In the book of Judges we learned how, “the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present. But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto you, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlor, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto you. And he arose out of his seat.”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-one of Judges, we learn how Ehud, “took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly” where we read,
And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh,
and thrust it into his belly:
The verse reads, “And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, …” The writer began with the words, “and Ehud” whose name means “I will give thanks or I will be praised” “put forth his left hand” or “stretched out and extended his left side physical hand”; “and took the dagger” which means “and fetched, lay hold of and acquired the sharpened knife” “from his right thigh” or “separate and apart from his, Ehud’s, right side thigh of his leg”. The writer shared how “Ehud” stretched out his “left” physical “hand” and lay hold of the sharpened knife from the right hand thigh of his leg.
The verse goes on to say, “… and thrust it into his belly:” The writer continued with the words, “and thrust it” which means “and smote and drove it, the sharpened knife”, “into his belly” or “in his, Eglon’s, abdomen or stomach”. The writer shared how “Ehud” drove the sharpened knife in the stomach or abdomen of “Eglon”.
When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how to”Ehud” took his “left hand”, seized his sharpened knife from the right side thigh of his leg and drove it into the abdomen of “Eglon”. What a “message from God” this was! God was avenging His people Israel from the oppression of “Eglon”, and we shall see how this act set the people of Israel free. God loves Israel, and when He saved them through “Ehud”, it became a wonderful type of how He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we yield to His Son Jesus as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to trust Him with all those who would attempt to keep us from our relationship with Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Isaiah 54:17)
Next time we learn how, “the haft also went in after the blade”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".