Judges 3:12

Judges 3:12 says, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.  This is the pattern we will find throughout the book of Judges.  The people of Israel will do evil against God, He will allow them to be conquered because of their sin, they will eventually cry out to Him, He will raise up a Judge to deliver them, then they will soon fail back in to sin again,and the cycle repeats.  Verse thirteen adds, And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.  This time, God allowerd Eglon, the king of Moab to defeat them   Eglon allied with the people of Ammon and Amalek, and they defeated the people of Israel.  Today, people who may not even particularly like each other will often unite against Christians, but hopefully it won't be because we have turned against God.  Verse fourteen continues, So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.  The people of Israel were under the rule of Eglon for eighteen years.  Until we call on God for deliverance, we will remain under the power of sin if we have turned away from Him.  Verse fifteen states, But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.  After eighteen years, the people of Israel cried out to God, and He raised up another deliverer, or Judge, a Benjamite named Ehud, who was left-handed.  Then, God always raised up the right man at the right time to deliver the people of Israel, but also at the right time He later sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to deliver us from the power of sin once and for all.  Verse sixteen adds, But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.  Ehud was clever in his approach to defeat Eglon.  He made a dagger which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothes.  Verse seventeen continues, And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man.  Ehud brought a present to Eglon, who we are told was a very fat man.  Many people today have grown materially fat by abusing those who follow Christ.  Verse eighteen says, And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.  After Ehud presented the present, the people who carried the present in were sent away by Ehud.  Verse nineteen adds, But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him.  Ehud returned and told Eglon he had a secret errand for him, and asked Eglon to keep it a secret, so he sent away the others who were there.  Ehud was now alone with Eglon.  We often have to simply get alone with our sins and confront them head on in order to overcome them.  Ultimately, it is always up to us to acknowledge our sins, as the people of Israel were acknowledging theirs, and ask for forgiveness through our Deliverer, Jesus Christ.  Verse twenty continues, And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.  When they were alone in the summer palace, Ehud told Eglon that he had a message from God for him.  We today have a message from God for the lost people of the world, even our enemies, and that is that Jesus Christ died for their sins, and that they can have everlasting life through putting their faith in Him as their Savior and Lord.  Verse twenty-one states, And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly:  Ehud retrieved the dagger with his left hand and thrust it into Eglon's belly.  Verse twenty-two adds, And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.  Eglon was so fat that he could not pull the dagger out, because fat closed over the dagger.  Verse twenty-three continues, Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.  Ehud left Eglon alone and locked him in the summer palace to die.  Now, we as Christians are not called on to kill our enemies, but we are called on to kill any sin that enslaves us through the power of the Holy Spirit, and we alone can do that.