Salvation is from the Lord

Thank you, worship team.

Good reminder this morning of the songs that we sang,

which are kind of an echo of the theme of the passage

! or even the book that we're working through.

That second song,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

Prone to leave the God I love.

Take my heart.

Take and seal it.

Seal it for my courts above.

What a gracious God we have.

A God that even when we stray,

even when we wander,

and by the way,

even when we actively rebel against Him,

there is an invitation.

An invitation that God gives to us

to understand who Jesus is,

recognize our sin,

and come to a place of asking for forgiveness,

confessing our sin before Him,

believing that Jesus is the only way

for us to enjoy the life with God

and forgiveness and cleansing from sin

and bringing that to Him.

And He delights in forgiveness.

He delights in making us one with Him.

He delights in drawing us close.

And that is the consistent theme

throughout the book of Judges.

We're going to come to it time and time and time again.

We have a God who delights in forgiveness.

And one of our stories this morning

in the middle section of Judges chapter 3

Judges 3 · chapter mention

is a story of a king who's coming from Moab.

Well, Moab, you may or may not be familiar with.

Moab was kind of in the region

just in front of Jericho.

And so when the people of Israel

were making their way up through the wilderness

and coming into the promised land,

they would have stopped right there at Moab.

Kind of trace a straight line

from Jerusalem and Jericho

straight over to the top part of the Dead Sea

and then kind of occupying the region of the Dead Sea

just on the eastern side

was where Moab was.

So they were one of the closest neighbors

but also a proximate enemy.

Well, Moab existed because of a descendant of Abraham

or kind of part of the family.

Lot was a nephew of Abraham

and the descendant of Lot is where we get Moab.

And so when Deuteronomy comes into place

and the people are ready to make their way

into the promised land

and Moses is giving his final instructions,

we find that those final instructions

from Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 5

Deuteronomy 1:5

are actually given right here in the land of Moab.

So this is an important place.

This is a place of reminder.

It's a place of God's covenant promises

being captured among the people,

reminded among the people

so when they enter the promised land,

they can remember who they belong to.

It's a reminder to us all

as we make our way through this book,

the book of Judges,

and especially this morning in Judges chapter 3,

Judges 3 · chapter mention

salvation is from the Lord.

Do you need deliverance today?

Do you need rescue?

Do you need salvation?

Are there things in your life

that seem to be falling apart?

You need someone to rescue,

someone to help?

Well, salvation comes from the Lord.

And not just the little things,

but also the big things.

And the biggest thing

is God himself gives his son, Jesus Christ,

to provide for our deepest need,

our need for a savior,

rescue from our sin,

the greatest problem that we have,

that we bring to the table.

So as we make our way through this chapter,

Judges chapter 3,

Judges 3 · chapter mention

the theme of this chapter is

salvation is from the Lord.

It's from him.

And I would encourage you,

if you have your Bibles,

to open them with me,

Judges chapter 3.

Judges 3 · chapter mention

And if you're using the Pew Bible,

you can find it on page 200.

Judges is there on page 200.

We're going to be in Judges chapter 3.

Judges 3 · chapter mention

Salvation comes from the Lord.

Let me read this opening,

these opening couple of verses,

and we can see how this is set

in place for us.

Judges chapter 3,

Judges 3 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 7,

says this,

The people of the Lord,

excuse me,

the people of Israel

did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

They forgot the Lord,

their God,

and they served the Baals

and the Ashtoreth.

Therefore,

the anger of the Lord

was kindled against Israel.

He sold them into the hand

of Cushon Rishathayim,

king of Mesopotamia,

and the people of Israel

served Cushon Rishathayim

eight years.

Salvation comes from the Lord,

and we're going to see,

first of all,

it comes when God's people

cry out to Him for mercy.

They cry out to Him for help.

If you want to enjoy

and experience salvation

and deliverance,

it happens only

when you cry out to God.

It happens only

when you recognize

in your own life

a need for rescue,

and the rescuer

is God Himself.

You cry out to Him

for mercy,

and we're going to find

through our passage today

that God delights

in answering

and helping His people.

