Story Lines
Inspirational Christian Stories and Bible Illustrations
for kids of all ages
for kids of all ages
Penetrate our hearts
Because the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, they fell under the power of King Eglon for many years. When the Israelites finally decided to repent, they cried out to the Lord and He sent them a deliverer named Ehud.
Ehud was noted to be left handed and carried a small sword on his right side under his clothes. It is assumed that because of this was uncommon, the guards overlooked the threat and Ehud was able to sneak the weapon in and easily approach the king. Ehud then tempted the king with a juicy secret which resulted in the king demanding everyone to leave the room in order to get some privacy. Being alone with the king, Ehud proceeded to kill him. Check out the scripture below for a more graphic, detailed look on what happened.
Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s bowels emptied. – Judges 3:20-22
Ummm ewww! What was that all about?! Try not to focus on the gruesome details but take a look at the big picture. Because of the actions of Ehud and favour from the Lord, a rebellion began which allowed the Israelites to finally escape the suffering and live in peace for the next 80 years.
The repeating cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, deliverance; that commonly occurs throughout the book of Judges actually still happens today. This battle regularly happens within each one of us. Thankfully, God remains faithful to His promise and He has indeed already sent us our Deliverer. When we cry out to Jesus for deliverance, He penetrates our hearts deeply and we become free. Sometimes the process could get a little messy (not as messy as what happened between Ehud and Eglon, but after the battle has been won, we can final enjoy the peace that only the Lord provides.
Ehud was noted to be left handed and carried a small sword on his right side under his clothes. It is assumed that because of this was uncommon, the guards overlooked the threat and Ehud was able to sneak the weapon in and easily approach the king. Ehud then tempted the king with a juicy secret which resulted in the king demanding everyone to leave the room in order to get some privacy. Being alone with the king, Ehud proceeded to kill him. Check out the scripture below for a more graphic, detailed look on what happened.
Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it, so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly. And Eglon’s bowels emptied. – Judges 3:20-22
Ummm ewww! What was that all about?! Try not to focus on the gruesome details but take a look at the big picture. Because of the actions of Ehud and favour from the Lord, a rebellion began which allowed the Israelites to finally escape the suffering and live in peace for the next 80 years.
The repeating cycle of sin, oppression, repentance, deliverance; that commonly occurs throughout the book of Judges actually still happens today. This battle regularly happens within each one of us. Thankfully, God remains faithful to His promise and He has indeed already sent us our Deliverer. When we cry out to Jesus for deliverance, He penetrates our hearts deeply and we become free. Sometimes the process could get a little messy (not as messy as what happened between Ehud and Eglon, but after the battle has been won, we can final enjoy the peace that only the Lord provides.
Story and Illustration by Jason Harrison - reproduced by kind permission: https://www.drawforgod.com/ - info@grace-lines.net