Ehud: The Left-Handed Savior

Judges‭ ‬3:12-30

1. Recap

The book of Judges is a record of the failure of God’s people. The book of Joshua records the awesome might of God working in and through His people to secure His blessing on the nation of Israel. There were failures, of course, but Israel progressed in an upward direction. But in Judges we see, not a blessed nation, but a miserable one; miserable because they forgot about God, they forgot about what got them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. But at the same time, we see God’s mercy in His dealings with His wayward children. These interventions of God we may well call “revivals,” because as the people cried out to God in repentance, He visited them with demonstrations of power, mercy, and deliverance.

In Judges we no longer see God pouring out his blessing upon His people and we no longer see Israel fulfilling the purposes of God. The people demonstrated time and again their inability to retain the blessings of God, preferring to bare the penalty of their sin.

Yet, the misery into which their rebellion brought them never failed to move the Lord to compassion. When the people cried out, God raised up judges, or “saviors,” who would bring peace and order to the land, but only for as long as they lived. With their deaths, the nation would again slide back into sin. Judges 2:19 tells the sad, sad story:

But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

This is the pathetic history of the people of God; it is also the history of the grace of God, and of His compassion towards His people.

As the book progresses, so does the sin of the people; the state of Israel degrades with each passing chapter until, sick of their own unfaithfulness, in spite of the prophets of God in the land, and the clear Word of God, the nation rejects God as their King in favor of adopting a human form of government. This had the unbelievable effect of placing Israel on the same level as all the nations around them, when at one time the actually had God as their King!

Sadly, the history of Israel in Canaan parallels the history of the Church in the world. The Church is God’s instrument of salvation on earth. He has entrusted His Gospel and the message of the Cross to the Church, and time and again the Church has failed in its mission. Yet God continues to work through the Church and bless the faithful in the Church. But even while we preach the Word of God, large segments of the Church wallow in sin and “godless words.” Perhaps we are witnessing the beginnings of the great apostasy seen by John on the Island of Patmos. There have been many revivals throughout church history, but the downward trend continues. We may look in astonishment at the history of Jewish people and wonder how they could be so stubborn and rebellious, but we, who have the complete Word of God and complete revelation of God to man in the Person of Jesus Christ have faired no better.

Nevertheless, while God’s people throughout the ages have been unfaithful to Him, He has never failed them. He has never failed to be kind, gracious, loving, forgiving, and merciful. What should be noted is that God’s power and presence did not leave Israel when Joshua died. God was always there whenever there was enough faith to see Him. This is, arguably, the strongest message of the book of Judges, and it is a message that concerned Paul so much, that he wrote about it centuries later:

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2:12)

With this section of Judges, we are introduced to the second judge of Israel, Ehud.

2. Same sin, old enemy, 3:12-14

Moab was Israel’s perennial enemy, and God would use them repeatedly when the nation fell into sin. In this instance, we read a very disturbing sentence:

the LORD gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel

That is a shocking thing to read in the Bible; the Lord giving power to the enemy of His own people. In Moses’ day the Moabites had hired Balaam the prophet to curse Israel and along with the Midianites led the nation into idolatry.

In this instance, Moab had new partners, the powerful Amalekites and the evil Ammonites, who were also Israel’s bitter enemy. Eglon was the leader of this alliance against the people of God. In Hebrew, the word Ammon (Ammonites) means “of a kindred,” or “one born of incest.” The Ammonites were descended from Ben-ammi, a son of Lot, whose mother was Lot’s younger daughter. Amalek (Amalekites) “laborious,” and was a son of Esau, a hereditary enemy of Israel. This coalition defeated Israel in battle and took possession of Jericho, the City of Palms, and they were held in bondage to the Moabites for 18 years.

3. Cloak and Dagger, 3:15-25

We are introduced to Ehud, the man whom God called into service to deliver His people this way:

a left-handed man

This fact would come in handy in his plan to assassinate Eglon. Ehud’s responsibility seems to have been to pay the yearly tribute to the king. The payment was likely in the form of a product, not currency. Since several men carried it, it could have been food or possibly wool. In any case, Ehud made a secret weapon for this delivery, a small, double-edged sword about 18 inches long.

After Ehud presented the tribute to King Eglon, he sent his men away, some distance, apparently. Ehud wanted a private audience with the King, and told the King that he had a secret message from God for him. That’s a curious phrase, and could be translated, “I have a secret message from the gods for you,” which would have interested this pagan king greatly. Being an idolater, King Eglon stood up in respect. At this, Ehud drew his secret weapon, using his left hand; had he used his right, the king might have been suspicious. He plunged the sword into the king’s stomach. The King was so surprised by this sneak attack, he didn’t scream out in pain. As if to emphasize the truly godless nature of this king, we read this in the KJV:

And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. (verse 22)

Ehud sneaked out of the king’s room, leaving the dagger or sword behind.

The result of Ehud’s devious plan led the Israelites to having victory over Moabite forces and peace returned to the land for some two generations.

4. Special problems

As we study the book of Judges, most readers are struck by the cruelty and violence that is apparently condoned by God. Ehud saved Israel by assassinating Eglon, Jael became a heroine by driving a tent peg through Sisera’s head, Gideon executed two Midianite kings, and Jephthah may have taken the life of his own daughter, yet all these people are heros in Israel. These acts are not necessarily approved of by the writer of Judges or of God. However, it should be noted that the enemies of Israel are viewed as being God’s enemies, and Jael’s act, for example, became a means of glorifying God. Wicked, murdering leaders deserved to die themselves.

However, some vicious acts cannot be defended in Scripture. If, for example, Jephthah did offer is daughter as a sacrifice, then he committed an atrocious sin even though he do so believing he was pleasing God.

How could God’s people so such things sincerely believing they were right? Remember, these people had “forgotten God,” in other words, the Law of Moses was being neglected, therefore they lost sight of how they should behave and what God’s will was for them. They didn’t really forget God, because eventually they called out to Him, they simply forgot what He expected of them. They sought to serve God and do God’s will on their own terms.

We might understand why Israel acted the way they did. They didn’t have the completed Word of God, they didn’t have an abiding presence of God in their lives, God’s Spirit came and went. But believers today are without excuse. There is no reason for any believer to be ignorant of God’s will for their lives. There is no excuse for inappropriate behavior, service or worship in the Church today. We have have the final Word from God on all matters. And we have the permanent presence of God in our Churches and in our lives in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Unlike the Spirit of God who came and went in Old Testament times, the Holy Spirit is here to stay.

Did God approve of how Ehud handled King Eglon? Not necessarily. It must be noted that the Spirit of God did not come upon Ehud and he was never described as “judging Israel.” The fact that God worked through Ehud does not mean Ehud did what God wanted him to do. God in his sovereignty was glorified and Israel was favored. They would, however, forget the Lord yet again.