Scripture: Judges 3: 12-30 and Hebrews 4: 12-13
Sermon: The Double-Edged Sword
Topics: left-handed, Word, Bible, humor
Preached: February 19, 2017
Rev. Mike Abma
12 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord strengthened King Eglon of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 13In alliance with the Ammonites and the Amalekites, he went and defeated Israel; and they took possession of the city of palms. 14So the Israelites served King Eglon of Moab for eighteen years.
15 But when the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The Israelites sent tribute by him to King Eglon of Moab. 16Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length; and he fastened it on his right thigh under his clothes. 17Then he presented the tribute to King Eglon of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man.
18When Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent the people who carried the tribute on their way. 19But he himself turned back at the sculptured stones near Gilgal, and said, ‘I have a secret message for you, O king.’
So the king said, ‘Silence!’ and all his attendants went out from his presence.
20Ehud came to him, while he was sitting alone in his cool roof-chamber, and said, ‘I have a message from God for you.’ So he rose from his seat.
21Then Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into Eglon’s belly; 22the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the dirt came out. 23Then Ehud went out into the vestibule, and closed the doors of the roof-chamber on him, and locked them.
24 After he had gone, the servants came. When they saw that the doors of the roof-chamber were locked, they thought, ‘He must be relieving himself in the cool chamber.’ 25So they waited until they were embarrassed. When he still did not open the doors of the roof-chamber, they took the key and opened them. There was their lord lying dead on the floor.
26 Ehud escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the sculptured stones, and escaped to Seirah. 27When he arrived, he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites went down with him from the hill country, having him at their head. 28He said to them, ‘Follow after me; for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.’ So they went down after him, and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites, and allowed no one to cross over. 29At that time they killed about ten thousand of the Moabites, all strong, able-bodied men; no one escaped. 30So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Hebrews 4: 12-13
12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
INTRODUCTION
The story of Ehud –what did you think of it?
What is your first impression?
Did you like it, or were you disturbed by it?
Did you think it was a great story,
or a gruesome story?
Does Ehud come off as a hero,
or as a cold-blooded assassin?
In the fall of 1998, I preached a sermon on this text here at Woodlawn.
At that time I told you that I had once recited this story for a Speech Class here at Calvin College. I thought this text had all the elements of a good story – drama, action, surprise, humor. I remember reciting it with great enthusiasm.
But after I was done, the Speech professor mumbled something like:
“I don’t know why stories like that are even in the Bible?”
I was impressed. She was not.
I thought it was a great story. She thought it was gruesome.
I saw mainly the delightful side. She saw mainly the dark side.
What I experienced years ago in that Speech class, is still raging on in academic circles. This passage has generated lots of controversy, with most articles either lining up either on one side or the other; either seeing Ehud as a Man of Courage, or Ehud as the Devious Assassin.
EHUD: THE DARK SIDE
Let’s first look at what I will call the dark side of the story.
Beside the devious nature of Ehud’s plan,
beside the gruesome violence of Eglon’s death,
beside the gory details of it all,
most commentators focus on two things about Ehud that cast a shadow on his character:
1. that he was left-handed
2. that he was from the tribe of Benjamin.
First, that Ehud was left-handed.
We don’t think twice about whether someone is right or left handed.
It makes no difference to us.
But back in ancient cultures,
there was something “right” about being right-handed
and there was something “wrong” about being left-handed.
That is why in Latin,
the word for left-handed is sinister
And in French
the word for left-handed is gauche.
Biblical commentators will point to the only other Old Testament warrior
who clearly uses his left-hand to kill –
that is Joab, who assassinates in cold blood the unsuspecting Amasa.
That makes these commentators see something sinister and under-handed
in Ehud being left-handed.
Second, Ehud was from the tribe of Benjamin.
Again, this may not sound so bad.
But you have to keep in mind the whole sweep of the Book of Judges.
The Book of Judges ends with an absolutely brutal crime
being committed in Gibeah by people from the tribe of Benjamin.
This causes a Civil War to break out —
all of Israel rises up against the one tribe of Benjamin,
and the army of Benjamin is made up of left-handed warriors (20:16).
