"Everyone Did What Was Right in His Own Eyes" -- Judges 17:1-18:31

The Seventeenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

Several hundred years have passed since Israel entered Canaan and their leader Joshua had died. Generations of Israelites have come and gone, with each succeeding generation more Canaanized than their parent’s generation. Six times, we have read how the people of Israel forgot all about YHWH, how they found themselves threatened by their pagan neighbors, only to cry out to YHWH for deliverance. Six times, YHWH took pity on his people and raised up a “judge” or a deliverer who rescued the Israelites from those nations who sought to conquer or drive them from the land which YHWH had given to them. But now as we turn to the closing chapters of the Book of Judges, it becomes crystal clear that the true enemy facing Israel has little to do with the armies of Israel’s godless neighbors. Israel’s true enemy is Israel. We can see how far Israel has fallen when we consider that in the final five chapters of Judges, YHWH is hardly mentioned. In fact, what characterizes this closing section of Judges is the repeated declaration that “there was no king in Israel, so everyone did what is right in their own eyes.” These chapters of Judges depict a people whose religion is reduced to mere tradition, and who profess one thing but then do another. Having forgotten all about YHWH, the Israelites have become a law unto themselves.

As we resume our series on the Book of Judges, we will quickly finish up the final chapters of this troubling book. I say troubling because as the book unfolds, the people of God fall to ever deeper levels of depravity. By the time we reach the final chapters, Israel’s behavior is indistinguishable from that of their Canaanite neighbors. Long ago, the Israelites stopped determining whether something was right or wrong based upon YHWH’s law. Long ago, the people of Israel forgot all about those miraculous things which YHWH had done to deliver them from their bondage in Egypt. Long ago, the Israelites forgot God’s covenant promises, as well as YHWH’s command to drive the Canaanites from the land which he had given them. Long ago, the Israelites became so comfortable living along side their pagan neighbors, that they openly welcomed Canaanite sons and daughters into their families. In fact, things were so bad that the Israelites actually enjoyed attending religious services in which Canaanite practices were the norm. In other words, long ago, the people of God, forgot about God. The deplorable spiritual condition of Israel depicted in these final chapters (chapters 17-21) is nothing less than a national apostasy.

The Book of Judges opens with the declaration that Joshua has died with Israel settled in the land of promise. Judges ends with the declaration that “in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This tells us that Israel’s struggle throughout this period of redemptive history was to remain faithful after God had given them their inheritance, after the people were living well in the promised land, and during a time when Israel did not have a covenant mediator (such as Moses and Joshua). Soon, the bond between the twelve tribes was fractured, the nation was unable to defend itself from external threats from those nations they had previously defeated, and who were now seeking revenge. YHWH’s people had become as pagan (if not more so) as the Canaanites around them. At the heart of the problem was the complete failure of the Levitic priests to instruct the people of Israel in the ways of the Lord. Instead of catechizing Israel, the Levites merely emulated the Canaanites.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"O Lord God, Please Remember Me" -- Judges 15:1-16:31

The Sixteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

In the days of the judges, the nation of Israel had become so thoroughly Canaanized that even though the people living in the southern part of Israel were forced to endure forty years of oppression at the hands of the dreaded Philistines, we read not a word of the Israelites crying out to YHWH for deliverance. In fact, the Israelites were living side by side with the Philistines, one of Israel’s traditional enemies and fiercest foes, who are described throughout the Old Testament as the “uncircumcised,” a reference to their godlessness. Because YHWH loves his people, he refuses to allow the Israelites to assimilated by the pagan Philistines. Even though the people of Israel are so comfortable living in the midst of the Philistines that they do not cry out to be delivered, YHWH intervenes by sending the angel of the Lord to an unnamed women from the tribe of Dan. The angel informs her that even though she is barren, she will give birth to a son (Samson), who will live as a Nazirite–he will not drink wine, nor strong drink, nor cut his hair. God will use this child to disrupt the cozy relationship between Israel and the Philistines. Samson is a man who is given God’s Spirit, but who struggles with his temper and narcissistic personality, the lusts of the flesh, and who becomes one of the most tragic figures in all of redemptive history.

