The Sovereign and Saving God | Judges 3:12-30
Introduction
Let me introduce to you a few people as we begin this morning…
Meet David: A mid-level manager at a tech firm, David struggles with balancing his career ambitions with his Christian beliefs. He often finds himself compromising his values to fit in with the corporate culture, turning a blind eye to unethical practices for the sake of advancement. While he knows he’s straying, the allure of success and recognition tugs at him constantly. Deep down, David feels a growing sense of emptiness and guilt, and he longs to return to a simpler, more faith-centered life.
Meet Martha: A recent college graduate, Martha is grappling with the influence of secular culture as she navigates the pressures of social media, friendships, and dating. She often feels torn between living out her Christian values and fitting in with her non-believing friends, who don’t understand her boundaries. Tempted by the idea of living a "carefree" life, she struggles with guilt whenever she compromises her beliefs, but still clings to her faith, seeking forgiveness and direction.
Meet Michael: A retired factory worker, Michael feels disconnected from the modern world and isolated from his faith community. While once active in church leadership, he now spends his days alone, battling depression and feeling forgotten by society. He is constantly tempted to drown his sorrows in alcohol, and though he prays daily, Michael struggles to feel God’s presence in the midst of his personal chaos. His faith remains, but it feels distant, as if overshadowed by years of disappointment and regret.
Meet Ethan: A passionate Christian, Ethan spends most of his time on social media, consumed by political debates and culture wars. His faith has become intertwined with his political views, and he often finds himself more focused on winning arguments than living out Christ’s teachings. Though his zeal is real, Ethan struggles to balance his spiritual life with his online presence, often neglecting personal prayer and community in favor of digital battles.
Meet Sarah and Ben: A young married couple with two small children, Sarah and Ben are constantly juggling parenting, work, and their faith. Exhausted by sleepless nights and busy schedules, they rarely find time for themselves or each other, let alone for prayer or church. Their faith is important, but it often gets pushed aside by the chaos of daily life. Though they try to keep God at the center of their family, they sometimes feel disconnected from their spiritual foundation as they focus on simply getting through the day.
Maybe as you hear the descriptions of these people you may see someone you know in them. Or maybe, more pointedly, you see yourself in them. What do all these characters have in common? They are all Christians living in this world. They are Christians who are living and working and playing and recreating in this world, with all of its temptations and struggles and distractions.
Maybe you have found yourself frayed, pulled at the seams of your life, wondering if God sees the mess you’re in, wondering if he cares.
The various dumpster fires we find ourselves in, whether personally or culturally, are not always because of foreign occupiers or a decaying culture or sinful people around us—while our external circumstances may be the match, the kindling and fuel often comes from our own sinful, prideful, easily-frustrated hearts.
Characters like David, Ethan, Sarah and Ben have always existed. They just represent what it means to be human in a fallen and hostile world. This is a messy world. And our text for today, the story of Israel and Moab, Eglon and Ehud, is a messy story. And when we are in that mess, what do we need? What is it—or, who is it—that can bring us the peace we so desperately long for? I believe that answer to that question can be found in the mess of Judges 3.
Throughout the book of Judges, we are going to see a familiar storyline emerge. Likely you are already familiar with the repetition, or cycle, of the judges, but it’s worth highlighting here at the beginning. To different extents and in varying detail, here is the basic storyline that is going to be repeated over and over again in this book:
National apostasy or crisis stemming from the peoples’ rebellion
A judge appears after a period of foreign oppression
God equips the judge, leading to military victory
The judge’s authority is spontaneous (not hereditary or transferable)
Leadership is independent from any status (social, age, gender, etc)
The relationship between judge and people is never formalized
The authority of the judge is over “the people of Israel”, not one individual tribe.
After the death of the judge, the cycle restarts.
And it is in this famous cycle that we see the role of the judge is to do 2 things: judge the people and save the people. Central to this book and central to what we need to understand is the importance of leadership and headship. Judges depicts case study after case study of what happens when the head is detached from the body. Leadership is at the heart of these stories—either no leadership or extraordinary leadership by God through the various judges.
Without a head, a body atrophies. Without a head, a body will naturally look to some other head to lead it. Leadership abhors a vacuum, and we will be led by someone or something. The question, as always, is not whether but which—not whether we will follow some leader, but which one will we follow. And story after story we see this play out.
We saw this story sketched out last week with Othniel, nephew to the mighty Caleb, being filled with the Spirit of the Lord and rising up to wage a righteous and just war against the wicked King of Mesopotamia. And for 40 years, the land had rest. But, as expected, this rest did not last long.
And in the story of Ehud, we have an epic narrative. Judges 3 depicts a saga that is filled with humor, irony, hyperbole, deception, assassinations, and open war. If the events in the Ehud narrative were depicted in film, it would come with a PG-13 rating and a strong parental warning.
