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 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”, and in chapter three and verse twenty-three of Judges, we learn how, “Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors” where we read,
Then Ehud went forth through the porch,
and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them.
The verse reads, “Then Ehud went forth through the porch, …” The writer began with the words, “then Ehud went forth” which means “at that time Ehud whose name means ‘I will give thanks or I will be praised’ and was a Benjamite judge and deliverer of Israel from Moab” “through the porch” or “by way of the colonnade or internal portico”. The writer shared how “Ehud” escaped through the internal portico with rows of pillars.
The verse goes on to say, “… and shut the doors of the parlor upon him, and locked them.” The writer continued with the words, “and shut the doors” which means “and closed the gate, leaf or lid” “of the parlor upon him” or “belonging to the roof room or chamber on him, Eglon”, “and locked them” which means “and barred, bolted and fastened them, the doors”. The writer shared how “Ehud” closed the gates to the roof chamber where “Eglon” was located and fastened them.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how “Ehud” escaped from the “roof chamber”, exited the “doors” and fastened them when he left. We can imagine this scene as “Eglon” probably fell to the ground dead with the sharpened “dagger” still in his abdomen, and “Ehud” fled before anyone was aware of what happened. This demonstrates God working through His people to defend His cause. God loves the people of Israel, and He loves us. He went to great lengths to show His love toward us when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to be crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him 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 put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and give us the ability to trust Him when He has a plan for the adversaries who rise against us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Psalm 94:22)
Next time we learn, “When he was gone out, his servants came”, 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".
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