The Unlikely: Ehud / Judges 3:12-30
The God of the Unlikely
If you would pick up your Bibles and turn to Judges chapter 3, we are going to be looking at verses 12 through the end of the chapter. As you turn there, if you are just joining us for the summer, we are going through a series we started a couple of weeks ago called The Unlikely. It is a journey through the book of Judges, but really it is a character study. Even more than that, it is a God study on how God uses people.
God has this incredible way, during the most chaotic times—and this was a very chaotic time in the history of Israel—of using people who are very unlikely to be used, all in order to show His glory. During this chaotic period, Israel was going through recurring cycles of following God, falling away from God, following God, and falling away again. During those seasons of rebellion and oppression, God raised up judges who were unlikely to be used, and yet He used them so that people would not see the judge; they would see God.
Last week, we looked at Othniel. Othniel was unlikely to be used by God. The world would have looked at him and said, “No, he’s just plain too old. His best days are behind him. He should be hanging everything up and walking off into the sunset because God is going to use somebody much younger.” But God said, “No, that is the exact man I want to use.” God chooses people the world thinks are unlikely in order to show what He can do through them. That is what God does.
Eighteen Years of Wasted Time and Boundless Mercy
We are going to look at another unlikely deliverer today. The account starts in verse 12, a verse you will see repeated often in the book of Judges.
Judges 3:12 (NASB)
Now the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.
They entered the cycle again: following God, then falling away from God. Now they were doing evil in the sight of the Lord. Notice that: in God’s perspective, which is the only perspective that matters. They might have been doing things and thinking, This looks all right. But it was not all right, because in God’s perspective it was evil. How many times do we do that? We think, I’m doing okay. I don’t think what I’m doing is evil. But it does not matter what I think; it matters what God says. And Israel was likely following after other gods again.
As you read on, you see that God strengthened an enemy of the Israelites—an ungodly king—in order to discipline Israel. He did it because He loved Israel. He said, “You are falling away from Me, and I have to get your attention.” So He strengthened King Eglon of Moab.
If you look at a map, you will see Israel on the west side of the Jordan River. On the east side, around the Dead Sea, sat the small nation of Moab. God strengthened Moab so much that they crossed over the Jordan River and captured territory on the western bank all the way to the City of Palms, which is Jericho. They were so intimidating that in order to appease them, Israel paid a tribute—basically an annual payoff—so that Eglon would leave them alone.
The text tells us Israel did that for eighteen years. It took eighteen years of oppression to humble Israel enough to turn back to God.
That tells me two things. First, it is tragic because these people wasted eighteen years of their lives. Some of us can testify to that reality: we walk away from God, do our own thing for a season, stay stubborn and proud, and refuse to humble ourselves. When we finally look back, we realize what a waste of time it was, whether it was a short season or a long one.
Second, it is a magnificent testimony to the character of God. God Himself is so patient, so enduring, and so committed to those who belong to Him that after eighteen long years, when they finally cried out, God did not say, “Sorry, your time has expired.” He said, “I hear you.” It is heartbreaking that they wasted that time, but it is deeply encouraging to know we serve a God who waits for us to return. You can never say, “It’s too late for me.” It was not too late for them.
The Secret Message from God
They cried out to God, and God raised up a judge named Ehud.
Judges 3:15 (NASB)
But when the sons of Israel cried to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
Ehud is introduced as the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. As we will see, his left-handedness was a key detail in what was about to unfold.
God raised Ehud up and placed a plan in his heart to assassinate Eglon, the king of Moab, and deliver Israel. Ehud made a double-edged sword about a cubit long—the distance from the elbow to the fingertip, roughly eighteen inches. He strapped this blade to his right thigh, where a left-handed man could easily reach it, and concealed it under his cloak.
Ehud was chosen to lead the delegation delivering the annual tribute to King Eglon. He and his men went to Moab, presented the tribute safely, and then departed to return home. But when they reached Gilgal, Ehud turned back.
Judges 3:19 (NASB)
But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, ‘I have a secret message for you, O king.’ And he said, ‘Keep silence.’ And all who attended him left him.
They arrived at Gilgal where the idols were, and Ehud knew he could not leave things unfinished. Gilgal was a historic memorial site for Israel, a place with stones set up to remind the nation of how God had brought them across the Jordan and delivered them out of Egypt. Perhaps seeing that place reminded Ehud of God’s faithfulness and spurred him on. Whatever the case, he sent his companions ahead to keep them safe, turned around, and returned alone to King Eglon.
