Second Judge: Ehud

The story of Ehud keeps in step with the literary cycle of the book of Judges: sin, judgement, people cry out for deliverance, God raises a deliverer (judge), the judge delivers the people from their oppressors, and there is peace in Israel all the days of the judges life.

In the case of Ehud, the people had done evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord responded to their disobedience by empowering Eglon, the Moabite king to the east, to form a coalition and conquer Israel, demanding yearly tribute for some eighteen years until the Israelites cry out to God for a deliverer to save them from the oppressive king.  Enter Ehud.

Ehud is chosen, or chooses, to bring the tribute to Eglon.  While delivering the tribute, Ehud takes advantage of the situation, claiming to have a secret message for the king.  The king, desiring privacy to hear the secret message, sends out all of his servants.  Ehud, seizing the opportunity, pulls out a cubits-length sword that was strapped to his right thigh and stabs the obese Eglon.  Ehud then escapes and leads the Israelites to victory over the Moabites, killing some 10,000 men and overcoming their oppressors.

The two essentials to Ehud are that he is left-handed and that he is chosen to bring tribute on behalf of the Israelites.  His left-handedness, is important for a couple reasons.  First of all, to be left-handed at that time in history was thought to be a disability and if you were left-handed, you would be considered a second-hand citizen.  Because of this, no one would have checked his right side for a sword as any normal person would put their sword on the left side.  Thus, his left-handedness was one of the primary reasons he was chosen to be the judge.

Additionally, only one person would have had the opportunity to be close to the king while bringing the tribute.  In other words, Ehud seized the opportunity when it was presented to him.  Moreover, God utilized a "supposed" disability for His will and to serve His purposes.

Similarly, each one of us has disabilities and weaknesses that the world would look at and see as useless flaws.  But God desires to use those things for His purposes but He asks us to, in faith and obedience, seize those opportunities that are in front of us.  This is what we can take from Ehud.  Also, the book of Judges is replete with entire generations growing up that lack knowledge of the Lord, so an implied teaching of Judges is that it is necessary for older generations to raise up the next generations to know the Lord.  This is another key to the book.

When we look at Ehud, we see a left-handed Benjaminite who took advantage of the situation that was put before him.  We should take this same mind among ourselves: to remember that God has made us for specific purposes that will present themselves at certain times and places.  Our job, as faithful children, is to seek out when those purposes may come to fruition and to seize them as such.  But praise be to God who always has a will and a way for every one of His children!