Embracing the Embarrassing

bear with me as I turn in the actual bible because today's passage is so outlandish

I want you to make sure that it is coming from the bible not from my own imagination

well many of you may know who I am some of you may not if you're visiting I am not a pastor here

at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church I am a minister in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian

Church my name is Drew Arrington and my family has the privilege of attending here while I am

stationed at Fort Carson so I am glad to be able to be here this morning and honored as usual that

your session would give me the privilege of reading and expounding upon God's word for us this morning

if you know we are in the book of Judges here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and two

weeks ago Matthew opened up chapter three talking about Othniel and he called Othniel the last good

judge he was the last good judge we could hold up to our children as a role model

the last judge of whom we modern Christians are not embarrassed the last judge we're comfortable

talking about but unfortunately we often treat challenging passages of scripture like embarrassing

moments in our lives I'm not going to recount any of my embarrassing moments so I'm not going to ask you

to raise any of yours but you know what I'm talking about those moments that we wish we could forget

and instead of embracing those passages of scripture we do our best just like our embarrassing moments

to avoid thinking about them instead of embracing those passages of scripture we do our best to avoid

remembering thinking or even talking about them in fact if we had our way we would banish them from our

memory as if they never occurred and the way we treat these scriptural embarrassments remind me of a

conversation I had with my wife's grandmother some years ago and we asked her this question

Nani what do you think about president X not taking a second to think about it she says well

I don't think about them at all that's what many Christians do with embarrassing portions of

of scripture passages that we would rather not think about at all and those portions of holy text

are glossed over from the pulpit ignored in our Sunday schools and skipped over in our bible reading plans

but when we do that we do that to our own detriment

when we ignore these embarrassing accounts in the bible the church deprives herself of life and vitality

because we for we forfeit the blessings of those passages so what are we missing when we don't think about

specifically what are we missing when we don't think about Ehud or Shamgar well we'll say if we look at these men

and try to look at this passage as a character study we will be embarrassed

if we look to these men for qualities and actions to emulate

we emulate those today we will bring embarrassment upon ourselves and upon the Christian faith

