Introduction

I like to use the first Sunday of the year to introduce our theme for the upcoming year. Our theme for 2024 will be “Your Next Step.” Our burden is that it’s very easy for Christians to stagnate.

Jerry Bridges compares it to driving on cruise control. You find a comfortable pace of Christian living and especially a comfortable level of Christian service. It’s comfortable because you are doing enough that no one looks down on you for lagging behind, but you also aren’t stretching yourself uncomfortably. You start going with the flow, turn on the cruise control, lean back, and relax.

You stagnate. You stop pressing toward the mark, and you stop stretching your ministry gifts. It’s comfortable. But it is lazy, it betrays the passionate spirit with which Christ served you, and it grinds the church’s ministry to a halt.

We’ve felt that lag at Life Point. It’s no secret that over the last few years several key ministry leaders have moved away, and we’ve faced the reality that we don’t have a pipeline of people ready to step into those roles. So, as leaders we must do a better job equipping new leaders. The problem starts at the top.

But you are responsible for yourself. Shut off the cruise and start thinking like a race car driver. Get focused, stretch yourself, and see what God will do. Life Point needs a dose of godly ambition. You need to identify your next step and take it.

I’d like to drive home this challenge by looking at Ehud’s story because he exemplifies godly ambition. And he does so through a compelling story. Ehud is a daring, ambitious hero, and Eglon is a despicable villain. The story slowly builds tension, it has a dramatic climax, and a happy ending. It feels like a high drama Hollywood movie built around a risky assassination plot. All this makes the story memorable and impactful. So, I hope you will fall in love with Ehud and imitate his zeal. I especially hope you will ambitiously pursue your next step toward a fruitful Christian life. Ehud’s story begins in vv. 12–14 with…

Israel’s Plight (vv. 12–14)

Israel sinned (v. 12a). You probably know that Judges is built on a vicious cycle repeats itself over and over. Israel rebels, God sends retribution, Israel regrets their sin, and God rescues them through a judge.

Verse 12 begins the cycle by reporting, “Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Then, it quicky jumps to the 2^nd stage—retribution.

Verse 12 says, “the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord.” We’re going to see that Eglon is the kind of villain you love to hate, and he really thinks he is something. But don’t miss the fact that the Lord strengthened him. He is just a pawn in the sovereign hand of God.

But God allowed him to become king of Moab and to form a confederation with Amalek and Ammon. You can see on the map that Ammon and Moab are east of Israel. The Amalekites lived in the desert south of Judah.

All 3 nations were bitter rivals of Israel. Throughout the OT, Israel constantly battled their border rivals, the Ammonites and Moabites.

And Amalek was Israel’s nastiest enemy. They acted so wickedly against Israel during the wilderness wanderings that Moses commanded Israel to wipe them out (Deut 25:17–19). Of course, they didn’t, and now these 3 rivals banded together under King Eglon to ruled over Israel.

And we’ll see that King Eglon is a particularly despicable villain. Eglon means “little bull” or “little calf,” but there’s nothing small about him. No, he “was a very fat man.” Today, we sympathize with people who fight obesity, but you aren’t supposed to sympathize with Eglon because he grew fat by oppressing Israel.

Instead, imagine him sitting back in his comfy palace. He’s gorging himself happily, grease is dripping down his chin, and he doesn’t care that Israel is starving. Eglon is the kind of villain you love to hate and that you hope will receive justice.

But again, God used him to judge his people. Specifically, he invaded Israel and “possessed the city of the palm trees,” which is almost certainly Jericho (map). So, he didn’t invade the entire land, but this was still a big blow for Israel. After all, Jericho was the very first city Joshua conquered. It was also an agriculturally productive area, and it was strategical spot for controlling trade across the Jordan.

And big, greedy Eglon set up camp in this lush, important area. Meanwhile he pushed Israel to the hills and demanded heavy taxes from them. And for 18 years Israel just submitted. They probably complained a lot. But one took a risk or called the people to trust God and fight. Instead, they chose cruise control. So, for 18 years Israel grew thin while Eglon grew fatter and fatter. Finally, God raised an ambitious leader. The next section describes…

II.  Ehud’s Ambition (vv. 15–25):

Verse 15 briefly mentions the 3^rd stage in the Judges’ cycle. Israel regretted their sin, and finally, after 18 years, they cried out to the Lord.

And God graciously responded with the 4^th stage (v. 15b), “The Lord raised up a deliverer for them.” Don’t miss the fact that God stands behind Ehud. There’s no prophetic announcement or miraculous deed, but God is quietly working in the shadows to accomplish his will.

And don’t miss the fact that God is always working. He is transforming you, he is working in those around you, and he is building his church. I hope you are passionate about the things that matter to God, and you believe God is working to accomplish them. If you want to grow godly ambition, you must see the world with God’s passion, specifically, for the Great Commission and with strong faith in his power to accomplish it.

