Judges 3.3: Ehud and Eglon

"And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. So, the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years." (Judges 3:12-14)

And so, it continues... As soon as the last judge died, what happened? The people fell right back into idolatry. In Judges 2:19 we read, "And it came to pass that when the judge was dead, that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them. The did not cease from their own doings, nor from their own stubborn ways."

Mankind often reverts back into idol worship because of the inherent desire to control one's own destiny, seeking satisfaction and security in things other than God, leading to the worship of self or material possessions, which is considered idolatry. This tendency is rooted in the sin nature of man and the temptation to "be like God," as seen in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Key Points About This Concept:

1. Human Nature: The Bible portrays humans as naturally inclined to seek out things to rely on besides God, often substituting material possessions, power, or personal achievements as idols.

2. Desire For Control: Idolatry can be seen as a way to be, "in control" of one's own life by placing trust in something tangible rather than relying solely on God's will.

3. Temptation of Self Worship: The root of idolatry is often seen as a desire to be like God, essentially worshipping oneself.

4. Cultural Influence: In Biblical times the Israelites often fell into idol worship due to the influence of surrounding cultures that practiced paganism, making it easy to adopt their practices.

As I was researching this information this morning, the phrase, "the path of least resistance" came into my mind. I believe the people fell back into idolatry so easily because they were following the easy path, the path of least resistance. It is often easier to go along with what the carnal man longs for. But we have to remember, that isn't what God designed us for. We are not made to gratify our flesh, but to glorify God. It was easy not just because of man's proclivity towards sin but was exacerbated by the fact that everyone around them was doing it too. A wonderful lady once told me, "If everyone else is doing it, that's your sign that you shouldn't."

"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 eighteen years." Judges 3:12b-14

The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD: After God brought deliverance through the work of Othniel, Israel eventually drifted away from their dependence and obedience towards God. Their victory did not automatically last forever; it had to be maintained.

Cundall does a good job of describing the three peoples mentioned here as oppressors of Israel:

1. “Moab, situated to the east of the Dead Sea between the Arnon and the Zered, was settled as a kingdom some fifty years before the Israelite invasion.”

2. “Ammon, to the north-east of Moab, was established about the same time as Israel in the late thirteenth century B.C.” The Moabites were descended from Lot and one of his daughters.

3. “The Amalekites, who were akin to the Edomites (descended from Esau), were a nomadic race occupying the considerable area south of Judah and were possibly Israel’s bitterest enemy (Exodus 17:8-16; cf. 1 Samuel 15:2-3).”

The children of Israel served Eglon: Israel’s sin brought them into bondage. They suffered 8 years of bondage before they cried out to the LORD in the days of Othniel. Then they endured another 18 stubborn years of bondage before they cried out to the LORD.

Sin always brings bondage, though it comes to us deceptively. The fish never contemplates the bondage of the hook when it goes after the bait; Satan snares us by making the bait attractive and hiding the hook.

“Some great men have borne names which, when reduced to their grammatical meaning, appear very ridiculous: the word Eglon signifies a little calf!” (Clarke) In Eglon’s case, it was a fatted calf and was ready for slaughter.

"But when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. By him the children of Israel sent tribute to Eglon king of Moab." Judges 3:15

When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer: This shows the mercy of God. When Israel repeatedly drifted from God, He had every right to cast them off completely. Yet He still responded when they finally did call on Him for deliverance.

Ehud… a left-handed man: In the ancient world left-handed people were often forced to become right-handed. This made Ehud’s standing as a left-handed man more unusual.

“He is described as a left-handed man, literally ‘restricted as to his right hand’. In the eyes of an Israelite, this was regarded as a physical defect and it appears often in connection with the Benjamites, without affecting their prowess in battle (cf. 20:16).” (Cundall)

It's interesting to note that Benjamin means "son of the right hand," yet many Benjamites were left-handed. It was beneficial in the assassination of Eglon that Ehud was a left-handed man. He never thought to beware of an attack from the left side.

(Judges 3:16-26) Ehud’s daring assassination of Eglon.

"Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in 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. And 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 till 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 Seirah."

He brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab: Israel had to pay this tribute money because they were under the domination of the king of Moab. Ehud came to Eglon as a messenger or courier.

“Since the payment was carried by a number of men, it may have been food or wool.” (Wolf)

“Presents, tribute, etc., in the eastern countries were offered with very great ceremony; and to make the more parade several persons, ordinarily slaves, sumptuously dressed, and in considerable number, were employed to carry what would not be a burden even to one. This appears to have been the case in the present instance.” (Clarke)

"I have a message from God for you": Ehud certainly told the truth when he said this. The message was, “Those who oppress the people of God touch the apple of His eye and will be judged for it.”

F.B. Meyer set forth some thoughts from Judges 3:20, and Ehud’s statement to Eglon, I have a message from God for you.

God’s messages are often secret.

God’s messages must be received with reverence.

God’s messages leap out from unexpected quarters.

God’s messages are sharp as a two-edged sword, and cause death.

“God’s Word pierces as a two-edged sword to the dividing of soul and spirit in the recesses of the being and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. When the Eglon of self has received its death-wound, the glad trumpet of freedom is blown on the hills.” (Meyer)

God uses many messengers to speak to us, including death. “Ehud said, ‘I have a message from God for thee.’ It was a dagger which found its way to Eglon’s heart, and he fell dead. So shall death deliver his message to you. ‘I have a message from God unto thee,’ he will say, and ere you shall have time to answer, you shall find that this was the message, ‘Because I the Lord will do this, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel; thus, saith the Lord, cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground! Set thy house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.’ Oh! may you hear the other messengers of God before he sends this last most potent one, from which ye cannot turn away.” (Spurgeon)

The preacher should also present the word of God with the sense that he has a message from God. “I am afraid, there are some ministers who hardly think that the gospel is intended to come personally home to the people. They talk, as I read of one the other day, who said that when he preached to sinners, he did not like to look the congregation in the face, for fear they should think he meant to be personal; so, he looked up at the ventilator, because there was no fear then of any individual catching his eye. Oh! That fear of man has been the ruin of many ministers. They never dared to preach right at the people.” (Spurgeon)

Ehud reached with his left hand: Because most men fought with their right hand, it wasn’t expected for a man to use his left hand with a dagger or a sword. This shows how cunning Ehud was and how unexpected the strike was to Eglon.

The fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the dagger out of his belly; and his entrails came out: “This is variously understood: either the contents of the bowels issued through the wound, or he had an evacuation in the natural way through the fright and anguish.” (Clarke)

The phrase and his entrails came out has caused some problems for translators. One of the words used occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. “The most plausible, if gruesome, suggestion is that it refers to the opening of the king’s body, the downward motion of the dagger being with such force that it passed completely through the abdomen and projected from the vent (cf. RV, it came out behind). Such sensational details have a habit of impressing themselves indelibly upon the human memory.” (Cundall)

“The KJV and RSV translate ‘and the dirt came out,’ implying an intestinal discharge caused by the sword thrust. Koehler-Baumgartner relates the word to the Akkadian parasdinum (‘hole’), meaning that Ehud went out through an ‘escape hole.’ The construction is very similar to ‘Ehud went out to the porch’ in Judges 3:23.” (Wolf)

Some are troubled by this act of assassination; we cannot say that this event is a general approval or commission of those who would assassinate rulers who oppress the people of God. It is significant that this was never suggested or even an issue in the early Christian persecutions. “God did not necessarily approve of the method used by Ehud. It may be significant that the Spirit of the Lord did not come on Ehud and that he was never described as ‘judging Israel.’” (Wolf)

Nevertheless, the Bible reliably records this incident without giving specific approval of this act of assassination. “Such incidental details as the length of the murder weapon and the fact of Eglon’s corpulence (mentioned only because the dagger was completely buried in his body) attest to the historicity of the event.” (Cundall)

He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber: Without being coarse, we can see how real and true-to-life the Bible is. It describes normal, everyday functions but in a dignified way.

Attending to his needs is literally “covering his feet,” a euphemism for elimination also used in 1 Samuel 24:3. Some commentators see this only reluctantly: “He has lain down on his sofa in order to sleep; when this was done, they dropped their slippers, lifted up their feet, and covered them with their long loose garments. But the versions, in general seem to understand it as implying a certain natural act.” (Clarke)

The stone images mentioned in Judges 3:19 and 3:26 were probably “the actual stones set up by Joshua to commemorate the miraculous crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 4:19-24) and thus were a well-known landmark.” (Cundall)

(Judges 3:27-30) Ehud leads the Israelites in battle against the Moabites.

"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 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 ten thousand 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 eighty years."

And he led them: As much cunning and courage as Ehud had, he could not do the work by himself. It was essential for brave and faithful men to rally around him. Ehud led, but he had to have followers.

In the same way, God lifts up leaders in the church, but they can’t do the work by themselves. The whole body needs to work together.

Follow me, for the LORD has delivered: Ehud asked the Israelites to follow him, because he was their leader. Yet he also encouraged them to look with faith to the LORD (for the LORD has delivered your enemies into your hand).

Like any true leader, Ehud said “follow me.” A leader can’t expect his followers to go where he or she will not or has not gone. “This was captain-like spoken. Caesar never said to his soldiers, Ite, go ye, but Venite, come along: I will lead you, neither shall ye go farther than ye have me before you. Hannibal was wont to be first in the battle, and last out.” (Trapp)

And the land had rest for eighty years: Ehud’s cunning and courage, coupled with Israel’s faithful following of a leader, brought Israel’s longest period of freedom under the 400-year period of the Judges. Ehud is a dramatic example of how in the LORD, one man can make a difference, and how God will call others to work with that one man.

The third judge: Shamgar.

(Judges 3:31a) The brief story of Shamgar.

"After him was Shamgar the son of Anath,"

Shamgar the son of Anath: Shamgar is one of six individuals we call “minor” judges, because not much is written about them. Yet the work they did for God was just as important in their day as anyone else’s work.

(Judges 3:31b) Shamgar’s great accomplishment.

Who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.

" Killed six hundred men of the Philistines": Shamgar was a man of great accomplishment, yet only one verse describes his work. It is possible that so little is said about Shamgar because his story was so well known.

“The significant omissions may indicate that there was something unusual about Shamgar; he may not have been a judge after the usual pattern but just a warrior who effected this one local stroke of valor against a nation who afterwards became Israel’s principal oppressor.” (Cundall)

With an ox goad: Shamgar is an excellent example of serving for God. He simply used what God put in his hand - in his case, an ox goad.

An ox goad was a stick about 8 feet long (about 2.5 meters), and about 6 inches around at the big end. One end of the ox goad was pointy (for poking the ox), and the other end was like a chisel (for scraping the plow clean of dirt).

“In the hands of a strong, skillful man, such an instrument must be more dangerous and more fatal than any sword.” (Clarke)

He also delivered Israel: There was nothing spectacular about an ox goad. But God can use, and wants to use, whatever is in our hands. Shamgar was merely a laborer doing his job; but he took what was in his hand when prompted by God and he rescued the people of God from their enemies.

Shamgar was like Moses and his shepherd’s staff or David and his shepherd’s sling. God uses simple things to accomplish great things.

Read chapter 4 over the weekend. Monday I will begin a study into Deborah.

Be blessed.