The Story of Ehud — God's Unexpected Hero
Encounter Service
God Delivers His People in Unexpected Ways
This interactive experience takes you through the story of Ehud from Judges 3:12-30, where God uses a left-handed man from a "right-handed" tribe to deliver Israel from 18 years of oppression. It's a story about how God doesn't pick His heroes the way we do.
Whether you're a family doing this together at home, an individual looking for a personal devotion time, or kids looking for holiday activities: this experience is designed for everyone, ages 4 to 94.
You can step through all three sections in order, or jump straight to the part that interests you. The whole journey takes about 60 to 90 minutes, but each section works on its own too.
Judges 3:12-30 · "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong." (1 Corinthians 1:27)
1
Engage
Fun challenges that reveal how we pick our champions based on what we can see
2
Explore
The story of Ehud told through illustrated panels with the full biblical text
3
Express
Creative activities to respond to what God is saying about how He made you
Challenge 1: Strength
The Book Hold
Hold a heavy book (a big Bible works great!) at arm's length, straight out in front of you. Time how long you can hold it. If you're in a family, who do you think will last longest? Were you right?
You'll need: A heavy book or Bible, a timer (phone works great)
Challenge 2: Memory
The Tray Challenge
Place 15 objects on a tray or table. Look at them for 30 seconds, then cover them up. Write down as many as you can remember. Who would you have picked to do best at this? Was it the same person as Challenge 1?
You'll need: A tray, 15 small household objects, a cloth to cover them, paper and pen, a timer
Challenge 3: Steady Hands
The Coin Stack
Stack 5 coins on top of each other using only one hand. Or try threading a needle. Who has the steadiest hands? You might be surprised: sometimes the youngest in the family is best at this one.
You'll need: 5 coins per person (or a needle and thread)
Challenge 4: Creativity
The Wrong-Hand Draw
Draw a picture of a cat using your non-dominant hand (lefties use right, righties use left). Vote on the best one. This one completely levels the playing field: everyone is equally "limited."
You'll need: Paper, markers or pencils
Let's Talk About It
How did you choose your champion for each round? What were you looking for?
Did you pick the same person every time, or did it change? Why?
What qualities did you value? Size? Speed? Skill? Age? Something else?
Was there a challenge where the person you least expected actually did best?
If you were picking a team for something really important, what would you look for? Would God pick the same way?
"We pick champions based on what we can see. We look at the outside: who's strongest, fastest, smartest, biggest. But God? God picks differently. And the story we're about to hear proves it."
Scene 1: Israel Under Oppression
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord. He gathered to himself the Ammonites and the Amalekites, and went and defeated Israel. And they took possession of the city of palms. And the people of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
Judges 3:12-14
Scene 2: Israel Cries Out
Then the people of Israel cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up for them a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man.
Judges 3:15a
Scene 3: God's Unexpected Choice
Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, a left-handed man. The people of Israel sent tribute by him to Eglon the king of Moab. "Benjamin" means "son of my right hand," yet God chose a man restricted in his right hand. From the world's perspective: a weakness. From God's: a hidden advantage.
Judges 3:15
Scene 4: The Hidden Sword
And Ehud made for himself a sword with two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his clothes. Because he was left-handed, he strapped his sword to his right thigh, where no guard would think to check. His "weakness" became his stealth advantage.
Judges 3:16
Scene 5: Before the King
And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. And when Ehud had finished presenting the tribute, he sent away the people who carried the tribute. But he himself turned back at the idols near Gilgal and said, "I have a secret message for you, O king." And he commanded, "Silence." And all his attendants went out from his presence.
Judges 3:17-19
Scene 6: God's Deliverance
And Ehud came to him as he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." And he arose from his seat. And Ehud reached with his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. Ehud went out and locked the doors of the roof chamber behind him.
Judges 3:20-23
Scene 7: Victory and Rest
Then Ehud went out, and he sounded the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim. Then the people of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he said to them, "Follow after me, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hand." And they went down after him and seized the fords of the Jordan against the Moabites. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
Judges 3:27-30
Questions to Explore Together
Read through these questions together. You don't have to answer them all. Pick the ones that spark the best conversation.
"Why do you think God chose Ehud?"
- What does it tell us that God didn't choose the strongest or most obvious warrior?
- Have you ever seen God use someone unexpected to do something amazing?
- Why do you think God often bypasses the "obvious" choice?
"What did people probably think about Ehud before this?"
- Can you think of a time when you felt different or overlooked, like Ehud might have?
- Have you ever been underestimated? How did that feel?
- Can you think of a way that God could use you precisely because you are different?
"How did the 'weakness' become his greatest advantage?"
- Is there something about you that the world calls a weakness but God might call a gift?
- Can you think of another Bible character whose "weakness" became their strength?
- What would change if you started seeing your differences as part of God's plan rather than a mistake?
"What does this tell us about how God sees us?"
- If God sees potential where the world sees limitation, how should that change the way we see ourselves?
- How should it change the way we see other people?
- What is one thing you've always thought disqualified you that God might actually want to use?
