Take your Bibles with me tonight and turn to Judges 3. Judges 3. We are moving into another section of stories tonight as we look at the book of Judges.

Let's get started by reading the first 6 verses:

[!bible] Judges 3:1-6 - KJV

1. Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
2. Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;
3. Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.
4. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses.
5. And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites:
6. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

So, the first two chapters of Judges are kind of a long introduction. Kind of a bridge between Joshua, which was a time of triumph, and this book which is just sad.

Make no mistake about it. Judges is sad. It's a sad book. It's a book that seems to be about how bad God's people can get. How far they can go astray from God's plan.

At the end of this book you have this super graphic story about how a Levite - who should have been a spiritual leader in Israel - stops in at Gibeah, a town in Benjamin, and the men of that city want to rape him. He doesn't want that (who would) so instead he gives them his concubine - they literally rape her to death and then he divides her body into twelve pieces, sends the pieces to each tribe, and starts a war on this little town.

Now, listen, every part of that story is depraved. Every part of it shows how far the people had gotten from God. The actions of the men of Gibeah were awful, but also, why did this Levite have a concubine in the first place? Why would he not manfully sacrifice himself to save the life of a defenseless woman?

Twice in this book it repeats this phrase verbatim:

[!bible] Judges 21:25 - KJV 25. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

This is a dark book. Truly. It shows how far God's people can go in their sin and self-deception.

I want you to understand something: Very often, there are several reasons for what God does.

You see that here. Why did Israel go through so much junk? Well, part of it was certainly God punishing them for idolatry and fulfilling his promises of what would happen if they tolerated other gods among them.

In verses 5-6 we see this side of things. Over and over again in this book we see the pattern.

• Israel sins and follows other gods.
• God brings judgment in the form of some oppressing enemy.
• The people cry out to God for help.
• God sends a deliverer who rescues them.
• They have peace for awhile.
• They go back into idolatry and start the whole cycle again.

So that is one reason for what happens in this book, but it isn't the only reason. Look at verses 1 and 2 again.

Here is a surprising thing: In the first few verses, we find that even in this, God was doing something positive. Verse 1 tells us that God was using the nations of Canaan to "prove" Israel. He was using them to test them.

Verse 2 tells us that He was also using them to teach them war. They didn't really know how to fight, and would need that knowledge in the future, so God used these pesky enemies, these Canaanites - to teach them to fight.

So there are two sides here: God's providence and God's correction.

I think we can see the same thing in our life. Sometimes we sin and God brings us severe correction. Sin leads to bondage. 100% of the time.

Spurgeon said it this way:

God never allows His people to sin successfully.

God won't allow you to sin successfully either. He will always bring chastening to His sinning children and when we find ourselves in bondage - very often we can look upstream and see our sin that led us into that bondage.

But there is another side to it and that is that God can use that bondage and that conflict to grow us and to test us, to prepare us to accomplish His plan. I guess what I'm trying to say is that God's plan and purpose for us is mercifully bigger than our tendency to mess things up and get in trouble.

So that's the introduction to this chapter. The rest of this chapter introduces us to the first three of Israel's judges, and they are who we are going to be talking about tonight.

The first judge is a guy named...

Ophniel

And we are going to read about him in verses 7-11

[!bible] Judges 3:7-11 - KJV 7. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgat the LORD their God, and served Baalim and the groves. 8. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years. 9. And when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel, and went out to war: and the LORD delivered Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed against Chushan-rishathaim. 11. And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

So, we have the beginning here - Israel does evil in the sight of God. They marry pagan women and those pagan marriages bring them into pagan influence and they start worshipping pagan gods.

And so God allows them to get into trouble. God sends the Mesopotamians after them and they are enslaved by the Mesopotamians for 8 years.

Finally, the children of Israel cry out to God and God raises a deliverer - a man named Ophniel.

