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Change the World
“Then the Sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh. So Yahweh raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gerar, the Benjaminite, a man which was left-handed. And the Sons of Israel sent a gift in his left-hand to Eglon, the king of Moab.”
(Judges 3:15)
As I mentioned above, this account is filled with humor if you look for the double entendre, some of which we find here, though it is sometimes lost in English translations. Many of our translations simply state that Ehud is the one who will take the tribute to Ehud. In ancient times, it was common for the conquered people to have to take a tribute either seasonally or annually to the conquering King. And, that may indeed be what Ehud’s assignment is, yet, that is not specifically what the text states. It states that Ehud is bringing a gift for Eglon “in his left hand.” We have already been told in this verse that Ehud is a south-paw, so we know that something is afoot. If we know the rest of the story, then we know that the item that will become most accessible to his left hand will be his long dagger, but that gets ahead of the story. The fact that this man’s left-handedness is mentioned twice in the same verse is meant as an indication that something is coming with respect to the left hand…namely that this gift or left-handed tribute, is not the ordinary kind that we might expect. And certainly not the kind that Eglon will expect.
Ehud’s name means, “He that Praises,” so right up front there is an indication of the kind of man that God chooses to use. He is not predominantly a warrior, though he is clearly skilled in combat, he is a man who praises God first and foremost in all he does. And beloved, if you wish to be used by God in significant ways in life, this is the kind of person that you, too, must be. God will win the battles, build the churches, change the culture, and evangelize the lost, and he will do so through the person whose first aim is to praise and give glory to His great name. There is an old saying that goes, “God does not call the equipped; he equips those he calls.” And those he calls are those who will honor him and not themselves. Ehud is presented to us as such a man.
Too often Christians feel inadequate to change the world. And that is because we are. Yet God is more than adequate and he will work through you if you honor him in all things. The question that we are all faced with is, “will we seek first the kingdom”? God will honor nothing less.
Outline of Judges
Book of Judges Outline
I. The Crisis and Conquest after Joshua’s Death (1:1-36)
a. Who shall go up to fight for us? (1:1-2)
b. Judah and Simeon go up & defeat the Canaanites (1:3-7)
c. Judah fights and takes the city of Jerusalem (1:8-10)
d. Continued conquest (1:11-20)
e. Benjamin fails to drive out the Jebusites (1:21)
f. Joseph takes Bethel (1:22-26)
g. Manasseh) fails to drive out Canaanites (1:27-28)
h. Ephraim fails to drive out Canaanites (1:29)
i. Zebulun fails to drive out Canaanites (1:30)
j. Asher fails to drive out Canaanites (1:31-32)
k. Naphtali fails to drive out Canaanites (1:33)
l. Dan pushed back by the Amorites (1:34)
m. Joseph halts Amorite advance (1:35-36)
II. First cycle of Sin
a. The Angel of the Lord pronounces judgment for not breaking down pagan altars (2:1-5)
b. The people return to their homes under Joshua’s leadership and lived in peace all of the days of Joshua’s life and of the lives of those who knew him (2:6-10)
c. The people did “The Evil” (2:11-13)
d. God gives them up to their enemies (2:14-15)
e. The Summary of the Book (2:16-3:6)
III. Second Cycle of Sin
a. The people did “The Evil” (3:7)
b. The people served the Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia for 8 years (3:8)
c. God raised up Othniel as a deliverer (3:9-10)
d. The land had “rest” 40 years (3:11)
IV. Third cycle of Sin
a. The people did “The Evil” (3:12)
b. The people served the Eglon, king of Moab for 18 years (3:12-14)
i. Possible setting for the book of Ruth?
c. God raised up Ehud as a deliverer (3:15-29)
d. The land had “rest” for 80 years (3:30)
e. God raised up Shamgar as deliverer against the Philistines (3:31)
V. Fourth cycle of Sin
a. The people did “The Evil” (4:1)
b. Jabin, King of Canaan & Sisera conquered for 20 years (4:2-3)
c. God raised up Deborah as deliverer (4:4-24)
d. The Song of Deborah (5:1-31)
e. The land had rest for 40 years (5:31)
VI. Fifth cycle of Sin
a. The people did “The Evil” (6:1)
b. Midian conquered for 7 years (6:2-6)
c. God sends a prophet to speak warning to the people (6:7-10)
d. God raises up Gideon as deliverer (6:11-8:21)
e. The people seek to make Gideon king (8:22-27)
f. The land had rest for 40 years (8:28)
VII. Interlude: Abimelech’s reign
a. The people enter into idolatry (8:29-35)
b. The rise of Abimelech to power (9:1-6)
c. The Parable of the Trees (9:7-15)
d. The Judgment of Jotham (9:16-21)
e. Abimelech reigns for 3 years (9:22)
f. The fall of Abimelech (9:23-57)
g. God raised up Tola as judge for 23 years (10:1-2)
h. God raised up Jair as judge for 22 years (10:3-5)
VIII. Sixth Cycle of Sin
a. The people did “The Evil” (10:6)
b. The Philistines conquered for 18 years (10:7-9)
c. The people repent and the Lord rebukes them (10:10-16)
d. Who will go up for us? (10:17-18)
e. God raises up Jephthah as deliverer (11:1-33)
f. The result of Jephthah’s hasty vow (11:34-40)
g. Jephthah leads the people of Gilead against the people of Ephraim (12:1-6)
h. Jepthah judged Israel for 6 years (12:7)
i. God raised up Ibzan as judge for 7 years (12:8-10)
j. God raised up Elon as judge for 10 years (12:11-12)
k. God raised up Abdon as judge for 8 years (12:13-15)
IX. Seventh Cycle of Sin
a. The people did “The Evil” (13:1)
b. The Philistines conquered for 40 years (13:1)
c. God raises up Samson as deliverer (13:2-15:19)
d. Samson judges Israel for 20 years (15:20)
e. Samson and Delilah (16:1-22)
f. Samson’s Faithful Death (16:23-31)
X. Interlude: Micah, two Levites, the Tribe of Dan, and the Concubine
a. Micah and the Levite (17:1-13)
b. Micah’s Idol and Levite taken by the Tribe of Dan (18:1-31)
c. The Levite and his Concubine (19:1-30)
d. The people of Israel avenge the Levite against Benjamin (20:1-48)
e. Wives for the men of the tribe of Benjamin (21:1-24)
XI. Close of the Book
a. “There was no king in Israel and everyone did what is right in their own eyes”
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