Let me ask you to take your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter 3. We're going to begin in verse 10. If you understand the context, Paul has been waxing eloquent on the sinfulness of man for several chapters now, and we're going to drop in right at the conclusion of of that conversation and then pick up with the good news, which continues on for several chapters later, the good news beginning in verse 21 in the conclusion, the bad news going from verse 10 to verse 20. So let's begin in verse 10 and read down to verse 28. As it is written, there is none righteous. No, not one. There is none who understands. There is none who speaks after God. They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good. No, not one. Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now, we know whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, The righteousness of God, apart from the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. I'm going to add one sermon to our sermon schedule. Today's sermon is entitled The Sound of a Broken Record. As we look at the last half of Judges chapter three, we did not get a chance to complete the chapter last week. So the sound of a broken record. Some of you don't even know what I'm talking about. That's how we used to listen to music. This was before CDs, cassettes, 8-tracks. We had this big black disc that we would play our music on. And today it could be used as a frisbee, or to shoot skeet, or whatever you want to do if you have any of those old records. But there was a problem if you had a scratch in your record. It would just keep repeating again and again and again and again the same short portion of the music. It could be very irritating, the sound of a broken record. But as we get to Judges chapter 3, verses 12 through 30 this morning, we've come to the sound of a broken record. Last week we looked at the first cycle of six cycles that are found in the book of Judges, where the people of Israel repeated themselves time and time again, beginning with their sin that led to their slavery or enslavement to an enemy nation. Then they poured their heart out before God in supplication. They fell down on their knees in repentance. And God brought a Savior, a Judge, And there was silence then in the land for a period of time, a time of peace. We saw that beginning in chapter three with the first judge, Achnel, not a well-known judge, yet he is the brother of a well-known biblical character, Caleb. Joshua and Caleb, the two spies who believed they could enter the promised land. But alas, the children of Israel were in total unbelief. And for 40 years they wandered in the wilderness because of their disbelief. Now we find in Judges 3, verse 12, the beginning of a cycle again. And notice in Judges 3, verse 12, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord. Note the word again in verse 12. This is becoming a familiar cycle. This is really a broken record. They kept making the same fatal mistakes in their rebellion against God. In this, I believe we're beginning to see that Israel was showing its true colors, its depraved nature, its struggle with its sinful depravity, something that we struggle with today. That's why we spent some time looking at Romans chapter 3. In the portion that was read this morning, Paul does not paint a pretty picture of our sin. Our sin is described as an open tomb, as poisonous asps, as mouths full of cursing and bitterness, as those who are swift to shed blood, those who do not know the way of peacemaking, and on and on. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans chapter 3 reminds us. Our sin is described in this text and it is pictured in the book of Judges as wretched and wicked. And the Israelites were very guilty of this. And because of their sin, we start another cycle. Their sin brought God's judgment. And notice the rest of verse 12. The slavery that came to them. And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees. The end of verse 12 states something very interesting. God strengthened Eglon. It is God who moved, God who is orchestrating these events. God is ordaining the use of an enemy. God is on the side here of Israel's foe for a purpose. Be sure your sin will find you out. God's people cannot get away with that. Jonah learned that. You and I learned that in Israel. Learned that time and time again. And God arranged this, orchestrating this, the affairs of Eglon, the affairs of every human in society, and uses even pagans to carry out his will. Now, we find the instrument of God's judgment is a man by the name of Eglon. He's the king of Moab, who led a coalition of Ammonites, Amalekites, as well as the Moabites. Now, Moab was a perennial enemy of Israel. They were on the attack several times in their past, as well as present and future. Balak, King Balak, tried to hire Balaam, a mercenary prophet, to curse Israel. He failed in his endeavor. He's the man that was riding the donkey that would not move. And suddenly he had a talking donkey tell him why he was not continuing to move. And he proceeded to proceed with blessings out of his mouth instead of cursings upon Israel, which to the chagrin of King Balak of Moab. But now we have Egalon here getting a coalition of forces. And it's interesting the background of these forces. Moab and Ammon were the sons of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. And we find that the Malachites were related to Esau. So they're long lost relatives really of Abraham, relatives of the Jews at this time. The Malachites also happened to be defeated by Israel at Rephidim. We see that in Exodus chapter 17. All of these people lived on the other side of the Jordan River, the other side where Israel was proceeding to travel as they crossed the Jordan River to come for their first battle against Jericho. So, before they crossed the Jordan River, these were the people that lived on that side. And we see that they came into the land and they reoccupied a very strategic city that is Jericho, the first city that was conquered in the Promised Land. And that had to be a bitter pill for Israel to swallow that Jericho would now be controlled by an enemy. And it would be a launching pad, a strategic location for them to wreak havoc upon the Israelites. to dominate them, to enslave them and bring extreme poverty to them as often happened when they were under the control, under slavery of an enemy nation. And we find this even in fact as we continue through the passage that they had to bring tribute or a gift in offerings to Eglon. So they were under their dominion and control in both a military as well as financial fashion. We notice then the