Now, Ophniel is Caeab's younger brother, but also his son-in-law?? and they don't have the same dad? (Caleb is the son of Jephunah and Ophniel is the son of Kenaz.) So I'm not sure how that works, and generally Bible scholars are confused about it.

But Ophniel is actually in Judges 1. He's already proven himself brave and won a trophy (Caleb's daughter) from Caleb for bravely conquering a town.

So Ophniel is what you might call a typical hero. He comes from the right tribe (Judah), he comes from the right family (Caleb), he has already proven himself a conquerer (in chapter 1.)

And Ophniel doesn't conquer by himself. He raises up an army to fight against the Mesopotamians and then rules Israel for forty years as their judge.

Ophniel seems like the perfect hero. But I want you to notice something about Ophniel. There is one chink in his armor (besides marrying his neice) - look at verse 11 again:

[!bible] Judges 3:11 - KJV 11. And the land had rest forty years. And Othniel the son of Kenaz died.

Notice this about Ophniel. He died. And when he died, peace died with Him.

It's awesome that God gave Israel a leader like Ophniel and that Ophniel brought peace - but Ophniel died, and so did the peace. Do you know what that points us to: we need a leader, a judge, who doesn't die. We need a King who lives forever and can give peace forever.

So Ophniel is sort of the captain of the football team, superman kind of hero.

But he's the last one. The other two judges in this chapter are very different from that.

Look at verses 12-14 and we'll talk about the next judge:

Ehud

[!bible] Judges 3:12-14 - KJV 12. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. 13. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. 14. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

Ophniel dies and the children of Israel go back to idolatry, and od sends another conquerer. This time it is a guy named Eglon, who is king of Moab.

Remember, the Moabites, they are family. They are decedents of Lot. And they have been a thorn in Israel's side already.

The Moabites are led by a king named Eglon - which we are later going to find out is very fat. Eglon sets up camp at "the city of Palm Trees." Which is another name for what? Anyone know?

Jericho.

Now, that's interesting isn't it? Jericho was the place of Israel's greatest victory - but here it is a place of their defeat and oppression. For 18 years Eglon and the Moabites rule Israel from Jericho.

And again, Israel cries out to God. After 18 years of servitude. They cry out to God.

And God prepares the most unusual deliverer. Look at verse 15:

[!bible] Judges 3:15-16 - KJV 15. But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. 16. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.

Ehud. Ehud is a Benjamite. They are kind of a nothing tribe. So he's not at all like Othniel. He doesn't come from the good family.

And, it says he's lefthanded. Now, one thing I read in several commentaries that I thought was interesting: A lot of people think that Ehud wasn't just lefthanded, but that this means that he was disabled and could only use his lefthand. The phrase in Hebrew could be taken either way. And if he was disabled, it makes the rest of the story make even more sense.

Ehud makes a dagger - a very sharp little sword between 14 and 18 inches long and he puts it on his right thigh - which isn't the side people would normally carry a dagger.

Then he makes himself the head of this procession to bring taxes and tribute to the wicked king Eglon.

Let's keep reading:

[!bible] Judges 3:17-19 - KJV 17. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. 18. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. 19. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.

So Ehud tells this king "I have a secret for you" and the king probably looks at him and thinks "What's he going to do? He's disabled." So he sends his guards away.

Look what happens next:

[!bible] Judges 3:20-23 - KJV 20. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat. 21. And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: 22. And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. 23. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.

Ehud gets close to this king and reaches into his leg and pulls out this dagger and stabs Eglon in the gut and the sword sticks in there, and waste comes out.

And he just lets himself out and locks the door behind him. He just killed the king. Look at verse 24-25

[!bible] Judges 3:24-25 - KJV 24. When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlour were locked, they said, Surely he covereth his feet in his summer chamber. 25. And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

There is humor here. The servants think King Eglon is going to the bathroom. They smell something in there (the "dirt" that came out of Eglon when he was stabbed) and they think he's just receiving himself in there. So they give him a minute.

And they wait and they wait, and they wait too long and when they go in, he's dead and Ehud has escaped.

