Gone Out and Servants Came - Judges 3:24

In the book of Judges we learned how “Ehud” told “Eglon the king of Moab”, “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 Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-four of Judges we learn, “When he was gone out, his servants came” where we read,

When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, Surely he covers his feet in his summer chamber.

The verse reads, “When he was gone out, his servants came; and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, …” The writer began with the words, “when he was gone out” which means “at the time and moment he, Ehud, departed, left and existed”, “his servants came” or “his, Eglon’s, laborers and workers entered and approached”; “and when they saw that” which means “and at the time and moment they, the servants of Eglon, perceived, discerned and observed the following”, “behold, the doors of the parlor were locked” or “lo, look and consider, the leafs, lids or gates belonging to the roof room and chamber existed as barred, bolted and fastened”, “they said” which means “they, the servants of Eglon, uttered, declared and proclaimed” the following words. The writer said after “Ehud” escaped, the laborers of “Eglon” approached the place where “Eglon” was located. 

The verse continues, “… Surely he covers his feet in his summer chamber.” The writer added the words, “surely he covers his feet” which means “indeed, certainly, truly and verily he, Eglon, hedges, shuts in and protects his, Eglon’s, physical feel” “in his summer chamber” or “within his, Eglon’s, cooling off loft or chamber room”. The writer shared how “Eglon’s servants” thought he certainly must be enclosing his physical feet within his cooling chamber room. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how “Eglon’s servants” went to check on him within his cooling chamber room, and rather than barge into the room to see if he was okay, they decided he must be “covering his feet” as to rest. We shall what the servants do in this story in our next few verses, but for now, let us be mindful that this delay in knowing what really happened allowed “Ehud” to escape. This was God’s plan for the deliverance of Israel from “Eglon”, and because God loves Israel, His plan was certain to work. God has a plan for our lives as well, and it begins with believing in His Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him 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 rely upon Him with every adversary who rises up against us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8: Isaiah 54:15-17)

Next time we learn how the servants, “tarried till they were ashamed … their lord was fallen down dead on the earth”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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