S21P10 – Portraits of faith: Ehud

Judges 3:28
“Follow me,” he ordered, “for the LORD has given Moab, your enemy, into your hands.” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over.

Scripture does not tell us much about God’s selection of Ehud as a deliverer of Israel for a time. We know that the people repented and asked for a deliverer, and God gave them Ehud. Whether he was excited, scared, apprehensive or anything else is unknown. What we do know is that he single-handedly took on a king who had kept Israel under his thumb for almost two decades. But being a man of faith who understood the power under which he operated, Ehud took no credit for being the deliverer that God ordained.

God has a habit of using people to show his power. He could have brought down King Eglon on his own with one thought. He could have simply delivered Israel himself. But He desired to invite man to share in the process. Whether as a way of foreshadowing the coming of our great deliverer, or whether He simply desires to partner with us to accomplish his purposes, God worked through man here in a mighty way. But we must be faithful to recognize that God moving through us means God gets the glory.

Ehud could have taken the credit for taking down the king. It was he who made the sword, he who struck the deadly blow and he who escaped without capture. However, it was God who appointed him deliverer, who placed King Eglon over Israel for his own purposes and who delivered his people out of his grace following repentance. God could have used anyone to carry out his plan because He was the one who brought it to completion. Father, remind us that though we are your hands and your feet, You are the one who does the work through us, and keep us faithfully humble as we recognize that the victories are yours.