Ehud approached the king and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” Eglon loved secrets, so he ordered all his attendants out of the room. The king retreated into his private, cool upper chamber—a private suite with personal quarters.
Ehud stepped inside and said, “I have a message from God for you.”
Eglon was eager to hear it, so he stood up from his seat. Now, the scripture makes a point to tell us that Eglon was an extremely fat man. In fact, the original language uses phrasing that evokes the imagery of a fattened calf ready for slaughter. Whenever I read this, all I can picture is Jabba the Hutt. Eglon stood up, expecting an oracle from God, and Ehud reached out with his left hand, drew the eighteen-inch blade from his right thigh, and plunged it deep into Eglon’s belly.
The entire blade went in, handle and all. The fat closed over the weapon, and the scripture bluntly notes that the refuse came out. When I was a junior high boy, I thought this was the greatest story in the entire Bible. Ehud locked the doors of the upper room behind him and calmly walked out of the palace.
When the king’s servants returned, they found the doors locked. Smelling the odor, they assumed the king was relieving himself in his private room. So they waited and waited, until they became anxious and thoroughly embarrassed. Finally, they took the key, unlocked the door, and found their master fallen dead on the floor.
The Deliverance and the Unlikely Deliverer
Because the servants waited so long, Ehud had plenty of time to escape past the idols and reach the hill country of Ephraim. When he arrived, he blew the trumpet and rallied the Israelites.
Judges 3:28 (NASB)
He said to them, ‘Pursue [them], for the LORD has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.’ So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross.
Notice what Ehud said: “The Lord has given your enemies into your hands.” Ehud did not take the credit. He recognized that he was merely a tool in the hands of the Almighty. The Israelites marched down, seized the fords of the Jordan, and struck down the Moabite army. Moab was subdued, the land was reclaimed, and Israel enjoyed peace for eighty years.
That is the account of Ehud. But let us ask the central question of this series: What made Ehud so unlikely to be used by God?
It goes back to the way he is introduced in verse 15: “Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man.” We might read that and wonder why being left-handed makes someone unlikely. While left-handedness is less common, the Hebrew text reveals something deeper. The literal phrase in Hebrew does not simply say “left-handed.” It describes him as “a man restricted or weak in his right hand.”
Because his right hand was restricted or disabled, he had to rely on his left. Scholars suggest two possibilities. In that era, some warriors were intentionally trained from youth to bind their right hands to develop skill with their left, creating ambidextrous or southpaw fighters who had a tactical surprise advantage in combat. Alternatively, Ehud may have been born with a physical disability or paralysis in his right arm.
Regardless of which was true, consider this: the Hebrew culture described him by his deficit rather than his asset. They described what he could not do rather than what he could do. The culture said, “This man is restricted in his right hand.” Society defined him in the negative.
Yet God viewed him in the positive. God looked at him and said, “You are weak in your right hand? You are physically different? Perfect. That is the exact man I want to use.”
His unique physical condition became the very means of deliverance. When Ehud entered the palace, the royal guards would have checked his left hip for a weapon, expecting a right-handed draw. Finding nothing, or perhaps seeing a man with a disabled right arm and dismissing him as harmless, they let him pass. But God used what was restricted. God used what was physically different to accomplish His purpose.
Weakness in the Hebrew Perspective
Last week we saw that God uses people regardless of age—you are never too old, and your best days of ministry are still ahead of you. But today, the message speaks to those of us who look in the mirror and do the exact same thing the culture did to Ehud: we define ourselves by our negatives.
We look in the mirror and say, “Why am I like this? Why does my body look this way? Why don’t I have that person’s talent? Why am I so weak in this area? Why am I restricted here?” We fixate on all the things we cannot do, and we completely miss what God has equipped us to do. The world constantly pushes a mold on us, dictating how we ought to look, perform, and live. When we fail to fit that mold, we assume something is wrong with us.
We need a radical change of perspective. We need to say, “Lord, I may feel weak and restricted, but if You want to use me, here I am.” God made you intentionally. He wants to use you right now, with all of your perceived limitations, weaknesses, and restrictions.
Boasting in Weakness: Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh
Even the Apostle Paul had to learn this vital lesson. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul shares a deeply personal part of his testimony.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NASB)
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me– to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul describes a physical hardship in his life as a “thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan.” It was clearly painful and distressing. Paul knew that God was sovereign over his condition, so he went to the Lord three times and pleaded, “God, please take this away. Remove this restriction. Heal this weakness.”
And God told him no.
