Title: Judge Ehud 2
Content Ehud shows us that God is strong when we are weak. No matter how lacking it may seem, as long as God is with you, your future will grow brighter. If you don't value yourself, others won't value you either. God's love for you is the same, so I hope you can trust and depend on God. And I hope you can see God's love and power instead of looking at your own weakness. Then God will open up your life like Ehud.
God opens the door to those who wholeheartedly do His will.
Verses 18 to 26 record the successful assassination of Eglon king of Moab by Ehud the judge. If you look closely at this record, you can clearly see how God is helping those who do His work. Through this, we realize that we have no choice but to confess to God, “I have not done anything.”
Ehud was able to approach King Eglon without any doubt (verse 19).
God had a purpose in choosing Ehud, who had a disability in his right hand. When Ehud went to Eglon, he was not censored even though he was wearing a long sword that was about 45 centimeters under his right leg garment because he was a crippled man who could not overcome Eglon. Like Othniel, Ehud does not immediately subdue the enemy, but pays tribute humbly. However, you should know that God shows that God works in various ways depending on the time and situation. In any case, Ehud was able to successfully hold a weapon and stand alone with the king despite the strict guard of the royal palace. This was, of course, due to his ruse to provide valuable information, but also because God's grace that had darkened the hearts of the Moabites was at work.
We need to know that no matter how good a person's plan is, if God's grace does not work, it will fail. On the other hand, even if you are lacking and full of weaknesses like Ehud, please believe that the way will be opened when God's grace works.
Eglon was assassinated without even trying to resist (vv. 21, 22).
The fact that he made and prepared a sword with both left and right sides shows Ehud's strong determination to make sure that his great feat is accomplished. And it shows that there was careful preparation and planning. There are people who have passion but no preparation or plan to accomplish God's will. Ehud shows us not only the holy passion to save his people, but also the meticulous preparation and plan to achieve it. Rather than giving up easily and getting frustrated because of their weaknesses, they are doing God's work by taking advantage of them. God saw this Ehud and worked.
Verse 17 tells us that Eglon was very fat. As an Israeli oppressor, his bluntly fat figure reflects how much he plundered to sit in his palace and enjoy eating and drinking. In the end, we see that his appearance, which became fat due to his greed, is contributing greatly to accomplishing the work of God. When Ehud drew his sword and stabbed him, he couldn't make a single cry or resist properly, and it was because of his fatness that he died. In other words, because Eglon was fat, he could not avoid the tip of Ehud's sword protruding from his left hand.
His death, recorded in great detail in verses 18-22, shows us that God's absolute help was at work. God created the environment so that Ehud could fulfill his mission in order to fulfill His will. Ehud would not have succeeded if he had not shut up Eglon's mouth.
God helped Ehud escape (vv. 24, 25).
After killing Eglon, we can see that Ehud came out of the front door, closed the attic door, locked it, and went back peacefully. When Eglon's men saw this, they went to the king's upper room. Seeing that the upper door was locked, they waited for Ehud to run away. He didn't even know that his king was dead. The servants waited long enough to get out of common sense, imagining something else. So Ehud was able to escape without any doubt. God made his servants foolish. The literal translation of verse 22 according to the original text is as follows:
“The hilt also went along the edge, and the tip went out to the back of his back, and he did not pull the sword out of his body, so oil congealed on the blade, and feces came out” (verse 22).
When Ehud stabbed Eglon with his sword, the impact seems to have resulted in feces. So, looking at verse 24, the servants thought, “The king inevitably covers his feet in the upper room.” In other words, if the servants did not open the locked door, they smelled the feces and thought the king was working. In the end, when the king did not open the door even after waiting for a long time, Ehud had already escaped to a safe place when he opened the door with the key.
In this way, God walks with us and opens doors one by one if we do our best to follow God’s will with all our hearts. (2 Corinthians 2:12) If we do our best to carry out our mission without worrying about what to do if we don't, he will surely leave an open door in front of us and guide us.
If anyone is written by God, a great work will be accomplished.
We are all called to be warriors in Jehovah's warfare. Although we may have the ability, we are all called to be soldiers before God. We want Ehud's cry to be our cry.
"Follow me. The LORD has delivered into your hand your enemies the Moabites” (verse 28).
Although he had a handicapped right hand, when he declared Jehovah's war by faith, God responded with a great victory by killing 10,000 Moabite warriors. The Moabites who persecuted Israel for 18 years were instantly annihilated. And he became the one who made it possible to enjoy peace for the longest 80 years in the period of the judges.
I want you and I to become like Ehud in this day and age. I believe that even one of you can take responsibility for this age if you thoroughly believe in God. God may be waiting for someone like Ehud to arise. Everyone! I sincerely hope that the confession of the prophet Isaiah will be yours.
“Here I am. send me”
In verse 31, Shamgar of the judges is introduced. He is the judge who killed six hundred Philistines with a rod of cattle and saved Israel. The important thing here is that it was not a sword or a spear that saved Israel, but a stick as an ordinary consumption. Shamgar is a legendary figure who accomplished the amazing history of saving Israel with an ordinary farming tool, not a sharp knife like Ehud. Please believe in the fact that no matter how ordinary an instrument may be, if it is held in God's hand, it becomes an instrument that shows the power of God. What about people? Can't you just do things? Please believe that no matter how insignificant or insignificant you are, you can accomplish God's great work if God hears you and uses it. Therefore, we should never accuse ourselves of being humble and incompetent. We should only become Ehud and Shamgar, who give ourselves to God in the hope that God will lift us up.
We are just tools like sticks. No matter how good a tool is, if the owner doesn't use it, it can't do anything. However, please believe that even insignificant and insignificant tools will have the power to accomplish amazing works if they are held in the hands of the Lord God.