Being Different Does Matter

Being Different Does Matter

Judges 3:12-30 (HCSB)

The story today and the next several to follow are ones you may not have heard before, but if you have, I almost guarantee it has only been a handful of times if not less.  So where is the fluff in these stories?  Sometimes if they are told, we leave out the real gory details because these stories can get a little graphic and/or violent.  Before I continue on let me say, “I can’t say I didn’t warn you”, because these next several stories are ones I have even seen adults cringe over.

Being different doesn’t matter.  We have heard that phrase before.  Some people are black and some are white.  Some are boys and some are girls.  Some speak Spanish and some speak German.  Some are from Wyoming and some are from Georgia.  Let’s face it, no two people are alike…we are all different.  I guess you could make an argument for identical twins, but even then their personality will differ.  I know a few sets of twins, but these two especially I am thinking about, you better believe they are different from each other.  (If you are the two I am talking about and reading this…I love you Thing 1 and Thing 2!  That’s of course not really their names, but they did dress up like those Dr. Sues characters one time for Halloween.)  However, my friends, looking alike but still being different is what makes them so great!  How boring would it be if they were exactly the same?!  I mean one of them is enough!  I couldn’t handle it if they were exactly the same in every aspect.  I get overwhelmed just thinking about what my life would be like if that were true.

You being different than the person sitting next to you is what makes you so great!  You being different is what makes God so great!  You being different is exactly why God can use you in an extraordinary way!  And I love how society has begun to embrace differences in people as a good thing and not some “why are you so weird” thing.  Unfortunately in the recent history of our country, being different was a bad thing.  If you were black you were treated unfairly.  If you were a woman, you were treated unfairly.  If you had some kind of genetic condition, you were treated unfairly.  Throughout scripture, we see this happening amongst people, but in our story today we see God use this human error to His advantage to help free the Israelites. 

The Israelites now occupy present-day Israel.  They moved in and took over the land that technically belonged to them; they just had not been living in it for the last few hundred years.  While they were enslaved in Egypt other people occupied and lived off the land.  Well, all of a sudden these Hebrews come marching in and take it back.  How do you think that made the other people feel?  Pretty upset!  And because of this, it caused many battles to happen between the Israelites and the people of the surrounding nations.  Along with all of this conflict, the Israelites kept going back and forth between really following God and not paying much attention to Him.  When an army would come in and defeat the Israelites, the king of that nation would treat them very badly.  After many years, the Israelites would cry out to God for help and He would then send a judge or a prophet to help get rid of the enemy and bring them back to following God.  Our story today is about one of those judges who…was a little different.

Story Time:

The Israelites are again doing what the scriptures refer to as “evil in the Lord’s sight” (Judges 3:12), and so He allowed King Eglon of Moab to come in and gain power over Israel.  They served under Eglon’s thumb for 18 years.  After that time, the Israelites did what they normally do when they don’t like they way things are going for them…they cry out to God. 

What do you think that sounded like to God?  Especially hearing it over and over and over and over again.  Think about the one thing that really gets under your skin.  Nails on a chalkboard.  People who park their car on the wrong side of the gas pump.  Women or men who wear too much perfume or cologne.  Skinny jeans on men.  Noisy eaters.  (That one really gets me!!)  I wonder if God felt the same way, or if His love for His people was so great it didn’t matter.

Well God hears the cries and brings a left-handed man from the tribe of Benjamin named Ehud.  The people give him tribute money to take to King Eglon.  Besides having to serve Eglon, the Israelites also had to pay tribute money.  It was a price or a tax a ruler would set on people for his protection over them.  In cases like this, that was more than likely an unfair amount.  Ehud makes himself an 18-inch double-edged sword and he attaches it to his right thigh under his clothes.  I like to think one inch for every year Eglon ruled over Israel, but it more than likely because it couldn’t be too long since he was hiding it under his clothes.

We will pick back up with the story in a minute, but here is where the fact that Ehud was a little different comes into play.  Have you picked up on what is not normal about Ehud?  In today’s society, this is not really a big deal so you may have not even noticed it at all.  But even today people who have this difference are far outnumbered by people who don’t.  Ehud was left-handed.  This physical difference in Ehud is what made it possible for him to sneak the sword into the Eglon’s room.  Mostly a sword would have been carried on the outside of the clothing and may have been too long to even try to conceal underneath clothing.  With most people being right-handed, a sword would have been carried on the left side for easier access to use the sword if needed.  With this thought in mind, there is a possibility the guards may not have checked Ehud’s right side if they assumed his was right-handed like most people assuming he wasn’t carrying a sword if they couldn’t even see one.  Ok, so where were we….