As we near the end of our series on the Book of Judges, we come the account of Samson, the sixth and final Judge recounted in this book. When we left off last time in Judges 14, Samson had been born to Manoah and his unnamed wife, he had killed a lion with his bare hands, and despite the objection of his parents, had taken a Philistine wife. Although the angel commanded Samson live as a Nazirite, he broke his vow by touching the corpse of a dead animal, and by participating in week-long drunken bash at his new bride’s home. Although Samson was feared by the Philistines because of his great strength–so much so that they posted thirty security guards to keep things from getting out of hand during the wedding–Samson’s response was to mock the guards with a riddle about the lion he had killed, making a bet that they would not be able to come up with the answer to his riddle.

But the Philistines in her home town of Timnah, pressured Samson’s new wife to get her husband to reveal to her the meaning of the riddle. When Samson refuses to tell her what the riddle means, his wife spends the honeymoon week crying, pleading with her husband to tell her his secret. When Samson finally gives in to her at the end of the week, his wife immediately tells the Philistines, who now mock Samson with the answer to the riddle. Samson has lost his bet. In a rage, Samson kills thirty men from a neighboring town, and then gives the thirty security guards in Timnah their countrymen’s clothing and weapons as a payoff for coming up with the correct answer to the riddle. Still in a rage, Samson angrily returns to his father’s house and abandons his wife, leaving her with his best man. Such is the man (Samson) whom God uses to rescue his people (Israel).

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"Behold, You Shall Conceive" -- Judges 13:1-14:20

The Fifteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

Many of us were raised on “Bible stories.” One of the most famous of these is the story of the long-haired Samson, and his evil paramour, Delilah. As we have seen throughout our time in Judges, the various men (and one woman–Deborah) whom we know as the “judges” are raised up by God to rescue his people from their plight whenever Israel falls into sin, and is nearly overcome by neighboring enemies. While many Bible stories present these people as role models for Christians to emulate, the fact of the matter is these people are not role models. Rather, they are living illustrations to us as to how deeply sin is rooted in the human heart, including our own. Gideon is not presented in Judges as an example so I can be a “Gideon.” Gideon is a man who is weak in faith, who needs constant reassurance, and who uses his success in battle as the basis to establish a personal empire. Gideon is not an example for me to follow. Rather, Gideon is a picture to me of . . . me. The judges we meet in this book are all sinners who are used by God to save Israel. But the grim fact is these judges can do absolutely nothing to deal with Israel’s deepest problem–human sin. Therefore, these judges are a constant reminder that while God can and does use sinful men and women to accomplish his purposes, it will take a messiah, who is both God and man, to save us from the guilt and power of sin.

Now that we have made our way nearly to the end of the book of Judges, it is obvious that the Judges we have already met–Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, and Jephthah–would make great characters in a novel, a movie, or even a soap opera. Although God uses them to accomplish his purposes, their sinful behavior, and their personal foibles shock us. Yet, the reality is that these people are just like us. My guess is that the reason that we remember these characters we read about in our youth so vividly into adulthood, is precisely because they are such scoundrels. The best way to prove this my thesis is with a simple question. “Which of Israel’s Judges is the most faithful, and the most successful?”

It is Othniel. Why do we forget about him? Because Othniel was faithful, he married an Israelite, and he did just as YHWH commanded him to do. So, we forget the one Judge who makes the best role model, and who is, in many ways, the very antithesis of the more dramatic Samson–the subject of the next section of Judges. Samson–someone we all remember–is a man who seems trapped between faith in YHWH, and the lusts of the flesh. In this sense, Samson is just like us, struggling with his sins. He is a mighty warrior, even a savior of sorts, and yet Samson is a hot-head and a notorious womanizer. He is given the Holy Spirit, yet he breaks his vows, and stumbles along through life, disobeying the will of God, and suffering the consequences. As we cover the details of his mis-spent life and heroic death, we see yet again, that no sinful human can save our fallen race from the guilt and power of sin.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"Jephthah Made A Vow to the Lord" -- Judges 11:12-12:7

The Fourteenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

We can all think of cases where people do the wrong thing for all the right reasons. The story of Jephthah is just such a case. After the death of Gideon, and the reign of terror brought upon Israel by Gideon’s son, Abimelech, the people of Israel enjoyed a relative period of peace. But during this time of peace, the people of Israel once again turned their backs upon YHWH, and were worshiping and serving the gods of the same seven nations that Israel was to defeat, and then cast from the land of Canaan. Exasperated by Israel’s continuing unbelief, God stirred up two of Israel’s fiercest opponents–the Ammonites and the Philistines–who are described as crushing and oppressing the Israelites. And so the cycle we see throughout the Book of Judges appears yet again in chapters 10-12. The people of Israel have turned their backs upon YHWH. YHWH sent several oppressors, so the people of Israel cry out for deliverance. YHWH then sends Israel another “judge” (a deliverer) who will rescue Israel from its current predicament. This time, the judge is a man named Jephthah, who is one of the most puzzling and perplexing men in all the Bible.

We are continuing our series on the Book of Judges, as we make our way through the balance of Judges 11-12. The context for this particular episode (the account of Jephthah) is given in Judges 11:7, when the author of Judges informs us that two of Israel’s long-standing enemies–the Philistines and the Ammonites–were bringing great distress to Israel. This declaration sets the stage for the final two major judges in this period of redemptive history, Jephthah and Samson. Jephthah will deliver Israel from the Ammonites (the ancestors of the modern day Jordanians), while Samson will deliver Israel from the Philistines (the sea peoples). We will finish up the account of Jephthah. And then we’ll turn to the story of Samson.

As we saw last time, Jephthah was the son of Gilead, and a prostitute. His family (half-brothers and Gilead’s other wives) completely disowned him, cutting him off from the rest of the family, as well as from his inheritance. We were also told that Jephthah left the area and had surrounded himself with a band of thugs. This sort of a personal history makes Jephthah a wild-card. But when a large Ammonite army gathers across the Jordan River from Israel–obviously preparing to cross the river and invade the land of Canaan–the Israelites respond by assembling an army of their own at Mizpah (in the land of Gilead). The problem they faced was that there was no one with the skills to lead the assembled army.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"Against My Father's House" -- Judges 9:1-57

The Eleventh in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

Like the rest of Israel’s judges, Gideon was a mixed bag. When we first met Gideon, he was a timid man, hiding his grain in a winepress. Although double-minded, and constantly seeking signs from God to confirm his call, Gideon was given God’s Spirit, and then led his band of three hundred men to a stunning victory over a huge Midianite army. Since Gideon appears in Hebrews 11:32 (the “hall of faith”), along with several key figures from this period of Israel’s history, we can assume that he is a believer in the promise. But there is another side to Gideon. After chasing the fleeing Midianites across the Jordan, and wiping them out, Gideon then took revenge upon the men of two Israelite cities who refused to help him during the chase. Gideon personally killed the two Midianite kings (Zebah and Zalmmuna) who had killed his own brothers, but only after the two kings insulted Gideon to his face. Although Gideon vehemently refused to become king over Israel, nevertheless, he functioned as a king, established a royal dynasty, and even named his son by a Canaanite concubine, Abimelech, which means “my father is a king.” Finally, Gideon took the gold his men had taken as the spoil of battle, melted it down, and created an “ephod” (a garment worn only by the high priest). We learn that the people of Israel worshiped it, and then turned on Gideon’s family–his seventy sons by a number of wives. Yes, Gideon is a mixed bag. But his son Abimelech isn’t. This man is among the most despicable characters in all the Bible, and serves as an Antichrist figure, seeking to thwart God’s redemptive purposes by wiping out Gideon’s “royal” descendants, and then ruling as a Canaanite, over much of Israel.

