Three Men, Three Kinds of Obedience

Othniel is the best example of a judge. God's Spirit fills him. He acts, and the land has peace for forty years. Ehud cannot use his right hand well. He turns that weakness into an advantage and hides a homemade sword. Shamgar gets only one verse and fights with a farm tool. Each story is stranger than the one before it.

• Othniel is not chosen because he is talented. His strength comes from the Spirit of the LORD. The Bible tells us this before Othniel does anything.
• Ehud's plan is careful, dishonest, and successful. The Bible tells us what he did, but that does not mean it approves of every part of his plan.
• Ehud says, 'I have a message from God unto thee.' Eglon stands to hear God's message, and that message brings his death.
• Shamgar delivers Israel with a farm implement. Whatever is already in your hand counts.
• The land had peace, but only for a time. Peace will not last if hearts do not change.

1. 01Othniel was faithful before he became a judge. What quiet work are you doing now that God may use to prepare you for later?
2. 02Ehud's greatest asset was the thing that marked him as different. What about your history, your limitation, or your background have you been treating as reason God cannot use you?
3. 03Shamgar used what was in his hand. Name literally what is in your hand this week — a job, a truck, a skill, a shift schedule — and how God could use it.
4. 04The Bible tells us what Ehud did without saying that every part was right. Why does that matter when you teach this story?
5. 05Rest lasted eighty years under Ehud and then collapsed. What are you building that would outlast eighty years of your absence?
6. 06Which of the three men are you most tempted to want to be, and what does that desire reveal about your motives for ministry?
7. 07Where are you waiting for a bigger platform before you obey with what you already have?

• Judges 1:12-13

  Othniel took a difficult city before he was ever called a judge. He was faithful before he had a title.

• 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

  God chooses the foolish, the weak, the despised, 'that no flesh should glory in his presence.'

• Exodus 4:2

  'What is that in thine hand?' The Shamgar principle stated to Moses.

• 2 Timothy 2:2

  Teach faithful men who can teach others. The work should continue after the leader is gone.

• Zechariah 4:6

  Othniel's strength came from God's Spirit, not from his own talent or power.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon Othniel for the work ahead. Today, the Holy Spirit also lives in us and cleanses our hearts. Do you want His help only so you can do ministry, or do you also want Him to change you? God cares about the man you are, not only the work you do.

You will be tempted to build your ministry around gifted men. Judges builds around available men. In the next thirty days, put an overlooked man to work on something real.

Ask for the Spirit's filling, not just His assistance. Offer God the thing in your hand. Pray for the overlooked man in your ministry by name.