It’s sad that we evangelicals so often miss the humor in Bible stories. If we read a story that seems silly or funny in any way, our first inclination is to read it again … removing any of the funny parts. The Bible, after all, is serious business! I’m not exaggerating: pick up just about any commentary on any book of the Bible, and describe the book’s tone. I’ll give you a dollar if funny registers in the top 20.
To be fair, the Bible’s primary aim isn’t to entertain us. And what it has to say to us is serious. But every now and then, God chooses to communicate serious truth with a grin. That seems to be what’s going in with the bizarre story of Eglon in Judges 3.
Not familiar with Eglon? He was a nasty Moabite king who had brought Israel under his thumb. And other than his oppressive reign, just about all we know about him is that he was “a very fat man” (Judges 3:17). That might seem like an irrelevant detail; it’s not.
Israel’s judge (Ehud) tricks Eglon into leaving the two alone, because Ehud’s got a “secret message” for him. And when the doors close, Ehud jumps up and plunges a concealed sword into Eglon’s gut. This is where it gets a bit colorful: the sword ends up spilling Eglon’s “dung” out (gross). Then—yes, this is in the Bible—Eglon’s fat closes in around the blade (grosser still). Meanwhile, Ehud is able to escape while Eglon’s guards are wondering about the “fragrant” aroma emanating from within his chambers. In fact, they wait so long that Ehud is able to rally Israel’s army while they’re making potty jokes. By day’s end, the tables have turned, and Moab is subject to Israel.
I’m not sure how, but most commentators manage to completely overlook the humor of Eglon’s story. (I didn’t realize this myself until Dale Ralph Davis pointed it out.) Why would the author include all these strange details? Because this was a story that Israel loved to hear with laughter.I see two important messages for us in this:
1. God mocks those who oppose him.
Israel told the story of Eglon’s death with mocking, because they knew what we often don’t: God doesn’t just win, but he mocks his opponents. Charles Spurgeon expressed this vividly in an 1856 sermon:
“He who would place himself in front of a fast moving railway car will be crushed and would be no more foolish than you who are opposing the gospel. If the gospel is true, truth is mighty and it will prevail. Who are you to attempt to stand against it? You will be crushed. But let me tell you, when the railway car runs over you the wheel will not be raised even an inch by your size. … Poor creatures… They are like a gnat who thinks he can quench the sun. Go tiny insect and do it if you can. You will only burn your wings and die. Likewise there may be a fly who thinks it could drink the ocean dry. Drink the ocean if you can, O fly! More likely you will sink in it and it will drink you.”
There are times when those who stand against God seem like they are in charge. And perhaps they do have some power…for a time. But God is working history so that his agenda will be accomplished, that his name will be glorified. Those who stand against him will one day be exposed as gnats on a train-track, proudly (and foolishly) defying an oncoming train.
But we who know the gospel cannot hear God’s mocking and join in as his complete ally. After all, we are not the ones to bring God’s wrath. In fact, we were the objects of that wrath, and we know that if not for Christ, we would be still helpless gnats, too. So while we can smile at the creative—and even humorous—ways that God brings about justice for the wicked, we must always remember that wickedness is not only out there; it is in our hearts as well.
2. We will one day re-tell the stories of our suffering with laughter.
The oppression that Israel felt under King Eglon was real, and bitter, and painful. But the author doesn’t spend much time on Israel’s oppression; instead, he relishes in Eglon’s defeat. He is able to re-tell a part of Israel’s painful history with new colors—with joy instead of despair, laughter instead of tears.
If you are in pain, God doesn’t turn a blind eye. That pain is real, whether it’s caused by your sin, someone else’s sin, or simply the brokenness of this world. But Israel was able to transform a painful chapter into a hilarious one, because they had seen the story from God’s perspective.
One day, when we stand face to face with our God, we will be able to tell the most broken parts of our story with our heads held high. God’s resolution to our pain won’t erase it from our past, but it will give us the strength to tell that story without tears. As C.S. Lewis once said, God’s presence will make the worst of human experiences seem as fleeting as one bad night in a cheap hotel. Or as the Apostle Paul put, our present sufferings aren’t even worth comparing to the glory that God will reveal in us.
Israel got a glimpse of that when Eglon’s fat body fell to the ground. They may have laughed at that death, but how much more can we now laugh at death itself? How much more should we, delivered from the oppression of sin, re-tell our stories with joy and laughter?
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