embarrassment will fade in the light of God's comfort

encouragement and hope

so by embracing the embarrassment of judges three

what we will find today

is a God who delights

in rescuing his people

let me say that again

in this embarrassing passage

if we look past the human examples

we see a God

who delights

in rescuing

his people

and in doing so

we see a God

who will get his hands dirty

to do that

we see a God

who in rescuing his people

is not boring

and we see a God

who has a sense of humor

but before we read the passage

let us pray

that the Holy Spirit might enable us

to encounter

this encouragement

as we embrace this passage

let us pray

God I'm not worthy

to stand before you

except that your son

through the power of the Holy Spirit

has made a difference in my life

and called me

God we are not worthy

Father even to receive your word

but God through the power of the Holy Spirit

you can apply that word

to our hearts

allow us to see the truths of Scripture

and your great love

for your people

oh God would you do that for us

this morning

and might that be for our good

the good of your church

and the glory of our Savior

and Lord Jesus Christ

in whose name we pray

Amen

so let us take a look then

at Judges chapter 3

Judges 3 · chapter mention

and we are going to start

with verse 12

and read through the end of the chapter

as you listen along

listen and see

if you can hear

those instances

that could be considered embarrassing

but then also

for the encouragement

that is found therein

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 Amalekites

and went and defeated Israel

and they took possession

of the city of Palms

and the people of Israel

served Eglon

the king of Moab

eighteen years

then the people of the Lord

cried out to the Lord

the people of Israel

cried out to the Lord

and the Lord raised up

for them a deliverer

Ehud

the son of Gera

the Benjaminite

a left-handed man

the people of Israel

sent tribute by him

to Eglon

the king of Moab

and Ehud

made for himself

a sword with two edges

a cubit in length

and he bound it

on his right thigh

under his clothes

and he presented

the tribute

to Eglon

king of Moab

now Eglon

was a very fat man

when Ehud

had finished

presenting the tribute

he sent away

the people

who carried the tribute

but he himself

turned back

at the idols

near Gilgal

and said

I have a secret message

for you

O king

and he commanded

silence

and all of his

attendants

went out

from his presence

and Ehud

came

to him

as he was sitting

alone

in the cool

roof chamber

and Ehud

said

I have a message

from God

for you

and he arose

from his seat

and Ehud

reached

with his left

hand

took the sword

from his right thigh

and thrust it

into his belly

and the hilt

also

went in

after the blade

and the fat

closed

over the blade

for he did not

pull the sword

out of his belly

and the dung

came out

then Ehud

went out

into the porch

and closed

the doors

of the roof chamber

behind him

and locked them

when he had gone

the servants came

and when they saw

the doors

of the roof chamber

were locked

they thought

surely

he is relieving himself

in the closet

of the cool chamber

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

Ehud

escaped

while they delayed

and he passed

beyond the idols

and escaped

to Saraiah

when he arrived

he surrounded

the trumpet

in the hill country

of Ephraim

then the people

of Israel

went down

with him

from the hill country

and he was

their leader

and he said

to them

follow after me

for the lord

has given

your enemies

the Moabites

into your hand

so they went

down after him

and seized

the fords

of the Jordan

against the Moabites

and did not allow

anyone to pass over

and they killed

at that time

about 10,000

of the Moabites

all strong

able-bodied men

not a man escaped

so Moab

was subdued

that day

under the hand

of Israel

and the land

had rest

for 80 years

after him

was Shamgar

the son

of Anath

who killed

600 of the Philistines

with an ox goad

and he also

saved Israel

well I don't know

about you

but that account

is pretty rich

with what many

would consider

offensive

and what I would say

is definitely

violent material

I think about

Ehud right

he uses deceit

and deception

to get himself

into a position

to murder

slash assassinate

the ruling

lord there

in Israel

at the time

we have what

perhaps could be

an incident

of body shaming

as Eglon

was a very

fat man

and then

we can't forget

and who could miss

the blood

the guts

and the poop

and then in Shamgar

a short little verse

we have

vigilantism

we have what

perhaps might be

a fit of rage

and mass murder

all of which

many people

would find

extremely

offensive

and some

Christians

find

outright

embarrassing

that these

accounts

would be

in the

holy

inspired

word of God

but really

what we see

here

is not

embarrassment

but we see

a God

who in

rescuing

his people

isn't afraid

to get

his hands

dirty

he's not

afraid

to step

into the

muck

of life

to rescue

his people

when they

cry out

to him

I would

be

remiss

if I

didn't go

on a

little bit

of a

rabbit trail

this morning

in light

of these

embarrassing

acts

there's

cunning

deceit

and violence

here

the question

is

is this

something

that God

embraced

and I would

say the answer

is yes

God did

embrace

that

it says

he raised

up

Ehud

for this

moment

and the

question

is

is this

distasteful

or is

this

something

that we

should

embrace

well

yeah

it is

distasteful

to read

some of

this

but yet

we must

embrace

this as

God's

ordained

means

of

his decrees

of ensuring

that what

he purposed

from

eternity

occurred

in this

instant

now does

that mean

that that is

something that

we can

employ today

does that

mean

that we

as Christians

can employ

cunning

deceit

and violence

Paul

in Romans

13

kind of

gives us

a little

bit of

insight

into that

where he

says that

governments

that the

Lord raises

up leaders

of nations

to preserve

righteousness

and punish

the evil

doer

to protect

those who

do good

and punish

those who

do evil

and that

is very

helpful

as we

consider

are we

to embrace

or to

shun

these acts

of cunning

deceit

and violence

we

understand

this

that

God

is

working

through

nations

today

and he

has

charged

governments

with

doing

what

Ehud

and Shamgar

