Title Repeat... Repeat... Repeat...
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morning talk. Judges 3:12-31
Looking at verse 12, which begins today's text, it begins with "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord." In the text I read yesterday, after the appearance of Israel's first judge named Othniel, he overcame the Mesopotamian king Cushan Risathaim and lived peacefully for 40 years. But right after Othniel's death, the Israelites again sinned “again”. The phrase “they have done evil in the sight of the Lord” will come up countless times, but the expression “they have sinned again” begins here. Already in 2:11 and 3:7, it is said that Israel “has done evil in the sight of the Lord.” However, in order to emphasize that the nature of sin continues to be repeated, the author of Judges uses the expression “annoyed” from here on, “again”. “Again...”, “Again…”, “Again…”
In this passage, we can think of two things, one is how persistent and repetitive our sinful nature is tormenting us, and the other is how important a spiritual leader is to get out of this sinful nature as a community. Perhaps the “evil in the sight of God” referred to here refers to spiritual ignorance and the resulting collective depravity. Of course, it will include their thoughts, as well as various moral acts and religious ceremonies. However, the beginning of all these evils and depravity stems from one thing: forgetting the Lord God. All evil and depravity is the result of forgetting God in our minds and hearts. Why did they keep forgetting Jehovah? No, why do we forget God so often?
If you find a clue in today's text, it is a peaceful life that has lasted for 40 years. After 40 years of peace and no hardship without great adversaries, they easily forgot the important fact that this is only possible through God's grace. Then, does it mean that a carefree and peaceful life is the poison of the religious life? I think it may or may not be the case. In the Bible, a carefree and peaceful life clearly begins with God's blessing. Other Bibles refer to it as a prosperous life. However, there is one crucial taboo in peace and prosperity, just like the tree of good and evil, which is that the fear of God must not be lost. Calmness and prosperity in which the heart and mind of the fear of God are lost are the same as fatal corruption and sin. And the price for this is even worse than the state of not experiencing prosperity.
In that sense, we can reaffirm the weight of a spiritual leader personally and collectively. Verse 15 says, “And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, and the LORD raised up a savior for them, Ehud the son of Gera the Benjaminite, left-handed.” There are various ways God works, but in particular, in calling and moving the community, God has always raised up the spiritual leader of the community, like a prophet or judge. Here we read God's unending love and earnest heart of restoration. The initiative of all restoration rests solely with God.
The mention of being left-handed here clearly stands out compared to most of them being right-handed at the time. Judges 20:16 also tells us that the seven hundred people chosen from among the inhabitants of Gibeah were all left-handed, and the skill of the slingshot was outstanding. When most of them were right-handed, left-handed people would have been easy to be teased or perceived as strange, so it is highly likely that they comforted their loneliness or improved their skills by learning various martial arts with their left hand. Interestingly, when Ehud was chosen by God and went to get revenge on Eglon the king of Moab, this left hand did a wonderful thing. He sharpened his sword to sniper Eglon. However, when hiding this sword, it is said that it was worn inside the clothes of the right leg, not the left leg. Perhaps the reason that the sharp sword was not discovered until Ehud entered the palace is because he came to make a tribute, but I also think that it was because he escaped from the gaze of the court guards who mainly looked at the left leg in a general body search. In any case, while he was alone with the king, he drew a sword with his left hand and stabbed Eglon in the body.
The last person I'd like to take a look at is Eglon. Of course, he is a supporting character and villain in the Bible, but there are two things to think about through him. One is, as in verse 17, “Eglon is a very foolish man.” It is difficult to think that he was this foolish from the beginning, because in verses 12-13, it is recorded that he became strong and gathered the Ammon and Amalekite children to attack Israel and take the city of palm trees. However, even this valiant Eglon was transformed into such a ruthless man during the stable reign of 18 years. What made him so stupid? This is also an easy life. However, since he did not have the fear of God, he inevitably fell into the path of fatal corruption.
This point becomes clearer in verse 19. After Ehud has finished offering the tribute, he has sent all his companions away and comes to the king alone. And he reported, “O king, I have come to tell you a secret thing.” Then, a scene is drawn where the king immediately dismisses all the guards and attendants around him and speaks alone. What did King Eglon expect here? He suddenly opened his ears to the word “secret thing,” and various desires were activated. It's not clear what it is, but the response to a single word of "secret thing" clearly shows Eglon's heart, who has already become accustomed to such under-the-counter dealings and bribes.
If we look back at ourselves, we will often find ourselves living a carefree life, and someone will come to us to tell us about “secret things.” It should not be misunderstood, that an easygoing and carefree life is not just about being glamorous and financially prosperous. Day by day passing without major incidents or problems is the same as the 40 years of peaceful Israel or 18 years of Moab's reign that we saw earlier. Also, “secret things” are suggested by someone, but also happen in your own thoughts or your heart. At this time, the guards should not be forced to withdraw to pursue “secret work.” I believe that these guards are the members and spiritual leaders who have been called into the community, along with the angels God has sent to us. In peace and serenity, the only way not to fall is to “fear God”, and I hope that it will be a day to pray for spiritual leadership and community that can awaken this heart every day.