Lefty

Lefty

Q. Why didn’t Ehud get his dagger back after stabbing King Eglon?

• a. Eglon’s fat closed around it.
• b. It broke in two.
• c. He dropped it out the window.

The Israelites turned from God, so God allowed them to be under King Eglon’s rule for 18 years. When they finally cried out to the Lord for help, God sent a man named Ehud to deliver his people from their enemies.

Each year money had to be paid to the ruling power, and that meant the Israelites had to pay tribute to King Eglon. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver the money, so Ehud showed up at King Eglon’s palace with the tribute—and a nice, sharp dagger.

How did Ehud get a dagger past the guards? Easy. A right-handed person would have the dagger strapped to his left side in order to pull it out quickly, but Ehud was left handed. His dagger was strapped to the right side and hidden under his clothing. No one checked there.

When Ehud arrived at King Eglon’s palace, he told the king he had a secret message for him. King Eglon sent everyone out of the room. Then Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you!” He plunged his dagger into King Eglon’s stomach. The king was so fat that when Ehud plunged the dagger into his stomach, the fat closed over the dagger. Ehud escaped out the back way, leaving the dagger behind.

Ehud rounded up the Israelites to go back and attack Moab now that the king was dead. God gave the Israelites the victory, and there was peace in the land once again.

For You

Ehud was able to succeed in winning freedom for the Israelites partly because of being left handed. It was unusual, and the guards didn’t think about it. Sometimes God uses things about a person that are considered “different” to his advantage.

Answer: a

The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king’s fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king’s bowels emptied.   Judges 3:22

(The Whole Story: Judges 3:12-30)