After Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he ushered out those who had carried it. After Ehud had finished presenting the tributeEhud, a left-handed Benjamite, was chosen by God to deliver Israel from Moabite oppression. The tribute was a form of tax or offering paid by a subjugated people to their conqueror, in this case, Eglon, the king of Moab. This act of presenting tribute was common in ancient Near Eastern cultures as a sign of submission and servitude. The tribute likely consisted of agricultural produce or precious metals, reflecting the economic burden placed on Israel. This moment sets the stage for Ehud's cunning plan to deliver Israel, highlighting the theme of God using unexpected means and people to achieve His purposes. he ushered out those who had carried it
Ehud's action of sending away the carriers of the tribute indicates his strategic planning. By dismissing them, he ensured that he would be alone with King Eglon, facilitating his assassination plan. This reflects Ehud's wisdom and courage, as he took a significant risk to fulfill God's deliverance of Israel. The carriers were likely fellow Israelites, and their departure signifies Ehud's solitary role in the upcoming act of deliverance. This moment foreshadows the individual responsibility and bravery required to confront evil, a theme echoed throughout Scripture, including in the life of Jesus Christ, who faced His mission alone at critical moments. Persons / Places / Events 1. EhudA left-handed judge of Israel from the tribe of Benjamin, chosen by God to deliver Israel from Moabite oppression. 2. TributeA payment made by the Israelites to Eglon, the king of Moab, as a sign of subjugation and servitude. 3. EglonThe king of Moab who oppressed Israel for eighteen years. 4. MoabA nation located east of the Dead Sea, often in conflict with Israel. 5. IsraelitesThe people of God, who were under Moabite oppression due to their disobedience to God. Teaching Points God's Deliverance through Unlikely MeansEhud, a left-handed man, was an unlikely hero. God often uses unexpected people and methods to accomplish His purposes. The Consequences of DisobedienceIsrael's subjugation to Moab was a direct result of their disobedience to God. This serves as a reminder of the importance of faithfulness. The Role of Courage in God's PlanEhud's bravery in approaching Eglon demonstrates the courage required to follow God's calling, even in dangerous situations. The Importance of RepentanceIsrael's cycle of sin and repentance highlights the need for genuine repentance and turning back to God. God's Sovereignty in Human AffairsDespite Israel's failures, God remained sovereign and orchestrated their deliverance, showing His control over history. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Ehud's left-handedness play a significant role in God's plan for delivering Israel, and what does this teach us about God's use of our unique traits? 2. In what ways does the cycle of sin and deliverance in Judges reflect our own spiritual journeys, and how can we break free from this cycle? 3. How can we apply the lesson of Israel's disobedience and subsequent oppression to our own lives in terms of the consequences of turning away from God? 4. What are some modern-day "tributes" or burdens we carry that signify our subjugation to sin, and how can we seek deliverance through Christ? 5. How does the account of Ehud encourage us to act courageously in our faith, and what are some practical steps we can take to be bold in our Christian walk? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 28Discusses blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, which provides context for why Israel was under Moabite oppression. Judges 2:16-19Describes the cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance that characterizes the period of the judges. 1 Samuel 8:5-20The Israelites' request for a king, showing their desire for human leadership over divine guidance, similar to their earlier reliance on judges. Romans 6:16Discusses being slaves to sin or righteousness, paralleling Israel's subjugation to Moab due to their disobedience to God. | A Distinct Message | Spurgeon, Charles Haddon | Judges 3:12-30 | | A Message from God | W. Rudder, D. D. | Judges 3:12-30 | | A Message from God | J. Cumming, D. D. | Judges 3:12-30 | | A Message from God | J. B. C. Murphy, B. A. | Judges 3:12-30 | | A Sermon Upon Keys | John Mitchell. | Judges 3:12-30 | | Application of the Truth | | Judges 3:12-30 | | Effective Preachers Compared to Ehud | John McNeill. | Judges 3:12-30 | | Ehud: Left-Handedness | J. Parker, D. D. | Judges 3:12-30 | | God's Messages | J. P. Millar. | Judges 3:12-30 | | I have a Message from God unto Thee | T. Raffles, D. D. | Judges 3:12-30 | | Lessons from the Death of Eglon | T. De Witt Talmage. | Judges 3:12-30 | | Sin -- Suffering; Penitence and Deliverance Repeated | J. P. Millar. | Judges 3:12-30 | | The Christian Minister Bearing a Message from God to Man | H. S. Plumptre, M. A. | Judges 3:12-30 | | The Gospel Message | D. Johnston, D. D. | Judges 3:12-30 | | The Gospel Message | E. Cooper, M. A. | Judges 3:12-30 | | The Summer Parlour | W.F. Bishop. | Judges 3:12-30 | | Unexpected Perils | S. Baring-Gould, M. A. | Judges 3:12-30 | | Ehud | A.F. Muir | Judges 3:15-26 |