So these commentators see mainly the dark side of Ehud —
Ehud as the beginning of this slide downhill
into complete chaos and complete moral mayhem.
EHUD: THE BRIGHT SIDE
I’ve given the dark side of the Ehud story.
But there also is a bright side.
First of all, it says very clearly that God raised up Ehud as a “deliverer.”
The language of God raising up a “deliverer” is only used two times in the Book of Judges:
it is used for the first Judge, Othniel;
and it is used for the second Judge, Ehud.
So that is clearly in Ehud’s favor.
Secondly, there is a word-play when it comes to the names of Ehud and Eglon.
The name Eglon means “bull calf,”
and as such, the name not only described the King of Moab’s size,
it also described his god — for Baal was usually depicted as a bull.
The name Ehud means “alone” or “loner.”
In other words, little Ehud of the little tribe of Benjamin
stands alone against BIG EGLON of Moab
with his allies the Ammonites and the Amalekites.
Here is a story of the little against the BIG,
a precursor to the story of David versus Goliath.
Again, in Ehud’s favor.
DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD
There is a dark side to this story and there is also a bright side to it.
But I think that is by design,
because the heart of this story is the double-edged sword.
What does Ehud say to King Eglon?
He says, “I have a message from God for you.”
Literally it is, “I have a word of God for you.”
The word from God, or the Word of God,
turns out to be a double-edged sword.
A double-edged sword.
Why a double-edged sword?
Because it has an edge of justice,
that cuts down Eglon,
and an edge of mercy,
that frees Israel from oppression and raises her up.
It has an edge that is bad news,
and an edge that is good news.
THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD TODAY
That image of the Word of God as a double-edged sword
is not the most popular image today.
I think we are much more used to thinking of the Word of God as:
a lamp to our feet;
a light to our path;
a guide or map for our journey.
In other words,
we think of the Word of God
as a rather passive thing –
Something that simply sits there
and we can either read it, or not read it,
use it, or not use it,
believe it, or not believe it.
We are in control
and the Word of God passively sits there.
But our New Testament passage from Hebrews
surprises us in saying that the Word of God
is living and active – not passive.
It is not simply a matter of whether we use it or not.
No, this Word has a life of its own.
It is like a double-edged sword.
It can cut to the heart.
It can leave us exposed,
laid bare
so that all our thoughts and intentions,
even the very darkest ones, most foul ones
will come spilling out.
The is the double-edged sword of justice and mercy,
with an edge of condemnation and an edge of comfort;
an edge of punishment and an edge of peace;
an edge of death, and an edge of life.
The only other place that “double-edged” is used
in the New Testament is in Revelation 1:16
when John sees a vision of the brilliant and glorious Jesus
who has a double-edged sword coming from his mouth.
And what does John do
when he is exposed to that?
He falls down flat on his face
as if he was dead.
CONCLUSION
Can I end by saying one thing about this Hebrews passage?
After describing the Word of God
that is like a double-edged sword
that cuts us open and leaves us exposed
It ends with these words:
13And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
I am not sure we have the best translation for the very end of that verse.
Granted, it is very tricky Greek here.
Literally it says,
Laid bare to the eyes of him….
Pros ov umin o logos.
Laid bare to the eyes of him….literally now….
With whom to us the word.
With whom to us the Word.
Not easy to translate into English.
The last word is o logos – The Word.
I think there is a double-edged meaning to Logos here –
it is both the Word of God – which exposes us
and it is the Word made flesh – who delivers us.
In other words,
The Word of God is like a double-edged sword –
It pierces
It divides
It judges,
It leaves us exposed, naked, and bare,
To the eyes of …whom?
To the eyes of the Word made flesh.
before whom we stand.
That, I believe, is the real meaning of the end of this passage.
Yes, the Word of God,
Cuts us to the heart
Exposes us totally,
But we do not stand there alone.
We stand there with the Word who is God.
He is the last Word,
He is our High Priest,
Our advocate
Our deliverer.
Because he stands with us,
we are not afraid.
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