delivered them because of his grace and 
mercy. That truly ought to lead us to 
pray and to rejoice and to celebrate our great God. Thirdly, we continue 
to see the power and sovereignty of God. He raises up oppressors. He uses them to chase in his 
people. And then he destroys those oppressors 
himself. You can't say, well, I'm not 
sure about the sovereignty of God. In the prophet Isaiah, woe 
to you, Assyria. God uses Assyria to judge the 
northern tribes. Assyria boasts. They get anger 
or get arrogant. And then God uses another empire 
to put them down. God is sovereign over the nations. God is sovereign internationally. 
God is sovereign personally and individually as well. And then 
finally, this chapter displays to us or describes for us our 
need for Jesus Christ. If Othniel and Ehud and Shamgar 
were deliverers, they certainly did not deliver the people from 
the power of sin. They delivered them from the 
oppression of Moabites and Philistines but they did not deliver them 
from the oppression of sin. Here's what Davis has to say, 
and I agree 100%. Ehud, sorry to say, is not a 
totally adequate savior. For though Yahweh brings a certain 
kind of salvation and help through Ehud, nothing Ehud did could 
change the hearts of Israel. He may have exerted some beneficial 
influence on them while he lived, but he could not rip the idols 
out of their hearts. Here is the tragedy of the people 
of God. Slavery to sin. And no left-handed 
savior spilling the guts of foreign kings can release you from that 
bondage. He then ends this section by 
saying, for our real bondage does not consist of Moabites 
or fat kings or physical and economic oppression. No left-handed 
savior can break us free from our tyrant. But there is one 
with nail-scarred hands who can and does. The only tragedy in 
our story will be if having heard of this Savior, we do not cry 
to him for help. For Yahweh has raised up for 
us a Savior, Jesus, who shall save his people from their sins." 
So again, Judges is a time of tutelage, pointing the people 
forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, every earthly 
deliverer that God raises up is a type of our Lord Jesus. But these men do not have the 
power to break the oppression of sin. That comes later in the 
life and ministry of our Lord and Savior. So there's Othniel, 
Ehud, and Shamgar. Again, I commend to you younger 
people. Consider them. for your baby names. Raise up 
some Shamgars in our generation for the Lord God Almighty. I'm 
just kidding. You name your kid Billy or Johnny 
or Henry or whatever it is you want. That's your choice. Well, 
why don't we pray? Father, we thank you very much 
for your word and we thank you for your grace displayed so clearly 
in the history of Israel. We thank you, Father, for the 
fact that you hear the cries of distress. You hear the cries 
of your people. They're groaning. and you raise 
it up, deliver us for them. We thank you that in this new 
covenant setting you hear us when we cry out, you hear us 
in our distress and the Spirit intercedes for us and groans 
and says things. communicates things that we don't 
even know at times we need. How we thank you for your loving 
kindness and your mercy. How we thank you for that deliverer, 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who does break the power of reigning sin. 
That one who frees us from oppression and that one who secures for 
us salvation. We just pray now that you would 
go with us and watch over us in the rest of this week. And 
we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.