How many of you would let your 3 year old sit down to watch a film filled with scenes of political occupation, hilariously obese super villains, a super agent who deceives and assassinates the ruler—fat everywhere, sword hilts disappearing, human waste everywhere…it really is shocking! And yet these are the very words of God! According to Jesus in Luke 24, these words are all about him! And according to Paul in 2 Timothy 3, these words are God-breathed and are useful to each of us to become complete, equipped for every good word. So it is incumbent on us to mine this incredible story for the gold that is there.
Here is what I believe is the big chunk of gold that the author of Judges is meaning to communicate to us through Ehud and his exploits, the sovereign Lord disciplines and saves his rebellious people, calling for our rest in him.
Just like the characters we met at the beginning, this story contains complex characters. And we are going to mine this story by examining the key characters and see what the Lord means to teach us through the villain, the hero, and the savior.
The Villain
Right away in v. 12 we are introduced to the chief antagonist—Eglon, the King of Moab. There is a lot of information packed into that one title. Who are the Moabites? One thing we must remember is that the Bible is a story, and where we are in the story in the book of Judges is in its own context within that story. So imagine you have been reading your Bibles starting in Genesis 1 and have now come all the way to Judges 3—you would have already been introduced to Moab a few times.
Beginning in Genesis 19:37, we read of the origins of this mighty nation. You recall the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and how Lot and his family fled the city after being warned by the angels of the Lord. His wife, famously, disobeyed the angel’s orders and looked back, turning into a pillar of salt. But Lot and his 2 daughters fled to a cave. There, the wicked daughters conspired to become pregnant by their father, and then we read of the birth of these 2 babies…
Thus both the daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites to this day. The younger also bore a son and called his name Ben-ammi. He is the father of the Ammonites to this day.
—Genesis 19:36–38
The origin of the nation of Moab begins with wickedness and deception, a theme we are introduced to again here in the book of Judges. But notice there was another baby born to Lot’s daughters—Ben-ammi, the father of the Ammonites. These 2 ancient nations, during the time of the Judges, occupied the regions east of the Dead Sea and Jordan River. We read in Judges 3:13 that King Eglon had reawakened that ancient alliance between Moab and Ammon, adding with them the Canaanite Amalekites, creating a powerful coalition that made up the entire eastern border of Israel. With the position of power, Eglon made incursions into Israel, occupying land deep into the nation, and (as we read in v. 13) set up his castle residence in the City of Palms.
As we said before, this story is a masterful example filled with ironies and reversals. And the identity of this villain is one example. This is not the first King of Moab we have seen in the story of Israel so far. After their famous Exodus, and after receiving the law of God at Sinai, the people of Israel made their way from Sinai to the Promised Land. This massive sea of people—3 million plus—moved toward the region of Moab, and we read in Numbers 22 of Balak, King of Moab, and his deep dread of the size of the people. So terrified was he that he called for Balaam to curse this nation. Of course, if you know the story, Balaam can only speak what the Lord commands, and ends up blessing Israel instead of cursing. Now, in Judges 3, we see the reversal of the blessing back to a curse. The Israelites are now in dread of the Moabites, serving them for 18 years.
Another reversal and irony we see is the location of this villain. As we saw, the King had set up his residence in the City of Palms, which is almost assuredly the local name for Jericho. Joshua 6 describes the famous assault on the stronghold of Jericho, led by Joshua himself. After the walls fell down, Joshua burned the city, salting the earth, and declared a curse (Joshua 6:26).
Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the LORD be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho.”
—Joshua 6:26
So here we have a pagan and evil nation not only oppressing the people of God, but have set up as their base of operations in a city cursed by God. Up is down and down is up.
One last villainous reversal—the King himself, Eglon. Upon our first introduction to him, given his successful invasion of Israel, we are led to believe that this man is a supreme leader, a tactical and political genius, able to cobble together a coalition of nations to address the growing Israelite threat. But his name, Eglon, clues us into his real character. In Hebrew, Eglon means “little calf”, likely referencing the golden calf apostasy of Exodus 32. And the description we read of him in Judges 3:17 is one of an extremely fat, obese, foolish, gluttonous man. Here we finally see the real irony.
The fact that the people of Israel, the covenant people of God, the ones whom God himself had vowed to fight for and vanquish their foes as long as they trusted in him—the fact that they are able to be conquered by this dumb-witted, gullible, monstrous man gives us a glimpse into what is really going on and who the real villains are—the people of Israel. It is they who did what was evil in the sight of God, it is they that have brought this upon themselves by refusing to worship the Lord and him alone, it is they who have not trusted in the Lord’s promises and have continuously compromised, and it is they who, after Eglon invades, serve and worship again the little calf that is Eglon.