have done

here

and so

if you

are a

member

of

the

United

States

military

and you

are called

upon

to practice

cunning

deceit

and to

execute

violence

for our

nation

as we

are preserving

peace

and punishing

the evil

doer

then yes

we would

say that

that would

be an

appropriate

use of

cunning

deceit

and violence

however

if you

are

using

cunning

ways

to

manipulate

your little

sister

into doing

what you

want her

to do

for your

own

purposes

that is

not

appropriate

use

of

cunning

if you

are a

husband

and you

are using

deceit

to cover

up sin

in your

life

to hide

it from

your family

that is

not an

appropriate

use

of

deceit

and heaven

forbid

we use

violence

in any

way

in the

home

to

intimidate

and

threaten

whether

that is

a spouse

or a

child

or an

elderly

parent

that

is not

an

appropriate

use

we

could say

also

to you

that

cunning

deceit

and

violence

are

necessary

within

other

forms

of

government

specifically

police

in order

to protect

our

streets

but it's

not

something

that we

would

embrace

to advance

the means

of the

church

yes

we want

to be

wise

but we

won't

want to

be

cunning

in a

way

that is

deceitful

and

dishonest

and as

Jesus

said

to the

apostle

in the

garden

of

Gethsemane

his

kingdom

is not

built

by the

sword

but by

the word

of God

so thank

you for

engaging

me on

that little

side

tangent

and

it's

important

because

a lot

of us

serve

in the

military

a lot

of us

are in

the police

but it's

also

important

to understand

the right

and left

limits

of that

so here

we have

Ehud

and we

have a

God

who is

embracing

this

cunning

this

deceit

this

violence

in order

to accomplish

his

decreed

will

but we

know that

this isn't

the ultimate

expression

of God

not being

afraid

to get

his hands

dirty

we've

seen this

happen

before

we've

seen it

throughout

judges

we've

seen it

in the

plagues

in Egypt

where God

brings

destruction

and death

and disease

upon Egypt

in order

to free

his people

we see

it when

God

gives the

command

of the

Israelites

to go

into the

nation

of

or into

the land

of Canaan

and

obliterate

wipe out

the people

that are

there

but we

see the

ultimate

expression

of this

of God

getting his

hands dirty

to rescue

his people

in the

life

death

and resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

what

an awesome

picture

of God

who is

beyond

what we

can think

or imagine

without

sin

without

the sting

of sin

taking

on

human

flesh

with all

of its

frailties

getting

his hands

dirty

with the

daily

things

of life

and then

taking

on the

filth of

our sin

on the

cross

so that

we

could have

a restored

relationship

relationship

with our

heavenly

father

well this

reminds me

of a

quote by

Dale Ralph

Davis

it's on the

back of the

bulletin if you

want to read

along

this is what

he says

Yahweh is not a

white gloved

standoffish God

out somewhere in the

remote left field of the

universe who hesitates to get

his strong right arm dirty in the

yuck of our lives the God of the Bible does not hold back in the wild blue yonder

somewhere waiting for you to put Clorox and spray Lysol over the affairs of your life

before he will touch it whether you can comfortably put it all together or not

what great news that is for us

that we don't have to get our lives all straightened out we don't have to be perfect to come to Jesus Christ because he has first come to us

so not only is God not afraid to get his hands dirty and rescuing his people God is not boring

and today's passage is a very good example of that

you know God delivers his people from the mess that they find themselves in in a variety of ways

in ways that we could never imagine or develop ourselves

we got Ehud here

who's a son

he's of Israel

albeit

he's from kind of a loser tribe of Benjamin

you'll learn more about that as we progress through the book of Judges

but he's also left handed

and actually the word there

in the original manuscript isn't

oh yeah he uses his left hand

he was left hand dominant

it was he

wasn't able or capable of using his right hand

so a lot of questions to that as to what that means

either it means that he was looked down upon

because he was left handed

or

there was something wrong with his right hand

which might make sense as to why they sent him

to be the one to bear the tribute

because Eglon would think nothing of somebody who had some sort of deformity

and then we have Shamgar

quite the opposite

here's an outsider

somebody who's not part of Israel

in fact he's a worshiper of a false god

based on the text

and his last name

what an unlikely ally

for the nation of Israel

and so it just goes to show us

that God's decrees aren't formulaic

God doesn't have a set pattern

by which he rescues his people

he delivers his people

from their difficulties

and from

their situations in which they find themselves

no

no God

in the words of

a past Christian artist

Rich Mullen says

you never know who God is going to use

a princess or a baby

or maybe even

you and me

no and that's true

think about biblical history

God used

not too long ago

leading up to the entrance into the promised land

God used

a prophet

who wasn't a prophet of Israel

named Balaam

to

basically tell

a king who wanted to destroy Israel

before they even entered the promised land

that God

was going to give the Israelites

victory

if he attacked

not only did he use Balaam

God used Balaam's donkey

to actually preserve Balaam's life

as he was on his way

to deliver

this message

to the king

we think of Miriam

as a young girl

God used her

to ensure that Moses

had someone to care for him

in his infancy

and then we got Moses himself

think about that

a baby

floating in a basket

in a river

who grows up

disconnected from his family

with a huge stutter

and God uses him

to deliver his people

from Egypt

and we could go on

and talk about

many in the New Testament

and specifically

all of the uneducated fishermen

from the backwoods of Galilee

who became

the central piece

of Christ's ministry

and many others

not to beat a dead horse

but Dale Ralph Davis

in Judges

Such a Great Salvation

says this

there is no reason

why God's way

must be dull and boring

the people who know Yahweh

as their God

will never

lack for excitement

so what do we do with this?

