Today’s passage: Judges 3:12-31
Helpful thoughts:
- The Benjamites trained many of their warriors to be left handed, perhaps giving them a unique advantage and element of surprise.
- When Ehud told King Eglon he had a “message from the Lord” he was using a play on words. The word for “message” in the Hebrew can also mean “thing”. So Ehud either had a message or a secret thing for Eglon…
- King Eglon’s name means, “Round calf” or “Round bull”. The pun was intended. The king of Moab had become the fattened calf, ready for slaughter.
- Since Ehud locked the doors behind him and went out another way without being seen, and since there was a rest room in this private chamber for the king. Ehud may very well have escaped through the plumbing system.
- Ehud, after having scurried through the fattened calf’s restroom plumbing, called the troops together for battle. Quite the impressive scene…
- The name Shamgar (And possibly the name of His father Anath) do not come from Hebrew/Jewish origins at all. Shamgar was either not a Jew or he and his father were named after other peoples and other gods.
Questions to consider:
- How many things can you find in this narrative that sound embarrassing (e.g. smells, names, etc.)? What kind of impression do these things leave on this war story?
- What might Shamgar’s background information communicate concerning the condition of Israel?
- Who remained steady, faithful, unchanging through these narratives? Who can God use to bring about His will?