We return to our series on Judges, as we take up the story of Abimelech in Judges chapter 9. Although Gideon secured forty years of peace for Israel, and the Midianites had been completely eliminated as a threat to Israel, Gideon also established a royal dynasty with his many wives and seventy sons in his home town of Ophrah, where the people of Israel came to worship the ephod he had made. Sadly, this had become a snare to Gideon’s family, as well as to all of Israel. Chapter nine of Judges describes this rather deplorable state of affairs, depicting an era of violence, deceit and paganism, that one commentator describes as reading “like a page out of a Canaanite history book.” Throughout this series so far, we have been speaking of the Canaanization of Israel, with the account of Abimelech, we’ll see exactly what that means. The people of Israel forgot about YHWH, and all that he had done for Israel. Sadly, everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"The Lord Will Rule Over You" -- Judges 8:4-35

The Eleventh in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

Like many of you, I recall hearing countless sermons throughout the years which were basically character studies of the great saints from redemptive history. One of those saints was Gideon. If all you had was Judges 6-7 and Hebrews 11, you could reasonably conclude that Gideon was a great man of God, whom God used to save Israel at one of the nation’s darkest hours. That’s why the Gideon Society chose his name when beginning their world-wide ministry of distributing Bibles. In fact, the Gideons tell us that “Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character.” But when you read the rest of the story of Gideon–Judges 8:4-35–it becomes all too clear that Gideon was a sinful man who used his power to take revenge upon his enemies. It was Gideon who made an ephod (a priestly garment) which became a stumbling block for the people of Israel. Therefore, Gideon’s character should be studied by all of us. Why? Is he a role model? No. We study him because we are just like him. We too are sinful from head to toe, and the only truly good things we do stem from the fact that God works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. When left to ourselves, we’ll do just as Gideon did–we’ll use the good gifts God has given to us for our own personal gain and benefit.

As we continue our study of the Book of Judges, we are in that section of Judges which deals with the fifth in the series of judges (deliverers) whom God sent to rescue his people from a cruel oppressor. In Judges 6:1-8:3 (the first part of Judges’ account of the life of Gideon), we have seen God take this timid man and transform him into a mighty warrior who devised an audacious plan to defeat the Midianites, who were brutally oppressing the Israelites, to the point that many of God’s people were forced to live in caves or hide in the mountains. We have seen that the vacillating Gideon repeatedly sought a sign from the Lord to confirm his call and ensure that YHWH would fight on Israel’s side. When Gideon learned from a Midianite sentry that YHWH was going to give Israel a stunning victory over a huge Midianite army, finally, Gideon was willing to do as the Lord had commanded.

As YHWH commanded, Gideon pared down his army from 32,000 to 300 men. This was to make it crystal clear that YHWH gave Israel the victory when Gideon led his men into the Midianite camp in the middle of the night when Gideon’s men sounded their trumpets, smashed jars, lit torches, and shouted their battle cry. The Midianites were caught completely off-guard and panicked when they thought that an enemy army was in the midst of their camp. As the Midianites fled en masse east toward the Jordan River from whence they had come, Gideon called out the Israelite army who chased the Midianites back toward the Jordan, while the men of Ephraim (a neighboring tribe) were sent ahead of the Midianite army to take and hold the crossing points on the Jordan River. The men of Ephraim managed to capture two Midianite princes Oreb and Zeeb, who, apparently had caused the Israelites much grief during the Midianite oppression. These two princes were beheaded, their heads were given Gideon as the spoils of war. Although Midian had been defeated, soon they will be eliminated as a threat to Israel.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"As the Sand that Is on the Seashore" -- Judges 7:1-8:3

The Tenth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

Gideon is yet another in the series of Israel’s unlikely judges. By nature, Gideon was a timid man. The youngest son of Joash, on whose land stood a shrine dedicated to Canaanite gods Baal and Ashtoreth, Gideon’s family was an unimportant clan from the tribe of Manasseh, living near Ophrah in the Jezreel Valley. But when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and summoned him to be the next judge to rescue Israel from its current oppressor (the Midianites), Gideon is transformed from a double-minded man into a skilled leader, a man who will now guide Israel to a stunning victory over a vastly superior enemy. But once the peace is secured and Midian has been defeated, Gideon will use his power and prestige to take personal revenge on his enemies, and he will refuse to be Israel’s king. But when Gideon creates an Ephod (a priestly garment), which became an object of worship in Israel, and a snare to both Gideon and his family, his legacy is sadly tarnished. Yes, Gideon was transformed into a mighty warrior and he delivered his people while facing overwhelming odds. But Gideon is clearly a sinful man, and his time as judge reminds us that Israel needs a king, and that YHWH must send a Messiah to save his people from our sins, something no earthly judge can do.

