Judge: Ehud

Long, long ago the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD.  Their evil cause the LORD to give them over to the Eglon king of Moab and Eglon was in discussion with the Ammonites and Amalekites.  They agreed to join Eglon and attacked and over powered Israel; taking possession of the City of Palms.  Now the Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moad and he ruled over them for eighteen years.

During these difficult and dark times we the Israelites turned form our sin and repented.  We started to cry out to the LORD to rescue us from this evil king.  The LORD took mercy on us as a nation and sent a man named Ehud to us.  

Ehud a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite, it was tradition for the Israelites to pay tribute to the king and the elders spoke to Ehud.  “Good evening brothers.”  Ehud greeted as he came and sat down between the elders of the City.  “Ehud, good evening.”  They greeted.  The conversation was around the hardship and the unfair labour that was taking place in all the cities.  How Israel had lost their independence.  Finally, a tribute was handed over to Ehud to be presented to the king.

Ehud stood up and returned home on his way he decided to stop by the blacksmith and speak to him about a sword he had in mind.  “Good day.”  Ehud greeted the blacksmith and walked into his shop.  “Good day Ehud, how can I help you today;” He said as he took a shekel and placed the hot iron into the water before he started to shape it with his hammer.  “I want you to make me a sword, it must be a doubled-edged sword and it should be a foot and a half long.  On completion I will come and collect it from you.”  Ehud said as he placed in the hands of the blacksmith a couple of silver coins.  He left the blacksmith and went home.

The blacksmith sent the sword to Ehud a day later.  Ehud went down to the public baths and washed and dressed in his best clothes.  Before he got dressed he tied the sword to his right thigh underneath his cloths.

Eglon king of Moab was a very fat man.  He could hardly move and when the people arrived to pay him homage he would sit and allow them to come very close to him.  Because of his weight it was difficult for him to move around fast.  There had been a number of people paying him homage and bring him tributes.  When Ehud arrived he waited to see the king.  “Ehud from the Israelites;” The announcement was made and Ehud was ushered into the room and stood before the king.  

Ehud looked at the king and then moved in closer as to give him the tribute from the Israelites.  On handing the tribute over he said to the king ‘I have a secret message for you, O king.’

The king said ‘Quiet!” and all his attendants left him.

Ehud then approaches him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, ‘I have a message from God for you.’  As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly.  Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out of his back.  Ehud did not pull the sword out and the fat closed in over it.  The Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked.  They said “He must be relieving himself in the inner room of the house.”  They waited to the point of embarrassment, but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them.  There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

While they waited, Ehud got away.  He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah.  When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet and the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

“Follow me,” he ordered, “for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.”  So they followed him down and, taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab, they allowed no one to cross over.  At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not a man escaped.  That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty year.

Judges 3: 12 – 30 

Ehud was one of the Judges that was left-handed and because he was left-handed the Moabites didn’t suspect him of being able to carry a weapon.  Just goes to show people that are left-handed are really mighty.  The righteousness of God is always on all His people.  I hope you enjoyed my view of this passage.

What makes me special?

I have been made in the image of God and so have you.  We are human with God’s breath within us.  In Genesis 1: 26  "Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness ; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth..."

Think about that God breathed into our nostrils to give as life.  We have something of God within us.  That also means that God knows each one of us individually, who we are, what we look like and where we live.  Isn’t that just amazing?

If you know me then you will know that I am passionate about my God – the Lord Jesus Christ and I am passionate about my family and my friends.  I enjoy being with my children and I really love my husband.  

I believe God made me for a purpose as I realise God doesn’t make mistakes.  I am special and I know that God is using me every day in a unique way.  Currently I don’t see or understand how God is using me but I believe He is.  I believe that I am here for a reason and I am special because “… my unfailing love for you will not be shaken…” Isaiah 54:10

Pearls for today: Praise the Lord our God

‘… Breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet …’ Ezekiel 37: 10

Let’s believe and pray that the Lord our God will send his Holy Spirit to breath into our lives where there is dead deeds let us ask God to bring us to life and stand on our feet.  Thank You Lord.

Service???

You may be a South African citizen and perhaps you have had better experience than I, but as of late I must be honest in telling you service in our country is really bad.  I find the shop attendants believe they are doing you a favour to service you.

Walking up to the till to pay for your purchase, you never get greeted.  You say good day, with a smile and the person behind the till ignores you.  ‘Do you want a plastic bag?’  Sour faced and really not happy to be there, she starts scanning the products over the scanner, having an in-depth conversation with the lady who packs the purchased products into your plastic bags.

After she has scanned all products, you tell her, ‘Cheque account, please.’  She looks you in the eye and asks you “Savings?”  My dear husband always has a fit there and then; thank goodness he doesn’t say anything.  

People in jobs take it for granted that they have employment and they think they are doing us a favour to sit in these positions.  The problem I see is that service is getting worse and the people aren’t complaining as it seems to be the norm in our country that we are so relaxed.  There is no drive in the people and it seems everybody is happy to be mediocre; we don’t seem to be striving for excellence. 

 Is it just me? 

Business etiquette is lacking in all sectors of our country.  People’s cultures differ and there seems to be an animosity towards some nations.  We need to learn to respect our customers and really be friendly and kind because at the end of the day, the customer is paying your salary?

If you think my thinking is incorrect and you would like to add something to this, please drop me a line.  I would like to hear how you experience the service in our country.

Pearls for today: Hebrews 9: 24

Pearls for today: 

Hebrews 9: 24 ‘For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.’

Thank you Lord Jesus.