 HEROES: 4
Heroes: Part Four
What's Your Weird
February 18, 2007
Pastor Paul W Newell
Did you ever notice how most heroes are at least a little weird?
The Oxford English Dictionary defines weird as “out of the ordinary course, strange, unusual, odd, fantastic.” Weird actually has its roots way back in Greek and early English writing and had the connotation of power, “having the power to control the fate of destiny of human beings”, something supernatural.
Heroes are kind of weird by their very nature. They are out of the ordinary, a little odd or strange – and they tend to do fantastic things.
Ordinary people, extraordinary lives: that’s where our HEROES series is taking us and this morning’s HERO is just plan weird. Truth is God uses weird and all of us have some weird in us.
SO WHAT’S YOUR WEIRD?
Let me read and tell you the story of Ehud, a pretty weird guy and a pretty weird story! It’s found at the end of Judges chapter three.
Once again the Israelites did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, so the LORD gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel. Eglon attacked Israel and took possession of Jericho. And the Israelites were subject to Eglon of Moab for eighteen years. But when Israel cried out to the LORD for help, the LORD raised up a man to rescue them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, of the tribe of Benjamin, who was left-handed. Judges 3:12 - 15 (NLT)
That doesn’t seem too weird, does it?
Israel was working the cycle again. First they would forget God and the consequence was God’s discipline. Their sin would lead to slavery. This time it was the Moabites and a fat dude named “Bull” (that’s the meaning of Eglon). What amazes me here is that it took the Israelites eighteen years to turn to God for help.
Why is it that we always take so long to seek God’s help? We suffer in our sin and just live miserably. We all do it so we can’t be too hard on these people, but we have to be honest about it – we typically wait a lot longer than we need to before we turn to God. We sit and suffer when we could be repenting and rejoicing.
However long it took them to come to their senses, they finally cry out to God and God raises up a man named Ehud to deliver them. Let’s read through the rest of the story...
The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tax money to King Eglon of Moab. So Ehud made himself a double-edged dagger that was eighteen inches long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing. He brought the tax money to Eglon, who was very fat.
18After delivering the payment, Ehud sent home those who had carried the tax money. But when Ehud reached the stone carvings near Gilgal, he turned back. He came to Eglon and said, “I have a secret message for you.” So the king commanded his servants to be silent and sent them all out of the room. Judges 3:15 - 30 (NLT)
Now the plot begins to thicken. Ehud returns to Eglon’s temporary palace in Jericho. Eglon has retired to his private quarters where his servants bring Ehud. Eglon is slobbing around in the roof apartment of his house, I sort of picture him sitting there in his skivvies and t-shirt, many a nice BIG silk robe hanging around him. (Picture Jaba the Hut from Star Wars.)
Eglon is intrigued by Ehud’s announcement of a special message from God and he doesn’t want his lackeys to hear it so he sends them out of the room. Ehud approaches Eglon and tells him again that he has a secret message from God. Eglon, in his excitement sort of stands and leans over to hear Ehud whisper it in his ear. But instead of whispering, Ehud puts on a demonstration.
Ehud swiftly reaches his left hand into his overcoat, pulls out the dagger he had made and rams it into Eglon’s fat stomach – so fat in fact that the rolls swallow the dagger and Ehud has to leave it behind. The Bible tells us that Ehud thrust it with so much force that it literally went all the way through Eglon and out his behind and his bowels burst out. (I know that’s pretty graphic, but the Bible seldom minces words. It tells it like it is!)
While all of this is going on, the king’s servants are just hanging out outside the doors of the spring room. Ehud quietly walks over and locks the doors. The servants assume Eglon is going to the little boy’s room (or should I say huge boy’s?).
Ehud has no way out except to climb down the potty access to the ground floor and escape.
Then Ehud closed and locked the doors and climbed down the latrine and escaped through the sewage access. After Ehud was gone, the king’s servants returned and found the doors to the upstairs room locked. They thought he might be using the latrine, so they waited. But when the king didn’t come out after a long delay, they became concerned and got a key. And when they opened the door, they found their master dead on the floor. While the servants were waiting, Ehud escaped, passing the idols on his way to Seirah. Judges 3:23-26 (NLT)
Now that was weird! So what’s that all about? Why would God choose to include that gross of a story in the Bible? Why claim Ehud as a HERO?
Why? Because Ehud was weird and God is looking for WEIRD HEROES.
Most HEROES are a little weird, some are a lot weird! God wants to use your weird and make you a HERO.
SO WHAT’S YOUR WEIRD.
DEFINING YOUR WEIRD
We’ve all got it. There’s no getting past the fact that every one of us are a little weird. There’s something out of the ordinary in every one of us.
There’s something unusual, unique, and fantastic in everyone sitting here this morning and God wants to use it is a powerful way. You just have to define your weird.
Ehud’s “weirdness” can help you define your own.
Ehud’s history was weird.
If you look at the little bit we know about Ehud’s history, it was weird. Look at the few things we know:
His Dad’s name was “Gera”. What kind of nameis Gera. It means “grain”. Hey, grain!
I’m going to take a shot here and assume Ehud’s dad was a farmer. I’ve got nothing against farmers, my grandfather was a farmer. But when I think of farmers I sort of think about milking cows and planting stuff. I’d want to be a rancher. Ranchers are cool. They herd cattle, brand things, wrestle animals to the ground, ride horses and stuff. Ehud was a farm boy, not much recognition from that.
Not only that, but he was a “Benjamite”, he was from the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was a tough place to be from, a tough place to live. If you read near the end of the Book of Judges, you’ll find out that there’s a lot of really bad stuff that went on near Ehud’s house. It was a round neighborhood. At one point it was so bad that the rest of the tribes of Israel wend to war against Benjamin. These guys were rough and tough.
Ehud had a history that was weird.
What’s your history like? Rough and tough? Sad and sorry? Maybe your history isn’t that bad or that good – but I can tell you one thing about your history, nobody but you has your history. It’s unique. Your history is weird!
And here’s something else – God allowed you to have the history you have so He can use what your history has made you!
Ehud was a tough guy! Maybe he was ashamed of his background, I don’t know. Maybe he had been mixed up in some bad stuff – I do know he knew how to make a dagger and how to hide it well. He also knew how to use it. That sort of scares me a little!
Well, it would scare me, except that Ehud let God use his weird history to prepare him for his mission.
Ehud’s abilities were weird.
I have a feeling unless you are a lefty you won’t really get this. How many lefties here today. It was frustrating in school wasn’t it? They used to try to force left-handers to do everything right-handed.
Ehud was no different. He was odd. The right hand was always used as the symbol of strength. Weapons were carried and used with the right hand. Even the name BENJAMIN means “son of my right hand”.
That’s sort of funny isn’t it. Ehud was a left-handed guy from the “right hand” tribe. I wonder how well he fit in.
Here’s something very cool. Everyone sitting here has a weird ability. Everyone here this morning has something unique. And, if you are a true Christ-follower, the Bible tells us that God has given you special abilities, gifts, that you are to use to serve Him. My gifts, abilities, talents are all weird to me. We may have similar gifts and abilities, but when we combine our gifts, with our desires, abilities, personalities and our history – all of that shapes us into weird people! We all get to use our abilities differently for God’s kingdom!
One other thing was weird about Ehud:
Ehud’s Calling – PURPOSE – was weird.
It says here, “the LORD raised up a man to rescue them. His name was Ehud...”
Remember when I read to you the definition of weird a few minutes ago? “having the power to control the fate of destiny of human beings... supernatural” Ehud’s calling was supernatural; it was weird!
Ehud realized he was called of God to do something extraordinary.
Everyone else might have just seen an ordinary, left-handed farm boy; nothing to brag about - someone to look past. But Ehud somehow connected with his God chosen, supernatural purpose, calling.
If you don’t get anything else this morning, get this: you have a supernatural calling from God. Everyone of us do. Look at this:
God chose you to be his people, so I urge you now to live the life to which God called you. Ephesians 4:1
Do you want to know what Ehud’s name means? It comes from the Hebrew word that means “united”. Ehud had it all together. He took his weird history, his weird abilities and his weird calling and put it all together to do something extraordinary for God.
Ehud defined his weird.
What’s your weird?
But there’s more to this whole weird thing. Admitting you’re weird is only half the battle – you have to use your weird. The real power comes when you start to use your weird. Ehud did.
USING YOUR WEIRD
Look back at verse sixteen again “So Ehud made himself a double-edged dagger...” If you read the supplement to today’s talk “Shamgar’s Weird” you’ll understand why Ehud had to make his dagger and couldn’t pick one up at his local Walmart, but the point here is Ehud made it.
God expects you to use your weird! God expects you to do something! Do something!
My dad use to tell me, “Paul, do something, anything, even if it’s wrong, so something!” I don’t encourage you to do wrong things, but you can do something.
We sort of wait around and expect someone to hand use something before we do anything.
I can’t invite someone to church – someone had to help me.
I can’t help in Toddler Town or Rooftop, or with the Greet team or SWAT – someone has to ask me or give me something to do.
Man, Ehud didn’t wait around for someone to hand him a dagger – he made it. Don’t wait for someone to hand you a tool, make one with your weird. Do something!
Here’s a powerful lesson. Did you notice how long the dagger was? It was one cubit. That’s an interesting measurement, because it was marked off my taking your elbow and measuring to your thumb. It was the length of your forearm (sort of like measuring “hands” for the height of a horse).
Ehud made a customized dagger that fit his arm. He was just long enough to hide behind his arm, just long enough to be able to really work it.
He didn’t set out to make the biggest dagger he could, just what fit him.
Listen, you don’t have to do everything. You only need to do what God gave you the ability to do. Use your weird. Don’t assume you have to be someone else. Don’t hang back because you don’t feel like you can do what someone else could do. Just do what you can. God doesn’t expect you to overshoot your weird – just use it!
The next thing you notice is that...
Ehud wore his weird.
He strapped it to his leg. He carried it around with him while he went about his regular stuff. It was hidden there just waiting to be used for something extraordinary. He didn’t broadcast that he had his weird waiting, he just waited.
You don’t have to tell everyone about your weird. You just have to wear it, have it ready to use when the time is right. Just be ready. Wait for it. You will know when it’s the right time to use your weird.
Someone once said luck is when preparation meets opportunity. That’s how it will be with your weird. You make something of it, get prepared, wear it and the time will come when you know God is calling you to use your weird.
For Ehud it happened pretty quick! Ehud used his weird decisively!
When it was time, Ehud didn’t hesitate. He made an impact. (He also was willing to leave his work behind – or in the behind if you wish to say it that way...)
Ehud used his weird is a decisive and creative way.
You know, you may not like this story. You may not like the way Ehud used his weird, but you have to admit – he allowed God to use his weird to get rid of a big fat obstacle that was facing Israel.
You may be holding back from using your weird because you are afraid other people won’t like the way God uses your weird. Even Ehud ending up a little smelly before it was all over – but when it’s time to use your weird, just do it. Don’t hesitate. Get it out there!
Before I close, I want to show you one more thing about your weird...
OTHERS WILL FOLLOW YOUR WEIRD
Ehud escaped from Eglon’s palace and immediate set out to finish what he had started. He headed into the hill country of Ephraim and sounded the call:
When he arrived in the hill country of Ephraim, Ehud sounded a call to arms. Then he led a band of Israelites down from the hills. “Follow me,” he said, “for the LORD has given you victory over Moab your enemy.” So they followed him.... So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and there was peace in the land for eighty years. Judges 3:27,28,30
Because Ehud was willing to use his weird, others followed his example and the Moabites were defeated. Israel enjoyed eighty years of peace because Ehud was willing to use his weird for God.
If you step out and use your weird – others will follow. Why don’t they go first, I don’t know! The should, but why wait for someone else when God is looking for HEROES who will use their weird for His glory.
What’s your weird?
First, you have to define your weird. You may not even realize what your weird is until you start doing something. Step up, volunteer to do something and watch God reveal that supernatural thing inside you and about you that He’s just been waiting for the world to see!
Second, use your weird.
God is looking for HEROES, ordinary people who will live extraordinary lives – by using their weird!
What’s Your Weird? Episode Two: Shamgar
At the end of the story of Ehud is one little verse that is easy to glance by if it weren’t for it being attached to Ehud.
“After Ehud, Shamgar son Anath rescued Israel. He killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad.” Judges 3:31
That’s pretty cool, one guy against six hundred of Goliath’s relatives; pretty impressive. Impressive, but what else? My question is always, why is it there? Why did God include this one right here? Such verses are never mistakes or afterthoughts. They mean something.
Remember the lesson of Ehud: God uses our weird. What’s your weird?
Ehud teaches us that God uses people who are different. Left-handed people were not considered “normal”. Most of us aren’t very normal either.
Ehud teaches us that we can take our history, abilities and calling from God and accomplish something extraordinary.
Ehud is ultimately about taking the way God made us and using it for Him.
Ehud’s weirdness was in who he was.
Shamgar, on the other hand, is all about what he had.
What made Shamgar weird was what he had and it wasn’t much.
An ox-goad was a pretty primitive tool. It was a long stick, usually about six to eight feet long. On one end the stick was sharpened to a point. On the other end a flat piece of metal was attached to use as a sort of scraper. As the farmer would plow behind the oxen he could use the pointed end to sort of prick at the oxen’s heel. Nobody, not even an ox, wants to be stuck in the back of the foot so that was pretty good motivation to keep moving across the field. The flat side of the goad could be used to scrap the excess dirt or mud off the plow.
An ox-goad was a pretty primitive tool, but very effective.
The Philistines were an oppressor nation. They lived along the western seacoast of the Promise Land pretty close to where the Gaza strip is today. They were powerful and technologically advanced. They had refined the ability to harden metal and used that skill to make better weapons. When they would conquer surrounding nations they would take all of their weapons away. Then, if there was a need to sharpen a plow or other tool made of metal, the conquered people would have to go to the Philistines to have their tools repaired or sharpened. It was a great way to make sure people like the Israelites could not oppose them.
That’s where Shamgar enters the picture. There were no swords available. Shamgar had no access to the “right tools” for battle. All he had was his ox goad.
I don’t know how. I don’t know why. I don’t know where. Frankly, we’re not told a whole lot about Shamgar except who his dad was – Anath. (Anath means “answer” which I think is sort of funny since we have so few answers about either him or his son!)
I don’t know much here, except that Shamgar used the weird that was in his hand and in the process killed six hundred of the Philistine oppressors. And all he had was a pointed stick with a flat piece of metal on the end.
God is looking for HEROES who will use their weird abilities for Him, but He’s also looking for HEROES who will use their weird stuff for Him.
You and I have weird stuff. We have stuff that is ours and no one else’s. God wants us to take what we have and courageously use it to defeat the enemy.
What’s your weird? What’s your weird stuff? We are in a battle for the eternal hearts and souls of our community and God wants you to use your weird to bring victory into the lives of your family, your friends, your neighbors and your community.
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