Ehud Defeats Moab

After Israel again did evil, God gave them into the hands of Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years. Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, was sent to deliver tribute to the obese King Eglon. After presenting the tribute, Ehud requested a private audience, claiming to have a secret message from God. When the king dismissed his attendants, Ehud drew a double-edged sword strapped to his right thigh (where guards hadn’t checked) and plunged it into Eglon’s belly so deeply that “the fat closed in over the blade.”

Ehud escaped, rallied Israel, and they defeated Moab, killing about 10,000 Moabite warriors. The land had peace for eighty years. This deliverance introduces moral complexity—achieved through deception and assassination rather than straightforward military victory.