Let me say in the very beginning
that I have a message from God for you. Turn with me this morning to
the Old Testament book of Judges, if you would, found right after
the book of Joshua, Judges chapter two. Before we begin reading here,
I want to give you a little background concerning the book of Judges.
The word judge or judges here in the scripture means defender. The word judge or judges means
deliverer. You know, after 400 years of
Egyptian bondage and slavery, God delivers Israel. After Moses
dies, God raised up Joshua to deliver Israel from all their
enemies in the land of Canaan, that land that God had promised
them to possess. And then after Joshua died, God
raised up Judges. That's what the book of Judges
is about. God raised up deliverers. God raised up Defenders. It's important to remember, just
like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, all the way down through Moses
and then Joshua, these judges were just men. They were men
that God chose. They were men that God raised
and used in miraculous ways, but yet they were still men.
And as all men do, they died. Now we have a deliverer that
will never die. that being the Lord Jesus Christ.
So these judges, these deliverers, they picture him, not perfectly
because they're just men, but they do picture him. Now in the
book of Judges, we see the same pattern with Israel over and
over and over again. God would raise up a judge and
that judge would die and then begin this pattern of man's sin
and God's redemption, of man's depravity and God's holiness. And here was the pattern here
in Judges chapter two, look at verse 11. And the children of
Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam.
And they forsook the Lord of their fathers, which brought
them out of the land of Egypt. And they followed other gods
of the gods of the people that were round about them. And they
bowed themselves unto them and they provoked the Lord to anger. And they forsook the Lord and
served Baal and Ashtoreth. And the anger of the Lord was
hot against Israel. And he delivered them into the
hands of spoilers that spoiled them. And he sold them into the
hands of their enemies roundabout so that they could not any longer
stand before their enemies. Whithersoever they went out,
the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had
said, and as the Lord had sworn unto them, that they were greatly
distressed." Now you want to see the gospel, look at verse
16. Nevertheless, the Lord. "'The
Lord raised up judges, "'which delivered them out of the hand
"'of those that spoiled them. "'And yet they would not hearken
unto their judges, "'and they went a-whoring after other gods,
"'and bowed themselves unto them. "'They turned quickly out of
the way, "'which their fathers walked in, "'obeying the commandments
of the Lord, "'but they did not sow.'" Now, if you wanna see
a picture of yourself by nature, There it is. Verse 18, and when
the Lord raised them up, judges, deliverers, then the Lord was
with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their
enemies all the days of the judge. For it repented the Lord because
of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and
vexed them. You see that pattern. Well, it
doesn't stop there. Here we go again. Look at verse
19. And it came to pass when the
judge, when the deliverer, the defender was dead, these men
that God raised up to be deliverers for a time, the people of Israel
returned and corrupted themselves more than their fathers. It just
seemed like they got worse every generation. They corrupted themselves
more than their fathers in following other gods to serve them and
to bow down unto them. And they cease not from their
own doings, nor from their stubborn way. And the anger of the Lord
was hot against Israel. And he said, because that this
people have transgressed my covenant, which I commanded to their fathers
and have not hearkened unto my voice. Now, I don't know if you
have to turn the page or not, but go to chapter three and look
at verse 12. And the children of Israel did
evil again. See that word? They 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. Verse 14. So the children of
Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, 18 years. And this is where our story this
morning begins. A Moab king named Eglon had now
held Israel captive for 18 years. And the children of Israel here
find themselves right back in the same place that they were
in Egypt, and that was in bondage and in slavery. And verse 15
says that the children of Israel cried. Now that word in the Hebrew
means shrieked. It means wept unto the Lord. And the Lord raised them up a
deliverer. Here's the pattern again. And
this deliverer, his name was Ehud, the son of Jera, a Benjamite,
a man left-handed. And by him, the children of Israel
sent a present unto Eglon, the king of Moab. You see, as God
always does for the people of Israel in the Old Testament,
He raised up a judge. He raised up a deliverer and
a defender. And it was then that Israel received
instruction from the Lord. No doubt through this man named
Ehud, he was God's deliverer. God spoke through him and He
told him how to proceed. And this was how. They would
prepare a present and take this present to Eglon, the king of
Moab, and knowing that that would no doubt appeal to his lust for
power and attention and authority and even his own self admiration
as their king. Oh, they want to give me a present,
the great king that I am, so that That struck his fancy, as
we say, and he allowed it. Now, we're not told what the
present was. It really doesn't matter. But
we are told that while they prepared this present to take to the king,
this judge, this deliverer named Ehud, made a dagger. And it was
a cubit in length, about 18 inches long. And according to verse
16 here, he hid this dagger under the clothing of his right thigh
because he was left-handed. So Ehud and the people that he
chose to go with him, they took this present before the king,
according to verse 20. And Eglon, the king, he was sitting
in his summer parlor. He's the king and he's got him
a summer parlor that was made especially for him to enjoy,
a place where he could rest, a place where he could go, a
place where he could take a nap. And verse 17 says that they brought
the present into Eglon, king of Moab, and Eglon was a very
fat man. Scripture is not often politically
correct, is it? He was a fat man, very fat man.