what do we do with this fact

that God

is not boring

and that God

delights

in rescuing

his people

I think we become

people of prayer

praying that God

might deliver us

and being open

to the ways

that he might

it might be

from an unlikely

individual

within our own

community

that God

provides

rescue

or it might be

somebody from

outside of our

community

also gives us

great freedom

to know that God

doesn't operate

in a set way

opens us up

to the possibility

that we could

partner with

others

outside of the

Christian faith

as we address

some of the great

challenges within

our culture

at this moment

I think about

the tragedy

of transgenderism

and what it would

look like

to ally ourselves

in this area

to seek

deliverance

for God's people

from these

practices

and to save

our culture

from this

tragedy

if we

embraced

and worked

with such

people

as the

famed author

of Harry Potter

so much

against

what we stand

for in so

many ways

but in this

one area

we could

find ourselves

perhaps

partners

or we

consider the

abomination

of abortion

in our country

and as we

continue to

address that

you might

find some

unlikely

partners

outside of

the Christian

faith

could think

of several

that have

the same

understanding

of the

right to

life

that we

have

and what

about partnering

with our

Muslim

neighbors

as we

continue to

fight against

vanishing

religious

liberties

and rights

in our

country

but let

me bring

it a little

bit more

personal

what does

it mean

when God

is not

boring

and delivering

his people

from their

difficulties

and challenges

know that

you

you are

uniquely

crafted

for God's

glory

glory

and if

God

can

use

somebody

who

was

challenged

of body

like

Ehud

if he

says in

the New

Testament

passage we

read that

the man

born blind

wasn't born

blind because

of sin

but because

God

purposed

to display

his glory

through him

oh what

great news

that is

for us

who wish

that our

bodies were

just a little

bit different

than what

they are

to know

that God

has sovereignly

crafted

us

for his

purpose

and his

glory

perhaps

you know

I was in

high school

once

middle school

also

and from

time to

time I

felt like

an outsider

and perhaps

you feel

like that

today

here in

the audience

like an

outsider

that you

don't quite

fit in

you don't

have that

group

Shamgar

was an

outsider

he was

somebody

that wasn't

part of

the people

of God

yet God

used him

in a mighty

way

and God

can use

you as

well

or maybe

you're here

and you think

you know

what I'm

just too

young

too young

for God

to use

me

you know

what Esther

was a teen

when she

became queen

and God

used her

to rescue

her people

from near

annihilation

Timothy

Paul wrote

to him

and said

hey

don't let

people

despise

you

because

of your

young

age

but rather

remain

faithful

in preaching

and teaching

the word

of God

what a great

encouragement

that God

is not

constrained

by the

ways in

which man

judge

you are

good enough

to rescue

people

or you are

good enough

to save

people

or we can

use you

because you

have this

and that

talent

no God

has

specifically

and uniquely

crafted

each and

every one

of us

to display

his glory

and to

accomplish

his purposes

Matthew Henry

puts it like

this in his

commentary on

this passage

it is no

matter how

weak the

weapon is

if God

direct

and strengthen

the arm

what a great

encouragement

that is

from this

passage

that

in

rescuing

his people

God

is not

boring

and he

can use

each and

every one

of us

finally we

see here

in this

passage

that God

has a

sense of

humor

I know

this is

the point

that a lot

of the

younger

men

and boys

in this

congregation

have kind

of been

waiting for

God

has a

sense of

humor

you know

we were

traveling

from the

great sand

dunes

last

Saturday

and erupted

in the car

what I call

the great

Christmas song

controversy

we were

listening to

a playlist

and up

popped

joy to

the world

and one

of my

daughters

says

quick

quick

change

it

we can't

sing

Christmas

songs

now

it's

too

early

the other

one

says

what

no

we can

sing

Christmas

songs

anytime

we want

it's

Christmas

every day

of the

year

and on

and on

this went

for probably

5 10

I don't

know

maybe 15

minutes

and you

may say

wow

that doesn't

sound

like

that's

very

humorous

like

it kind

of was

but was

more humorous

the next

morning

when we're

sitting here

right over

here

on this

side

and guess

what

we read

in a

bulletin

joy to

the world

oh my

how

exciting

that was

to read

it was

an

unexpected

moment

of joy

and happiness

in the

service

something

that we

could not

have

anticipated

again

God

isn't

boring

and God

has a

sense

of humor

and you

may say

well where's

the humor

in Judges

3 there

well it's

a dark

humor

it's a

dark

humor

for people

in the

throes

of persecution

let me

just

really

quickly

go through

this dark

humor

Ehud

was a

Benjaminite

and if

you're

reading

this

post

Judges

you look

back

and say

this was

the people

who

were

extremely

inhospitable

in a

culture

that valued

hospitality

and actually

committed

a horrible

desecration

of a

woman

and

because of

that

faced

near

desolation

how funny

is that

that this

is going

to be

the way

in which

God

brings

about

salvation

for his

people

also

Ehud

as we've

mentioned

he's a

lefty

actually

he's

incapable

of using

his right

hand

not

necessarily

a ringing

endorsement

for somebody

who's going

to deliver

God's

people

from the

hand

of their

oppressors

Eglon

a very

fat

man

may not

mean much

to us

right now

right

kind of

funny

haha

fat

man

no

Eglon

means

calf

you get

where I'm

going

with this

he's the

fattened

calf

about to

be

slaughtered

right

that's

hilarious

Ehud

says

Ehud

sends

messenger

sends a

message back

to Eglon

right

he's already

gone off

and he's

like hey

guys

look

you know

what

you guys

keep on

going

hey

I got

a special

message

for the

king

oh wait

a minute

he strapped

a sword

to his

right thigh

ooh

a special

message

huh

and then

Eglon

he hears

it

and he's

like oh

he's got

a special

message

for me

just for

me

oh

hey

everybody

everybody

this message

is just

for me

all of

you

get

out

and you're

just sitting

there thinking

oh no

no he

didn't

Eglon

or Ehud

soared

Eglon

sent everybody

else away

we already

know he's

probably not

that fit

of a man

because of

his stature

oh this

is not

going to

be good

so then

we see

Ehud

shows up

everybody's

gone

and Ehud

is alone

with Eglon

you've got

to be

getting

me

second

proclamation

Ehud

arrives

he sees

Eglon

sitting

down

he says

oh

I have

a message

from

God

for you

at which

point

big

old

hefty

Eglon

struggles

to his

feet

out of

his chair

because

this is

a special

message

from God

just for

him

and then

we hear

see the

motion

left hand

goes to

the right

thigh

and then

as he's

staggering

to receive

the message

the blade

goes in

and the

fat

closes

over the

blade

and I

bet he

really got

the point

yeah

God

was saying

here's the

message

for you

and it

wasn't a

message

of

confirmation

it was a

message

of

judgment

oh

and then

it gets

worse

right

it gets

worse

the sovereign

Lord

Eglon

soiled

himself

the

dung

came

out

how

the

mighty

persecutor

of Israel

fell

and it

gets

better

right

the servants

come running

the servants

come to

the door

after

Ehud had

left

and locked

it

and they

see the

doors

closed

they

see the

doors

locked

they

smell

the

smell

of

dung

oh

you know

what

I bet

you

the

king

he's

in the

toilet

that

okay

we'll

give them

some time

and space

back

away

says

they

wait

for the

Lord

the king

to come

out

to the

point

of

embarrassment

wow

he is

really

really

doing

a

number

servants

return

embarrassed

oh

we really

need to

check on

them

oh

hey

the keys

are right

here

are you

kidding

me

the keys

to the

king

have been

there

the whole

time

the servants

are like

oh

okay

well

I guess

just waiting

for him

so they

take the

keys

they unlock

it

and

the

passage

it says

more of

like

surprise

the king

is laid

out on

the floor

dead

you know

what's

even more

hilarious

Ehud

just makes

a casual

escape

while they're

waiting

gets out

of town

no big

deal

I mean

just an

amazing

passage

filled

with a

humor

that lets

people know

that we

serve a

God

who is

greater

than our

greatest

persecutor

we serve

a God

whose power

turns the

greatest of

men in the

most desperate

situations

into a

canvas

for his

glory

and a

canvas

that will

bring us

joy

that's what

this passage

did for the

people of

Israel

in future

times

when they

were oppressed

they could

look back

to this

passage

and say

look at

the great

God that

we serve

who has

a sense

of humor

who knows

how to

rescue his

people

and not

only rescue

his people

but to

bring them

joy

again

Dale Ralph

Davis

the quote

finishes like

this

the God

of the

Bible

does not

hold back

in the

wild blue

yonder

somewhere

waiting for

you to

put

Clorox

spray