Discovery and Defeat

Soon Eglon's servants became curious. Yet, they dared not risk the king's displeasure by interrupting his private meeting.  Then they noticed that the roof chamber doors were locked.  "He is just easing nature in the cool interior room,"  they reasoned. As time passed, however, mere curiosity was replaced by a wave of anxiety. Eglon's attendants could wait no longer. "At this they took the key and and opened [the doors of the roof chamber], and, look! Their lord was fallen on the earth dead! " -Judges3:24b, 25.

Meanwhile, Ehud had escaped. He passed the quarries of Gilgal and eventually reached Seirah, a place in the mountainous region of Ephraim. Ehud called together the men of Israel and led them to a united attack on the Moabites.  The account relates that "they went striking down Moab, about ten thousand men, every one robust and every one a valiant man; and not a single one escaped." With Moab subdued, the land of Israel had no further disturbance for 80 years. -Judges 3:26-30.  

Next time: Learning From Ehud's Example

From the Watchtower magazine, 1997