Once upon a time, the people of Israel were disobedient
to the commandments of the Lord,
So God gave Eglon, the king of Moab, power to defeat Israel and the Hebrews
(the people of Israel) served under Eglon's rule for eighteen
years. God's people cried out to the Lord and the Lord sent a man named Ehud
to help them.
Now, Ehud was left handed and quite cleverly, one time when he was bringing a
gift (probably money) from the children of Israel to king Eglon, who by the way, was an
extremely fat man, Ehud hid a two edged dagger on his right thigh.
When he had finished presenting the gift to the king, Ehud told king Eglon that
he had a secret to tell him. The king then sent his servants away and went
into his summer parlor alone with Ehud, and sat down. Ehud then told him
that the secret was a message from God! Well, this brought Eglon to his
feet, and Ehud grasped the dagger and plunged it into Eglon's belly ...
Probably not the message Eglon was hoping for, huh?
So fat was Eglon that the handle
of the dagger disappeared in his belly and Ehud couldn't even pull it out! So,
leaving the dagger and the dead king, Ehud left, locking the doors behind
him.
Eglon's servants, thought that
the king was asleep, so they didn't disturb him, but when the king was quiet
for an unusually long time they became
concerned that perhaps something was wrong so they tried to enter the
parlor. Finding the doors locked, they took a key and opened the doors,
discovering the king, fallen dead on the ground.
Meanwhile, Ehud easily escaped,
and he then led the children of Israel in defeating Moab. And there was
peace for 80 years.
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