6.23.2007

God raises up a Left-Handed Warrior

Look what I stumbled across in devotions last night (from Judges 3):

Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud ... a left-handed man.

Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges ... and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab (the enemy).

And Ehud said, "I have a secret message from God for you." And he arose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly ... and the dung came out.


... But the story gets better ...

Then Ehud went out into the porch and closed the doors of the roof chamber behind him and locked them. When he had gone, the servants came, and when they saw the doors of the roof chamber were locked, they thought "Surely he is relieving himself in the closet of the cool chamber." And they waited till they were embarrassed.

A funny story, especially since the servants thought their King was taking a dump. I'm pretty sure there's some significance to the "left-handedness" warrior. Lefty's were considered handicapped in Ehud's day. They were not known for being strong warriors, used by God in powerful ways.

Thankfully, God also uses us in the midst of our weakness.





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Jake,

This is sort of vaguely related, and maybe you could make a post on this:
I'm trying to get back into personal devotionals again. What books would you recommend for devotionals? My family uses Our Daily Bread, but those don't "click" for me (they seem like they're for an older crowd). Others have recommended C.S. Lewis. I've read Screwtape, but that doesn't seem like a devotional guide, at least not an obvious one.

Any other ideas?

Jake Bland said...

Jason -- thanks for your post. A few devotional ideas:

1) Conversations with Jesus, is a book recently published by our 3Story YFC team. (insert shameless book plug here). It's written for students, but I've gotten a lot out of it's "conversational" approach to abiding in Christ. You can by it here (https://shop.youthspecialties.com/store/product.php?productid=319), or email me, and I'll send you a copy.

2) Try a red-letter study. Get one of those "words of Jesus in red" bibles, start with Matthew, and read Jesus' words -- skipping the black text. That's not a slam to the black text, but I've been profoundly impacted each time I've studied Jesus' words.

3) Bible Gateway has some great "Bible Reading Plans" here: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/
I'm using one right now that assigns old testament, psalms, and new testament passages each day. This has been cool.

Bottom line -- there is no formula in this relationship with Jesus. The minute it becomes a "checklist" or a to-do item, we're no longer abiding. Devotions need to come out of a passion from our heart, not an obligation on a to do list.

Let me know what you find helpful. I'll try your ideas, too, bro.

Right now