Listen to last week’s sermon Ehud – Judges 3:12-30 part 2 of Champions of Deliverance

Last week, we kicked off a new series from the Book of Judges called Champions of Deliverance. This series explores how God is still seeking available, surrendered people—ordinary men and women—who will say yes and let Him use them to bring hope and deliverance.

part 1 Listen to Othniel: The First Judge

After Othniel, Israel again does what is evil. God allows Eglon, king of Moab (with allies Ammon and Amalek), to defeat Israel and take Jericho (“the City of Palms”). Israel serves Eglon for 18 years, paying tribute (forced offerings, akin to extortion).

1. Victory Begins Where God’s Strength Leads

Israel’s defeat was a result of their own choices; God strengthened their enemies, not them.
“Again” in verse 12 signals a pattern, not a one-time slip. They returned to what they previously left behind.
When we operate outside of God’s strength, we’re like a phone with a dead battery or a car without fuel—no power, no victory.
God’s strength is the real source of success (Psalm 105:4, 1 Peter 4:11, Psalm 20:7, Philippians 4:13).
When Israel relied on God, they took Jericho. But in compromise, they lost what God had given them.
Oppression affected every area—freedom, status, and finances. Israel’s tribute to Eglon drained their resources.

When we drift, we risk losing ground—territory, blessings, and even finances—that God won for us. Disobedience opens the door for the enemy to steal what’s ours.

2. Your Difference Is Your Divine Advantage

God raises Ehud, a left-handed man from the small tribe of Benjamin.
Being left-handed (or “restricted in his right hand”) was seen as a weakness, even a handicap.
But God uses this “defect” as the key to victory—Ehud’s difference lets him conceal a sword and surprise the enemy.

Warren Wiersbe:

God can deliver by many or by few, by the strong or by the weak, by the right-handed or by the left-handed. The instrument matters little; what matters is that God is at work.

Tim Keller:

What others see as a defect, God sees as an opportunity for glory.

Ehud’s so-called disadvantage was his divine advantage.
Your weakness, your uniqueness, what others see as your flaw—God can use it for His greatest victories. He doesn’t need our “normal,” just our obedience.

3. God Rebuilds What the Enemy Has Broken

Ehud’s daring act brings deliverance. He kills Eglon, rallies Israel, and defeats the Moabites.
Israel regains Jericho, stops paying tribute, and enjoys eighty years of peace.
No matter how long you’ve been oppressed or how much ground you’ve lost, God can restore what seems gone forever.

Listen to the sermon here: