U-Turn Week 2-Unexpected

· As chaos was breaking out around the world, Gordon was invited to a top-secret location where British intelligence had a team of people working to break Nazi communication codes.

· Gordon joined a team of ordinary people, including puzzle solvers and chess players, who worked tirelessly to find a way to decode the intercepted messages.

· Gordon and his team invented a way to decode the Nazi’s secret messages almost instantly. With this single invention, Gordon Welchman and his team changed the course of the war.

· Gordon Welchman’s story reminds us that sometimes the most unexpected people end up making the biggest impact.

· It’s not always because they’re the strongest, or the loudest, or the most famous. In many cases, it’s because they show up when it matters.

· The Bible is full of stories just like this. And this is especially true in the book of Judges, which tells the story of times when God often raised up unexpected people to save the Israelite people from their enemies.

· Tonight, in week two of our U-Turn series, we're going to read about a few people who didn't look like heroes, but God used them anyway to bring victory and peace to God's people.

· They teach us something incredible about how God worked back then, which might just give us an idea of how God might work in our lives today.

SCRIPTURE (What does God’s Word say?)

12 Once again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord gave King Eglon of Moab control over Israel because of their evil. 13 Eglon enlisted the Ammonites and Amalekites as allies, and then he went out and defeated Israel, taking possession of Jericho, the city of palms. 14 And the Israelites served Eglon of Moab for eighteen years. (Judges 3:12-14 – NLT)

· Imagine going through every day under the control of a cruel king, wondering if you'd ever be free. It probably felt like things would never change.

15 But when the people of Israel cried out to the Lord for help, the Lord again raised up a rescuer to save them. His name was Ehud son of Gera, a left-handed man of the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites sent Ehud to deliver their tribute money to King Eglon of Moab. 16 So Ehud made a double-edged dagger that was about a foot long, and he strapped it to his right thigh, keeping it hidden under his clothing. (Judges 3:15-16 – NLT)

· Since most people back then were right-handed (just like today), guards would typically check the left side where right-handed people would normally carry a weapon. They wouldn't think to look on the right thigh.

Ehud was most likely ambidextrous, a highly skilled warrior who could fight with either hand.

· Ehud had an advantage no one else saw coming.

· Ehud delivers the tribute money, starts to leave, but then turns around and tells King Eglon he has a secret message from God.

*Sword illustration*

· The king sends everyone out of the room—just the two of them now. You can feel the tension building:

20 Ehud walked over to Eglon, who was sitting alone in a cool upstairs room. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you!" As King Eglon rose from his seat, 21 Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled out the dagger strapped to his right thigh, and plunged it into the king's belly. 22 The dagger went so deep that the handle disappeared beneath the king's fat. So Ehud did not pull out the dagger, and the king's bowels emptied. 23Then Ehud closed and locked the doors of the room and escaped down the latrine. (Judges 3:20-23 – NLT)

22 And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the dung came out.

22 And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.

“Excuse me, I have to go take a DIRT.”

· After Ehud escapes, the servants come back and find the doors locked. They assume the king is using the bathroom, so they wait.

· When they finally unlock the doors, they find their master dead with Ehud nowhere to be found.

How did he escape the palace of the King with guards everywhere?

Since the private room King Eglon and Ehud were in was elevated, it allowed servants to have access below to remove the waste. Ehud locked the doors behind himself (v 23) and then scholars believe went out through this hole into the room below. He basically crawled through a sewer pipe where this big dude Eglon did his business, and then walked out as if nothing had happened.

· Ehud rallies the Israelites, and they defeat the Moabite army.

30 So Moab was conquered by Israel that day, and there was peace in the land for eighty years. (Judges 3:26-30 – NLT)

· Just when you think the stories in Judges couldn’t take any more unexpected turns, enter Deborah.

· Deborah was perhaps one of the most unexpected judges because she was a woman. (I have three women at home who judge my dad jokes daily.)

4 Deborah, the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet who was judging Israel at that time. 5 She would sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for judgment. (Judges 4:4-5 – NLT)

· Deborah is the only woman (that we know of) to lead Israel during this time. And as we’ll see, Deborah is the exact right person for the job.

· God gives Deborah a message for the Israelite military commander named Barak that he should gather 10,000 warriors and go fight the enemy army led by a man named Sisera.

