Eglon the Oppressor

Ok, I’ll ask - Why, the poop?

Judges 3:12-28

Once again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because of their evil. ¹³ Eglon enlisted the Ammonites and Amalekites as allies, and then he went out and defeated Israel, taking possession of Jericho, the city of palms. ¹⁴ And the Israelites served Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.

¹⁵ But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab. ¹⁶ So Ehud made a double-edged dagger that was about a foot^[b] long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing. ¹⁷ He brought the tribute money to Eglon, who was very fat.

¹⁸ After delivering the payment, Ehud started home with those who had helped carry the tribute. ¹⁹ But when Ehud reached the stone idols near Gilgal, he turned back. He came to Eglon and said, “I have a secret message for you.”

So the king commanded his servants, “Be quiet!” and he sent them all out of the room.

²⁰ Ehud walked over to Eglon, who was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you!” As King Eglon rose from his seat, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly. ²² The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king’s fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king’s bowels emptied.^[c] 23 Then Ehud closed and locked the doors of the room and escaped down the latrine.^[d]

²⁴ After Ehud was gone, the king’s servants returned and found the doors to the upstairs room locked. They thought he might be using the latrine in the room,²⁵ so they waited. But when the king didn’t come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the doors, they found their master dead on the floor.

²⁶ While the servants were waiting, Ehud escaped, passing the stone idols on his way to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Ehud sounded a call to arms. Then he led a band of Israelites down from the hills.

²⁸ “Follow me,” he said, “for the Lord has given you victory over Moab your enemy.” So they followed him. And the Israelites took control of the shallow crossings of the Jordan River across from Moab, preventing anyone from crossing.

²⁹ They attacked the Moabites and killed about 10,000 of their strongest and most able-bodied warriors. Not one of them escaped. ³⁰ So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and there was peace in the land for eighty years.

I have to ask – WHY GOD? Just, WHY???????

A friend said that this story was one that she had trouble understanding and I have to agree– this incredibly graphically nastily gross story. Why is it so descriptive? Why is it in here in such a way? What is the message that God is trying to get across to us by describing bowels being emptied in such a grotesque way.

It got me to thinking for sure. I had to wonder – why?

Now there is a sure fire way for learning the secrets to the Word of God: Ask.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matt 7:7-8

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

So that is exactly what I did. I prayed, and I asked the LORD what it was that He had for me to learn from super disgusting story.

And it dawned on me

Eglon – is the way we need to see our sin.

We see sin as pretty, attractive, alluring, desirable, and we long for it. We seek it. We look for ways to sneak it into our Christian lives, but to God, it’s as desirable as Eglon sitting there, excrement spilling out all over the ground, the leader of destruction and oppression.

We may not feel like sin is destructive or ugly, but it is. It takes over your life and fills it with the putrid filth of selfishness and nasty disdain for others. It takes captives mercilessly and oppresses the rights of the innocent.

When we face the obstacles of our faith, often we feel like we’re turning down delicious options that we wish we could have, like dessert trays that we almost can’t turn down.

But sin isn’t dessert! It’s wrong. It’s choosing to do something that is destructive and hurtful instead of what is morally pure and good.

In a word – it’s EGLON.

So the next time you’re faced with a decision of what to do, ask God to help you see sin the way it TRULY it is – not disguised by Satan, but in the light of God’s Word. As ugly as that terrible oppressor, Eglon.

May we all have the same bravery that one left handed judge did, and just as he cut down his oppressor through the power of God, may we have the same victory over the sin that oppresses us!

