The people finally begged God for help, and he had mercy on them. He sent them Othniel to be their judge. The Spirit of the Lord was on him, and he was able to go into battle and kill the foreign king. God delivered his people and they lived in peace for forty years.

After Othniel died, the people of Israel once again made the Lord angry with all of their sin. This time God gave them to Eglon, the king of Moab who was extremely fat. He enlisted the help of other nations, and together they defeated Israel. Moab ruled over the people for eighteen years. 

Once again they begged the Lord to have mercy and help them. This time God sent a judge named Ehud, who was left-handed. 

When it was time for the people of Israel to send money to king Eglon, Ehud decided to take it to him. He made a double-edged sword that was only eighteen inches long. He strapped it under his clothes on his right side. He took several men with him and presented the money to the king.

After making their presentation to the king, they turned to leave. Ehud then told his men to go on without him, and he returned to the court. He said, “King Eglon, I have a secret message for you.”

 The king was pleased so he sent his guards away and took Ehud up the stairs to an enclosed porch where it was cool. There, he sat on his throne.

Ehud said, “The message I am bringing you is from the Lord.” The king stood up, and Ehud reached his left hand into his clothes and pulled the sword from his right side. He plunged it into Eglon’s stomach. The king’s fat closed around it, so Ehud wasn’t able to pull it out. As the king fell to the ground, his stomach split open and his insides spilled out.

Ehud went out the door and locked it behind him. When the servants came, they saw that the door was locked, so they assumed that the king had locked it so he could use the toilet. 

They waited until they finally realized something was wrong. They found a key and opened the door and found their master dead on the floor.

This delay gave Ehud time to escape. He crossed over the Jordan River and sounded the alarm. The Israelites came ready to fight. He said, “Follow me! The Lord has given us the Moabites.”

With Ehud in the lead, they attacked the Moabites, killing over 10,000 warriors. Because of that battle, the Moabites had to serve Israel, and the people lived in peace for eighty years.