Here, he raises up the kind of hero who makes for a great story. Afterall, Ehud seems to have been just a humble guy with a lion’s heart. He wasn’t a political leader, and didn’t belong to the ruling class. He’s just a regular guy from the rather insignificant tribe of Benjamin. So, no one was expecting him to save Israel. He had plenty of reasons to just ignore the problem and live his life. But Ehud was bursting with strong faith and godly ambition. He couldn’t just sit on his hands.

But God had prepared him to act. Verse 15 says he was “a left-handed man.” There is some debate about what this means, but most likely the Benjamites intentionally trained their boys to be ambidextrous, to make them more effective in war.

I say that because Judges 20 describes a whole army of highly trained Benjamite soldiers, who are regarded for being left-handed. There’s no way they were all naturally left-handed. Rather, Benjamin probably had a special training program. So, Ehud was probably a well-trained soldier. He was a tough guy. He knew how to fight.

As a result, Israel chose him to lead a group that would deliver the tribute Eglon demanded. This was probably a large amount agricultural produce. It was food that Israel’s children desperately needed. It was also a symbol of Israel’s humiliation.

But what is so great about Ehud is that he was not content letting a pagan king humiliate God’s people. And he wasn’t content just doing the job. Instead, he thought, “This is my opportunity! A big guy like Eglon is going to love someone who brings him wagons of food.” And Ehud began to wonder how he could use that trust to take a stand for God’s glory.

Ultimately, he devised a risky assassination plot. First, he made the perfect assassin’s weapon, a double-edged dagger that was 14-18” long. It was small enough that he could hide it under his clothes. He also made it double-edged so that he could jab vs. swing. Ehud had a plan before he left with that tribute.

And then with the dagger strapped to his leg, he led his team to Eglon’s home, knowing full well that if Eglon discovered it, he was a dead man. But he took the risk because God’s purpose mattered more than his life. Faith, not fear dominated his sight. He was a man of ambition, not inaction.

What about you? Do you share Ehud’s zeal for God’s purposes? Are you passionate about your own spiritual growth? And what about the people around you? Are you zealous to see our church grow into the image of Christ? And do you believe in God’s power to use you to make a difference? The measure of your zeal and your faith is your ambition. Are you passionately striving to take the next step, or are you happy on cruise control? By God’s grace believe in God the way Ehud did and act on that faith.

Returning to the story, as Ehud was walking into Eglon’s territory, I’m sure his heart was racing, but he stayed cool. He scoped out the scene, and based on how trusting Eglon will be later in the story, Ehud probably laid on the schmooze. And Eglon ate it up. He thought Ehud was a likeable ally that he could really trust.

Then Ehud and his men started home. Ehud was in the clear! No one suspected him. But Ehud was committed at any cost. He turned around at the “stone images at Gilgal” (map). These images could be a few things, but most likely they were some sort of idols. If so, this is the kind of place where people expected to receive divine messages. So, this is shrewd place for Ehud to turn around and claim he had a special message for Eglon.

That’s what he did. Ehud dismissed the other men, turned around, and walked back to the hornet’s nest with the dagger on his thigh and a bold, risky plan on his heart. If this were a movie, this is where you would lean forward, and your heart begins to race. Who will notice the dagger? Will anyone suspect him?

When he reached Eglon, he told him, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” It works! Eglon assumes he has a divine revelation.

Incredibly, Eglon doesn’t’ just give Ehud an audience, he dismisses everyone. Ehud can’t believe it. Eglon is buying the story hook, line, and sinker. Then he invites Ehud into his private chamber. This was probably a rooftop room with lots of windows to allow the breeze to blow through.

Ehud has him alone, but with all the windows, there’s only so much privacy. One scream and Ehud was a dead man. But Ehud boldly went forward with his plan. He again announces that he has “message from God.”

Eglon, the egomaniac, feels completely secure and stands to hear the divine message. Ehud approaches as if to whisper a message and before Eglon could let out the slightest noise, Ehud pulled the dagger and thrust it with all his strength into the Eglon’s huge belly.

He thrust it so hard that handle and all sunk into Eglon’s fat belly. That was a good thing because it probably stopped any blood spatter from getting on Ehud’s clothes. And adding to Eglon’s humiliation, the narrator says “his entrails came out.” There’s some debate about what this means, but most likely, his bowels relaxed and emptied on the ground.

Yuck, right? But Eglon got what he deserved. God humiliated this evil king. And Ehud’s ambition paid off. He is standing over Eglon amazed at what God had done. But he is still in grave danger, because he just assassinated the king, and he is in the middle of the lion’s den.

But no one suspects anything, so Ehud just casually walks out and locks the door. He probably even smiled at the guards as he passed by, doing his best to get out quickly without looking suspicious.

The guards go to check on the king, but the door is locked. And when they get a whiff of Eglon’s relaxed bowels, they assume he must be on the John. So, they wait while Ehud brisks away. And they continue to wait until “they were anxious” (v. 25). It’s funny to imagine them debating whether to check on the king.

“Something must be wrong!” “Yeah, but I’m not walking in there. You do it.” “No way, you go in.” “Let’s wait a little longer.” All the while, Ehud is getting closer and closer to safety. Finally, when it was too late to catch Ehud, they burst through the door, and to their horror find their king laying on the floor in his excrement. What a scene! Eglon got justice.