Now, when they had given Eglon this present, it seems the joy
and the surprise was over. And the way this verse reads,
the king just sent him away. Thanks for the gift, see you
later. It's nap time. After all, he's the king and
he's in his summer parlor and it is nap time. But God overruled
his nap time. And Ehud, God's judge, God's
deliverer, he was walking out with the rest of the those that
were with him. And he comes to what is called here the quarry,
which was the place where they carved out their graven images
and idols. It seems as though he may have
stopped for a second and looked at all these idols. And immediately,
Ehud turns around and walks back towards the king. Now that's
not something that you did flippantly. We're told that he walks toward
the king and in verse 19, he said this, he said, I have a
secret errand. That word errand means word.
I've got a secret word unto thee, O king. And this got the king's
attention. So Eglon told all his servants
around him to be quiet, and then he told them to leave. And now
Ehud, God's judge, God's deliverer, is alone with the king. Not many
people got to be alone with the king. It's very important to
remember. This deliverer, Ehud, is alone
with the king. And Ehud, he says in verse 20,
he says, I have a message from God unto thee. And we're told
that the king rose out of his seat. Now, some of the old writers
say that Eglon rose out of his seat in reverence of God, from
whom he thought it was most proper to give him a blessing. After
all, he was the great Moabite king, but I just don't believe
that. He didn't no more care about
Israel's God than his idols did. But I seem to think that the
king here was insulted. I think he rose up in anger.
I think he thought to himself, How dare these slaves, these
servants, how dare they tell me they have a message from their
God? After all, I am the king. My
gods defeated their gods or they wouldn't be in bondage to me.
And besides that, I'm surrounded by all my gods here at the quarry
where we carve them out. But God did have a message for
him. And verse 21, and Ehud put forth his left hand and he took
the dagger from his right thigh and he thrust it into his belly. And the haft, haft of the blade,
nine inches of that blade 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. What a picture we have
here of the believer's salvation. Ehud, God's deliverer, as a type
of Christ, slays the king of our hearts, friends, and that
king is called sin. And he slays that sin and he
leaves it to die alone. He puts it away. That's the message
of the Lord. God has sent a deliverer. God
has sent a deliverer to deliver us from the bondage of slavery
and sin. God has a message for you this
morning. It's a message from God. That's
what Ehud said. He said, I have a message from
God. Friends, it's unto you and unto
me. God has a message and he sent us all a message. There's
not a human being alive that God has not sent this message.
Some might say, well, I've never heard from God in an audible
voice. I've never seen a vision. I've
never had an angel of the Lord, one of God's messengers appear
unto me. Well, neither have I, but I have
received a message from the Lord. God is the great creator, speaks
to his creation. Christ is the sovereign King,
speaks to his subjects. Christ is our shepherd, speaks
to his sheep. God is the father of his children,
speaks to his children. Shall not the judge of the earth
do right and send a message of warning to those who are lost,
that are without excuse? Regardless of the category you
find yourself in, I have a message from the Lord for you. Now there'll
be a time that it's too late for us to listen and hear this
message. Oh, you'll listen, but your destruction
will already be sealed and it'll already be final and it'll be
too late. But I do have a message from
the Lord for you. And it's not too late because
you're still breathing and your heart is still beating. You see,
God never leaves himself without a witness. God never leaves himself
without a messenger. God has sent many messages and
men and women have failed to hear. This message comes by God's
sovereign power in creation. Our salvation being understood,
Paul said, by the things that are made, the things that are
created, even His eternal power in Godhead so that they are without
excuse. You can look into the heavens
at night and God's power is displayed in the stars of the galaxy. And it takes the same power of
God to create light in you, the dead sinner you are, as it did
to create light in the stars. Same power. And that's what Paul
is saying. You look at these stars and see
that it took the power of God. They didn't just appear. You're
without excuse. because it's the same power that
gives you life and love. That's God's message to you.
It takes the power of God to save a wretched sinner. It takes
a mighty deliverer. It takes the judge of all the
earth to slay the king of sin. Men and women have not listened.
