Chapters 2 and 3 show how God works through weakness. Ehud had a physical disability that likely caused him to be perceived as weak and unthreatening. However, God took his weakness and turned it into a strength. Do you realize that God can use your perceived weaknesses as strengths as well?
Your weakness uniquely suits you to be used by God.
Sermon Clip
MESSAGE Notes
Judges 2:16-3:30 – God Saves Through Weakness
Pastor Kyle Lewis
*** This sermon series was inspired by the sermons given by J.D. Greear of The Summit Church. You can listen to his messages here.
Judges 3:12-14 – 12 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms [Jericho]. 14 And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
The Cycle (Judges 2:16-23)
- Departure from God
- Domination from the enemy
- Desperate cry for help
- Deliverer sent by God
- They do it again
- This cycle is repeated throughout Judges.
Judges 2:19 – For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them.
- No matter how far you may have wandered, if you will ask him for help, he will help you.
Judges 3:15 – Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab.
- “Left handed man – In Hebrew, it literally means: “Restricted right hand”
Judges 3:16-30
16 And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17 And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
18 And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he commanded, “Silence.” And all his attendants went out from his presence.
20 And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. 22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them.
24 When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw that the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought, “Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber.” 25 And they waited till they were embarrassed. But when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them, and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and he passed beyond the idols and escaped to Seirah.
27 When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was their leader. 28 And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over. 29 And they killed at that time about 10,000 of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
1) Your weakness uniquely suits you to be used by God
- “If Ehud cannot wield a weapon in his right hand, all assume that he cannot wield one at all. This is why … he is admitted to the presence of the king [when] he asks for a private audience with Eglon. Because of his deformity, he presents no security risk to the Moabite.”
- He had a perceived weakness, but God used it as a strength!
- “God can do more with a little boy’s lunch in ten minutes than Bill Gates can do with his fortune in ten lifetimes!”
- Feral Pigeon – “If it became necessary immediately to discard every line and method of communications used on the front, except one, I should unhesitatingly choose the pigeons. When the battle rages and everything gives way to barrage, machine gun fire … gas attacks and bombings, it is to the pigeon that we go.”
2) We are saved in weakness, not strength
- As we learn about the story of Ehud, not only do we get a picture of God working through weakness, but we get a picture of God SAVING through weakness.
- Philippians 3:8 – I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. … [I] count them as rubbish [dung], in order that I may gain Christ.
- God did not look down and say, “That Kyle, he will make a great pastor some day, let’s invite him into my family.” No, instead, it would be more like, “That Kyle, he can’t do anything worthwhile spiritually. Apart from me he will achieve nothing. Without me he’s a hopeless case. Let’s save him!”
Island Pond Baptist Church is an SBC church in Hampstead, NH, just seconds from Derry, NH. We also have many people at our church from surrounding cities such as Chester, Sandown, Danville, Kingston, Fremont, Plaistow, Atkinson, Derry, Londonderry, Salem, and Haverhill. If you live in Southern New Hampshire, we would love for you to come and visit!