But there are things

that we need not forget,

and the first is this.

Do not forget

that we live in His sight.

If you're going to cry out

for mercy,

cry out for help,

you need to remember

that you live in His sight.

Now,

that had been something

that the people of Israel

had forgotten.

We find that

in the earlier parts

of Judges chapter 3,

Judges 3 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 5.

It says,

So the people of Israel

lived among the Canaanites,

the Hittites,

the Amorites,

the Perizzites,

the Hivites,

and the Jebusites,

and their daughters

they took for themselves

as wives,

and their own daughters

they gave to their sons,

and they served their gods.

We saw last time

that they lived

among the people.

They were characterized

by compromise.

They were characterized

not by faithful,

consistent obedience,

seeing it through

to the finish line,

but when things got hard,

when resistance came

and opposition

was difficult for them,

they eased up.

They didn't follow through.

They were happy

to live among the people,

and because they lived

among the people,

then what we find

now in Judges chapter 3

Judges 3 · chapter mention

is something

that will characterize

this people,

this nation of Israel.

They forgot the Lord.

And we find again

in verse 7,

The people of Israel

did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

Now, what does that mean?

They did what was evil

in the sight of the Lord.

Well, we could look

throughout the book

of Deuteronomy

and see this phrase

being traced consistently

throughout the book,

that they were a people

that performed wickedness.

They were people

who did what in God's sight

was wicked.

This is a perpetual indictment

that God brings against them,

and especially against the kings.

We find through the book of Kings

10 times that God says

that they did evil

in the sight of the Lord.

In 2 Kings,

we find 28 times

where they either did evil

or good in the sight of the Lord.

See, God is the evaluator.

He is the judge.

He is the one

to whom we are accountable.

And so when we live,

when we act,

whether it's good or right,

we live and act

in the sight of the Lord.

It's easy to think

and be misled by this phrase,

in the sight of the Lord,

to suggest maybe there's a time

where we could live

outside of the sight of the Lord.

Maybe there's some things

we can do

that God can't pay attention to.

Maybe there are things

that we can do

in secret and in private.

Well, God makes that quite clear

throughout the course

of the scriptures.

Ecclesiastes 12, verse 14,

Ecclesiastes 12:14

says this,

For God will bring

every deed into judgment

with every secret thing,

whether good or evil.

Hebrews chapter 4, verse 13,

Hebrews 4:13

says,

And no creature

is hidden from his sight.

We are all naked

and exposed

to the eyes of him

to whom we must give

an account.

Proverbs 15, verse 3,

Proverbs 15:3

says,

The eyes of the Lord

are in every place,

keeping watch

on the evil

and the good.

In Luke chapter 12,

Luke 12:2

verses 2 and 3,

we see this,

Nothing is covered up

that will not be revealed

or hidden,

that will not be known.

Therefore,

whatever you have said

in the dark

shall be heard in the light.

Whatever you have whispered

in private rooms

shall be proclaimed

on the housetops.

Everything that is done

is done

in the sight

of the Lord.

But it's easy for us

to forget, isn't it?

When we forget

that we are in

the sight of the Lord,

we begin to see

in the lives of Israel

in this nation,

we begin to see

the results.

When we feel like

we can do things

that God is unaware of,

when we think

we can do things

in private,

when we can do things

in secret,

then it leads

to a certain kind of life.

We find that

this in the sight

of the Lord

is a reference

to the special

relationship

that God wanted

to have with His people.

The kind of relationship

that warranted favor.

The kind of relationship

that they enjoyed

engendered blessing.

You're familiar

with Numbers

Numbers 6:24

chapter 6

verses 24 and 25.

It says this,

The Lord bless you

and keep you.

The Lord make His face

to shine upon you

and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up

His countenance upon you

and give you peace.

When we are aware

of the presence

of the Lord,

when we are delighted

in the favor of God

and we participate

in the countenance of God,

we're looking

to please Him,

then it leads

to a certain kind of life.

You see,

Israel had forgotten

in this moment

that they lived

in the sight of the Lord

and even though

it was a reality,

even though it was true,

their forgetting

led to a posture

of rebelling.

They need not forget

that they lived

in the presence

of the Lord.

Second,

don't forget

that this is an issue

of worship.

Forgetting God

is an issue

of worship.

We find that again

in verse 7

of chapter 3.

It says,

And the people

of Israel

did what was evil

in the sight

of the Lord.

They forgot

the Lord,

their God,

and served

the Baals

and the Ashtra.

Israel forgot Yahweh.

they forgot the Lord

and what happened?

It's a reminder

to us

that forgetting

is never neutral.

Forgetting

is never neutral.

When we choose

to forget,

we don't awaken

our hearts

and stimulate

ourselves

to remembrance.

It always leads

to some moral decline.

It always leads

to coasting.

It leads

to compromise

in our life.

And when we choose

to forget God,

it's never neutral.

It begins

the slippage

of our life.

And here it's

described in terms

of service.

This word,

this Hebrew word,

eved,

is to work,

to labor,

to serve,

to be a slave.

And so many,

a couple of the teens

who taught

during the week

of soccer camp

talked about

the significance

of worship.

That you are

always worshiping.

You want to just

worship here in church?

You don't worship

when you're singing

songs and playing

music or reading

the Bible or

deciding to pray

in private.

That is worship,

but worship happens

through the course

of life.

1 Corinthians 10

and 31,

whether you eat

or drink

or whatever you do,

you do all

to the glory of God.

That's our worship.

That's our posture.

That's our service

to God.

That's the way

we show affection

for Him,

devotion to Him,

love for Him.

It is our worship.

This was a people

who worshiped,

but their worshiping

was corrupted.

It was polluted.

Instead of worshiping God,

they chose to worship

the Baals and the Asherah.

They went after them.

They abandoned God.

They bowed down to them.

They provoked God

to anger.

We find the posture

of their heart

was one of worship.

Jesus Himself

addresses this.

He wants us

to understand

the significance

of worship.

Worship that happens

all the time

and you have to choose.

Matthew 6,

Matthew 6:24

verse 24,

Jesus says this,

No one can serve

two masters,

for either he will

hate the one

and love the other,

or he will be devoted

to the one

and despise the other.

You cannot serve

God in money.

That's just one example.

You can't serve

God in Baal.

You can't serve

God in comfort.

You fill in the blank.

You serve or devote

attention and energy

to anything that is not

oriented in a way

that is an affection

for the Lord Jesus.

It's worship.

How do we worship?

How is God helping us

to worship rightly?

So we need to make sure

we don't forget

that we're in His sight.

Don't forget

that you are living

in such a way

that worship

is the pattern

of your life.

Whether you choose,

like Joshua says,

choose you this day

whom you will serve,

but as for me

and my house,

we will serve

the Lord.

That's the decision

we have in front of us.

There's no neutral ground.

There's no middle ground.

God also wants

His people to understand

and not to forget

that His discipline

is mercy.

God's discipline

is mercy.

And we come to

a very hard section here.

We come to a part

of Judges chapter 3

Judges 3 · chapter mention

and we begin to wonder,

okay,

I guess this is the kind

of God we serve.

He's the God

who brings the hammer down.

But we recognize

through the course

of the New Testament

that God disciplines

those He loves.

God's discipline

is an instrument

of invitation.

God's discipline

is an instrument

of drawing us in.

It's an instrument

of correction

so that God

can help us

to enjoy

the benefits

of His relationship,

relationship with Him.

And so we find

in Judges chapter 3

Judges 3:8

verse 8

the beginnings,

the beginnings of discipline.

It says,

therefore the anger

of the Lord

was kindled

against Israel.

He sold them

into the hand

of Cushon

Rishathayim,

king of Mesopotamia.

And the people

of Israel

served Cushon

Rishathayim

eight years.

This is a king

of Mesopotamia.

And those of you

who are not familiar

with ancient geography

like me

have no idea

like where in the world

is Mesopotamia.

