SUBJECT YOURSELF TO GOD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Once 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. Getting the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him, Eglon came and attacked Israel, and they took possession of the City of Palms. The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.

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. Now Ehud had made a double-edged sword about a foot and a half long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man. After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way the men who had carried it. At the idols near Gilgal he himself turned back and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king."

The king said, "Quiet!" And all his attendants left him.

Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace and said, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king's belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, which came out his back. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. Then Ehud went out to the porch; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

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 house." 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.

While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 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.

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

After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.

Judges 3:12-31

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Earlier in Chapter 3, we studied about Othniel, the man who was selected by God to be Israel’s first judge…the deliverer who rescued them from the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Aram, after the Lord had given the king into his hands. Israel would enjoy 40 years of peace but unfortunately not learn from their past errors.

For after Othniel died, scripture tells us Israel “once again…did evil in the eyes of the Lord” and once again the Lord punished them giving “Eglon, king of Moab” power over them. King Eglon enlisted “the Ammonites and Amalekites to join him” before attacking Israel and taking “possession of the City of Palms” better known as Jericho. Israel, who had endured eight years of hardship under Cushan-Rishathaim prior, now saw their penalty significantly longer as they were “subject to Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years”.

In the midst of the eighteenth year, Israel had once again had enough. And so they went back to what worked before, crying out to the Lord and seeing Him answer again with another deliverer. This time it was a “left-handed man” named Ehud who was the “the son of Gera the Benjamite”.

We read where it was around the time for Israel to bring the king their annual tribute so Ehud accompanied the Israelites to meet with Eglon, carrying with him a “double-edged sword about a foot and a half long” which he had made and “strapped to his right thigh under his clothing”. After presenting the tribute to Eglon, described as a “very fat man”, Ehud sent the rest of the Israelites on their was and followed them to “the idols near Gilgal” where he turned back toward the king and exclaimed, “I have a secret message for you, O king."

Knowing that the Israelites were a people who served a powerful God, King Eglon was anxious to hear the divine message Ehud was about to deliver to him. So he ordered everyone to be quiet before dismissing “all his attendants”. Now alone with Eglon, Ehud “approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his summer palace” and said, "I have a message from God for you." And “as the king rose from his seat” to receive what he thought would be a divine message, Ehud instead surprised him and “reached with his left hand”, drawing the “sword from his right thigh” and plunging it “into the king's belly” so far that the “handle sank in after the blade which came out his back”. As a testimony to just how obese Eglon was, scripture tells us that “Ehud did not pull the sword out and the fat closed in over it”. Leaving Eglon for dead, “Ehud went out to the porch…shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them”. He escaped as Eglon’s servants were unable to discover his death because “the doors of the upper room” were locked. Not wanting to disturb their king, they “waited to the point of embarrassment” before getting a key, unlocking the door and finding “their lord fallen to the floor, dead”.

In the meantime, Ehud “passed by the idols” before arriving in Seirah where he “blew a trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim” and assembled the Israelites for battle with Moab. He told his forces, “Follow me for the Lord has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands." And Israel obeyed Ehud, following him and “taking possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab” where they “allowed no one to cross over”. Israel “struck down about ten thousand Moabites…not allowing a single man to escape and initiating a classic role reversal with Moab now subject to them. The Lord’s blessing of victory through the leadership of the second appointed judge, Ehud, resulted in Israel enjoying “peace for eighty years”.

Chapter 3 concludes with brief mention of Israel’s third judge, Shamgar, who delivered Israel from the Philistines by striking down 600 men with an oxgoad, a long spiked stick used to drive oxen.

Our passage today touches on the matter of being subjected. As Israel disobeyed the Lord, they angered Him and were made subject to King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

So what did being subject to Eglon mean?

The dictionary gives us the following definition for the verb “subject”:

1: to bring under control or dominion. 2: to make (as oneself) amenable to the discipline and control of a superior. 3: to cause or force to undergo or endure something unpleasant, inconvenient, or trying.

In other words, God was turning over His people to another authority, subjecting them to human authority…authority that was far from holy and righteous in nature. No…Israel was at the hands of their earthly ruler and subject to their discipline and control. And as a result, they suffered as they endured trying times that were often unpleasant.

Of course, it didn’t have to be that way. All Israel had to do is obey God and His commands and expectations. But since Israel acted as if following God’s stringent guidelines was too hard for them then God allowed them to fall under the rule of someone else…just to show them how truly good they had it with God on their side. It was if God was saying to Israel, “If you think it’s hard living with Me, try living without Me and see how hard it is.”

The same applies today. People too often decide that they want to control their lives vice have to follow what God expects them to do. So God allows them to try and go it on their own without Him until they find themselves oppressed by some life circumstance or circumstances. And when they find out what God already knew…that they can’t make it without Him…then they, like Israel, cry out to Him for rescue and God eventually sends them deliverance from their hardship.

Of course, it didn’t have to be that way. All we have to do is obey God and His commands and expectations. But since we act as if following God’s stringent guidelines is too hard for us then God allowed us to take control and try to manage things alone…just to show us how truly good we had it with God on our side. And we can almost hear God sending a subliminal message to us just as He did Israel saying, “If you think it’s hard living with Me, try living without Me and see how hard it is.”

Friends, God doesn’t want us to go through hardship but He equally doesn’t want us to live in disobedience. He wants us to make the right choice…to choose Him and His will every single time we need to choose, subjecting ourselves to His will in every situation we find ourselves in. For when we do this, we will find ourselves not only in His favor but living fully in righteousness, joy and peace. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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