Judges 3:5-31, God can use all kinds of people to accomplish his will

Judges 3:5–11 (ESV) —
5 So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 6 And their daughters they took to themselves for wives, and their own daughters they gave to their sons, and they served their gods.
7 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asheroth. 8 Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia. And the people of Israel served Cushan-rishathaim eight years. 9 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them, Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother. 10 The Spirit of the Lord was upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the Lord gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand. And his hand prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim. 11 So the land had rest forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.
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• Here is the pattern that was previously referred to. It will be repeated for the next few and then as we go farther along in the book, some of the details will be left off. Obviously, the pattern is clear and does not need to be retold every time, but let's review …
• Israelites did evil (preceding this verse in a summary of the earlier problem)
• Made covenants (in this case, marriage)
• Did not destroy the altars (in this case, served their gods)
• Forgot God
• Served Baals
• Served Asherahs
• "Gotta serve somebody" - Keith Green song
• Anger of the Lord burns against Israel
• Consequently, they are "sold" into the hands of an enemy
• How does God sell a nation to another nation?
• Israel cries out to the Lord
• God raises up a deliverer
• In this case it is Caleb's younger brother
• The Spirit of the Lord comes upon him (only after the Spirit comes upon him that he goes to war)
• The Lord gives the foreign king into the hands of His appointed savior
• Proving God is sovereign
• Proving that it is a combination of war (people fighting) and God giving the victory
• The land (and consequently the people) has peace
• APPLlCATION: What do you do when things are going well?
• APPLlCATION: How do you protect yourself from taking God for granted?
• Not sure what it means, but from what tribe does the first deliverer come from?
• Judah
• Show map detailing that nearly every tribe has a deliverer at one time or another


Judges 3:12–15 (ESV) —
12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
15 Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.


• This time the deliverer comes from where? Benjamin
• Again we what pattern?
• Evil
• Lord giving the people over
• Israel in slavery (or bondage) for 18 years
• Israel cries out for a deliverer
• God provides a deliverer (a way out)
• Let's put the principles into a NT setting for a believer. How might it fit?
• Believer falls into sin
• God disciplines the believer. God allows him to experience consequences of his actions
• Believer repents
• God provides a way out
• APPLICATION: Earlier, we discussed three steps to protect yourself from falling into sin, what were they?
• Fellowship with God
• Fellowship with other believers (Bad company corrupts good morals)
• Good spiritually accountable relationships


Judges 3:16–30 (ESV) —
16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence. 20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.


• An interesting story. Ehud was very successful, but how?
• Makes a sword (so he had blacksmith skills). The possession of swords was probably illegal
• Hides his sword (under clothing, along the leg)
• Takes courage to carry sword to palace
• Used tribute as an entre
• Gained trust by giving a gift and not attacking the King the first time they met
• Used secrecy to gain privacy with King (a message with God -- and it was a message)
• He takes the initiative to move while a power vacuum exists (a lack of appointed leadership)
• Overall, Ehud uses deceit and essentially a con to kill Eglon
• APPLICATION: Ehud is called a judge. God uses a man who does not act in a manner that we are used to. Later with Gideon, God provided the strategy, in this case, he allows Ehud to plan the attack. In both cases, God is sovereign, even when the actions may not be considered moral
• How is the story of Shamgar different from either Ehud or later, Gideon?
• Ehud illegally made a weapon, a sword (or a dagger)
• Shamgar legally uses a tool for plowing to accomplish his rescue of Israel
Judges 3:31 (ESV) — 31 After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed 600 of the Philistines with an oxgoad, and he also saved Israel.
• APPLICATION: There is no one specific way God must work but he can use a variety of means and people to accomplish his will