Judges 3 Ehud and the Fat King

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Judges 3:12 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. 13 Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms.[c] 14 The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

15 Again 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. 16 Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a cubit[d] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. 18 After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. 19 But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

20 Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace[e] and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. 22 Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. 23 Then Ehud went out to the porch[f]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

24 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 palace.” 25 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.

26 While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

28 “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. 29 At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. 30 That day Moab was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace for eighty years.​

c. Judges 3:13 That is, Jericho
d. Judges 3:16 That is, about 18 inches or about 45 centimeters
e. Judges 3:20 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verse 24.
f. Judges 3:23 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain

This is one of my favorite stories of the Old Testament. I can just see Laurence Olivier as Ehud and Eglon, king of Moab, would have to be computer generated like Jabba the Hut.

Bible.org calls these verses "troublesome".

Let’s face it; our text presents us with some problems. These are the kind of problems that cause many preachers to stay in the New Testament or at least to avoid the Book of Judges. Some see no possibility of relevance to Christians today. For example, we encounter a man named Shamgar and his ox goad. When is the last time you used one of these? When is the last time you ever heard of one of these? Then how can this text have anything to say to us?

Furthermore, some would object that our text contains far too much violence. Do we really need to know how fat Eglon was or how far into his belly the sword was thrust? Do we want to read that the fat closed over the sword? Let’s face it; this is the kind of text we would avoid if we could, except for one thing: it is included in the Bible, the inspired Word of God, and we dare not ignore or avoid it.

The blueletterbible.org site goes into the logistics of the story. Israel had to pay a tribute [like a tax] to the Moabites. That's how Ehud got in the upper room of the palace. Here's what it says about the details....

Because most men fought with their right hand, it wasn't expected for a man to use his left hand with a dagger or a sword. This shows how cunning Ehud was and how unexpected the strike was to Eglon.

He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber: Without being coarse, we can see how real and true-to-life the Bible is. It describes normal, everyday functions but in a dignified way.​

And the land had rest for eighty years: Ehud's cunning and courage, coupled with Israel's faithful following of a leader, brought Israel's longest period of freedom under the 400-year period of the Judges. Ehud is a dramatic example of how in the LORD, one man can make a difference, and how God will call others to work with that one man.

Let's just stop a minute and reflect.... A left handed man named Ehud stuck a double edged dagger into a fat man's belly so far that the dagger's hilt was hidden in the fat and left him to die while his armed guard waited outside the bathroom door. And this is in the Bible.....

This is a fun story. I have to stop or this post will take an hour to read! What a fun story....



:coffee:
 
Last edited:
Top