Israelites cried out to God again (“Yahweh!, Yahweh!”).
But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD 3.15a
God raised up a hero for them, a left-handed guy named Ehud.
The LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud … a man lefthanded. 3.15b
Who God sent to deliver a present to Eglon.
And by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. 3.15c
Ehud’s present to Eglon was a message from God: a knife blade in his belly pushed in so far that “the dirt (feces) came out.”
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. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man ... And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. ... And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: 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. 3.16-22
God has a funny way of communicating, doesn’t he?
44. God delivers 10,000 lusty Moabites
Judges 3.29
Moabites
Number Killed: 10,000
After Ehud delivered God’s message to Eglon (a knife blade in the belly), he blew a trumpet to summon all the Israelites.
Ehud … blew a trumpet … and the children of Israel went down with him. Judges 3.26-27
Then he told the people:
Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. 3.28
So they followed Ehud and God helped them kill 10,000 lusty Moabites.
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man. 3.29
Kind of boring, I know. But sometimes God runs out of imaginative ways of killing people.
45. Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad
Judges 3.31
Number Killed: 600
Philistines
The entire story takes place in just one verse.
Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad. “And he also delivered Israel.”
Shamgar … slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel. Judges 3.31
The inspired storyteller obviously viewed this mass killing as a glorious, noble, and wonderful thing. To him it is every bit as cool as Ehud’s message from God ( 43 ).
But I suspect that God not only approved of this killing, he assisted with it. How else could one man kill 600 Philistines with a pointy stick?
46. Barak and God massacre the Canaanites
Judges 4.15-16
Estimated Number Killed: 1,000
Canaanites
This is just another variation of the same old story. So if you’ve been following along, you can predict what’s going to happen.
The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord.
The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. Judges 4.1
So God sells them into slavery.
The LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin … the captain of whose host was Sisera. 4.2
The Israelites cry out to the Lord.
The children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron. 4.3
God slaughtered the people that he sold the Israelites to.
The LORD discomfited Sisera [the captain of King Jabin’s army], and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword … and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. 4.15-16
This story is more interesting than most, though, because one of the characters is named Barak. (Although Barack Obama’s first name is not derived from this biblical character, believers sometimes like to pretend otherwise.)
Here are the details about Barak.
After Ehud dies, a woman becomes the leader of the Israelites. Her name is Deborah and she is called a prophetess and judge. She sat under a palm tree and everyone “came up to her for judgment.”
Deborah, a prophetess … judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah … and the children of Israel came up to her for
But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD 3.15a
God raised up a hero for them, a left-handed guy named Ehud.
The LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud … a man lefthanded. 3.15b
Who God sent to deliver a present to Eglon.
And by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. 3.15c
Ehud’s present to Eglon was a message from God: a knife blade in his belly pushed in so far that “the dirt (feces) came out.”
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. And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab: and Eglon was a very fat man ... And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. ... And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly: 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. 3.16-22
God has a funny way of communicating, doesn’t he?
44. God delivers 10,000 lusty Moabites
Judges 3.29
Moabites
Number Killed: 10,000
After Ehud delivered God’s message to Eglon (a knife blade in the belly), he blew a trumpet to summon all the Israelites.
Ehud … blew a trumpet … and the children of Israel went down with him. Judges 3.26-27
Then he told the people:
Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. 3.28
So they followed Ehud and God helped them kill 10,000 lusty Moabites.
And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man. 3.29
Kind of boring, I know. But sometimes God runs out of imaginative ways of killing people.
45. Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad
Judges 3.31
Number Killed: 600
Philistines
The entire story takes place in just one verse.
Shamgar killed 600 Philistines with an ox goad. “And he also delivered Israel.”
Shamgar … slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel. Judges 3.31
The inspired storyteller obviously viewed this mass killing as a glorious, noble, and wonderful thing. To him it is every bit as cool as Ehud’s message from God ( 43 ).
But I suspect that God not only approved of this killing, he assisted with it. How else could one man kill 600 Philistines with a pointy stick?
46. Barak and God massacre the Canaanites
Judges 4.15-16
Estimated Number Killed: 1,000
Canaanites
This is just another variation of the same old story. So if you’ve been following along, you can predict what’s going to happen.
The Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord.
The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD. Judges 4.1
So God sells them into slavery.
The LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin … the captain of whose host was Sisera. 4.2
The Israelites cry out to the Lord.
The children of Israel cried unto the LORD: for he had nine hundred chariots of iron. 4.3
God slaughtered the people that he sold the Israelites to.
The LORD discomfited Sisera [the captain of King Jabin’s army], and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword … and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left. 4.15-16
This story is more interesting than most, though, because one of the characters is named Barak. (Although Barack Obama’s first name is not derived from this biblical character, believers sometimes like to pretend otherwise.)
Here are the details about Barak.
After Ehud dies, a woman becomes the leader of the Israelites. Her name is Deborah and she is called a prophetess and judge. She sat under a palm tree and everyone “came up to her for judgment.”
Deborah, a prophetess … judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah … and the children of Israel came up to her for
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