And through all this God hasn’t seemed to do anything. There is a natural explanation to every detail. But we know that his hand of providence stands behind it all. God raised Eglon up, and once he used him to humble Israel, he raised up Ehud to judge Eglon for his brutal oppression.

And praise God for Ehud’s ambition. While the rest of the nation waited for something to happen, he made something happen. He saw an opportunity, and he seized it. He risked his life because the cause was worth the risk.

So, ask yourself, “Am I more like the people sitting at home wishing things would change, or do I create change like Ehud? Do I have faith to see what God can do, the ambition to make something happen, and the courage to take a step of faith? I’ll say more about that at the end. But first, the story is not done because the Moabites are still in the land,. So vv. 26–30 describe…

III.  Ehud’s Inspirational Leadership (vv. 26–30)

Remember that Ehud hatched this plan on his own, so no Israelite knew what he had done. So, Ehud quickly ran into the Israelite territory and found a high place to speak. Imagine the people’s surprise when Ehud announced he had killed Eglon. “Wow!”

Then Ehud declared (v. 28), “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” He knew Gods promises, and he knew that God would stand for his glory and for the good of his people. So, Ehud called the people to trust the Lord.

And they recognized God’s hand. God gave us a warrior with the courage and skill to kill Eglon, and God gave us a leader we can follow with confidence. And after 18 years of wilting under Eglon’s pressure, they rose up to fight. They just needed an ambitious, godly leader like Ehud.

And God gave Ehud a resounding victory. These skinny Israelites who had been starving in the hills and sitting on their hands for 18 years suddenly sprung to action. And they wiped out 10,000 Moabite “stout (i.e., plump, well-fed) men of valor.” God used Ehud to inspire a great victory.

And v. 30 ends the story by saying that God gave Israel rest for 80 years. For Israel to enjoy that kind of rest, Ehud must have led a spiritual revival. The people had seen the hand of the Lord, and they served him. And God blessed their obedience.

And the church today needs more Ehuds. We can never have too many. Life Point needs more people who are passionate about God’s purpose, have the vision to see what God can do, and are willing to step out by faith and in the strength of God’s grace to make something happen.

People who sit around and criticize don’t scare Satan, and they don’t make a church effective. No, people with the Ehud’s godly ambition are the ones who threaten Satan’s strongholds.

We need an army of godly men who lead their families and our church like Ehud. They are focused on what God wants, they believe in God’s power to move, and they boldly lead their family into God’s purpose. We need ladies who do the same. They are passionate about discipling their kids, our kids, and the ladies of our church and about reaching out into Apple Valley with the gospel. And we need teenagers who don’t dream about indulging every worldly dream but about storming the gates of hell for the Savior. By God’s grace, we want 2024 to be a year where we multiply Ehuds. To get you thinking about what that means for you, consider 4 questions.

IV.  4 Questions

Are you passionate about God’s passions? Ehud’s story begins with his zeal for God’s glory and for God’s people. He never would have delivered Israel if he were not deeply troubled by pagan oppression and Israelite apathy. What about you? Do you walk around AV grieved by the lost condition of so many people? And what’s your focus when you rub shoulders with the people of our church? Do you see the spiritual needs around you? And are they a frustration to your self-interest or are you zealous to see those people grow into Christ?

And most importantly, what do you see when you look at yourself? Is your passion to pamper yourself or is it to become like Jesus and to be a tool of Jesus to help others know is goodness also? Do you share God’s passion?

Do you live by fear or faith? I want to emphasize again that this is not merely the story of a heroic man. It is a story of grace and faith. God governs every detail of this story, and he governs every detail of your story also. His grace was greater than Israel’s sin. His authority stood over Eglon’s.

And God’s grace stands over every detail of your life also. His grace is greater than all your sin. It’s greater than your fears and your natural limitations. So, don’t look at spiritual warfare through eyes of fear but eyes of faith.

Is your Christian life defined ambition or excuses? Are you quick to make excuses or to find solutions? Do you love to complain, or do you love to fix? Are you more like the Israelites who griped about Eglon or like Ehud who was sharpening his dagger? Stop making excuses about why you can’t change, why you can’t make a difference, and why everything is everyone else’s fault. Be an Ehud. Trust God and be an agent of change.

What’s your next step? Some of you have really stagnated in your Christian growth. You aren’t pressing toward the mark; you are meandering aimlessly. 2024 needs to be the year when you get serious about knowing God, swimming in his grace, and pursuing holiness.

Others have stagnated in your ministry at home. You’re not striving to make your home the Christ honoring factory of godliness God wants it to be. 2024 needs to be the year you change the culture of your marriage and your parenting.

And still others have stagnated in developing and using your spiritual gifts. 2024 needs to be the year you get baptized and join the church. It needs to be the year you begin investing in relationships. It needs to be the year you move from the fringes to the center, from a consumer to a producer. It needs to be year you move from a support role to a lead role.

Don’t be content where you are. Ask God to search your heart and show you what your next step should be. Then take a step of faith. Just imagine what God can do if we all live like Ehud in 2024.