2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)
And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
God told him, “Paul, My grace is enough for you. You don’t need this physical condition removed. You don’t need exceptional natural strength. My power is put on display through your weakness.”
Paul underwent a complete transformation in his thinking. Instead of resenting his limitation, he said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” He realized that if his weakness caused people to see Jesus Christ instead of Paul, then it was worth it. For Christ’s sake, he learned to be content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, and persecutions, knowing that when he was weak, then he was truly strong.
Too often, we look at our hardships or physical limitations and redefine God’s character, thinking, If God really loved me, He wouldn’t let me deal with this. Paul did the opposite. He knew God loved him and had all power, so he reasoned, If this is in my life, God has a purpose for it. I trust Him.
Living with Restrictions: Sherry and Carrie
I asked my wife, Sherry, if I could share a part of her story, and she graciously agreed, even though she never seeks the spotlight. Sherry lives with physical disabilities that many people never notice. She suffers from fibromyalgia, which causes chronic, exhausting pain. In addition, she has degenerative disc disease, a condition that will only progress over time.
Sherry cannot turn her neck properly; she has to turn her entire upper body. Being the merciful husband that I am, I tease her about it, but the reality is that she lives with constant pain and severe physical limitations. I remember sitting in the doctor’s office when she was first diagnosed. The physician began listing everything she could no longer do: “No skydiving, no bungee jumping, no cliff diving, no mountain climbing.”
I looked at him and thought, Do you even know my wife? Sherry was sitting there taking notes, and I said, “Unless he tells you that you are restricted from shopping, cooking, decorating, and buying gifts for people, you are going to be just fine.”
Over the years, however, the disease has taken its toll. There are days when she cannot even go for a walk, days when she can barely get out of bed. Sherry has walked through the same wrestling match Paul experienced. She has asked God to take the pain away. But God has consistently whispered to her heart: “My grace is sufficient for you. Trust Me. I am enough, and I will use you in the midst of your weakness.”
Sherry and I share another limitation as a couple: we have been married for twenty-six years, and we do not have children. We were unable to have them. I do not know if the medical issue was with Sherry, with me, or a combination of both. For a long time, we grieved what we were missing. We focused on what we could not do rather than what God had called us to do.
We could look back over twenty-six years and list all the family experiences we were excluded from. But we can also look back and see doors opened for ministry, people reached, and kingdom work accomplished that we never could have done had we had children. God had a plan. It was not our original plan, but it was His plan, and His plan is good.
I think of our friend Carrie. She lived an extraordinarily active life—she trained dolphins at Marine World, taught horseback riding, and loved high-energy physical work. Then she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The disease attacked her nervous system, and eventually, she was confined to a wheelchair.
At first, Carrie was deeply bitter. She had loved serving the church through active, physical labor, and suddenly all of that was gone. She asked, “God, what am I supposed to do now?”
Then God shifted her perspective. She told me, “When I was running around doing all those physical activities, I rarely spent time in prayer. Now, God has literally brought me to my knees and kept me there.” Her ministry to the body of Christ today is intercession. She prays for the church day and night. Because she is physically restricted in almost every other area, she carries out one of the most powerful ministries anyone can have.
Chosen in Weakness for His Glory
Every single one of us has limitations. We all carry inabilities and frailties. Paul reminds us of this truth in 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NASB)
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.’
God chose what the world considers foolish to shame the wise. He chose what the world considers weak to shame the strong. He did this so that no human being could boast in His presence. Because of Christ, we have everything we need: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
You do not need your circumstances to be perfect, and you do not need an ideal body or extraordinary natural talents to be used by God. The weaker you are, the more clearly the world sees the strength of God. The more restricted you are, the more visible God’s unrestricted power becomes. The more limited you are, the more God’s boundless ability shines through your life.
You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand. He made you who you are, with your specific personality, your story, and yes, even your limitations. He simply asks: “Will you trust Me? I love you, I know what is best, and My power is made perfect in your weakness.”
Let us pray.
Lord, thank You for the incredible reminder we find in the life of Ehud. Where the world saw a man who was weak and restricted, You saw the exact instrument You wanted to use to bring deliverance.
Father, our culture tells us we must look a certain way, perform a certain way, and achieve a certain status to have value. Forgive us for believing those lies. We ask that You would take our weaknesses, our limitations, and our disabilities, and display Your mighty power through them. Remind us that we are Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to walk in the good works You have planned for us.
Give us the heart of Paul, to boast gladly in our weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon us. We surrender our plans to You and choose to trust Your sufficient grace. In the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.