The God Who Raises Delieverers

Judges

Week 8 — The God Who Raises Deliverers

Then the land was quiet for forty years, and Othniel son of Kenaz died” (Jdg 3:11)

1. The ___________ of sin and grace.

Othniel: God’s _________________________________ deliverer.

2. Ehud: God’s _____________________ deliverer.

Chad Bird: I think there are more double entendres (an-ton-dras) [a figure of speech or particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacceptable, or offensive to state directly], and sarcasm, and wit, irony, and satire, and all of that is compressed in this story and more so than any other story in Scripture.

¹² Again the people of Israel committed evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel because they had committed evil in the eyes of the Lord. ¹³ Eglon took Ammonites and Amalekites along with him. He advanced and attacked Israel and took possession of the City of Palms. ¹⁴ So the people of Israel served Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. (Jdg 3:12–14)

⁸ Then the Amalekites came and fought against the Israelites at. ^10b … While Joshua was fighting against the Amalekites, Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop. ¹¹ Whenever Moses held up his hand, the Israelites would start winning, but whenever he lowered his hand, the Amalekites would start winning.  ¹² When Moses’ arms became tired, they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands—one on one side, and one on the other side. In this way his hands were steady until sunset. ¹³ So Joshua defeated the Amalekite army with the sword. (Ex 17:8, 10b–13)

David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped from there, except four hundred young men who rode off on camels and escaped. (1 Sa 30:17)

^15a Again the people of Israel called out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up a deliverer for them. The deliverer was Ehud son of Gera, a Benjaminite, who was left-handed. (Jdg 3:15a)

From all these troops, there were seven hundred elite soldiers who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a single hair and not miss. (Jdg 20:16)

^15b The Israelites sent him with a tribute payment for Eglon king of Moab. ¹⁶ Ehud made a double-edged sword for himself, about eighteen inches long, and he strapped it under his clothing on his right thigh. (Jdg 3:15b–16)

¹⁷ Ehud presented the tribute payment to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. ¹⁸ After Ehud had presented the tribute payment, he sent the men who had delivered the tribute on their way. ¹⁹ But after he himself had passed the carved images that were at Gilgal, Ehud turned back and told the king, “I have a secret for you, O king!” The king said, “Quiet, everyone,” so all his attendants left the room. (Jdg 3:17–19)

²⁰ Ehud approached Eglon as Eglon was sitting in the cool upper chamber, all alone. Ehud said, “I have something from God for you.” So Eglon stood up from the throne. (Jdg 3:20)

²¹ Ehud reached out his left hand and took the sword that was on his right thigh and drove it into Eglon’s belly. ²² As the hilt went in after the blade, Eglon’s fat closed behind the blade. Ehud did not draw the sword out from Eglon’s belly, and the contents of his bowels came out. ²³ Ehud then went out to the vestibule, shut the doors of the upper chamber behind him, and locked them. ²⁴ Then off he went! When Eglon’s servants came back, they were surprised to see that the doors of the upper chamber were locked. They said, “He must be using the toilet.” (Jdg 3:21–24)

²⁵ They waited until the delay became embarrassing, but no one opened the doors to the upper chamber. Finally they took the key and opened the door. And there he was. Their master was lying on the ground—dead! ²⁶ While they delayed, Ehud had escaped. He passed by the carved images and escaped to Seirah. (Jdg 3:25–26)

²⁷ When he arrived, ram’s horns were sounded throughout the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites marched down from the hill country with Ehud leading the way. ²⁸ He said to them, “Follow me, because the Lord has given your enemies, the Moabites, into your hands.” So they pursued them, captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and let no one cross. ²⁹ At this time they struck down about ten thousand men of Moab, every one robust, each one a powerful warrior. Not one escaped. ³⁰ This is how Moab was humbled on that day under the hand of Israel, and the land was quiet for eighty years. (Jdg 3:27-30)

“Crucify him,” … when Pilate asked, “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Mt 27:22)

In those days, when the group there numbered about 120 people, Peter stood up among the brothers and said, (Ac 1:15)

²⁶ For example, consider your call, brothers. Not many of you were wise from a human point of view, not many were powerful, and not many were born with high status. ^27a But God chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame those who are wise. (1 Co 1:26–27a)

… we were by nature objects of God’s wrath (Eph 2:3)

3. Shamgar: God’s ___________ but _______________________ deliverer.

³¹ After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath. He struck down six hundred Philistines with an ox goad. He too delivered Israel. (Jdg 3:31)

³⁵ The fortified cities are … ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh—nineteen cities and their villages. (Jos 19:25a, 38)

Chad Bird: It [the book of Judges] is a theology of the cross kind of book. How could God save the world? In the book of Judges, he uses weird weapons. God used a cross to the save the world.

Points to Ponder

1. What is one thing that stood out for you from this week’s message?
2. What makes Ehud an unexpected or unlikely deliverer? (Consider his left-handedness, tribe, and strategy.)
3. How does God’s use of Ehud challenge our assumptions about what kind of person God can use?
4. What do you notice about Ehud’s courage and cleverness? How do those qualities work together in God’s plan?
5. Shamgar only gets one verse! What do you find significant about his story despite its brevity?
6. What does Shamgar’s use of an oxgoad (a cattle prod) reveal about how God equips his servants?
7. What do these two deliverers (Ehud and Shamgar) teach us about the God who raises deliverers?
8. Where do you see God raising up “deliverers” today—people he uses to bring help, freedom, or renewal?
9. What might God be calling you to do with the gifts and circumstances He’s given you, however ordinary they seem?
10. How does Jesus ultimately fulfill the role of God’s deliverer in a way that Ehud and Shamgar could not?

Read: Judges 4-5