Judges 3:12-20
Sometimes situations call for radical action. Maybe it’s a plea to politicians to intervene in a crisis in our public services; a demand for equality; a clampdown on tax evasion; measures in the fight against crime. The list goes on. Internationally we see the need for radical action to combat poverty and bring about peace. In our families, it might be to deal with financial or relationship issues.
These tough situations call for well thought-through, bespoke and proven solutions, or is it sometimes the most unlikely plan that is required?
Explore
Idea 1: Ehud, the “handicapped” judge and deliverer Back in the day Ehud’s left-handedness was considered a disability. It was even likely that he was thought of as ‘deformed’ or ‘useless’ by the people he came across. According to Beechy, all true heroes are left-handed (no prizes for guessing which of his hands is the most dominant). The fact is God will use us just as He made us.
- Are you holding back in any way?
- Have you asked God to show you how He could use something unique about you to accomplish His work?
Idea 2: A job that needed doing The sink in our bathroom has leaked for some time. Every few months I’d tighten the fittings up and chuck a load of sealant around the joints. In between, the children would climb on, lean against and generally attack the sink until I’d have to go through the process again. Finally, it was time for some ‘radical action’: a new sink and fittings, installed by a competent tradesman!
Israel was going through another cycle of sinning, repenting, sinning. Ehud was a brave man, watchful and obedient to God’s calling. He faithfully served God in successfully fulfilling the job He gave him to do.
- Is God calling you to take radical action about something?
- Do you need to make a plan to obey God in some specific area of your life and follow through with it?
- Share with others if God has shown you something that was wrong in your life that required immediate and painful action to correct it.
Idea 3: Be ready for anything Elgon, king of Moab, was clearly never a Scout. He didn’t go by the motto ‘Be Prepared’. He certainly didn’t expect Ehud to do what he did, he’d dismissed the possibility of the judge being armed because he saw no sign of a sword on his left side, the side ‘normal’ (right-handed) assassins carried their weapons!
Elgon was undoubtedly a tyrant, but it seems he was also complacent and personally indulgent. A man not ready for much at all.
- What things has God done in your life that you didn’t expect?
- Are you ready and prepared for the unexpected?
- What could you do to be sharper, individually and as a band of brothers?
Action
The Bible is packed full of surprises; from cover to cover we read about a God who does the unexpected. Knowing that He continues to confound our expectations, pray that you would act and think the ‘impossible’, the ‘unimaginable’; not so that you would be unsurprised by what He does, but that you would be prepared and ready to rejoice in it.