Friday, July 30, 2010

I am fascinated by the untold stories in the Bible. By "Untold" I mean not typically taught in most Sunday schools.

For example, there's the story of Ehud in the book of Judges.
Let me set the stage for you:

There's this king, a really fat king. He's the Jabba the Hut type of king with folds and folds of fat. And he is an evil king. (That's important for you to know because he dies in the end.).

Eglad, king of Moab was his name. He made the children of Israel pay tribute to him. The Israelites prayed for help in the situation. God heard their prayers and when it was payment time, sent Ehud (the hero of our story), along with some other soldiers to give the tribute to the king. But before Ehud left Israel, he made himself a dagger and attached it to his right thigh. Ehud was left handed. Most people I guess even back then were right handed. Otherwise, why would the Bible mention that fact?

Anyway, they all deliver the tribute. I am sure that the guards checked for weapons in the typical places (left thighs were checked for sure!) and then Ehud tells the king that he has a secret message for him. So the king sends everyone else out of the room and locks the door. Ehud then proceeds to stab him with his dagger. The king is soooo fat that the dagger gets lost in the folds of his skin. Ehud then jumps out a nearby window and runs away.

Now comes the really interesting part of the story. the king's guards are waiting outside the throne room. They wait a few minutes and then try the door. When they see it's locked they think the king is going to the bathroom and wants some privacy. So they wait a few more minutes. Finally they knock - no answer. They knock again. Still no answer. Finally, they break down the door and find the king dead on the throne. (No "sitting on the throne" jokes, okay?) by the time they realized what happened, Ehud is already back home.

So I'm not really sure what the biblical significance of this story is, but I know that when I start telling the story, all of a sudden all of the boys in the room get interested in the Bible...

2 comments:

Sheila Siler said...

Wow, I'm gonna go back and read this!

ysmma said...

love it-I am going to read it too :)