"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Goal
Just as Ehud's left-handedness was seen as a weakness but became the very thing God used for deliverance, this activity helps you identify things about yourself that feel like limitations and reimagine them as strengths God can use.
What You'll Need
- Card or thick paper (cut into a sword shape if you like, or just use a rectangle)
- Markers, pens, or coloured pencils
- The blank sword cards (download below) or make your own
Instructions
- Take your sword-shaped card (or cut one out from the blank template).
- On one side, write or draw something about yourself that others might see as a weakness, a limitation, or something ordinary.
- Flip the card over. On the other side, write or draw how God might use that very thing as a strength.
- If you're stuck, use the prompts below to get thinking.
Prompts to Get You Started
"I'm quiet"
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"I listen well and notice what others miss"
"I'm young"
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"I see the world with fresh faith"
"I'm not a leader"
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"I serve behind the scenes where things actually happen"
"I struggle with ___"
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"God's power shows up in my weakness"
"I'm shy"
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"I connect deeply one-on-one"
"I'm old"
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"I carry wisdom others desperately need"
"I'm not smart enough"
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"I trust God more than my own understanding"
"I'm too small to matter"
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"God loves using the overlooked to do the biggest things"
Goal
Build a gallery of "unexpected heroes" from your own family. Recognise and celebrate the ways God uses each person in ways the world might overlook.
What You'll Need
- The frame card template (download below) or a piece of paper
- A photo of yourself or your family (print one, or draw a self-portrait)
- Markers, pens, stickers
- Blu-tack or tape to display your finished card
Instructions
- Print out a frame card (or draw a simple frame on paper).
- Attach a photo of yourself or your family in the frame area.
- On the right side of the card, draw or write about the unexpected way God uses you.
- Use the prompt questions below if you need a starting point.
- Display your card somewhere visible: on the fridge, a mirror, or a family wall.
Prompt Questions
- Who in your family does something no one else notices, but it makes a huge difference?
- What's something about you that you've wished was different, but maybe God designed on purpose?
- Think of someone who served God in a way no one expected. What made them special?
Key Verses
1 Samuel 16:7
God looks at the heart
"The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
1 Corinthians 1:27-29
God chose the weak to shame the strong
"God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong."
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Power made perfect in weakness
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Jeremiah 1:5-8
"I am too young" answered by God
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you... Do not say, 'I am only a youth.'"
Ephesians 2:10
God's handiwork
"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand."
Psalm 139:13-16
Fearfully and wonderfully made
"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works."
Goal
Your fingerprint is completely unique. This craft uses your actual thumbprint as the starting point for artwork, reminding you that God made you one-of-a-kind on purpose. "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).
What You'll Need
- The A5 Thumb Print Art Template (download below) or plain card/paper
- An ink pad (or make your own with markers and a damp sponge)
- Fine-tip pens or markers for adding details
- Wet wipes for clean-up
- Optional: stickers, glitter glue, washi tape
Instructions
- Press your thumb onto the ink pad and then onto your template or paper. Make several thumbprints.
- Once dry, use fine-tip pens to turn your thumbprints into creatures, characters, flowers, or patterns.
- Write your name and the verse: "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Psalm 139:14."
- Decorate the border however you like. This is your unique creation, just like you.
- Display it somewhere you'll see it daily as a reminder of how God made you.
Talk About It
- No two thumbprints are alike. What does that tell you about how God made you?
- You turned something small into something beautiful. How does God do that with our lives?
- Read Psalm 139:14 together. What does "fearfully and wonderfully made" mean to you?
Goal
God doesn't waste anything. The things you think disqualify you are often the very things He's been shaping for something only you can do. Choose one or more of the options below. There's no rush.
What You'll Need
- A quiet space where you won't be interrupted
- A pen or pencil
- The downloaded templates (see options below)
- Optional: soft background music
- A Bible (or use the verses provided)
Option A: A Letter from God to You
Imagine God is writing you a personal letter. What would He say about how He made you?
How to do it: Begin with "Dear [your name]..." and write as if God is speaking directly to you. Let Him remind you of the ways He has shaped your story, your struggles, and your personality for a purpose only you can fulfil.
Don't overthink it. This isn't a test. It's a conversation. Write whatever comes to heart.
"Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me." (Psalm 139:16)
Option B: One-Sentence Prayer Card
Print the Psalm 139 bookmark. Read the psalm slowly. Then flip to the back. Write one sentence: a prayer of surrender.
One sentence is enough. Surrender, not performance. Between you and God.
Examples: "God, I give you my fear of not being enough." / "I surrender my need to be seen as strong." / "Use this thing I've always hated about myself."
Keep the card. Put it in your wallet, your Bible, your mirror.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" (Psalm 139:23)
Option C: Shaped for Purpose Reflection
Three scriptures, each with a question. Choose whichever speaks to where you are today.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10: What thorn or limitation in your life might God be using for his purposes?
Ephesians 2:10: What good works do you think God prepared specifically for someone like you?
Psalm 139:13-16: What about your personality, background, skills, or even struggles has God used or could use in ways that surprise you?