Well, Mesopotamia

is 750 miles

north of Jerusalem.

It's in the area

that is kind of

the now Turkey.

Okay?

So imagine

this ruler

who's coming

from 750 miles away

and he's actually

making his way

down to Israel

to try to

take over.

Now,

to give you a concept

of 750 miles,

if you go

from Columbus

east

750 miles,

you're going to end up

in the Atlantic Ocean.

If you go

750 miles

to the west,

you're going to

end up in Kansas.

Okay?

So we're not talking

about a little bit

of distance.

We're talking about

many, many, many hours

of driving

and many days

of traveling.

This king

of Mesopotamia

was not

a regional leader.

Not like a leader

of a Moab

or Midian

or Canaan

or the Hittites.

No.

He was the kind

of leader

that demonstrated

strength.

And as a matter

of fact,

this means

that the very

first oppressor

of Israel

was the

strongest

leader

that judges

will speak of.

He is a leader

of an alliance

of a Canaanite city.

And this

exploit

that he has

helps us

to understand

the significance

of what he's doing.

He's not a regional leader.

He is a leader

from a ways away.

the most powerful

of all the enemies

of Israel

named in the book

of Judges.

Here he is.

The Israelites

had a nickname

for him.

Rishathayim.

Rishathayim

is a nickname

that was bestowed

upon him

and it means

doubly wicked.

You might say

he was double trouble.

This name

Kushan

appears to be

Hittite.

He was a foreigner.

And he came

to exert

authority

and power.

His kingdom

extended southward

and he

is given

the authority

by God

to subject

Israel

to service

for eight years.

Israel was supposed

to see this

as a hand,

an instrument

of the Lord

for mercy.

This was God's mercy

to help them

understand

that what they

were doing

was wicked,

was evil.

It was an invitation

that God had not

cut them off.

God had not

passed them over.

He was not

trying to crush them.

He was trying

to invite them

to enjoy the benefits

of salvation.

And that's what

we see next

in verses 9 to 11.

Don't forget

that salvation

is from the Lord.

Salvation

is from him.

We see this

in verse 9.

It says,

but when the people

of Israel

cried out

to the Lord.

Now see what

judgment did.

See what discipline

did.

It turned the people's

hearts to God.

They remembered

him again.

And the Lord

raised up a deliverer

for the people

of Israel

who saved them.

Otniel,

the son of Kenaz,

Caleb's younger brother,

the spirit of the Lord

was upon him

and he judged Israel.

He went out to war

and the Lord

gave Cushon,

Rishathayim,

king of Mesopotamia,

into his hand.

And his hand

prevailed over

Cushon,

Rishathayim.

So the land

had rest

for 40 years.

Then Otniel,

the son of Kenaz,

died.

The people

cried out.

The people

cried out

and the Lord

had mercy.

What a mercy

that is to us.

That when we

find ourselves

in rebellion,

when we find

ourselves

distanced from

the Lord,

when we find

ourselves

as enemies

of him,

God graciously

disciplines those

he loves

not to shut

us out,

not to cut

us off,

but to draw

us in.

And when we

cry out,

the Lord

answers.

The Lord

delivers.

The Lord

saves.

He delights

in saving.

We have

a saving

God.

So the people

cry out.

They cry out.

Clearly they

knew who God

was.

But they

had laid

aside all

of that

and they

failed to

act on that

knowledge.

They forgot.

You see,

they forgot

God,

but God

had not

forgotten

them.

So God

raises up

a deliverer.

This word

delivered is

the Hebrew.

It's the Hebrew

word Moshe.

And if you

hear the word

Moshe,

you might think

the word

Moses.

And the two

are related,

but it's not

coming from

the same root.

It sounds

like Moses,

but the actual

word Moshe

comes from

Yassah.

And it's the

word for

salvation.

It's the same

word for

Joshua.

So we

find kind

of stitched

together,

kind of

Moses and

Joshua right

here in the

deliverance that

God wants to

give to his

people, but it

comes by the

hand of God.

