Living With An Incomplete Victory

Study of the Book of Judges

Sermon # 3 

“The Person That God Will Use”

Judges 3:7-31 

       How many of you would love nothing better than to be used of God in some significant way? How many of you believe that you or being used just as you are?

       Sincere Christians share the despair of believing that they do not have the qualifications to be used of God. They believe this because based on their concept of what a Christian must be before God can or will use them, they do not qualify. The reasons they feel this way are as diverse as the people themselves. Some feel that way because of guilt over past failure and sin. Some feel they can not be used because of physical limitations. Others feel disqualified by lack of education. Some feel they do not qualify because of the scars of family history or personal background. Some simply feel inadequate and have a poor self-image.

       The list could be limitless, but the point is that many Christians are paralyzed by the belief that they do not fit the mold. The truth is that God is the author of and uses diversity.

       The circumstances of each age have required leadership suited to meet those needs. During the period of the judges, God uses eleven men and one woman, each different in personality and ministry. Nowhere is that difference more obvious than in the first three judges we will consider this morning.

       This morning I want to examine Three Excuses for not serving God.

       There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Now Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. 

First, I AM TOO OLD FOR GOD TO USE, Othniel, the Aged Deliverer (3:7-11)

       When Israel obeyed the LORD, He blessed them richly. But instead of trusting God to change their neighbors, the gods of their neighbors changed God’s people. When Israel stopped fighting evil, she soon found herself caught up in the practice of it. Forgetting what God has done for us leads us to spiritual disaster in just a short time.

       Judges chapter three introduces a pattern that will be repeated thoughout the time of the judges. Israel does evil in sight of the Lord. God disciplines his people by giving them into the hands of the enemy. The people cry out to God. God hears and raises up a leader to deliver his people. 

In verses five through seven of chapter three we see another downward progression that I want you to mark in your Bibles. The result was what at least one writer termed, the C.I.A. – Cohabitation, Intermarriage and Apostasy.

1. The Israelites lived among the Canaanites. (v. 5)

2. They intermarried with the Canaanites. (v. 6)

3. They served the Canaanite gods (v. 7)

Everything that Moses warned not to do, they did and the result was the judgment of God. He delivered them into the hands of their enemies.

Charles Spurgeon said that God never allows His people to sin successfully. Their sin will either destroy them or it will invite the chastening hand of God.

Verse seven tells us, “So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. They forgot the LORD their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs. (8) Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and He sold them into the hand of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years.

Cushan’s tongue twisting name literally means “Cushan of double wickness!” Because of Israel’s sin she was allowed to suffer under the reign of this man for eight long years. Yet when Israel awakes spiritually enough to call out to God he answers them.

In verse nine we read, “When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother. (10) The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. He went out to war, and the LORD delivered … [the] king of Mesopotamia into his hand; and his hand prevailed over … [him]. (11) So the land had rest for forty years. Then Othniel the son of Kenaz died.”        

What does one have to possess in order to be used by God? Some seem to think that you need to come from a good spiritual family. And certainly one of the things that Othniel had going for him was a strong family background.

       “What a great thing it is to have a solid Christian family. The story is told of “young pastor who was dying of cancer. As he was lying on his deathbed, his father and his uncle, both of whom were pastors, came to see him. They visited for a while, and then the young man asked his uncle, ‘Would you mind if I talk to my dad alone?’ When the father came out after their visit, he said to his brother, ‘I want to tell you what David did when we were alone. He called me over to his bed and said, ‘Can I put my arms around you?’ I stooped over the best I could and let him hug me. ‘Now, dad, would you put your arms around me?’ I could hardly control my emotions, but I put my arms around him. Then, with his arms around me, he said, ‘Dad, I just want you to know that the greatest gift God ever gave me, outside of salvation itself, was the gift of a mother and father who loved God and taught me to love him too.” [Gary Inrig. Hearts of Iron, Feet of Clay. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1979) p. 47]

But a godly family background although it can be a blessing does not equip one to be a person used by God.

We are first introduced to Othniel in Judges 1:11-15 when volunteered to conquer Hebron and married Caleb’s daughter. Now some thirty years later when most men would be thinking of finding a nice quiet place to retire, Othniel saw a need and sought to meet that need. In that Othniel was different than a lot of people. Some seem to think that just spotting a need is a gift. But have you ever noticed that there seems to be more people who are gifted at spotting a need, than there are willing to meet a need? Marshall Shelley in his book “Good Intentioned Dragons” says, “Meeting a need is more important than spotting fifty.”

But Othniel was a brave and valiant man who was willing to accept hard and dangerous assignments both as a young man and then again even as an older man.

       According to verse eleven Israel had peace for forty years while Othniel was judge of Israel. God called men and women to serve as judges and they obeyed. They did their work but ultimately they passed from the scene. One would hope that their godly influence would make a lasting difference in the life of the nation, but such was not the case. No sooner had a judge passed from the scene then the people were back to their old way, forsaking the Lord and worshipping false gods.  

Second, I DON’T HAVE THE ABILITIES TO BE USED BY GOD - Ehud, The Limited Deliverer (3:12-30)

       Israel’s sin led to another enemy taking control – Eglon, the king of Moab was allowed to overpower and occupy the nation of Israel for eighteen years.

       In verse fifteen we read, “But when the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for them: Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man….”

Specific mention is made that Ehud is was “a left-handed man” and the term is literally “hindered in his right hand.”

