Read: Judges 3:12-14 Genesis
19:30-38
Meditation: Here we see the cycle of sin has caused Israel to
be punished by God. He sends an enemy, the Moabites and Eglon, the King
of Moab to take control of the Promise Land. As strange as it may sound,
the Moabites are relatives of the Israelites, through the eldest
daughter of Lot. They may be physically related to God's people, yet
they had no connection to them spiritually. In fact they were an enemy
of God's people. This reading can also speak to us who at times have
departed from our first love of Jesus and only carry through the motions
of trying to be "good Christians" and yet may be devoid of the
inner reality of God's importance and presence in our own life.
Prayer Starter: Jesus, help me to break away from my cycle of
sin and seek true repentance through Your Word and
forgiveness. 
Read: Judges 3:15
Meditation: In this one verse we can see many different things
that help us focus on the Power of God.
First let us look at the names of the people and what they mean.
- Eglon's name is derived from the root word meaning "circle"
which leaves the impression or thought of someone going round and round,
or through the motions without ever getting anywhere. It also implies
"profession".
- Ehud means "I will give praise, or I will give thanks".
- Gera literally means to "To chew the cud", however when
chewing the cud is in the Bible it is symbolic of meditation.
We have a great picture here of what can conquer the enemies of God and
our own enemies; Meditation (Gera) gives birth to praise (Ehud), who will
conquer the enemy of profession, or circle (Eglon).
Prayer Starter: Lord help me in my battles of going around and
around with sin in my life.
Read: Psalm 104:30-35
Meditation: Just as Gera (Meditation) gave birth to Ehud (Praise),
so should our meditation give birth to praise and thanksgiving. It seems so
simple, but for most it is often neglected! If we are honest with ourselves
there are time we are more like the grumbling Israelites in the desert than
the forgiven and thankful heirs of God. But let us remember there is power
in praise and thanksgiving. It is taught throughout the Bible that we are at
all times and in all places to praise our God. There will always be those
times when trials and darkness surround you and praise may be slow in
coming, but remember it is at that very moment that you need to make a
conscious decision to lift up your shield of faith and praise God no matter
what may be going on in your life.
Prayer Starter: Lord, help me to praise You no matter what
circumstances are going on in my life.
Read: Judges 3:16-26
Meditation: The enemy is defeated. Eglon has ruled over Israel for
18 years, and God has raised up a judge and deliverer for Israel. We see how
Ehud had made himself a two-edged sword and plunged it into the belly of the
very large king and put an end to in a dramatic way the rule of this tyrant.
Prayer Starter: With Your help, O Lord, we can defeat all our
enemies of sin.
Read: Hebrews 4:12
Ephesians 6:17
Meditation: We can learn from this story of Ehud about warfare
that the New Testament believers encounter and engage in daily. Our double
-edges sword is not man made but has been given to us from above. It is the
Word of God. To defeat our enemies firstly we need to meditate on the Word
of God. Then we need to allow that meditation to overflow into praise and
thanksgiving. Just like the enemy was defeated and killed in Judges as that
sword was plunged into Eglon, we can also plunge our double-edged sword
(God's Word) into our enemy. We stand on the promises of God and the truth
of God's Word is by our side.
Prayer Starter: Lord, help me to defeat my enemies and be like
Jesus when He used Your Word to defeat Satan in the
wilderness.
Read: Judges 22-30
Meditation:
Ehud gathers some men to help defeat the rest of the army of Moab.
We are told that with God's help they kill over 10,000 Moabites and then
rule over their country. We can see that if God is for us who can stand
in our way. We also see the importance of having others by our side when
we need help to defeat the enemies we have.
If we use the lessons of this story to help us defeat our enemies we
can break the cycle of sin as the enemy of empty profession/circle is
defeated in our lives through meditation which leads to praise and
thanksgiving. We will never totally defeat every enemy we have, but one
by one they can go down to defeat if we allow God to fight on our
behalf.
Prayer Starter: Lord, help me to defeat all of our enemies
with Your help. Amen.
|
Prayer Intercession Page
Prayer Requests
Archives
Send Your Thoughts
and Feedback
Browse the Archives