Transcript
Immanuel means “God is with us.” This name was first declared through the Prophet Isaiah when King Ahaz and the people of Judah were facing a great threat from Aram and Northern Israel. In the midst of their fear, the Lord said, “Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted.” The enemy that seemed great in human eyes was only “two stubs of smoking firebrands” before the Lord. The promise of Immanuel declares that God does not forsake His people. However, God’s provision is not a reason to live in sin. The story of Ehud provides three important lessons. 1. Sin and the flesh can turn past victories into present-day defeats. Jericho was Israel’s first city of victory in the Promised Land. The city of palm trees became a symbol of miracles and God’s promises being fulfilled. However, when Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, Eglon, king of Moab, oppressed them for eighteen years. The city that was once a place of victory was now occupied by the enemy. Past victories do not guarantee today’s victory if we begin to compromise. A marriage that was an answer to prayer can be destroyed by infidelity. Financial blessings can disappear because of gambling and the love of money. Someone who was once free from addiction can fall back due to wrong associations. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, and little foxes can spoil the vineyard. Therefore, do not play with sin. Keep your life from being defiled by the world. 2. Together with God, weakness can become strength. When Israel cried out, the Lord raised up Ehud, the son of Gera, a left-handed Benjamite. The tribe of Benjamin was known to have warriors skilled in using both their right and left hands. What might have been considered unusual about Ehud was actually used by God to become an advantage. Ehud hid a double-edged sword on his right thigh and then drew it with his left hand. Through Ehud’s courage and strategy, Eglon was defeated, ten thousand Moabites were subdued, and the land had rest for eighty years. Do not underestimate your weaknesses. God is capable of using limitations, backgrounds, failures, and even things that make us insecure, as tools for His glory. God’s power is made perfect in weakness. 3. The flesh must be defeated by the Word of God. Ehud’s double-edged sword reminds us of Hebrews 4:12: The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword. The flesh cannot be defeated by good intentions alone, but by the Word stored in the heart. Psalm 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” God is with us. Let us keep our lives holy, surrender our weaknesses to God, and use the sword of the Word to put to death the flesh. God is capable of turning defeat into victory and weakness into a testimony. Amen. May the Lord Jesus bless you.