It comes by

his hand.

Moses always

wanted to make

that clear.

Deliverance

comes from

God.

Joshua always

wanted to make

that clear.

Deliverance

comes from

God.

And judges

will also make

that clear.

Deliverance

comes from

God.

You want

deliverance?

You want

rescue?

You want

salvation?

Look to

God.

He delights

in saving.

So he

saved them.

He rescued

them.

He delivered

them.

The Lord has

done this

consistently for

his people.

They cry out

and the Lord

saves them.

We saw that

back in

Judges 2

Judges 2:16

verse 16.

Then the

Lord raised

up judges

who saved

them out of

the hand of

those who

plundered

them.

We see that

in verse 18.

Whenever the

Lord raised

up judges

for them,

the Lord

was with

the judge.

He saved

them from

the hand

of their

enemies all

the days

of the

judge.

For the

Lord was

moved to

pity.

He was

moved to

pity by

their groaning

because of

those who

afflicted and

oppressed

them.

God delights

in saving

but he

saves.

He saves

because of

his compassion.

He saves

because of

his mercy.

He saves

because he's a

God of

pity.

And so who

does he

raise up?

He raises

up Otniel,

Caleb's

younger brother.

We've seen

his story a

bit back in

Judges chapter

Judges 1 · chapter mention

1.

Remember Joshua

has died and

the people are

asking who's

going to lead

us?

And God

says well

Judah will

lead you.

Judah shall

go up and

certainly that's

what happens.

Judah goes

up.

We find in

verse 8 of

chapter 1 Judah

fights against

the inhabitants

of Jerusalem and

then he goes

down and he

fights against

those in the

southern part of

Israel.

And now

Caleb who

is from the

tribe of

Judah wants

to take this

town called

Kiriath

Sefer.

We find in

chapter 1

verses 12

and 13.

It says

Caleb said

he who

attacks

Kiriath

Sefer and

captures it

I will give

Aksa my

daughter as a

wife.

And Otniel

the son of

Kenaz Caleb's

younger brother

captured it and

he gave him

Aksa his

daughter as a

wife.

Now the name

Caleb should

sound familiar

to you.

Remember who

Caleb was?

Caleb and

Joshua one of

two of the

twelve spies

that spied out

the land of

Canaan.

They came back

to give a

report and

only two

Joshua and

Caleb said

God can give

this to us.

There are

people they are

strong.

There are

cities they

are large and

they are fortified

but God can do

this.

We can trust

him.

Caleb trusted

the Lord.

Joshua trusted

the Lord.

And now you

find in Caleb's

younger brother

the same

example of

courage and

bravery and

faith and

perseverance.

He does the

seeming impossible

because he does

it through the

hand and the

work and the

promise of

God.

And now

Caleb's younger

brother Otniel

is presented.

Verse nine

again when

the people of

Israel cried

out to the

Lord the

Lord raised

up for them

a deliverer

for the

people of

Israel who

saved them

Otniel the

son of

Kenaz Caleb's

younger brother

the spirit of

the Lord was

upon him and

he judged

Israel.

When we think

about leaders

we think about

the kinds of

people we

would put in

charge.

We think about

the kinds of

individuals we

might raise up

to provide

rescue and

deliverance.

We might

think ha ha

Otniel what a

great candidate.

He's full of

faith.

He's full of

courage.

He's demonstrated

great leadership

abilities.

But notice there

are only two

qualifications that

God gives for

Otniel.

Why he raised

him up.

These two

qualifications for

this leader.

One the Lord

raised him up and

two the spirit of

the Lord was

upon him.

Those were the

qualifications.

This was not

something to lay

hold of.

This was

something that

was granted.

Something that

was given.

And it

establishes this

pattern that

we're going to

see throughout

the rest of

the book of

Judges.

That whenever

the Lord raises

up judges for

them the Lord

was with the

judge.

This is Judges

Judges 2:18

chapter 2

verse 18.

He saved

them from the

hand of their

enemies.

All the days of

the judge for

the Lord was

moved to pity

by their

groaning because

of those who

afflicted and

oppressed them.

