In Judges 3 we see an example of God's people being tested by God (God left a few nations around Israel as a test to see if they'd obey Him and also to train the younger generations in war). His people began to give their sons and daughters in marriage and worship their gods. God was angry and gave them over to slavery. When His people cried out to Him, He sent them a deliverer, Othniel. He rescued them and they obeyed God for 40 years, until Othniel died. Then they repeated the cycle of sin and hatred towards God (the result of idolatry, in my opinion). He gave them over to another foreign power. When they cried out, He raised up another deliverer, Ehud, a left-handed man (that's an interesting detail, isn't it?).
Ehud is a hero in the vein of Rocky and Arnold. He went to the king of Moab, who was a fat man (another interesting tidbit). As he was leaving, he turned around and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." The king ordered his servants to be quiet and they all left him. Ehud said he had a message from God, and when the king rose from his seat Ehud plunged an 18-inch double-edged sword into the king's belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Then he went out on the porch, shut the doors of the upper room behind him, and locked them. When the servants came and found the doors locked, they said, "He must be relieving himself in the inner room" (another delightful detail). It says they waited "to the point of embarrassment," until they could wait no longer, they took a key, opened the door and saw their king fallen to the floor, dead.
Ehud escaped, gathered his people by blowing a trumpet in the hill country of Austin (er, um, Ephraim, actually), and they rushed into Moab and took them, striking down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong. That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for 80 years.
Compare those grisly details of chapter three's first 30 verses (who some might say were innappropriate for children or overly violent) with the minimal details of verse 31:
"After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down 600 Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel."
Wouldn't it be great to be known as a "He too" in the same vein as Shamgar?
Posted by: Solomon at January 15, 2005 02:50 PMI wrote about Ehud once, during a lengthy review of the movie "The Boondock Saints". Ehud is a hero of mine - both because he is a man of action, and a leftie :) Click my name for the link to the review...
Posted by: Charlie at January 17, 2005 03:01 PM