Judges 3 - The Left-Handed Benjamite

                This story is probably my most favorite story in the Bible. Scratch that, it’s my second favorite. Top favorite has to be when Jesus dies, takes the wrath for all of our sins, and then comes back from the dead so we can have ultimate freedom in life through Christ (say whaaaaat!? CanigetanAMEN! HollatyourboyJESUS).

                In Judges 3:12-30 the Israelites aren’t listening to God (what else is new), so Eglon the King of Moab oppressed them. Then the Israelites cried out to God (typical) and he sent them a deliverer, Ehud the Benjamite, a left-handed man. Now the Benjamites of Israel were notorious warriors, and if you were left-handed that meant you were even better. Because being left-handed meant you got the upper hand in battle (score one for lefties). Another advantage of being left-handed (so says the internet) is that when someone went into an audience with a king, his attendants would check for weapons. Usually a sword would be strapped to a person’s left thigh, but if a person was left-handed than a weapon might passed by unnoticed, especially if it was hid under clothing. (Sneaky, sneaky.) So this leftie, Ehud, went along with some Israelites to pay tribute to the evil King of Moab. It says in verse 17, “Now Eglon was a very fat man”, so I picture him to be very much like Jabba the Hutt, not only in stature but in character as well. Once the oppressed Israelites finish paying their dues and tributes, they go on their merry way, but Ehud the leftie doubles back and says he has a secret message for the king.

                At this the King of Moab/Eglon/Jabba rubs his greedy paws together and is like, “Hmmm a secret message?" His nostrils flare and dollar signs pop in into his pupils. So the king sends away all of his attendants. When Jabba and the Benjamite are the only two left in the room, the king asks the warrior, “What is this secret message?” Then Ehud the leftie musters all his courage and with a shout, “It is a message from God!” he whips out his sword and plunges it into Eglon’s belly. Verse 22 says it all, “And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.” Ehud, being the cunning leftie that he is, escapes out the window to the land of Seirah, rallies the Israelites, and then they seize the land of Moab back for Israel. Meanwhile, King Eglon is still defecating in the room and his poor attendants are still waiting outside. Verse 25 continues, “They waited until they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.”

Lessons we can learn:

-        -  Don’t be Jabba the Hutt

-        -  Be left-handed

But on a serious note, although this story seems kind of silly, I think it just shows another example of God’s mercy and patience. It is another instance where the Israelites have turned from God to their own ways, yet He still listens and hears their cries when they run back, He still sends them a deliverer. And he does the same for you and for me.