Ehud enters the chambers of King Eglon to deliver the tribute money and tells the king he has a secret message for him.  Eglon has everybody leave the room so he can be alone with Ehud to hear the so-called secret message.  As Ehud approaches the king he says he has a word from God.  The extremely fat king stands up to hear the message.   Oh, did I forget to mention how fat this guy was? As he stands…I would describe what happens next myself, but the Bible does such a wonderful job, I will just let you read it for yourself.  “Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and plunged it into Eglon’s belly.  Even the handle went in after the blade, and Eglon’s fat closed in over it so that Ehud did not withdraw the sword from his belly.  And Eglon’s insides came out” (Judges 3:21-22).  Ewww!

Ehud closed and locked the doors to the room and escaped by way of the porch.  After some time, the guards checked the room where the king was and found the doors locked.  They thought Eglon was going to the bathroom and that was why the doors were locked.  So they waited, and after some time they got worried.  What were they worried about?  That the king was sitting on the toilet for too long?  They unlocked the doors and found Eglon dead on the floor and no sign of Ehud.

Ehud then gathers up the men of Israel and the attack the Moabites killing about 10,000 of them.  At that time, Ehud became Israel’s leader and they experienced peace for 80 years.

My Thoughts:

God designed all of us differently.  Obviously you can tell that by looking at another person, but you can’t tell just by looking at them how God wired them differently than He did you.  The simple truth is God made us all different, but the awesome reality to that truth is how we are different.  I’m not talking about hair color, skin color, height or weight.  I’m talking about the unique talents and gifts God has placed in each one of us to use for His glory.

Yes, we are going to talk about spiritual gifts.  It is one of my favorite topics to teach and talk about.  I have taught many classes on the subject and helped many people figure out what their gifts are so they can better plug into serving in the community or church.  I would love to help you figure out what your spiritual gifts are, but if you don’t live near me I’m sure you don’t want to make that trip.  There are plenty of resources out there to help you determine what your gifts are.  Your church probably has some assessments available to you.  If not, then I recommend S.H.A.P.E. by Eric Rees.  Or go online to http://www.spiritualgiftstest.com/test; they have tests for both youth and adults.

What is awesome about these spiritual gifts you have, is the person who may be sitting in the room with you more than likely does not have the same gifts you have.  And if they do, they more than likely don’t have the same personality you do which would make them use their gifts in a different way.  And if they did have the same gifts and the exact same personality as you do…then I’m stumped.  But the odds of that happening are probably similar to winning the lottery. (Which if you are a lottery winner, then I got nothing.)  At the beginning of chapter 12 in 1 Corinthians, Paul tells says there different gifts from God, but how God decides who gets which one.  Read this:

“Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different ministries, but the same Lord.  And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person.  A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of languages, to another, interpretation of languages. But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).

So we all have different gifts, but God, in His wonderfully complex genius of a plan, knows who needs what gifts and at what time they need them.

Ehud didn’t let the fact that he was different stop him from asking to do what God had called him to help accomplish.  God knew Ehud would be able to get closer to the king than somebody else, so Ehud used the fact that he was left-handed to his advantage.  God had a something that needed to be done and Ehud had the skill set. 

Allowing yourself to be open to what God has planned will permit Him to use you in ways you never thought possible.  You may end up teaching.  You may end up leading a Bible study.  You may end planning events for your church.  You may end up designing artwork or stage designs for Sunday mornings.  You may end up in China, India, Africa, Brazil or the Dominican Republic.  You may even bring another person into a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Is all of that crazy to think about?!

Being different is a good thing!  We don’t want to think and act the same as somebody else.  God wants to use you for something very special, so allow Him to use you!  If God has blessed you with a beautiful voice, then sing.  If God has given you skilled hands with a brush, then paint.  If God wants you to serve coffee, then serve coffee.  If God wants you to change babies’ diapers, then plug your nose and make that baby happy because it now has a clean bottom fitting snug in it’s new pair of Huggies!

There are opportunities in our world to serve.  There are opportunities in our nation, in our city, in our community, in our church and even on the street where we live.  See a need and turn it into an opportunity to serve God and His people by using the gifts he has given you.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think the Bible specifically points out the fact that Ehud was left-handed?
   
2. Did God have to use Ehud to accomplish his mission?  Does God have to use us?
   
3. If God is all-powerful and awesome, then why does He use us to carry out the things He wants to be done?
   
4. What do you think your spiritual gifts are?
   
5. What are some things you are passionate about?
   
6. What are you good at doing?
   
7. Think about how your answers to questions #4, #5 and #6 relate to each other.  How and/or where do you think you can serve in your church or community?
   
8. What is one thing you have always wanted to do, but have held back because you didn’t think you could? (If you are doing this with a group of people, tell them to “DO IT!”)
   
9. One last thing…make sure you end in prayer.