God Has Exercised Brutal Judgement Against Those Who Oppose Him

Good day lieutenants of Christ! Today I am going to remind you once again that God has exercised brutal judgement against those who oppose Him! But, what about it?

Have you heard the story about Ehud? Judges 3:12-30 talks all about it!

Well, Israel continued to sin against God, and was soon conquered by Eglon King of Moab. Eglon made them suffer under his power, and the Israelites once again cried out to God for help. So God sent Ehud to deliver Israel from the oppression, which Ehud killed Eglon and made peace for Israel the next 80 years!

Ehud was the person used by God to deliver Israel from the Moabites. And Eglon was the King of Moab, who oppressed Israel for 18 miserable years! However, he was assassinated by Ehud in his summer palace.

The Main Event:

How is it that, time and time again, the Israelites just didn't get it? God had been crystal clear: "Obey me and find blessing; turn away from me and find trouble."

Whatever the reason, the Israelites clearly did not listen. Once again they found themselves in a mess of their own making. In response to their evil actions, the Lord allowed the Moabites to ride into town and take control for 18 years! The result was nearly two decades of domination at the hands of King Eglon.

After considerable suffering, the Israelites finally came to their senses and turned back to God. His gracious response was to send a lefty named Ehud. This guy was all business. With the cunning of a secret agent and the steely nerves of a Navy SEAL, Ehud concocted and executed a daring plan!

Ehud was selected to deliver Israel's annual payment (called a "tribute") to the Moabites. After making the payment, he requested a meeting with Eglon, claiming to have a secret message for him. Little did the king know, Ehud was armed was dangerous. Being left-handed, Ehud had managed to conceal a dagger on the side where no one would have expected one to be. When the two men were alone in the king's private quarters, Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." With that, he whipped out the dagger and jammed it so hard and so far into Eglon's fat belly that the knife completely disappeared - the entire handle could not be seen either!

Quickly and quietly, Ehud took off. Gathering some fighters, he led the Israelites in a lightning strike against the occupation army. When the dust settled, the battlefield was littered with more than 10,000 bloody Moabite bodies. Israel was free again, and the people enjoyed peace for 80 years!

The Outcome:

This strange, bloody story reminds us that God can use us just the way we are! Being left-handed in Ehud's day was considered an oddity, if not an outright handicap! Supposedly lefties were at a huge disadvantage in military situations. Ehud could have bought into the conventional wisdom of his day and declared himself unable, unfit and unusable! Instead, when God called, Ehud answered. He made himself available to the Lord, and God used his so-called weakness to give Israel a great victory!

What about you? What weaknesses or quirks do you have? How might God use those for his glory? Are you willing to present yourself, just as you are, to God in order to accomplish his work?

My final question is are you with God, or against God?

Matthew 12:30 says, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters". Jesus told this to the Pharisees when they were thinking evil thoughts about Jesus! Remember, God has exercised brutal judgement against those who oppose Him and when He returns once again from heaven we will all be judged according to everything we've said and done on earth! =)