· It seems like Barak doesn’t want to go but Deborah doesn't hesitate for a second.

9 “Very well,” she replied, “I will go with you. But you will receive no honor in this venture, for the Lord’s victory over Sisera will be at the hands of a woman.” (Judges 4:9 – NLT)

· Deborah stepped up and led with incredible courage. She heard from God, encouraged Barak, and together they led Israel to victory.

· There’s a plot twist coming that involves a woman named Jael who had her own ideas about how to handle enemy commanders.

*Hammer and spike illustration*

· Sisera, the enemy commander, is running for his life and comes to the tent of a woman named Jael.

· Her family was supposedly on friendly terms with Sisera’s king, so he thinks he's safe.

· Jael invites him in, gives him some milk, covers him with a blanket, and tells him to rest. He asks her to stand guard and lie if anyone comes looking for him.

21 But when Sisera fell asleep from exhaustion, Jael quietly crept up to him with a hammer and tent peg in her hand. Then she drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and so he died. (Judges 4:21 – NLT)

· God used Ehud’s left-handedness, Deborah's leadership, and Jael's courage to bring about a victory for the Israelites.

· None of them did it on their own, and none of them were the person anyone would have expected to accomplish what they did.

INSIGHTS (What might this Scripture mean?)

1. God sees what others miss.

· Ehud was left-handed and, in that culture, being left-handed was seen as a weakness or even as a reason to think that a person was untrustworthy.

· God doesn’t look at someone the way other people do. Where we might see weakness, God sees strength and opportunity.

· God saw what others missed. He saw their courage, their faith, and their potential.

· God sees what you can become when you trust Him.

· How God sees us matters more than how we see ourselves.

· God isn’t looking for the popular, the polished, or the powerful. He’s looking for those who are willing to say yes—even when they don’t feel qualified.

2. God’s plans aren’t always predictable.

· Ehud did not charge into battle with an army. He walked into the enemy king’s chamber with a plan that no one saw coming.

· Deborah didn’t lead from the front lines with a sword. She led with wisdom and faith, encouraging others to trust in God’s word.

· Jael used what she had: a tent peg and a hammer.

· Sometimes we expect God to move in ways that feel “normal” or easy to explain.

· He doesn’t always work in ways we expect. He doesn’t need our perfect plan. He just needs our obedience.

3. God moves through those who trust Him.

· Ehud didn’t go in with an army. He went in with a plan that was almost certainly doomed to fail.

· Deborah didn’t wait around. She stepped up when others hesitated.

· When Jael saw an opportunity to be part of God’s plan, she didn’t wait for someone else to show up. She acted.

· Every one of these unexpected heroes trusted that God was with them, even when it didn’t make sense. And when the opportunity presented itself, they took a step forward without necessarily knowing what would happen next.

· These were simply people who trusted God and obeyed even when it was uncomfortable or risky.

ACTION (How could we live this out?)

1. Don’t count yourself out.

· Just because the world doesn't always recognize your value doesn't mean God doesn't.

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 – NLT)

· God made you on purpose. Nothing about you was an accident.

· Even the parts of you that you might consider a weakness can be used by God to be some of your greatest strengths.

· The next time you feel like you aren’t good enough, or that God would probably rather use someone else other than you, re-read this passage from Ephesians 2:10.

· And when you read it, I want you to remind yourself that this passage is talking about you. You are God’s masterpiece.

2. Say yes before you’re ready.

· Think of one thing you've been putting off because it feels too big, too scary, or too uncomfortable.

· If you think that maybe it’s something God wants you to do, tell someone else (maybe even your small group!) about what you’re thinking and ask them to pray about it with you.

· And if you really start to feel like it’s the right thing to do, take one small step toward it this week.

· God doesn't need you to be perfect. He just asks you to be willing.

3. Be a voice of encouragement for someone else.

· Pick one person and be intentional about encouraging them this week.

· It could be as simple as a text saying, "Hey, you're actually really good at ___(fill in the blank)___" or "I noticed you've been working super hard lately. Keep it up!" Or maybe it's telling them something you genuinely think is cool about them—but make it real, not weird.

· Before you reach out, take a minute to pray for them.

*Prayer*

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