JU3-16: Evidence The Lord Is NOT Just A Meek Servant Who Would Never Hurt A Fly

“When he presented the tribute to ‘Eglon king of Mo’av. Now ‘Eglon was a very fat man.  When he had finished presenting the tribute, he dismissed the people who had brought it.  But he himself, after reaching the quarries at Gilgal, went back and said, “King, I have a secret message for you.” The king commanded silence, and all his attendants withdrew.  Ehud came to him; he was sitting alone by himself in his upstairs room, where it was cool. Ehud said: “I have a message from God for you.” As the king arose from his seat, Ehud reached out with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into the king’s belly.  The hilt too went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly, so that it came out behind.”-Judges 3:17-22

The stage had been set for King Eglon’s assassination.

A gathering of Israelites led by Ehud went to deliver their tribute (most likely crops) to their conquerers.

It was important that Ehud went as part of a group.

Otherwise he would have raised the king’s suspicions had he traveled alone.

When they arrived, characteristic of all Oriental cultures, Ehud and his men bowed down to pay respects to King Eglon.

They humbly gave him the tribute and then turned around to return home.

However, at a place called the “quarries at Gilgal”, Ehud stopped, left his men and went back to tell the king he had an important message for him.

A message he wanted to deliver in private.

Since King Eglon had just received a bountiful tribute from Ehud and his men, he suspected no foul play.

In fact, we’re told Eglon so trusted Ehud that he even dismissed the guards who were standing in the same room with them.

They were in the second floor of a two-story building.

This would have been beneficial for the king who we’re told was quite a fat man.

Being on the upper floor would have allowed a nice desert breeze to blow through and cool down the place. 

With a kind smile on his face, Ehud approached the king and said “I have a message from our God for you”.

Curious, the King arose to hear what “message” Ehud had in store for him.

And that’s when the fury of the Lord was unleashed.

Ehud reached across his body with his left hand, clutched the concealed dagger strapped to his right thigh and then in one swift stroke shoved the blade into the king.

The thrust was so powerful and deep, we’re told it penetrated straight through the king’s body.

And the fat from his belly covered up the handle of the sword.

King Eglon’s fate was sealed at that point.

A couple of interesting takeaways here.

Notice the location where Ehud decided to turn back to avenge Israel.

We’re told it was called the “quarries at Gilgal”.

For English readers, that doesn’t mean anything.

So let’s go to the original Hebrew.

The original Hebrew for “quarries” here is PSILLIM.

Literally it means “carved figurines”.

In other words, the word is referring to the Moabite gods and goddesses.

And that’s not all.

The location of Gilgal is also significant.

Why?

Because, if you recall, that’s where Joshua and his men set up the memorial stones to honor everything the Lord had done for them in bringing them from the Wilderness into the Promised Land.

Most likely, the Moabite pagan god statues were located right next to those Hebrew memorial stones.

This was how conquerors operated in those days.

As soon as a king took over a certain area, normally the first thing he would do was erect his own nation’s god statues at the sacred places of the people he had just conquered.

That was his way of showing his gods were superior to the gods of the nation he had just conquered.

From the perspective of the conquered, I imagine it was quite humiliating.

That’s why I find it quite telling that the Lord had his servant Ehud turn around at this holy place in Gilgal to avenge His Name.

It’s like the Lord was mocking those Moabite gods and saying “I’ll show you who is more powerful”.  

Finally, I can’t help but point out the violent nature of Ehud’s “message from God”.

This goes so against the common Christian notion that the Lord is a meek servant who is only all about maple syrupy love and would never hurt a fly.

This is so untrue.

And it doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about the “Old” Testament or the New Testament.

Because it’s the very same God people.

I mean check out some of these verses for crying out loud.

“The Lord is a warrior;
The Lord is His name.”
-Exodus 15:3

Or how about this one?

“The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.
He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
He will prevail against His enemies.”
-Isaiah 42:13

Alrighty, I’m done for today.