Great Abilities Alone Won't Cut It - Judges 3:12-30

Sermon Series: In Need of a Greater Rescue

Have you ever seen one of those improv shows on TV? The ones that get a couple of comedians together, don’t give them any script or any time to rehearse, and then give them a scenario and tell them to act it out right off the top of their heads? They can be pretty funny at times, but you can only really handle them for about 30 minutes to an hour. I think that a big reason for that is because they aren’t really telling or communicating a consistent, unfolding plot or story. The plot can change entirely in the drop of a hat because the comedian can’t think of a funny way to keep the plot going, so he or she decides to find a funny way to change the plot all together. It’s a scene that makes for a lot of laughter, but it isn't one that clearly tells a story or reveals a plot or a plan. As a result, improv can make for great television but it would never make for a good movie. The thing about good movies is that they tell a good story or unfold a good plan. And to do this well a movie needs a good director who has a clear understanding of what the story is, who can communicate that story throughout the filming process, and who can keep the actors working together and in harmony with the story as it is supposed to be told.

Now I want you to think about one of those guys considered by most to be an elite actor – whether you like him or not, one of those guys who seems to be held up as one of the best in what he does. For me the guy that comes to mind (even though I’m not a big fan of his movies) is Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise is one of those guys who has starred in a whole lot of big, money-making films such as “Top Gun,” “Rain Man,” and the recent series of Mission Impossible movies. He’s one of those guys who must walk onto movie sets knowing that his reputation precedes him and that he is going to have a lot of people on the movie set catering to his needs. Regardless of how good Cruise’s acting abilities are though, he can’t decide in the middle of a scene that he is filming that he doesn’t like the direction that the movie is going and decide to deviate from the script in order to cause the story and plot to take a different direction. The story and the plot are determined beforehand by the writer and producers. Then it becomes the director’s job to ensure that the story and the plot are told accurately. If, while filming, the director sees a moment when Cruise deviates from the script it is his responsibility to call out “CUT!” in order to stop the filming process and to Cruise working again in harmony with the script or plan that has already been laid out.

Throughout the Bible God is unfolding a plan that He has put into place from the very beginning of time. It’s a plan of restoration, a plan of deliverance, and a plan of salvation that He both established and has the responsibility for seeing through. And in the OT God would often foreshadow parts of this plan through the lives of different men so that we would be able to clearly know and recognize what God was up to. Sometimes these men foreshadowed God’s plan in positive ways, and at other times these men foreshadowed God’s plan through their shortcomings. But even through the shortcomings of some of these men who would deviate from God's plan, we would recognize what we needed to be looking for the One Deliverer and Rescuer who would ultimately be the fulfillment of God’s restoration and deliverance story.

As we dive into the text that we will be examining this week we see that the pattern of sin and idolatry continues in the Israelites after Othniel’s death. In verse 11 the narrator tells us that Othniel died and what follows in verse 12 is what we will see over and over again in this book, “And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord” (vs. 12). Each time the God-appointed judge dies the people of Israel return to their sin, their rebellion, and their idolatry. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since we never see any genuine repentance taking place in the lives of the Israelites in the body of the book of Judges and since it appears that the Israelites’ greatest want is freedom from their physical enemies rather than freedom from the oppression of sin and Satan.

Then consistent with the pattern established by the author and narrator of the book we see God’s response to the sin of His people, “and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” God sees the sin of His people and rather than driving out their enemies and their false gods He chooses to leave the nations in place so that the people can see their sin more clearly. With the pagan nations still remaining in the Promised Land the Israelites would be able to see that they were choosing to chase after and be conformed to the image of the nations and their gods rather than chase after and be conformed to the image of God. In leaving the pagan nations in place God was also refusing to reward their disobedience and idolatry by continuing to drive out those who would eventually become their oppressors and enemies. Instead of keeping His hand upon the pagan nations to drive them out of the Promised Land, God removed His hand from against the nations and set His hand against the Israelites. Because of their choices to abandon God, to worship other things (namely the false gods of the nations and themselves), and to live in disobedience to God the Israelites had positioned themselves against God, becoming His enemies. So the author and narrator of Judges tells us that God strengthened the hand of the king of Moab, Eglon, and that Eglon then allied himself with some of the other nations in order to defeat the Israelites and to take possession of the city of Jericho (vs. 13). Then, having been defeated by Eglon, the Israelites were forced to live under and serve Eglon for a period of 18 years (vs. 14).

