Read Judges 3: 15-23 (New Living Translation)
We must know and remember our Legends. Some are good examples to follow, while others are cautionary tales of faith. Know that the wrong memories will push you under rather than moving you forward.
This new lesson series will help you consider how these nobodies became "Legends" despite their failures. The goal is to explore how you can also be a legendary "Judge" of the Christian Faith. Being a "Judge" doesn't require perfection, but rather a "Fear of the Lord."
This new sermon series will look at the most prominent judges of Israel who oversaw the nation between Joshua's death and the establishment of the monarchy. This lesson series will help you identify the past, present, and future legends of our faith. And here is a hint. They all point to Jesus as Lord! Join us as we pay attention to the right "Legends" of our faith.
Today we will explore the second Judge of Israel. Ehud is the underdog, the one that no one saw coming. His people (Israel) did not think much of Ehud—Just a massager boy to pay tribute to the adversary. However, God had other plans and knew Ehud's craftiness and unapologetic perseverance, making Ehud one of the 12 Judges of Israel. Today, you will see how Ehud was determined to follow God to the end and set God's people free, even if that led him to do some undesirable things.
Begin by paying attention to verse 15, part B. You will see that Ehud was a left-handed man tasked to deliver Israel's tribute (Money) to the King Eglon of Moab. The Scripture doesn't say why Ehud was picked for the task; however, what we know is that killing the King was not part of the plan. So why go? Well, because of God. Think about Isaiah 6:8 – We believe that Ehud said, here I am. Send me. So it wasn't that Ehud was chosen or chose to be a Judge, he simply surrenders himself to God, and God did the rest.
In the book of Judges, we see a pattern: It consists of Apostasy (the abandonment or renunciation of faith, after being aware of the presence of God in one's life), Hardship, Crying out to the Lord, and Rescue by the hand of God. We can affirm all this because Ehud (Judges 3:20) says that he is an emissary of God. That we came the first time to pay the money but came back because of God. Now, Ehud's plant was straightforward… Show up, kill the King, and escape. Now many people simply pay attention to the fact that Ehud killed the King, but today we will pay attention to the NLT "New Living Translation" of the Bible, which states that Ehud escapes by doing through the toilet system. This matters to us because it reminds us that even when we say, "Here I am, send me," it doesn't mean that everything is going to go down easy. Often when we do what God wants us to do, we get into some very undesirable situations. After all, remember… what Did Jesus do?! Jesus endured, persevere, even descended into hell, all to help you be set free from eternal death! Ehud represents that even a "Sinister" can be used for God's purposes.
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