Judges 3:15-31

Ehud Delivers from Moab

15 But when the sons of Israel cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by [n]him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. 20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.

24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “He is only [o]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited until they [p]became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [q]floor dead.

26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 It came about when he had arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. 28 He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.

Shamgar Delivers from Philistines

31 After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel.

These two stories (one short, one long) both emphasize an important point. God uses you as you are, with what you have, to do the work he “planned in advance for you to do”.

God doesn’t usually call us to do something completely foreign to us. If you are listening for His voice regularly, you already have a pretty good idea what to expect. Now, that’s not to say God doesn’t push us out of our comfort zone. Shamgar was likely “just” a farmer, and God asked him to lead the Israelites from their bondage. That’s not the comfort zone for a farmer. But he used what He had to do what God asked.

Likewise, Ehud used his left-handedness to take down the king of Moab. God didn’t have some random guy from a far away tribe try to sneak into the chambers and take down Eglon. He used the guy who delivered tribute regularly, because he would be in the right place at the right time.

Where are you? Look around! What can God do in your life and in the lives of those around you? It may be something unexpected, but it’s likely using gifts/talents you already have, to reach people you already see all the time. Pay attention, and see what God can do with you.

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