People Amalek, Amalekites, Ammonites, Amorites, Anath, Aram, Canaanites, Chushanrishathaim, Chushan-rishathaim, Eglon, Ehud, Gera, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Israelites, Jebusites, Kenaz, Moabites, Othniel, Perizzites, Shamgar, Sidonians, ZidoniansPlaces Canaan, Gilgal, Jordan River, Lebanon, Lebo-hamath, Mesopotamia, Moab, Mount Baal-hermon, SeirahTopics Bare, Bearing, Bore, Bring, Carried, Ehud, Finished, Giving, Offer, Offering, Pass, Present, Presented, Presenting, TributeDictionary of Bible Themes Judges 3:15-26 5941 secrecy Judges 3:17-18 5577 taxation Judges 3:17-22 5858 fat Library Use what You Have
Few people really are and do their best. Nature has blessed a few with great talents and abilities. These persons often become proud, self-centered, and feel themselves to be superior, and for that reason many times they fail to make the proper use of their abilities. How often are they used in a bad or foolish way, so that what might be a blessing to the world fails to be such! There are many others who realize they do not possess these natural gifts. They look upon those who have them, and envy …
Charles Wesley Naylor—Heart TalksGifts and Talents.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him."--Judges iii. 10. We now consider the Holy Spirit's work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit. The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit Whether Baptism Should Take Away the Penalties of Sin that Belong to this Life?
Objection 1: It seems that Baptism should take away the penalties of sin that belong to this life. For as the Apostle says (Rom. 5:15), the gift of Christ is farther-reaching than the sin of Adam. But through Adam's sin, as the Apostle says (Rom. 5:12), "death entered into this world," and, consequently, all the other penalties of the present life. Much more, therefore, should man be freed from the penalties of the present life, by the gift of Christ which is received in Baptism. Objection 2: Further, …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica "This Then is the Message which we have Heard of Him, and Declare unto You, that God is Light,"
1 John i. 5.--"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light," &c. The great design of the gospel is to make up the breach of man's joy, and open up the way to the fulness of it, and therefore it is the good news and glad tidings of great joy, the only best message that ever came to the world. Now it shows unto us the channel that this river of gladness and joy runs into, it discovers what is the way of the conveyance of it to the soul, and what are …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Whether the Old Law Enjoined Fitting Precepts Concerning Rulers?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Old Law made unfitting precepts concerning rulers. Because, as the Philosopher says (Polit. iii, 4), "the ordering of the people depends mostly on the chief ruler." But the Law contains no precept relating to the institution of the chief ruler; and yet we find therein prescriptions concerning the inferior rulers: firstly (Ex. 18:21): "Provide out of all the people wise [Vulg.: 'able'] men," etc.; again (Num. 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men of the ancients of …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
Here we will borrow Josephus' pencil, "Jericho is seated in a plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,--and southward, to the country of Sodom, and the utmost coast of the Asphaltites." Of this mountain mention is made, Joshua 2:22, where the two spies, sent by Joshua, and received by Rahab, are said to "conceal themselves." "Opposite against this, lies a mountain on the other side Jordan, beginning from …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Prophecy of Obadiah.
We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, Caspari has proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, i.e., to the time of Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile, there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this prophecy occupies in …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament The Doctrine of Angels.
I. THEIR EXISTENCE. 1. THE TEACHING OF JESUS. 2. THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. II. THEIR NATURE. 1. CREATED BEINGS. 2. SPIRITUAL BEINGS. 3. GREAT POWER AND MIGHT. 4. VARIOUS GRADES. 5. THE NUMBER OF ANGELS. III. THE FALL OF ANGELS. 1. TIME AND CAUSE. 2. THE WORK OF FALLEN ANGELS. 3. THE JUDGMENT OF FALLEN ANGELS. IV. THE WORK OF ANGELS. 1. THEIR HEAVENLY MINISTRY. 2. THEIR EARTHLY MINISTRY. a) In Relation to the Believer. b) In Relation to Christ's Second Coming. THE DOCTRINE OF ANGELS. We are not …
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Judges 3:18 NIVJudges 3:18 NLTJudges 3:18 ESVJudges 3:18 NASBJudges 3:18 KJV
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