As we resume our series on the Book of Judges, we are in the midst of that section of this book which deals with the life of Gideon. The story of Gideon has three main parts. In the first part of the story (6:1-8:3) we learn of God’s call of Gideon to be the fifth in a series of judges (deliverers). Throughout this first section, the focus is upon Gideon’s personal transformation from a timid man into a skilled warrior, as we read of YHWH’s stunning defeat of a vastly superior Midianite army. In the second part of the story (8:4-23), we will see how Gideon’s fame and power led to his own sense of self-aggrandizement, as Gideon’s legacy is greatly tarnished. Finally, we see the sad consequences of all of this in Judges 8:29-9:57 (the third part of the account of Gideon) with the account of Abimalech, Gideon’s son by a concubine. As one writer puts it, Israel’s history during the reign of Abimalech sounds more like a chapter from a Canaanite history book than the history of God’s covenant people. Like the other judges we have seen, Gideon is a mixed bag. When given God’s Spirit, he acts heroically, yet by nature he is a weak and vacillating man, who, after defeating the Midianites, leaves the nation in as poor a shape (if not worse), than it was when God called him.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"Please, Lord, How Can I Save Israel?" -- Judges 6:1-40

The Ninth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

By now the basic plot line for the Book of Judges is becoming quite familiar to us. Four times we have heard of how the people of Israel fell away from YHWH and began to do what is right in their own eyes. We have seen how doing what the people Israel thought was “right” meant behaving like Canaanites and worshiping Canaanites gods. We have seen that YHWH’s response to Israel’s disobedience was to raise up a series of neighboring tribes who would then defeat and oppress the people of God until the Israelites cried out to YHWH for deliverance. And when things got so bad that the people of Israel finally cried out to the Lord, YHWH responded to his people by raising up a series of “judges” (or a rescuers) to save his people, and help them throw off their current oppressor. As we have seen, the judges God sent to Israel are often the most unlikely of people, and the way in which God uses them to rescue Israel is completely unexpected.

As we move into the next cycle of judges, we take up the story of Gideon. This is the most complex cycle we find in this book (100 verses) eclipsing even the account of the more famous Samson (96 verses). The story of Gideon has three distinct parts. The first part (6:1-8:3) tells the story of God sending an oppressor upon Israel (the Midianites) along with the account of God’s rescue of Israel by raising up Gideon as a warrior who will lead Israel to another stunning victory. Throughout this first section, it is clear that it is YHWH who sovereignly calls Gideon to lead his people, and it is YHWH who is completely responsible for Israel’s dramatic victory over their Midianite oppressors.

The second part of the story (8:4-28) deals with Gideon’s status as a warrior and his sinful and self-aggrandizing behavior. While Gideon is mentioned in the Book of Hebrews as a man of faith, and indeed, Gideon accomplishes what the Lord wants done–a defeat of the Midianites–eventually Gideon sees the power of his office as the means by which to take revenge upon several of his personal enemies. Sadly, in this part of the story, YHWH’s name virtually disappears, except when he’s flippantly mentioned on the lips of Gideon. Then, in the third part of the story, which includes the account of Gideon’s son through a concubine, Abimalech (Judges 8:29-9:57), the author of Judges once again points out the surprising extent of Canaanization then prevalent in Israel. God’s people have fallen to new lows, it seems. Israel needs a king (which God will give them during the time of the monarchy), but it should now be clear to all that it will take God in human flesh to rescue his people from the guilt and power of sin, something this series of human judges could never accomplish.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"God Subdued Jabin" -- Judges 3:31-4:24

The Seventh in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

In the days of Israel’s judges, the people of God found themselves surrounded by pagans on virtually every side. There was the Aramean empire of Cushan-rishathaim to the northeast. Then there were a number of old enemies to the southeast, just across the Jordan River: the Moabites, Ammonites, and Amlekites. To the northwest, there were the fierce Philistines, living in what is now Lebanon, but who traveled by boat and terrorized all those living along the coast. And then there were Canaanites of every sort, living within Canaan as well as on various areas of the frontier. In effect, Israel was surrounded. Although YHWH had promised to be Israel’s shield and defender, the people of Israel continued to forget YHWH, worship Canaanite “gods,” and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Given the geo-political realities of the age, there was no shortage of enemies for YHWH to raise up to chasten his disobedient people so that they would cry out to him for deliverance. Because he has pity on his people, YHWH responded to Israel’s trials by sending his people a series of judges (deliverers), who lead Israel to victory over these enemies and who secure for them a time of peace. And this pattern plays out again and again in this book.

