Ehud the Left Handed

[blhowes]

Originally posted by LawrenceU
Bob, I'm shocked that you don't know why the turn signal is on the left!! Surely you are old enough to remember that the much more frequently used shift lever was on the right side of the column. The much more frequently used accelerator is on the right as well.

Ah, yes, its all coming back to me now. My 1965 Rambler was a three-speed on the column, and what a car that was. Talk about a power house! 0 to 60 in two minutes (if the wind was behind me and I was going down hill).

I knew there had to be a reason for putting the turn signal over there. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[LadyFlynt]

Originally posted by LawrenceU
The right to left of Semitic languages is one reason that many think the area was lefty dominant in the past.

Bob, I'm shocked that you don't know why the turn signal is on the left!! Surely you are old enough to remember that the much more frequently used shift lever was on the right side of the column. The much more frequently used accelerator is on the right as well.

Do you have any links to online articles on this subject?

 

[JohnStevenson]

Back to the original question. The story of Ehud takes place in a day when the right hand was used for eating while the left hand was used for other things (in an age that had not yet invented toilet paper). Thus a person who was left-handed was not generally invited to dinner.

 

[LadyFlynt]

Thus he was smart enough to keep the fact to himself, which would have been simple to do, given that lefties (as stated above) are fairly amadexterous and out of neccessity conform manually in each situation. But the ability of the left hand never falters, instead it is shared with the right. Therefore he would not be noticeably be left handed except perhaps to those closest to him...and as he proves, his "disability" became his country's "secret weapon" (for lack of a better phrase at the moment as I am inhaling a baby covered in nail polish and sitting on my lap...need to go buy some remover)

 

[Scott]

I am writing some extended notes on how Ehud is a type of Christ. Here is an excerpt with where I came down on the left-handed detail.

 Vss 15. 15 Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD , and he gave them a deliverer-Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.

The passage mentions a father / son relation. Ehud, the savior of the story, symbolizes Christ, who is the Son of God. The father / son relation is important because it emphasizes the distinct persons of the Trinity. The first person of the Trinity is the Father. The Second is the Son. The Son´s role in the Covenant of Grace is to redeem or save a people by defeating the enemy, Satan.

Ehud´s father is "œGera the Benjamite." Benjamin means "œSon of the Right Hand." The right hand is portrayed prominently in the Bible as a source of strength and is often associated particularly with God´s strength. For example, Psalm 118:15-16 reads: "The right hand of the lord doeth valiantly, the right hand of the lord is exalted." See also Ps. 80:17; Ps. 44:3. Gera may represent God the Father.

Ehud is not right-handed. He is left handed, a fact that is emphasized twice in the story. For most people, the left hand does not possess this strength. In the Bible it can (though, not always) represent weakness or imperfection. The emphasis on the left hand in the story of Ehud is a clue that the Devil would be destroyed through weakness, through the left hand.

Human expectations would naturally lead us to think that the power of God would directly reach out and smite the Devil. As the Psalm would say, the right hand of God would destroy His Enemy. A right handed man would certainly use his right hand to fight and enemy. Yet, the Devil was destroyed through weakness. This is a surprise, like right-handed man fighting a mortal battle using his left hand.

Christ defeated the Devil through His weakness. Paul wrote: "œFor to be sure, [Christ] was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God's power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you." 2 Cor. 13:4. Yet, it was through this weakness that Christ destroyed the Devil.