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!