       “A man who is awkward is called gauche, a French word meaning left-handed. Something that is wicked or evil we call sinister, the Latin word for the left hand. But someone with skill and ability is dexterous, which means right-handed in Latin” [Inrig. p. 50]

       If you are left handed you only have to pick up a pair of scissors to understand that the world is set up for right handed people. If you are left-handed you may have been forced in Elementary school to write with your right hand at school. In Biblical times it was far worse for left-handed people, it was actually seen as a disability.  

       Today, we do not take a discussion of being left handed as disability seriously.   But the truth is that many of us are defeated by things in our lives that are no more significant than being left handed.

An inspiring story is told about that when General William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, was told that he had lost his eyesight. His son was given the difficult task of telling his father there would be no recovery.

“Do you mean that I am blind?” the General asked.

“I fear we must contemplate that,” his son replied.

The father continued, “I shall never see your face again?”

“No, probably not in this world.”

“Bramwell,” said General Booth, “I have done what I could for God and for His people with my eyes. Now Shall do what I can for God without my eyes.” [David Augburger. 70 X 7, The Freedom of Forgiveness,  - www.bible.org/illus/service]

Likewise we have to be inspired by the story of Joni Eareckson. “As a young woman, she became a quadriplegic in a diving accident. For years, Joni struggled with the terrifying fact that she would never again be able to walk or use her arms. Then, God worked in her in a beautiful life, she developed her skill. God began to use her in a beautiful way to share His love with other people. When she accepted what she was, the Lord began to use her as she was.” [Inrig. p. 51]

Not only did God use Ehud despite his perceived disability He used his disability to get the victory. Ehud’s whole story is about how a left-handed man uses his left-handedness to kill the enemy. Ehud took what some consider a defect and turned it into a tool to be used by God. Specifically, Ehud’s left-handedness provided him with the opportunity to plan and execute the assassination of the hate Moabite king, Eglon. In the verse sixteen  we read, “Now Ehud made himself a dagger (it was double-edged and a cubit in length) and fastened it under his clothes on his right thigh.”

Ehud had several problems to solve if he wanted to get to the king. First and foremost he had to gain access to King Eglon without arousing suspicion. He did this by become a part of a commission sent to the king to deliver the annual tribute. In verse seventeen

“So he brought the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. (18) And when he had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. (19) But he himself turned back …. at Gilgal,”

       His second problem was how to gain private audience with the King. This he did by leaving with the other emissaries from Israel but returning alone. As a lone man he prob-ably not be perceived as a threat. So he returned again to Moab, where Ehud gained a private audience with Eglon by announcing to the king, "I have a message from God for you" (v. 20)

       Without going into all the gory details when he had him alone he drove his dagger into his stomach. He then closed and locked the door to the room, the servants when they returned thought the king was using the restroom and they left him for some time before finally had the courage to take a key and see if something had happened to the king.

       Ehud’s words to the king is also a double edged dagger – a message not from the idol gods which he no doubt expected – but a word from Elohim, the Lord God Almighty. This name of God (Elohim) used on in verse 20 conveys God’s omnipotence and sovereignty.

       The handicapped man proved to be God’s leader to free Israel of domination by Moab. After assassinating Eglon, Ehud led Israel to a military victory over the forces of Moab, which brought 80 years of peace to the land (v. 30)   

Third, YOU HAVE TO BE A ‘SOMEBODY’ FOR GOD TO USE YOU! - Shamgar, The Nobody Deliverer (3:31)

“After him was Shamgar the son of Anath, who killed six hundred men of the Philistines with an ox goad; and he also delivered Israel.”

       Shamgar was a man with a very confused family background. Shamgar is not a Hebrew name it is a Canaanite name. His faither’s name is the name of the Canaanite god of sex and sex. His name may indicate that his family had completely capitulated to the paganism around them. It would seem that Shamgar’s family background was just the opposite of Othniel’s.

Not only was his family background not encouraging, neither was his training, Samgar was a simple farmer and his only weapon was an oxgoad.

       Shamgar reveals that we have to start where we are with what we have. God said to Moses, “What do you have in your hand.” (Exodus 4:2)

       David had a sling. The widow in Elijah’s day had a little meal and a little oil. The little boy at the feeding of the 5,000 had five small loaves and two fish.  

       The closest thing Shamgar came to having a weapon was a ox goad, probably because the enemy had confiscated all the weapons of the Israelites (1 Sam 13:19-22). An ox goad was a strong pole about eight feet in length. At one end was a sharp metal point for prodding the oxen and at the other end a spade for cleaning the dirt off of a plow. But instead of complaining about not possessing a sword or a spear, Shamgar gave what he had to the Lord, and he used it. 

Application

       We find in the first three judges individuals who destroy our stereotyped image of the person God can use. Othniel was a man who refused to allow his age to stand in the way. Ehud refused to allow what other people conceive to be a disability to stand in his way. Shamgar …. well he had a stick, he refused to allow his lack of better equipment to stand in his way. 

       In our text Three great principles stand out.

1.   God uses completely different kinds of individuals in His service.

“God works in a variety of way through a variety of people, while he does not deviate from His truth, neither does he always comply with our expectations.”

[W. Gary Phillips. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Judges & Ruth. (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2004) p. 67]

2.   God uses people who draw their strength from Him.

God will use you if you let him. Don’t think that your abilities are unusable by the God who made you the way you are. Look to Him for your strength. 

3.   God uses people who step out in faith and trust in Him. [Inrig. pp.53-54]

By God’s standard, all of us can qualify. The issue is not whether He can and will use us to His glory. The great question remains whether will trust Him to use us and make ourselves available.