The author and narrator of the book of Judges doesn’t give us any insight into what the 18 years under Eglon’s rule were like, but we can assume that those 18 years were years of great distress. The author and narrator told us earlier in the introduction of the book “And He [God] sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies . . . And they were in terrible distress” (2:14-15). We also see (consistent with the pattern of the book) the Israelites crying out to God in despair, pleading for His help. “Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord” (3:15). So while no details are given regarding the circumstances under which the Israelites were being forced to live, the context implies that these 18 years were years of terrible difficulty and distress. And just as God had done earlier in chapter 3, because of His great compassion and His mercy towards His chosen people, He raised up an individual to deliver the Israelites out from under Eglon’s hand. “. . . and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.” Even though there is no evidence of either remorse or repentance for their sin God chooses to act on their behalf and to provide a means for relief from their enemy.

What follows from verse 15 through the remainder of the account of Ehud (which ends at 3:30) is an amazingly detailed account of how Ehud defeats Eglon, the king of Moab, and delivers the Israelites out from under his hand. The story tells us that the Israelites chose to send their required tribute to Eglon through Ehud, who would represent the Israelite nation as he offered the gift. (Now understand that this task would have actually required several men. The tribute for the entire nation wasn’t a small pouch of coins that one individual could carry on his own. The text doesn’t give us any details regarding the tribute itself, but since it was a tribute required from all the Israelite people we can imagine that it must have been sizeable and that it would have required several men to deliver it.) So after Ehud is chosen as Israel’s representative the text goes on to tell us that Ehud makes for himself a small sword that he could secretly fasten to his leg underneath his clothing. The text tells us that the sword was double-edged and that it was approximately 18 inches long. We can also assume from parts of the text that it was a sword without any guard. Most swords are made up of three main parts: the blade, the hilt (the handle), and the guard (which was the piece of wood or metal that separated the blade from the handle). The hilt and the blade usually form a straight line while the guard usually runs perpendicular to the hilt and the blade to guard one’s hand from sliding onto the blade or to guard against an opponent’s blade sliding down your blade and onto your hand. To hide this particular sword strapped to his leg and underneath his clothing Ehud would have had to have left the guard off of the sword so that nothing would be protruding from underneath his clothing. Ehud’s left-handedness plays an important role in the next part of the account. The text tells us that Ehud strapped the sword to his right thigh – the side opposite of what most men carried their swords on. Right handed men would strap their swords on their left side because it was easier and quicker to reach across one’s body to pull a sword out of its sheath than it was to lift a sword straight out from a sheath on the same side as your dominant hand. So if guards of the king weren’t doing their job well they might not check the right thigh of an individual if they were acting under the assumption that the individual was right-handed.

Having been chosen as the representative of the Israelites and having made for himself a special sword, the text tells us that Ehud (and those helping him bring the tribute) presented the gift to Eglon. Then on their way back Ehud stopped, ordered those who were traveling with him to continue on, and then turned back to go before Eglon on his own. Ehud again makes it in front of the king of Moab still carrying his hidden sword on his leg. And once again in the presence of the king he says to Eglon, “I have a secret message for you, O king” (vs. 19). This is an incredibly loaded statement. Ehud used a Hebrew word whose primary and most often used meaning is “message,” but which can also be translated as “thing” or “object.” So Ehud makes this declaration intending for Eglon to interpret the word as it is most often used, but at the same time furtively revealing that the secret he had for Eglon was more than a ‘message’ – it was a ‘thing.’ Interested in discovering what this supposed secret ‘message’ was Eglon gives a command of silence and in both obedience and stupidity all of Eglon’s attendants and guards depart from the room leaving Eglon completely exposed to his enemy. Ehud then began to draw closer to Eglon the king and spoke to him again, this time enticing him even more, “I have a message from God for you” (vs. 20). Ehud’s “secret” message has just become a “divine” message, so the text tells us that Eglon rises up from his seat to receive the message from God.

When Ehud sees Eglon rise to his feet he quickly moves to action. Before Eglon can shout for help or sound any kind of alarm Ehud grabs his sword, removes it from his leg, and thrusts the sword entirely into Eglon’s stomach so that even the hilt (the handle) of the sword is swallowed up by Eglon’s fat. The author and narrator then gives two more specific details that end up shedding additional light on Ehud’s escape. The narrator tells us that Ehud does not pull the sword out of Eglon’s stomach. This probably served as a way of making it out of Eglon’s palace without drawing additional attention to himself. Trying to conceal (and possibly even clean) a messy and bloody sword would have taken time and added to the chances of others taking notice of him – so leaving the sword inside of Eglon would have been both the quickest, cleanest, and less conspicuous thing to do. The text also tells us that dung came out of Eglon. This seems like a gross and unnecessary detail, but it ends up playing an important role in Ehud’s escape as well (which we will explain further in just a moment). With the assassination having taken place the narrator tells us that Ehud is then able to exit the roof chamber where the king was, lock the doors behind him, and escape Eglon’s palace (vs. 23).

