Sept. 4 marked the anniversary of a notable event in baseball history. On Sept. 4, 1993, pitcher Jim Abbott of the New York Yankees threw a no-hitter against Cleveland. Abbott had a successful pitching career despite a handicap — he was born with no right hand.
Abbott’s story reminds me of the biblical account of Ehud, a hero of ancient Israel. Most English translations of Judges 3:15 describe Ehud as “left-handed,” but the Hebrew text says more specifically that he was impeded in the use of his right hand. There is some irony here, because Ehud is also identified as a member of the tribe of Benjamin. The name Benjamin means “son of the right hand,” which has the connotation “son of my strength,” since the right hand is usually the stronger or dominant hand.
Although Ehud had a disability, God chose him to lead a successful revolt against the Moabites, who had dominated the region around Jericho for eighteen years. Ehud more than compensated for his physical limitations with cleverness, courage, and skill. He became proficient in working with his left hand, and he made a double-edged sword for himself, designing it with a short hilt so that he could conceal it under his clothes.
Ehud had a special reason for crafting his sword. He hoped for an opportunity to assassinate the Moabite king who required the Israelites to make tribute payments to him. Ehud found such an opportunity when he traveled to Jericho to deliver a payment.
The narrator gives a hint about what would happen in Judges 3:17, telling us that the Moabite king’s name was Eglon, and that he was very fat. The name Eglon means “calf,” giving the reader an image of a “fatted calf,” one ready to be slaughtered.
After delivering the tribute payment Ehud sought a private audience with Eglon, claiming to have a secret message for the king, Eglon apparently was sitting on the toilet at the time, but he was eager to hear the message, so he got up when Ehud approached him. Ehud then delivered a surprise, thrusting his sword into Ehud’s belly with his left hand and killing him. An added bit of humor is the fact that the left hand was the one traditionally used to clean up after a session on the toilet.
The room also may have contained a staircase, which Ehud used to leave undetected. (Archaeologists, in fact, have found rooms containing both a toilet and a staircase in the city gates at Lachish, a nearby city in Israel.) Eglon’s servants did not want to disturb the king, and by the time they found out what had happened, Ehud was long gone. He went on to lead Israel to victory in battle over Moab.
Ehud, like Jim Abbott, did not allow himself to be limited by a disability. The Bible describes his triumph with its characteristic frankness and humor.
Doug Ward is an elder at Church of the Messiah in Xenia and an avid reader.
