Use God’s Strength

July 17, 2011


Background Scripture: Judges 3:7 – 31; 21:25
Lesson Passage: Judges 3:15 – 25, 29, 30

Our lesson today revolves around Ehud; a man from the tribe of Benjamin. Ehud was a very crafty man who also exhibited signs of bravery. He went into the enemy’s camp under false pretenses and took advantage of their lax security to slay their leader Eglon. Eglon, king of the Moabites, had enjoyed eighteen years of rule over Israel. God allowed this misfortune to befall Israel because of Israel’s disobedience to the commands of God. God had given Eglon the strength and perhaps the wisdom to form a confederacy of Moab, Ammon, and Amalek. This confederacy quickly subdued disobedient Israel and enslaved them—no doubt by taxing them. All of this was in keeping with the covenant Moses delivered to Israel on the plains of Moab prior to his death. God had offered Israel continuous blessings in exchange for their loyalty to him through the keeping of the covenant. On the other hand, Israel had been assured that if they chose not to obey the covenant, they would suffer at the hands of their enemies. God strengthened Israel’s enemies in times of disobedience so that Israel could not resist them. Only after national repentance and prayer did God raise up a deliverer in Israel’s midst. (There is no record of God sending Israel a deliverer from outside their families.) Their deliverer was always someone who was already among them. Only after God had called these deliverers to the task and empowered them were they able to throw off Israel’s oppressors and lead Israel to follow God again. Note that most of the judges did not exhibit extraordinary physical strength or power. Instead, they depended on God’s guidance and when necessary, he gave them extraordinary power to accomplish His will. Ehud is a good example of one not totally dependent on his own abilities but he took advantage of all he had. It is recorded that he was a left-handed man. This seems somewhat common among the tribe of Benjamin as is pointed out later in the book of Judges where seven hundred Benjamites are identified as being distinguished for being left-handed marksmen skilled in the use of a sling. Being left-handed, Ehud hid a special dagger in an unexpected place—on the right side of his body where it was less likely to be detected. When the time was right and all of King Eglon’s bodyguards were gone, Ehud quickly removed the dagger and used it to slay the king and he escaped out the back way before the bodyguards were aware of the king’s death. After escaping, Ehud rallied the fighting men of Israel and positioned them to cut off the escape route of the Moabites. The Moabites were slain as they tried to return to their homeland. Through Ehud’s anointed leadership, Israel was able to throw off the oppression of their enemies and after this they enjoyed eighty years of rest from their oppressors. Again, Ehud was already among them when their enemy put them to shame so it was not Ehud’s cunning maneuvers or military prowess that led to victory but instead, like all judges and spiritual leaders, it was the use of God’s strength that secured deliverance and peace for Israel.

Robert C. Hudson
July 1, 2011