The author and narrator of Judges tells his readers that after Ehud had made his initial escape from the palace Eglon’s servants return to check on him. When they arrive at the doors of the roof chamber they discover that the doors are locked and the text tells us that they make the assumption that Eglon is relieving himself (vs. 24). Strengthening this assumption may have been the odor that the servants caught a whiff of arriving at the locked doors. We all know that the act of relieving yourself can sometimes produce strong odors. That was true thousands of years ago just as it is today. So we begin to see how the seemingly gross and unnecessary details given earlier by the narrator concerning the death of Eglon have some significance, because the release of the dung served to strengthen the assumption of the king’s servants and attendants, and therefore gave Ehud an even greater amount of time to escape. “And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor” (vs. 25). Having killed Eglon and successfully escaped his palace and guards, the text tells us that Ehud returns to the Israelites, sounds a trumpet in the territory of Ephraim, and calls for the Israelites to follow after him to pursue and destroy the Moabites. The Israelites agree and verse 29 says, “And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped.” The Israelites do battle against their enemies, just as they had done throughout the book of Joshua, and the Lord strengthens them and gives them a great victory. The only difference this time is that this battle doesn’t result in the possession of new land – this battle only serves to bring the Israelites out from under the oppression of the Moabite people. So while we see an Israelite victory in battle, God is also remaining true to his declaration that he would no longer drive the nations out from the land before them (2:3).

Ehud, like Othniel, has some distinctiveness to him as a judge. The details of the text seem to paint Ehud as an incredibly qualified assassin. Being left handed (or possibly ambidextrous) he had distinct advantages in some fighting circumstances. Ehud also appears to be very sly and cunning, which was useful for creating advantages when he found himself in the presence of enemies. But while these character traits certainly stand out in this narrative the text doesn’t paint Ehud in the same light as it did for Othniel – in the Ehud narrative the author and narrator leaves out a very significant phrase. In the Othniel account, despite its shortness (being only 5 verses long), the narrator makes a point to tell the reader very clearly that “the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hands” (3:10). In the Ehud narrative, though it is much longer in length, the narrator leaves out any phrase like this from the story. It’s the absence of this kind of phrase that actually speaks volumes to us about Ehud and one of his short-comings as a deliverer of Israel. Throughout the book of Joshua we noted the way in which Joshua always followed the Lord’s plan with exceptional obedience. The Lord instructed Joshua concerning how they were to cross over the Jordan River during the season when it flooded its banks and when Joshua and the Israelites did just as God had commanded, God did the miraculous and stopped the waters of the Jordan River from flowing so that the Israelites could cross on dry ground. When it came time to take possession of the city of Jericho Joshua and the Israelites did exactly as the Lord had commanded them, they marched around the city for seven days and then raised a shout. And because of their obedience to God’s plan the walls of Jericho fell without anyone even laying a hand on them. Even though the Othniel account is an incredibly short one, there is no indication in the account that Othniel acted on his own initiative, but rather that he did as God had instructed him and that as a result he experienced the hand of God working mightily through him to give him victory over an incredibly powerful enemy. In the Ehud account the text is clear that it was in fact God who raised up Ehud as the judge for Israel, but in the account we also notice the absence of anything indicating that Ehud was following God’s plan. In fact there seems to be evidence that the opposite was in fact true – that Ehud, though raised up by God, was conceiving and following through with his own plans. Note in the Ehud account both the absence of any language from the narrator that God was giving Eglon into Ehud’s hand, and the fact that we see unusual cunningness and deceit (which doesn’t seem necessary if one waits until God has given his enemy into his hand). The closest thing we see to an affirmation of God’s plan being carried out is the declaration in verse 27, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” But be sure to note whose declaration this is. Ehud is the one making this declaration in the text, not the divinely inspired author and narrator. And the simple declaration that God had removed His hand from strengthening Eglon and the Moabites and had set his hand against them is not the same as declaring that Ehud was faithfully carrying out the plan of God.

Because Ehud seems to conceive and carry out his own plan for victory he seems to fall short of the model established by Othniel. Ehud then, while able to successfully deliver God’s people from their oppressors, fails to carry out his call as a deliverer in the manner in which God had called him to. He completed the task, but did so in a way that put his own cunning, his own ability, and his own name on display. And in light of God’s plan, this was a failure. God’s intention was for the deliverers he raised up to carry out His plans, so that He might work mightily through those deliverers, resulting in His great name and power being put on display. This was God’s intention for the deliverers in the book of Judges and this was ultimately God’s intention for the greater Deliverer and Rescuer who was to come. And the awesome news that we discover in the NT is that this is exactly what Jesus did!

