Ehud, a Man Lefthanded

2022-04-10

When Eglon, the king of Moab, rallied the Ammonites and Amalekites against Israel, they subdued the Lord’s people and put them under tribute for 18 years.

The Lord raised up a deliverer for them when they finally called to Him. His chosen vessel of deliverance was “Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded” (Judges 3:15). Being lefthanded might have been a trait a lot of Benjamite warriors possessed (Judges 20:15-16). His task was to deliver the tribute to Eglon. However, after deliverance of the tribute, Ehud had a special “message from God,” a double-edged dagger in his stomach! His lefthanded thrust likely took the king off-guard, being an uncommon trait. He quickly absconded away, gathered troops at Mount Ephraim, and went up against Moab, and defeated them.

This man Ehud was brave, but only because of his confidence in the Lord: “And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over” (Judges 3:28). His confidence for victory was because the Lord had determined it, not he and his men.

This is a part of the Judges of Israel series. To go back to the table of contents, proceed here.