Eglon is simply a tool, a pawn, an instrument in the hands of an angry God. Eglon is the rod in the hands of a father, disciplining his children whom he loves. All of these reversals, all of these references and ironies, are meant to highlight the wickedness of the people and the mess they have made of their lives. The source of their problem isn’t Eglon, but their own sin.
The same is true for us. If we find ourselves in the mess of life, how quick are we to point fingers at a number of factors—the economy, our jobs, various stress, that person who is really frustrating to us, that one mean teacher. But Judges 3:12 is clear on who is to blame for all the woe the people of Israel experience…
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.
—Judges 3:12
Here we see again that Eglon and the Moabites are simply the circumstances God uses to bring judgment to his sinful people. In order to understand our place in the story of God, we must rightly understand ourselves. We must recognize and take responsibility for our own sin.
Whenever we read or hear some epic story filled with villains and heroes, we instinctively cast ourselves as the hero. But is that the right view of my own heart? When I find myself in a pressure and stressful situation, where everything feels against me, I am so prone not to courage or godly heroism, but to self-pity. Maybe you can relate. I am so prone to view myself as a helpless, innocent sufferer, prone to incredible self-pity and a “woe is me” attitude. But it is texts like Judges 3, and the entire book of Judges really, that help us refrain and reorient our view of ourselves rightly. We are not innocent sufferers, and our circumstances are no excuse to sinful attitudes of unbelief.
To clarify, I am not saying that any suffering you experience is a direct result of your sin. No, the Bible makes clear that there really are wicked people out there, and there really are hard providences beyond your control. But what we are to remember is that I am always responsible for myself and my own heart—and I am prone to wander and to sin, just like the rebellious Israelites. The proper response to the Israelite situation is not to view it at arm's length, chastising them with a “how could you!” accusation—rather, we ought to see it as an alarm and mirror. That could be us.
All of this sets the stage for the entrance of a second character…
The Hero
Notice, right away, that what prompted the Lord raising up Ehud is not that the people suddenly realized the error of their ways, suddenly felt conviction to repent and believe—no, all the text tells us is that they “cried out to the Lord.” Not a cry of sorrow for their sin, but a cry of pain, just wanting it to stop. And the Lord, in his mercy, responds by raising up a new judge, Ehud.
Everything about this Ehud character makes him an unlikely hero. First, the tribe of Benjamin was a small tribe, descended from the youngest son of Jacob, who constantly needed help and support from the stronger and more faithful Judah. Not much was expected from the tribe of Benjamin, so when the narrator focuses in on the deliverer who God raises up, and he’s a Benjamite, there are some eyebrows raised.
Also, to make the irony and humor even more pronounced, he is identified as a left-handed man. Why the humor? Well, the name Benjamin literally means “son of my right-hand”, and here we have a left-handed son of a right hand. Things are not what they seem.
After mentioning that it was God who raised him up, the action follows not the Lord, but his unlikely agent. And the more we follow the action, the more we see that this Ehud is not just skilled with his left hand, but he is presented as an exceptionally clever and resourceful man, a master of deceit, courageous and driven, and the antithesis to the Moabite dull-wittedness.
Ehud is designated by some process to bear the tribute due to the gluttonous Eglon. It’s not clear from the text if Ehud knew that this was his moment to act in order to call the people back to the Lord—again, he is an ambiguous hero. But what we do know is that he saw his opportunity, and he intended to make the most of it.
Ehud’s deception and cleverness are repeated as he makes a special sword that will be concealed on his right thigh. And as he approaches the king to make tribute, the author takes pains to describe Eglon as a “very fat man”—the “little calf” has been fattened for the slaughter.
After presenting the tribute, proving his counterfeit loyalty, Ehud turns back and announces he has a secret message for the king. And the obese and vain king clears the room, eager for more and more intake of gold and glory.
The graphic detail of the execution is confronting. From the announcement of the message of the Lord, to the plunging of the blade into the fat belly, to the fat enveloping the blade, to the “dung” on the floor—all of it meant to show the humiliation of the defeat of the enemy, and the supreme justice of God over wicked rulers. Everything about this scene shows the elite, tactical, and precise nature of Ehud, and the buffoonery, stupidity, and dim-wittedness of Eglon and his court.
So confident is Eglon, so prone to vainglory, that he sends all his guards out at the prospect of a secret message, possibly further tribute from some far-off god. So total is his defeat that all that remains of the fat king, the mighty ruler of Moab, is his corpse and a pile of feces. So half-witted are his court that they assume that it is far more likely that he has soiled himself and fallen asleep then something has happened with the foreigner that they locked in the room with their king all alone. All of it leading to Ehud’s escape and his eventual rallying of the nation to drive the Moabites back. What a story!
But what are we to make of Ehud and his legendary exploits? Is this really all how God would have it? What does the Lord have to do with such messy, gross, graphic, deceitful characters and their exploits? How could the Isrealites, or we for that matter, rejoice in the dubious and questionable events of Ehud and Eglon?