We're going to

see consistently

it starts pretty

good with

Oteniel but

there's a

downward decline

from this point

on.

Why does God

rescue?

Not because of

the judge's

ability to honor

the Lord.

We're going to

see that the

more we go.

But it's because

God's character,

God's pity,

God's compassion,

and God's power

are put on

display.

When the judge

is in place,

the people are

to look not

to the judge

but to the

judge's God,

to God

himself,

to the Lord.

That's why

deliverance

comes.

Briefly, I

just want to

give you a

preview of what

are these judges

or who are

these judges?

Often when we

think about

judges, we

think about

courtrooms,

right?

We think about

those who make

verdicts, who

settle disputes.

We think about

those who know

the law and

can execute the

law between

parties.

And some of

that is true.

But as you

look through the

Old Testament,

I want you to

not just think

about officials.

I don't want you

to think about

those who settle

legal disputes.

I want you to

think about heads

of households.

I want you to

think about those

whom God has

raised up to

help provide

leadership,

especially among

households, among

families.

And instead of

the law, as we

might think about

the law, what

law did they

have?

They had the

law of the

Lord.

They had the

law that came

from God

himself.

That was to

be their

standard.

That was to

be in front

of them.

That was to

help govern

and guide their

decisions that

they made.

We find

throughout the

rest of

judges that

God raises

up family

heads, family

leaders.

And it

shouldn't be a

surprise to us,

we see this

pattern that

throughout the

book of Judges,

almost every

single tribe

among the

nation of

Israel is

identified.

Reuben and

Gad are two

tribes on the

eastern side of

the Jordan

River.

So they won't

have representation.

But Otnihel,

he's from Judah.

Ehud, which

we're going to

look at next,

he's from

Benjamin.

Deborah is

from Ephraim.

Barak is

from Naphtali.

Gideon is

from Manasseh.

Tola is

from Issachar.

Elon is

from Zebulun.

And Samson is

from the tribe

of Dan.

At least

eight different

tribes are

represented,

which helps to

reinforce the

pattern that

God delights

in raising up

leaders who

are committed

to his word

and who

stand as

those who

represent

well their

families,

who lead

their families

well.

And so it

shouldn't be a

surprise to us

as we make

our way into

the New Testament

and we continue

to see the

pattern that

God has set

in raising

up leaders.

What is one

of the main

qualifications for

leaders?

Elders?

Shepherds?

Pastors?

Well,

1 Timothy 3

says they need

to manage

their house

well.

Household

leaders.

And I could

spend a lot

of time on

this.

We find this

going all the

way from

numbers to

exodus and

continuing on

through.

Family heads

that God

raises up to

exercise leadership

among his

people.

It should be a

comfort to

us.

It should be

also a

challenge to

us about the

importance of

leading our

houses well

under the

word of

God.

So salvation

comes from

the Lord.

And salvation

comes when a

people cry out

to him.

But now we

turn to this

story of

Ehud.

And we're

going to see

that salvation

will also come

in spite of

imperfect

deliverers.

It will come

in spite of

imperfect

deliverers.

We see that

beginning in

verse 12.

It says,

And the

people of

Israel again

did what was

evil in the

sight of the

Lord.

And the

Lord strengthened

Eglon,

the king of

Moab,

against Israel

because they

had done what

was evil in

the sight of

the Lord.

He gathered

to himself the

Ammonites and

the Amlekites

and went and

defeated Israel.

And they took

possession of

the city of

the palms.

And the

people of

Israel served

Eglon,

the king of

Moab,

18 years.

We're going

to see a

number of

things throughout

these next

several verses

and I trust

to be able to

cover them

briefly.

But we're

going to see

how God

works in

spite of

what we might

expect.

He does

that for a

reason.

He wants

to draw

attention that

salvation comes

from him

in him

alone.

It will

come in

spite of

his

deliverers,

not because

of his

deliverers.

First we're

going to see

an unlikely

king who

conquers

Israel.