When Jesus took on flesh and came to earth, He came to and did carry out the will and plan of God perfectly. How do we know? We see it both prophesied and foreshadowed throughout the OT. David prophesied God’s plan for the Messiah in Psalm 22. The Psalm begins with the phrase, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1), words which Jesus, Himself, later cried out from the cross. As that particular Psalm continues David writes, “Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint . . . For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet – I can count all my bones – they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Ps. 22:12-14, 16-18). Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a suffering servant who bore the sins of the people. “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:3-6). These are just two examples of very specific prophesies that we see in the OT which declare God’s plan for the Deliverer – plans that would have to be carried out perfectly. In order for God to get the glory and the praise for the deliverance of the people then the Deliverer would have to be fully committed to carrying out the plan of God exactly as it had been articulated.

Not surprisingly, when we get to the NT and are introduced to Jesus in the gospels we begin to discover One who suggests that His purpose for coming was not to carry out His own plan, His own initiatives, or His own will. This is the message of Jesus in the midst of His earthly ministry. In John 5:30 we hear Jesus say, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me.” And this continues to be His message even in the final hours leading up to His death. When Jesus comes face to face with the reality of God’s plan for Him, when the cross is just a few short hours away we find Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and we hear Him praying these words “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36). And even as Jesus was hanging on the cross He had the opportunity to abandon the plan and will of God but chose not to. We see that clearly on display when the Pharisees and the others who were passing by mocked Him, saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” (Mark 15:29-30) The thing they did not realize was that Jesus could have done that very thing. Had He not been set on carrying out the plan and the will of the Father Jesus could have come down from the cross at any time He wanted. But Jesus refused to take things into his own hands and chose to be faithful to the plan of God. Jesus continued to declare His commitment to the plan of God for deliverance through His very last words. In the Gospel of John, John says that with His last breath on the cross Jesus declared, “‘It is finished,’ and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). What was finished? The plan which God had laid out for the rescue of humanity. Beginning in Genesis 3:15 God had promised that He would send a deliverer who would be an offspring of Eve and who would ultimately come and crush the head of Satan. Throughout the OT God had foreshadowed this One and gave us specific details into His life. Then, when the timing was right God wrapped His only Son in flesh and caused Him to be born of an earthly mother. Jesus grew up and began declaring and teaching the Kingdom of God, and declaring that He in fact was God. Then, rather than raising up a strong military and going to battle against the powerful forces of the world, Jesus took up a different kind of weapon and went to battle against Satan. Jesus took up a cross, where He was crucified for the sins of all humanity. There on the cross God poured out the full measure of His wrath upon His Son, Jesus, so that the penalty for every sin that had been committed and would be committed was paid for in full. Jesus had died as a substitute for each and every person – making a way for men to be reconciled to God. Three days later Jesus rose from death, proving His absolute power and might over sin, Satan, and death and proving that He was in fact the Son of God. The One who had been promised, the One who all the earth had been waiting for, had indeed come and carried out completely and perfectly the rescue plan of the Father! Through His obedience He glorified the Father and made the Father’s name great – because the One who had first established the world in all it’s perfection had been faithful to His promise and was delivering, rescuing, and making new all that we had screwed up.

*Note on Shamgar – Little is known about the Shamgar who is mentioned in verse 31. Some scholars have believed that verse 31 was a late insertion, added by a scribe sometime after the book had originally been composed. There appears to be good evidence for this because 4:1 picks back up with the expected pattern that we see developed throughout the book. However, scribes were not given the job of editing books, and on the occasions that they did they would work to clarify the text and make it easier to read and understand – not more difficult. So there is stronger evidence to suggest that this verse was an original part of the book.

With that in mind, this verse doesn’t seem to play a significant part in the book. Note that this Shamgar is not said to have been raised up and appointed by God for the deliverance of the Israelites. His name and title “Shamgar, the Son of Anath” suggests that he was not an Israelite (his name being made up of 4 consonant roots, while Hebrew names were typically made up of 3), and that perhaps he was a mercenary for the Egyptian army which served under the protection of Anath, the Caananite and Egyptian goddess of war. Historical artifacts suggest that the Philistines may have first settled just north of the Promised Land and that they were attempting to secure more land to the south. So our most educated guess is that Shamgar was leading Egyptian military efforts against the newly arrived Philistines in a portion of the northern part of the Promised Land. And although God did not raise Shamgar up for the purpose of delivering the Israelites, it still appears that He chose to use this foreigner to help save the Israelite people from those who were trying to secure parts of the Promised Land.