"Handling our Swords"

BIBLE READING: Judges 3-5                 
                Once again, the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord and the Lord caused them to fall into the hands of the Moabites.   While under their oppression, the children of Israel cry out for help and God “raises up for them a deliverer, Ehud” (Judges 3.15).  There isn’t a whole lot mentioned about this judge.  First, we learn that he was left-handed (a trait that seems to have been common of those who were from the tribe of Benjamin). This story of Ehud is very interesting because of the graphic content of what happened between Ehud and Eglon, the King of Moab.  As the story goes, Ehud made a sword and hid it under his right thigh, and then he asked for a captive audience with the King of Moab by telling him that he has a message for him from God.  When Ehud gets him alone, he reaches for his sword and stabs Elgon in his belly.  Eglon is so fat, the belly just sucks the sword into his body so that Ehud could not recover it.  With their King dead, Ehud then leads the Israelites to the victory over the Moabites.  Although this is one of the strangest, most descriptive passages of Scripture, it does still hold a valuable lesson for each one of us.  Probably the most important lesson to learn is that we need to learn how to handle our sword.  The sword that we as Christians today need to use is the Word of God.  The Apostle Paul describes the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6.17).  The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we must be careful with this sword because it is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4.12).  Just think how the story would have been different if Ehud was not very familiar with using his sword?  He may have been captured or even killed, all because He wasn’t prepared and familiar with handling his sword.  Today, the consequences are much worse.  When we mishandle the Truth of the Word of God, we misrepresent God, contort His Truth, and souls are lost.  Make sure you become familiar with how to handle your sword.
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