Dale Ralph Davis gives an excellent answer to that question in his commentary when he says…
Because [Israel’s] God and our God is not a God who stands off by himself in the chaos of our times. Isn't it true that for some…life right now is like those wild, uncontrollable, rampaging days of the judges? Don't some of God's people today have to confess that life seems to have gone haywire, perhaps due to their own folly and sin and stupidity? Is Yahweh in touch with times like that? Does he bring his help near his people then?
—Dale Ralph Davis
Isn’t that so true for us? How many of us have thought, “man, our culture, our country is in chaos. This election is wild. How can God work this out?” Or maybe you thought about the chaos and mess of your own life and asked, “How could God come have anything to do with me? My life is too messy. It’ll never change…it’ll always be this way.” Dale Ralph Davis has thoughts once again…
And [this] is the glory of this passage: it tells us that Yahweh deals with the dirty, mixed-up affairs of life in which his people find themselves.
—Dale Ralph Davis
But all of this drama, all of this mess, the heroes and the villains are not meant to hold our attention, but to stir up and point our attention to someone greater.
The third and final character…
The Savior
No matter our view of Ehud and his ethics, God has given his verdict on him (v. 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.
—Judges 3:15
The Hebrew word translated here as “deliverer” can also be translated as “savior”. Despite our qualms, the Lord raised up Ehud for a singular purpose—to save his people from the wicked Moabites. We see further evidence of this when Ehud makes his daring escape and makes it back from enemy territory. He rallied the nation, blowing the trumpet of war, awakening their resolve to push back the evil horde, all because the Lord had given them into their hands. And because of this, they drove the Moabites back across the Jordan, and the land was at rest.
No matter the epic story or graphic details, the theme of Ehud’s story is clear—the salvation of the Lord. Despite the mess, despite their sin, despite everything, the Lord is working all things for the good of his people and is committed to keep his word, to save them and to keep them.
The sovereign Lord, the true King of Kings, causes nations to rise and fall, kings to be crowned and deposed, all according to his righteous plans. The sin of the people will not overcome the mercy and faithfulness of the covenant God. He is their God and they are his people. Our God knows us, far better than we know ourselves.
Their mess was not too messy for God. Your mess is not too messy for God. The result of the victory over Moab is a repeated theme in the cycle of the judges—the nation and the people experience rest. They experience peace. And whenever we get there, you just want the story to say “and it remained that way forever and everyone lived happily ever after.”
But of course, we know the cycle. After the events of Ehud the King-slayer, 80 years pass. 2 full generations. The Israelite generation who were alive for the events were faithful, and knew the goodness and salvation of the Lord. The second generation assumed it, taking the security won by Ehud and their fathers for granted. And right on schedule, the third generation abandoned it, bringing judgment back on them and needing, once again to be saved.
That very danger is still present for us today. That same temptation to just assume the good news of the gospel is ever present. What will keep us from joining in the frustrating recurrence of sin and apostasy? Ehud, and all of the judges, were a kindness and mercy from the Lord, but over and over again they fell away. When will it ever change?
The irony of a left-handed Benjamite rising up to save Israel from their mess is one thing. But what about the very son of God, born to a humble carpenter and his wife in a stable in Bethlehem, born into our mess, taking on our flesh, who grew up in Nazareth—nothing good comes from Nazareth!—who would grow to depose another usurper, slay another dragon, and secure for his people an everlasting peace. Paul spells this out in Galatians 4…
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
—Galatians 4:4–5
Or again in Romans 5…
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
—Romans 5:1–2
We are not saved by our own hands, and we are not saved by the left-hand of some assassin, but we are saved by the nail-pierced hands of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Despite our mess, despite our sin, our God has raised up a true savior, Jesus Christ the son of God, who took on our sin, and delivered us from our most pressing problem—our own sin. That is the miracle of the good news of the gospel. We were lost, not even crying out for a savior, but running away from him, by nature children of wrath. But because of his great mercy, we have been made alive, delivered from our sin, and now can experience real and lasting peace.
Don’t you want that peace? Don’t you want to be free from the bondage of your sin? Don’t you long for rest? If you are here today and you feel like the Israelites, buried under your own mess and under the thumb of your sin, do not leave here today without knowing that you can be freed from it. That is exactly why Jesus came and lived and bled and died and rose again—so that you might experience that joy and freedom!
In his sovereignty, the Lord is working all things for the good of those who love him. What Eglon and the people and what we intended for evil, God intends for our good. All circumstances are an occasion for joy. Do you believe that? Do you thank God for the storms intended to draw you to his shores? The story of Israel and Moab, Ehud and Eglon, are meant to remind you of the reality of our sin, and of the discipline of the Father, and the salvation of the Lord in Christ Jesus. So rest in him today.