Judges 3:25-31

Judges 3:25

And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.

 

The servants were now ashamed because something was not right.  In fact the word “tarried” carries with it the meaning of “writhing or turning around.”  Apparently while they were tarrying, they were in a state of anxiety because the king had been in his parlour much longer than needed to conduct business.  So they took a key to open the door.  The keys were normally made of wood but some have been found in Egypt made of metal.  The keys could have been anywhere from 6 inches to two feet long with a handle of brass or silver.  At the other end there were wire pins to loosen the lock.  Once they finally went in, they saw that the king was dead as he fell to earth.

 

Judges 3:26

And Ehud escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped unto Seirath.

 

Ehud’s plan worked perfectly as the servants tarried, he had a great opportunity to escape and he was able to escape as far as Seirath.  Seirath or Seir was located on the borders of Moab which was beyond the quarries.  Ehud was able to get that far as the servants of Eglon were still waiting for him.

 

Judges 3:27

And it came to pass, when he was come, that he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them.

 

Now that he escaped to Seirath he took a trumpet and blew it and it made a very loud sound which was further amplified by the fact that he was on a high mountain and the sound would carry much farther.  This was a call to arms for the children of Israel.  They may have already been gathered there just waiting for the call of the trumpet.  Then he took command of the situation and Israel had become an army at this point under Ehud’s command.

 

Judges 3:28

And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over.

 

Then he made the announcement that they were to follow him because the Lord had delivered the Moabites into their hand.  Notice the passage does not say “will deliver” but says “delivered.”  In other words, in God’s sight the enemies were already conquered.  So Israel followed after Ehud and went as far as the fords of Jordan toward Moab.  The fords were a place where one could cross a stream or river on foot by wading instead of swimming.  They secured the place so well that the Moabites could not chase them and if any Moabites were in Canaan, they were killed so they could not return home to mount any offensive.

 

Judges 3:29

And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man.

 

The result of the plan of Ehud had resulted in the slaughter of 10,000 of the Moabites best fighting men.  The Moabites must have been a group of plump people because that is what the word “lusty” means but even though they may have been plump, they were

considered to be very good fighters.  However, when the Lord is against them, the greatest fighters in the world will never prevail as in the case of these Moabites.

 

Judges 3:30

So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.

 

So Moab was humbled or subdued under the hand of Israel and as a result they were freed from the bondage of the Moabites and the land had rest for eighty years.

 

Judges 3:31

And after him was Shamgar the son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred men with an ox goad: and he also delivered Israel.

 

This particular man whose name was Shamgar which means “cup of a stranger” is the third judge of Israel from Joshua but nothing is known about him or his father as neither of their names go beyond the book of Judges.  Judges 5:6 (KJV)   In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.  This event must have taken place sometime after the death of Ehud or else he would have been the one to go out against the Philistines.  Shamgar slew 600 of them with an ox goad.  This may have meant that he was a herder of oxen and not a professional military man.  The ox goad was about 8 feet long and 2 inches in diameter.  At one end is a sharp point for pricking the oxen and at the other end was a broad chisel-like blade which was used to clear the plowshare of roots and thorns which would hinder the progress of the planting.  It is alluded to in Acts 9:5.  Acts 9:5 (KJV)   And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.  Shamgar delivered Israel from the Philistines although it is not recorded if they were held in bondage or if they were just getting attacked and harassed by the Philistines.

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