This

unlikely

king,

his name

is Eglon,

king of

Moab.

And as I

pointed to

at the

beginning of

our time

together,

the Moabites

were actually

supposed to

be living

in harmony

among God's

people because

they kind

of shared

a family

relationship.

Abraham's

nephew,

Lot,

and Lot's

son,

Moab,

there was

a family

relationship.

And so

when God

had the

people of

Israel go

through this

place,

he said,

don't touch

the people of

Moab.

Leave them

alone.

They're part

of the

family.

And so

here Eglon

comes to

the forefront.

And we've

seen this

cycle over

and over

again,

this cycle

of wickedness.

And the

Lord strengthens

their enemy.

And here

we are.

God is

the one,

notice,

God is

the one

who strengthens

Eglon.

God is

the one

who raises

up this

heathen

king.

God's

the one

who empowers

this king

to execute

punishment

on his

people.

It's

unexpected.

And Eglon

will come

with his

allies,

the

Ammonites,

and they'll

take the

city of

Palms.

And the

city of

Palms is

just the

city of

Jericho.

It was

a city

that was

800 miles

below sea

level.

It was

in this

fertile,

lush,

fertile valley.

It was

known for

its produce.

And so

that's where

Eglon

would reside

for 18

years.

As I

said,

Moab sits

to the

east of

the Jordan

River,

right next

to the

Dead Sea.

And

although

their

narrator

attributes

Eglon

as the

one who

had been

raised up

from God,

we don't

see how

Eglon

in any

part of

this passage

has any

interest

in serving

God at

all.

And

although

the narrator

attributes

Eglon's

rise to

Yahweh,

we recognize

that he's

operating

independently

of God

himself.

And for

all of

Eglon's

achievements,

the character,

excuse me,

the narrator

will characterize

Eglon

not only

for his

physical

appearance,

but also

for his

stupidity.

We find

repeated

references.

Eglon

is the

name.

Eglon

means bull

or it

means calf.

It also

means to

be round

or rotund.

So when

we come

to verse

17,

it shouldn't

be a

surprise to

us.

We see,

now Eglon

was a

very fat

man.

he's a

man who

is maybe

fattened for

the slaughter

as we're

going to

see in

our story.

It's clear

that Eglon

loves luxury.

Instead of

centering his

kingdom in

Moab,

he has

centered his

kingdom in

the fertile

valley there

in the

plains.

He's also

one,

we're going

to see,

who succumbs

to deception,

succumbs to

trickery.

He lets

his guard

down and

because he

lets his

guard down,

he is

executed by

Ehud.

So this

unlikely king.

Next we're

going to see

in verse

15,

this unlikely

hero is

raised up

by the

Lord.

Judges

Judges 3:15

chapter 3

verse 15

says,

Then the

people of

Israel cried

out to

the Lord,

and the

Lord raised

up for

them a

deliverer.

Ehud,

the son

of Gerah,

the Benjamite,

a left-handed

man,

the people

of Israel

sent tribute

by him

to Eglon,

king of

Moab.

The

deliverer is

identified by

his name,

Ehud.

We find

that Ehud

is left-handed.

This is the

divine response

of the Lord's

cry to

raise up

a judge.

Ehud

is the

guy.

Ehud

is God's

gracious gift

to his

people.

But we

find in

this

narrative,

we find

Benjamin,

who is

son of

the right

hand,

and here

Ehud

is a

Benjamite,

and he's

left-handed.

The Lord

is using

some

contrast to

help us

recognize

that he

is the

one who

is bringing

victory.

He is

the one

who will

save,

this unlikely

hero.

Then we

turn to an

unlikely victory

that's given

in verses

16 to

23.

Ehud

made for

himself a

sword with

two edges,

a cubit in

length,

which is about

a foot and

a half.

He bound

it on his

right thigh

under his

clothes.

He presented

tribute to

Eglon,

king of

Moab.

Now,

Eglon was

a very

fat man,

and when

Ehud

had finished

presenting

the tribute,

he sent

away the

people who

carried the

tribute.

But he

himself