The Poor Widow

The Poor Widow

the woman who gave all

Depending on God

Mark 12:41-44 Luke 21:1-4 1 Peter 5:6-7

One thing I loved, learning about Job, was that he was such a Godly man, that the LORD Himself, used Him as an example.  God “bragged” on him a little you might say.  It is truly something, to have pleased the Holy God, Creator and Sustainer, to that degree.  Here, we see a similar person.  From a worldly perspective, this woman couldn’t have less in common with Job.  He was well-known, rich, a philanthropist, and wise man – sought for counsel daily, a great leader among men.  And this widow, well, we don’t even know her name.  She had no social standing, no political power, no family, and definitely no wealth.  But what she (and our good buddy Job) had was that she pleased God.  She depended on Him.  She was devoted to Him, and trusted Him with EVERYTHING. When Jesus describes this widow, He uses the Greek word, ptochos, which means reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms.  A second definition listed is destitute of wealth, influence, position, honour.  She had NOTHING.  This woman had no means to take care of herself.  At this time in history, women couldn’t just go out and get a job.  Your standing in life was dictated by your marriage.  She had no husband to look after her, and she had to literally beg for food.  She was left with only grief.  Her circumstances are hard to imagine for us ladies who live in luxury, freedom, and a society where women can be self-reliant.  This woman was every day, every moment, at the mercy of others.  She truly had NOTHING. Except two mites. Two measly mites – even for that time, two mites was equivalent to less than a penny today.  But when you have nothing – two mites is a lot.  It is the difference of being hungry and having bread.  Of feeling worthwhile, and feeling like a failure.  But to this special, extraordinary woman, it meant something else – it meant having something to give God.  And she didn’t give Him part of what she had.  She gave Him ALL. And that’s what caught the eye of Jesus. There were plenty of people giving that day, and they were giving much more substantial amounts than this woman.  These would be the kind of people we like to see come to church.  People who dress nicely or say the right things.  (Imagine how you would treat a smelly, homeless person who walked in off the street to participate in Sunday Morning worship – maybe fearful, avoiding, etc.)  They give handsomely when the plate is passed round.  But that’s not what Jesus asks.  He does want (and expect!) our tithe (which rightfully belongs to the LORD), but He also wants our ALL.  This woman threw everything she had in the offering.  Everything.  Doing so, she was saying, LORD I depend on You for all my needs.  How many of us, give God ALL?  Not many.  We would rather give some – maybe even a lot… but not all.  We hold back things that we don’t trust God to take care of, and we feel we are better suited to handle ourselves.  I like to call these – “the things with a plan”.  For example, if I have a plan on how to meet my need for my breakfast this morning (maybe I have food at work or at home, or I have cash to pick something up at a restaurant), since I have a plan as to how to provide that need, I might tend to forget that I’m still dependant on God for every meal.  Sure, when I say grace before I eat, I thank Him for my pancake, but I may not truly mean that.  I’m not depending on God, but my $5 bill and the McDonald’s drive thru.  Jesus needs us to remember that every breath we take, every beat of our heart is at the mercy of our Creator, and He will do a much better job providing for our needs than we will.  By giving to the Lord EVERYTHING, including – “the things with a plan”, relying on Him rather than our own means of doing things, that’s how we please Christ.   God is ready and willing to provide all of our needs, but He wants all of our hearts to be dependent on Him.

Life Lesson:  God wants our ALL, not just our tithe, or surplus.  He wants us to count on Him to provide all our needs.

Just like the widow gave her ALL, and counted on God for her needs, we need to always give God everything and trust Him to provide.

The wealthy who cast in their surplus, made a favorable impression on many that day, but not Jesus.  God is not pleased by getting our “extra”, He wants our ALL.

A good way to examine your own heart, is to compare your behavior with the Bible’s clear instructions.  Sin is just another way for us to say, I know better than You do, Lord.  Anytime we choose to base our decisions (no matter how small) on our own methods and not the Bible, we are counting on ourselves, and not God.  Jesus says, I want your ALL.  Trusting His methods means trusting His Word.  Try and think of an area of your life where you struggle with sin – How does the Bible say to handle that situation?  Show God that you are depending on Him, by following His methods and not your own in that particular situation in your life.  (This is how we taste and see that the LORD is good!)

Prayer:  Lord, I pray that You would be my Sustainer in all areas of my life.  I beg that You would be in charge of my money, relationships, moods, possessions, talents, abilities, and desires.  I pray that you would help me to give You ownership of all these things.  Help me to learn Your Word and obey It, so that I might be the example that this widow was.  Help me, LORD, to give You ALL. Amen