In the Bible we get to see real people who really lived and did real things in history.
Most importantly, we get to see how they interacted with and followed God.
I recently read through the book of Judges and was encouraged by the many stories of God working in and through people to rescue Israel throughout their initial years in the promise land and I wanted to encourage you with one of these many stories.
Ehud was one of the earliest characters in the book of Judges. He was a left-handed man who was able to use this uniqueness to get past the security protecting Eglon, the king of Moab, who was oppressing Israel at that time.
After getting past the guards and killing Eglon, Ehud says something to his fellow Israelites that is very telling of his character:
“And he said to them, “Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites and did not allow anyone to pass over.”
Judges 3:28
Notice that he doesn’t take the credit for what God was doing through him.
He could have quickly gathered fame and wealth by taking this opportunity to gather Israel around himself rather than around God.
Yes, he was their leader; he told them to follow after him.
But he made clear that God was the one giving them the battle,
That God was the one for them to ultimately follow, thank and worship.
It’s easy to do one of two things:
- To simply press on and simply serve God by yourself
- To gather other people around you to build yourself, your vision, and your “kingdom” up
But it’s much harder to be willing to bring others along, to disciple them, to encourage them, to serve alongside them, to lead them – but to make sure that everyone keeps their eyes on God, and not you.
But that’s what we’re called to do.
To simply follow Jesus,
And to encourage others to follow us and do the same.
Not so that we may gain from it,
But that they may be blessed, and God glorified.
May we be like Ehud,
Doing the difficult work,
And calling others to come alongside
And follow God together.