Ehud - It Will Kill

Judges 3:16-17  Now Ehud made for himself a sword a cubit long, which had two edges, and he bound it on his right thigh under his robe.17 And he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.

Have you ever watched the show "Forged in Fire"?  It's a reality competition show where competitors make knives and they see who makes the best one.  There are many rules: The time frame in which to complete the task, the metal they have to use, the type of knife they must create - and then when it's all said and done, the expert judges test the knives to see how well they are built.  If you have seen the show, what insight into the level of expertise required - and skill - to make even a simple knife.

The Bible shares with us the parameters of the knife that Ehud had made.  It was a cubit long - which is 18 inches, and it was sharp on both sides. It's interesting that these details are given to us.  I think letting us know that Ehud made this knife himself shows us that he is a skilled bladesmith.  We are also told in the previous verse (see earlier blog) that Ehud is left-handed.  This explains why his knife was bound on his right thigh, thus making it easier for him to reach it.  Another detail given to us in these short versus is the girth of the king.  "Very Fat Man".  My mind quickly goes to Jabba the hut.  A picture of greed and laziness, self-serving and slothenly.  

Now  I don't believe that Eglon was always this way.  It tells us in the earlier versus that he went down with his soldiers to capture the Israelites.  That says 'soldier' and someone in good health to me. I think this is another nod to what can happen over 18 years when one gets complacent and only seeks to serve oneself.

It's very interesting the detail that God gives to us in His word (just two verses at that) and how all this will play out in the life of Ehud.....

Ehud - Means Combat

Judges 3:1-15 12 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel. 13Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. 14The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
15Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer—Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

 What's in a name?  My name means "Gift of God".  I don't know if my sweet mom knew that's what it meant since I was named after my grandmother, but it ended up having a nice meaning.  I was able to buy all the "Name Meaning Plaques" and hold my head up high!

The story of Ehud - brief though it may be - begins in a time of turmoil - good thing we knew he was ready based on the meaning of his name.

Eglon, king of Moab was given power over the Israelites because they were doing evil.  I like that it mentions "in the eyes of the Lord" - because I believe that many people think that if it's not 'illegal' then it's okay.  But, if God says it's not okay - regardless of what the law or the government says - then it's not okay. Period.  This king ruled over the Israelites for 18 years. 

Why 18 years?  Because that's how long it took for the Israelites to cry out to God. 

Many times I might be in the middle of a tough situation or a tough decision and I'm trying to weigh pros and cons, trying to foresee what the future may be and decide based on that, and then all of a sudden it will hit me: Have I prayed about this??  It took the Israelites 18 years to take the issue of a terrible ruler to God.

When we are intentional about giving our problems, our worries, our fears over to God all the time - it doesn't leave room for the enemy to get a stronghold.

So begins the story of Ehud.
 

Naaman - This is it!

2 Kings 5:9-15
⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.” ¹¹ But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. ¹² Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.
¹³ Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. ¹⁵ Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.


This is Naaman's conversion.  What does 'conversion' mean? Well according to Google, it is defined as "the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another."  For Naaman, this was two-fold.

When Naaman hears that Elisha has sent someone out to give him instructions of what to do - he was not happy.  Perhaps he was expecting some big fanfare and a miraculous show - and it was not going to happen. Naaman was upset that he had traveled all that way and was told to wash in their river.  He had rivers where he lived - he could've done that there.  Instead of just listening and doing what he was told to do - he left angrily.

We are so like Naaman. We want answers to questions, but we want them in our own way, in our own manner, and how we expect them to be answered.  God doesn't work like that. And when we get angry and stomp off, we miss the miracles that God is trying to do in our lives. 

Luckily for Naaman, he had people around him to whom he would listen. They spoke common sense to his angry heart - 'we've traveled all this way. You are dying. It's a swim in the river. Why don't you just try it.'  This is why it is so important to surround yourself with Godly people who will redirect your thinking when we get in our own way.

Then the miracle happened, his leprosy went away and he was changed: Not only physically, but spiritually as well.  Naaman announced "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel".

How exciting to see that when we listen and obey, miracles can happen.