As we continue our series on the Book of Judges, we have seen a number of rather interesting things playing out on the stage of redemptive-history. Throughout this period of Israel’s history, God’s sovereignty has been evident as he directs the affairs of both men and nations. To chasten his disobedient people, YHWH will raise up a pagan nation and its leader, who will come and oppress Israel whenever they turn away from YHWH, worship false gods, and then do what is right in their own eyes. And when the people of Israel have finally had enough of their oppressor and cry out to YHWH to be rescued from the current crisis, YHWH takes pity on Israel and raises up someone who will deliver them from the current crisis. These individuals sent by God to rescue his people are known as “judges.” And while they serve to rescue Israel from its current crisis, the judges can do nothing to improve the spiritual condition of Israel, whose condition largely stems from the failure of the Levitical priesthood to instruct the people in the ways of the Lord. If this period of Israel’s history shows us anything, it is that Israel needs a king (which will come to pass with the monarchy), and that the solution to human sin cannot come about by human means. It will take a divine Messiah, who is God in human flesh, to save God’s people from the guilt and power of sin.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here

"The Hand of the LORD" -- Judges 3:12-30

The Sixth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Judges

You have probably heard me say that the Bible is an “earthy” book. I say this because of passages like the one before us. When we read the account of Ehud–the shifty left-handed assassin–and Eglon–the obese bad guy–it becomes clear that we can’t expect the Bible to conform to the socially accepted standards of Victorian England. To the prudish Victorian’s chagrin, the Bible describes bodily functions, it depicts all kinds of sinful behavior (including sexual behavior) and the Bible makes no bones about how foolish and sinful people can be. In the very “earthy” passage we are covering this Lord’s Day, the author of Judges takes delight in poking fun at Eglon’s weight and even describes a crowd of people waiting outside the toilet while Eglon relieves himself. The Bible doesn’t tell us these things to entertain us or make us laugh. The Bible (in this case the author of Judges) describes what really happened in the days of Ehud–one of the judges whom God raised up to rescue Israel from their enemies. That said, what did happen is funny, and the author of Judges intentionally uses this humor to make an important theological point. God will rescue his people in the most surprising and mysterious of ways. And human behavior, while sinful, is often times so foolish as to be funny.

We resume our series on the Book of Judges. Last time, we covered the bare-bones account of Othniel in Judges 3:7-11. Othniel was a man whom God raised up to rescue Israel from eight years of oppression at the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia. In that very brief account, there are virtually no details given about what happened. We are only told that when YHWH called Othniel to rescue Israel from king “double-evil” from the east, YHWH placed his Spirit upon Othniel, who was then empowered to led Israel to victory over their enemy. That victory over Cushan-rishathaim, ensured that Israel would have forty years of peace. But even in this short report of Othniel, we see the familiar pattern found throughout this section of Judges. Israel turns away from YHWH and so YHWH sends an oppressor. The people of God then cry out to YHWH for help, before YHWH has pity on his people and sends them a rescuer (deliverer, judge), who then defeats those oppressing Israel. The outcome is that Israel enjoys a time of peace, before the whole process repeats itself.

But unlike the account of Othniel, our passage for this Lord’s day is replete with all kinds of interesting information–in fact, there may be too much information here. We learn that YHWH’s chosen deliverer is an assassin named Ehud, who is distinguished because he is “left-handed.” This is significant, because if you were to look up “right hand” in a concordance, you’ll find a significant number of references to God’s “right-hand” which he is said to stretch out, the symbol of his might and power. But Ehud, Israel’s unlikely deliverer, is left-handed. In fact, as one writer tells us, this whole account of Israel’s second judge is “left-handed,” meaning that what happens in this passage is totally unexpected, especially if we contrast this account with the earlier business-like account of Othniel which had no similar details.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here