Somebody once said, God hasn't left this world. This world's
left him. How true that is. There are some
who once came to hear his word here in this place, and they're
no longer here. They've left. But praise the Lord that God
is still reasoning with sinners. God hasn't gone anywhere. While
God finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that
the wicked turn from his way and live. God himself says, turn,
turn from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of
Israel? Our Lord said, how often, how
often I would have gathered you like a hen does her chickens.
I would have gathered you, but you would not. You would not. But the Lord's hand is not sure.
Neither is his ear heavy, but ours certainly are. Paul told
Timothy, he said, for the time will come when men and women
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lust, shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they
shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned
into fables, fiction, lies. That's what the word fable meant,
man's imagination. People will hear what they want
to hear and they'll find someone that's saying it. Someone will
tell them what they want to hear and that's why there's churches
on every corner in every town. God's message is seen in creation. God's message is found in this
book. This book has a message from
God for you. It's a message of love. It's
a message of grace. It's a message of forgiveness.
It's a message of substitution. It's a message of a blood sacrifice. It's a message of a mediator.
It's a message of a great high priest. Well, it's the message
of Christ and Him crucified. It's the only way that you can
be reconciled to God. God has a message for you. We've
sinned against God. We followed after idols. We are
a mess, just like Israel was. We're prone to wonder. We sung
that early. We're prone to leave the God
that we love. God sent us a deliverer. Christ
is God's judge. Christ is God's deliverer. And
how did man respond to that? We, with our wicked hands, took
him and we killed him. When the believer's sin was found
on the Lord Jesus Christ, God killed him in our stead. Will
you hear this message? Someone asked a little boy in
a church where Brother Mahan preached one time, asked him,
did you hear Brother Mahan preach this morning? And little fella
said, well, I tried not to, but I did anyway. That's exactly
what happened to me. That's the way the Spirit of
God often works. God unplugs these deaf ears. We don't wanna hear, I don't
wanna hear what that preacher has to say, but God unfugged
these deaf ears and I heard it anyway. How then shall they call
on him in whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? I have a message from God for
you. God sends his message through
creation. God sends his message through
this book. God sends his message through preaching. God sends
his message through providence. God does in time, in providence,
what he purposed in eternity. No such thing as luck. No such
thing as chance. All things are done on purpose,
and it's according to God's purpose. Paul said all things are predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will. God purposed everything, everything. Nothing comes to pass that he
didn't purpose. Now, if you're a child of God, he's gonna work
all those things for your good. I wanna be a child of God, don't
you? God speaks to us through adversity. David said, it's good
for me that I've been afflicted. Why is that good, David? That
I might learn his statues, that I might learn God's appointments.
That's what the word means. You see, through adversity and
trials, we know that God appointed and sent all things for our good. Brother Richardson, Scott Richardson
said one time, said, I hadn't heard any bad news since I heard
the good news. If you believe what we preach,
that's true, because everything that God does is for the good
of his people, everything. Now we don't always see it. Matter
of fact, most of the time we don't, but it's nonetheless true. Nonetheless true. God speaks
to us through sickness. God speaks to us through death.
It's appointed unto men once to die and after that to judgment.
That's God's appointing. God speaks to us through health.
It's in Him, it's in Christ that we live and we move and we have
our being. When I enjoy good health, I know
that it's God that's holding me up. It's God that's giving
me that help. And I know that when I'm not,
that when I'm sick, I know that God's behind it. And he's using
that to teach me something about his appointments. Ehud told Eglon,
he said, I've got a message from God unto you. Now to Eglon, it
was a message of death. To some, the gospel is a savor
of life unto life, and to others, it's a savor of death unto death.
That's what makes this story so solemn. It didn't turn out
well for Eglon, and it's not gonna turn out well for some
of you unless you repent and bow to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is the gospel a savor of life unto life unto you, or is it
a savor of death unto death? The question is, what think ye
of Christ? The question is, are you on the
Lord's side? God speaks through the fruit
on the tree. He's got a message through that
fruit on the vine. Next time you see a fruit tree,
remember Christ is the vine that produces fruit. God speaks to
us through the birds, the fowls of the air. Not one sparrow falls
to the ground without his knowledge and his permission. Every time
I see a bird or This time of year, we see big groups of birds
flying. And I think to myself, not one
of those thousands of birds fall to the ground that God didn't
determine it and that God didn't cause it. God speaks through
his preacher. If you're going to hear about
Christ and be saved, it's going to be through a preacher. David
had a Nathan. And David heard his message. That Ethiopian eunuch, he had
a Philip, and he heard Philip's message. Lydia had a Paul, and
she heard his message. But you know what? Felix had
a Paul too, and he didn't hear. God sent Paul to King Agrippa,
and King Agrippa didn't hear him. King Agrippa said, thou
almost persuadest me. Now listen, in the matter of
salvation, almost might as well be a thousand miles away. "'Except
you repent, you will perish. "'Except you be born again, "'you
shall not see nor enter the kingdom of God. "'Except your righteousness
shall exceed "'that of the Pharisees, "'you shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of God. "'Except you be converted and
become as a little child, "'you shall in no case, "'you shall
in no wise enter into the kingdom of God. "'A man can receive nothing
"'except it be given him from above.'" Salvation is of the
Lord. And that's my message to you.
