Judges 3:24
After Ehud was gone, Eglon's servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. "He must be relieving himself in the cool room," they said.
After Ehud was gone,

Ehud had completed the task God raised him up to accomplish and escaped before Eglon’s death was discovered. His departure allowed time for him to reach the hill country of Ephraim, summon Israel, and lead the attack that broke Moab’s hold over the land.

2Ki 2:11-18 As they were walking along and talking together,…
Luk 24:31-32 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus…

Eglon’s servants came in

The servants entered to attend their king according to the ordinary routine of palace life. They did not suspect that the private audience with Ehud had ended in judgment, and their delay became part of God’s protection over His deliverer.

1Sa 19:15-17 But Saul sent the messengers back to see David and told them…
2Sa 4:5-7 Now Rechab and Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite…

and found the doors of the upper room locked.

Ehud had locked the doors behind him, concealing Eglon’s death long enough to secure his escape. The room intended for the king’s privacy became the place where the power of Moab was struck down.

Jhn 20:19-26 It was the first day of the week, and that very evening,…
2Ki 4:33 So he went in, closed the door behind the two…
Act 12:13-16 He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda…

“He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said.

The servants assumed Eglon required privacy and hesitated to interrupt him. Their understandable conclusion delayed the alarm, exposing the helplessness of a king who had oppressed Israel and demonstrating that the Lord could use even ordinary circumstances to accomplish His deliverance.

1Sa 24:3-4 Soon Saul came to the sheepfolds along the road, …
Amo 3:15 I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ehud
A left-handed judge of Israel who delivered the Israelites from Moabite oppression by assassinating King Eglon.

2. Eglon
The king of Moab who oppressed the Israelites for eighteen years before being killed by Ehud.

3. Moab
A nation east of Israel that subjugated the Israelites during this period.

4. The Servants of Eglon
They were responsible for attending to King Eglon and were present during the events of Judges 3:24.

5. The Upper Room
The private chamber where King Eglon was killed by Ehud.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty in Deliverance
God raises unlikely heroes to deliver His people, demonstrating His control over history and His ability to use anyone for His purposes.

The Importance of Obedience
Ehud's willingness to act on God's command shows the importance of obedience in fulfilling God's plans.

Perception vs. Reality
The servants' misunderstanding of the situation in the upper room reminds us that human perception can be flawed, and we must seek God's wisdom.

God's Timing
The delay of Eglon's servants in discovering the truth allowed Ehud to escape, illustrating that God's timing is perfect in executing His plans.

Courage in Faith
Ehud's boldness in confronting Eglon challenges us to act courageously in faith when God calls us to action.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Ehud's left-handedness play a role in God's plan for deliverance, and what does this teach us about God's use of our unique traits?

2. In what ways does the account of Ehud and Eglon illustrate the theme of God's deliverance found throughout the Bible?

3. How can we discern God's timing in our lives, and what steps can we take to ensure we are acting in obedience to His will?

4. What are some modern-day situations where we might need to act with the same courage and faith as Ehud?

5. How can we guard against relying solely on our perceptions and instead seek God's wisdom in understanding situations around us?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Judges 3:15-30
Provides the broader context of Ehud's mission and the deliverance of Israel from Moabite rule.

Exodus 3:7-10
Similar to how God raised Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt, He raised Ehud to deliver them from Moab.

1 Samuel 16:7
Highlights God's ability to use unexpected individuals, like Ehud, for His purposes, emphasizing that God looks at the heart.

2 Corinthians 12:9
Reflects the theme of God using human weakness (Ehud's left-handedness) to demonstrate His strength.
A Distinct MessageSpurgeon, Charles HaddonJudges 3:12-30
A Message from GodW. Rudder, D. D.Judges 3:12-30
A Message from GodJ. Cumming, D. D.Judges 3:12-30
A Message from GodJ. B. C. Murphy, B. A.Judges 3:12-30
A Sermon Upon KeysJohn Mitchell.Judges 3:12-30
Application of the TruthJudges 3:12-30
Effective Preachers Compared to EhudJohn McNeill.Judges 3:12-30
Ehud: Left-HandednessJ. Parker, D. D.Judges 3:12-30
God's MessagesJ. P. Millar.Judges 3:12-30
I have a Message from God unto TheeT. Raffles, D. D.Judges 3:12-30
Lessons from the Death of EglonT. De Witt Talmage.Judges 3:12-30
Sin -- Suffering; Penitence and Deliverance RepeatedJ. P. Millar.Judges 3:12-30
The Christian Minister Bearing a Message from God to ManH. S. Plumptre, M. A.Judges 3:12-30
The Gospel MessageD. Johnston, D. D.Judges 3:12-30
The Gospel MessageE. Cooper, M. A.Judges 3:12-30
The Summer ParlourW.F. Bishop.Judges 3:12-30
Unexpected PerilsS. Baring-Gould, M. A.Judges 3:12-30
EhudA.F. Muir Judges 3:15-26
People
Amalek, Amalekites, Ammonites, Amorites, Anath, Aram, Canaanites, Chushanrishathaim, Chushan-rishathaim, Eglon, Ehud, Gera, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Israelites, Jebusites, Kenaz, Moabites, Othniel, Perizzites, Shamgar, Sidonians, Zidonians
Places
Canaan, Gilgal, Jordan River, Lebanon, Lebo-hamath, Mesopotamia, Moab, Mount Baal-hermon, Seirah
Topics
Behold, Bolted, Cabinet, Chamber, Closet, Cool, Covereth, Covering, Doors, Inner, King's, Locked, Parlor, Private, Purpose, Relieving, Roof, Room, Servants, Summer, Summer-chamber, Summer-house, Surely, Upper, Wall
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Judges 3:15-26

