Judges is a violent book. As a young boy I liked to read it because of the stories. I found them interesting and exciting, but I did not read them for theological content. Now as an adult when I read Judges I still find the stories fascinating, but sometimes it is difficult to see how they teach me truth about God, relationships and human nature. It is not that I cannot see examples in the stories that reveal truth, I am just not always sure what truth God wants me to see.

The story of Ehud is a good example of this. The writer says God used Ehud to deliver Israel. Then he tells us the story of the assassination of the king of Moab. He does not say that Ehud was a righteous man, or even that he was particularly religious. The story does reveal that he was a man with courage. He was a man that was willing to make plans, and put those plans into action even when it was risky. When he planned to assassinate the king he was on his own. It does not say that he had a crowd of support, or that others were encouraging him and helping him in his endeavor.

Assassinating the king was not the end goal for him. It was the first step in a plan to deliver Israel from Moab’s oppression. He carried out the first step by himself, but he knew he would need the rest of Israel to follow him if the victory was to be complete. He killed the king, locked the door from the inside and escaped out the second-story porch. He fled to the hill country and blew the signal trumpet. When the Israelites heard what he had done they followed him and he led them to victory.

God used a single man, with the courage to risk everything, to inspire his people to do the right thing. People are still in bondage; God still needs men and women with courage.