(This is a Bible story.)

Verses 26-30

[!bible] Judges 3:26-30 - KJV 26. And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath. 27. And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them. 28. And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. 29. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man. 30. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

So Ehud escapes and he gets an army together and they go and they fight against the Moabites. They probably would never have followed Ehud had he not had the courage to kill the king -but they follow him and Israel is delivered and they have rest now for a long time: 80 years!

So what do we make of Ehud? There are a few applications I want to make:

First, I think we need to look at him and learn that we shouldn't let our disabilities be an excuse. No one would have followed Ehud. No one was going to elect Ehud leader of Israel. He was lefthanded. Like we said, he probably had a handicap. He was damaged goods. But he was just what God needed.

Someone has said that God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick. The truth is, the only people God has to work with are deformed people. The only people God has to work with are people with handicaps - that is His plan!

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 and look at verse 24:

[!bible] 1 Corinthians 1:24-27 - KJV 24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 25. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

God is doing something in this world - but He isn't doing it very often with the Ophniels - most of the time He is using the Ehuds. God loves to use the Ehuds because the Ehuds make Him look good. They bring glory to Him.

Think about it like this: God could have chosen his apostles from among the leaders of men. God could have looked out over the world and picked three of the best scholars, three business leaders, maybe three up and coming politicians and three super warriors. You know those people existed right?

But who did Jesus pick to be apostles? 12 nobodies. Fisherman. Tax collectors. Some guy who was just trying to kill everybody. Every one of them had handicaps. But they were available and God used them.

The biggest ability that God is looking for in His servants in availability. If you have a handicap, that's all the better because that makes God look even better.

That's the first thing I learn from Ehud: God sure likes to use unlikely people to do His work.

The second thing I think we can learn from Ehud is just how much one man can do with some courage.

Can you imagine how much courage it must have taken for Ehud to disguise a sword and try to get close to the king? There are so many ways that could have gone wrong. He could have been searched at any time and then he would have probably died a very painful and public death.

Ehud had lots of excuses. He was lefthanded. No one expected anything of him. No one else was doing anything. It was dangerous. What if it didn't work?

But Ehud listened to the voice of God and moved forward with courage and without his courage, Israel would not have experienced 80 years of peace and prosperity.

This isn't just an Old Testament story thing either. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says to us Christians:

[!bible] 1 Corinthians 16:13 - KJV 13. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Stand fast. Quit you like men, be strong! What are all of those things saying? Be courageous. Don't quit. Don't make excuses.

Man, Ehud is such a great example. But listen, Ehud also reminds us of Christ:

• Christ, like Ehud, came to deliver His people from oppression.
• Christ, like Ehud, had nothing about His appearance that commended Him.
• Christ, like Ehud, achieved His victories alone.
• Christ, like Ehud crushed His enemies through His weakness.
• Christ, like Ehud was an outsider who no one believed was God's chosen.

Now, there is one more judge in this chapter to learn about and thankfully, he only gets one verse. Look at verse 31 and let's learn about:

Shamgar

[!bible] Judges 3:31 - KJV 31. And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

That's all we get about Shamgar. He was one guy and he killed 600 Philistines. That's pretty awesome. That's like 80s action movie stuff.

But listen, Shamgar didn't have a huge 50 cal with bullets roped around him. He didn't have an arsanal of weopons. He didn't really have weapons at all. All he had was an ox goad.

Do you know what an ox goad is? It's a pointy stick.

This dude killed 600 soldiers in battle with nothing more than a pointy stick. That had to be some crazy ninja action.

So what is the lesson for us? If God can use one guy with a pointy stick - God can use any of us. We just have to make ourselves avaialable to Him.

I mean, what is your excuse?

I can't speak - remember Moses? No one thinks I'm worthy anything - remember David? I'm a nobody farmer - remember Amos? I have a past - remember Paul?

God can use any of us if we let Him. So let's let Him.