     5941   secrecy

Judges 3:23-25

     5340   house

Judges 3:23-26

     5843   embarrassment

Library
Use what You Have
Few people really are and do their best. Nature has blessed a few with great talents and abilities. These persons often become proud, self-centered, and feel themselves to be superior, and for that reason many times they fail to make the proper use of their abilities. How often are they used in a bad or foolish way, so that what might be a blessing to the world fails to be such! There are many others who realize they do not possess these natural gifts. They look upon those who have them, and envy
Charles Wesley Naylor—Heart Talks

Gifts and Talents.
"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him."--Judges iii. 10. We now consider the Holy Spirit's work in bestowing gifts, talents, and abilities upon artisans and professional men. Scripture declares that the special animation and qualification of persons for work assigned to them by God proceed from the Holy Spirit. The construction of the tabernacle required capable workmen, skilful carpenters, goldsmiths, and silversmiths, and masters in the arts of weaving and embroidering. Who will furnish Moses
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Whether Baptism Should Take Away the Penalties of Sin that Belong to this Life?
Objection 1: It seems that Baptism should take away the penalties of sin that belong to this life. For as the Apostle says (Rom. 5:15), the gift of Christ is farther-reaching than the sin of Adam. But through Adam's sin, as the Apostle says (Rom. 5:12), "death entered into this world," and, consequently, all the other penalties of the present life. Much more, therefore, should man be freed from the penalties of the present life, by the gift of Christ which is received in Baptism. Objection 2: Further,
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

"This Then is the Message which we have Heard of Him, and Declare unto You, that God is Light,"
1 John i. 5.--"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light," &c. The great design of the gospel is to make up the breach of man's joy, and open up the way to the fulness of it, and therefore it is the good news and glad tidings of great joy, the only best message that ever came to the world. Now it shows unto us the channel that this river of gladness and joy runs into, it discovers what is the way of the conveyance of it to the soul, and what are
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Whether the Old Law Enjoined Fitting Precepts Concerning Rulers?
Objection 1: It would seem that the Old Law made unfitting precepts concerning rulers. Because, as the Philosopher says (Polit. iii, 4), "the ordering of the people depends mostly on the chief ruler." But the Law contains no precept relating to the institution of the chief ruler; and yet we find therein prescriptions concerning the inferior rulers: firstly (Ex. 18:21): "Provide out of all the people wise [Vulg.: 'able'] men," etc.; again (Num. 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men of the ancients of
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
Here we will borrow Josephus' pencil, "Jericho is seated in a plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,--and southward, to the country of Sodom, and the utmost coast of the Asphaltites." Of this mountain mention is made, Joshua 2:22, where the two spies, sent by Joshua, and received by Rahab, are said to "conceal themselves." "Opposite against this, lies a mountain on the other side Jordan, beginning from
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Prophecy of Obadiah.
We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, Caspari has proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, i.e., to the time of Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile, there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this prophecy occupies in
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Doctrine of Angels.
I. THEIR EXISTENCE. 1. THE TEACHING OF JESUS. 2. THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES. II. THEIR NATURE. 1. CREATED BEINGS. 2. SPIRITUAL BEINGS. 3. GREAT POWER AND MIGHT. 4. VARIOUS GRADES. 5. THE NUMBER OF ANGELS. III. THE FALL OF ANGELS. 1. TIME AND CAUSE. 2. THE WORK OF FALLEN ANGELS. 3. THE JUDGMENT OF FALLEN ANGELS. IV. THE WORK OF ANGELS. 1. THEIR HEAVENLY MINISTRY. 2. THEIR EARTHLY MINISTRY. a) In Relation to the Believer. b) In Relation to Christ's Second Coming. THE DOCTRINE OF ANGELS. We are not
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

Judges
For the understanding of the early history and religion of Israel, the book of Judges, which covers the period from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the struggle with the Philistines, is of inestimable importance; and it is very fortunate that the elements contributed by the later editors are so easily separated from the ancient stories whose moral they seek to point. That moral is most elaborately stated in ii. 6-iii. 6, which is a sort of programme or preface to iii. 7-xvi. 31, which constitutes
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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