Look at verse 21 again here in Judges chapter three. And Ehud
put forth his left hand and he took the dagger from his right
thigh and he thrust it into Eglon's belly and the half of the shaft,
nine inches 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. Now, Eglon is described, as I
said a moment ago, as a very fat man, but I think that fatness
represents more than just his physical girth. It spiritually
refers, first of all, I think, to him being satisfied with his
fat state of idolatry. He sat there in his summer parlor
with all his imaginary gods around him. Oh, he was fat. The fatness
also refers to the girth of his self-righteousness, He was somebody. This fatness refers to the weight
of his oppression on the people of God. But when our judge and
our deliverer, the Lord Jesus Christ, slew our sin and put
it away, the two-edged sword could not be removed until all
the dirt came out. The Hebrew Bible says, until
all the food came out. When Christ slayed our sin, all
the iniquity that we drank like water, all the filthy self-righteous
impurities that we gluttonously ate came out and was put away. That's what our mighty defender,
Deliverer has done for his people. Look at verse 23. Then Ehud went
forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlor upon
him and locked them. When he was gone out, his eglon
servants, verse 24, came and when they saw that behold, the
doors of the parlor were locked, they said, surely he covereth
his feet in his summer chamber. You know what that means? He's
taking a nap. He got his feet covered up, kicked back. He's
just resting. Little did they know that he
was dead. Verse 25, and they tarried until
they were ashamed. That word means confounded. They
didn't know what to do. They're like, he doesn't usually
nap this long. They didn't know what to do.
And behold, he opened not the doors of the parlor. Therefore
they took a key and opened them. And behold, their Lord was fallen
down dead on the earth. And Ehud escaped while they tarried,
and he passed beyond the quarries." I can just see him going out
looking at those dead idol gods and just shaking his head. How
interesting it is that the Hebrew name Ehud means united. His name gives strong reference
to the English word union. When Ehud here escaped to Sira,
I think that's how it's supposed to be pronounced. That's talking
about Mount Ephraim and Mount Ephraim in the scripture is often
referred to the mountains of Israel. When the Lord Jesus ascended
into the mountain of Israel, the mountain of God, where the
throne of God is at the right hand of God. And the child of
God was united with him. We're in union with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Verse 27 says, and it came to
pass when he was come that he blew a trumpet in the mountain
of Ephraim and the children of Israel went down with him from
the mount and he before them. Oh, do you see the picture here?
The Lord Jesus Christ died, the just for the unjust. Why? That
he might bring us to God. Verse 28, and Ehud said unto
them, follow after me. The Lord Jesus said that to his
sheep, didn't he? Follow after me, for the Lord
hath delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand.
And they went down after him and took the fords of Jordan
toward Moab and suffered not a man to pass over. And they
slew of Moab at that time about 10,000 men. It says all lusty,
that word means fat too. I guess these guys like to eat,
I don't know. But anyway, this, I believe,
picturing them being full of sin, just as it was with Eglon. And they were all men of valor,
they were men of bravery, and there escaped not a man. God destroyed every one of them.
I've got a message from the Lord for you. God's gonna destroy
all those that aren't found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse
30, so Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel
and the land had rest four score years. God's deliverer, the Lord
Jesus Christ, he subdues and he destroys our great enemy of
sin and the children of God have rest. This morning I'm resting
in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm resting. When the Lord Jesus finished
His work, He sat down and I am in union with Him. And I'm sitting
there with Him, resting. He gives us rest by putting away
that sin of ours by the sacrifice of Himself. Now, if you believe
this message, let me first tell you that flesh and blood didn't
reveal it to you. God the Father, which is in heaven
did. The Lord God of heaven and earth revealed it to you. I have
a message from the Lord, from God to you. Come to Christ. Come to Christ. There's no promise
of tomorrow. Eglon is a witness of that, isn't
he? Oh, he got up that day and went to his summer party. It
was like any other day, he thought. He thought. May God be pleased
to cause you and I to hear this message from him and believe
it and come to Christ to rest. That's my prayer for you this
morning. That's my prayer for me. Come
to Christ and rest. He said, my yoke's easy and my
burden is light. And in me you find rest for your
soul. Amen.