third step. We go from sin to slavery. And thirdly, to supplication in these cycles. For we read in verse 15a, the children of Israel cried unto the Lord. Once again, there's desperation. Their back is against the wall. They're enslaved. They're embittered by their enemy. And they cry out to the Lord. Something they did time and time again in this book of Judges. Once again, the sound of a broken record. And they called on the Lord when times of trouble came. And I have to reflect, how often is that when I call on the Lord? When I want to get very close to the Lord? When my prayer life swells when I'm in trouble? Or when there are trials or tribulations? God's people of all ages have that tendency to call on the Lord only in their time of crisis. Well, their supplication did bring salvation, a leader, a deliverer, a savior, a judge, a new judge by the name of Ehud. And we find in the larger part of this passage the narrative of how God restored this nation. How God brought salvation through a deliverer. Let's begin the middle of verse 15 and notice, The Lord raised him up a deliverer, Ehud, the son of Gerah, a Benjamite, a man left-handed. This is the first time that Ehud is mentioned in scripture. We have really no background information about him. We had some background information about Atheniel. He is mentioned in several texts leading up to Judges chapter 3. But nothing about this Judge Ehud. We see that he is from the tribe of Benjamin. We find this incidental fact that he is left-handed. In chapter 20, verse 16 of Judges, we find out there were 700 left-handed Benjamites. By the way, in that time, to be left-handed was viewed as a curse or viewed negatively. No offense to the left-handers here. That's not the thought. There's nothing in Scripture to give that indication elsewhere. That was their position. It is believed that Ehud had some type of leadership position, some official position, because he is the one who eventually delivered the tribute money to King Eglon. Let's continue our reading as we see in verse 16, and by him, or the end of verse 15, and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon, the king of Moab, now verse 16, but Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges of a cubit length. And he did girded under his rain mitt upon his right thigh, and he brought the present unto Eglon, king of Moab. And Eglon was a very fat man. And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bear the present." This episode of the deliverance begins with Ehud paying tribute to Eglon. Again, this was a typical arrangement that was made when a nation was in slavery, in bondage to another nation. And he might have been delivering gold as a tribute. We don't know for certain. Oftentimes, Israel in their history did have to take gold or silver, oftentimes from the tabernacle or the temple possessions to pay their tribute. We find here in the text that Ehud had a very ingenious plan to assassinate the king. It really was a cloak and dagger scheme. He was able to get past the security with a 12 to 18 inch dagger that was hidden. Certainly the TSA and Moab was not doing their job very well that he was able to get that far. And the Bible gives us a very vivid description that you've seen already and will continue in our scripture reading of the scenario, tells us that Eglon was very plump, shall we say, or a rotund individual. And by the way, that was a sign of prosperity. That was a good sign in those days. And we also see that Ehud was able to arrange a private audience with the king. Let's let the text tell the story here though, and let's pick up the text in verse 19 in a lengthy section of how the deliverance took place. We read in verse 19, but he himself turned again from the queries, and that can be translated idols or fields of idols that were by Gilgal. And Gilgal is a well-known place where they encamped after they crossed the Jordan River and prepared for their first attack and subsequent attacks in the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. But reading on in verse 19, he said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king, who said, keep silence. And all that stood by went out from him. And Ehud came unto him, and he was sitting in a summer parlor which he had for himself alone. And Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee, And he arose out of his seat. And Ehud put forth his left hand and took the dagger from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. And the haft also went in after the blade, and the fat closed upon the blade so that he could not draw the dagger out of the belly, and the dirt came out. Then Ehud went forth through the porch and shut the doors of the parlor upon him and locked them. When he was gone out, his servants came, and when they saw that, behold, the doors of the parlor were locked, they said, Surely he covers his feet in the summer chamber. And they tarried till they were ashamed, and behold, he opened not the doors of the parlor. Therefore they took a key and opened them, and behold, their Lord was fallen down dead upon the earth. And he who had escaped while they tarried, and passed beyond the quarries, and escaped down to Aserath, and it came to pass, When he was come, he blew a trumpet in the mountain of Ephraim. And the children of Israel went down with him from the mount, and he before them. And he said unto them, Follow after me, for the Lord hath delivered your enemies, the Moabites, into your hand. And they went down after him and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, And all men of valor in their escape, not a man." A lengthy section here to describe this cloak and dagger scheme by Ehud. And he began by saying he had a message of God to share with him. And evidently, as we read the verses, that he had a contingent that went with him to deliver the tribute. And then he went back to Gilgal, which really isn't too far from Jericho, and left his contingent back with him and returns now with this message. And Eglon seems to be very delighted and desires to have a private meeting just walking into the very scheme that he had to assassinate the king. And out of respect to hear the message, Eglon stood up. And it was at that time he took the opportunity, that is Ehud, to assassinate him. And he was not able to withdraw his sword. He lost his sword in very descriptive fashion. I won't say it again or read it again for you. Ehud then locked the doors of the chamber and was able to escape unnoticed and unharmed. Now, we read in the middle of the text that the servants of the king were alarmed because he tarried so long and the door was locked and they didn't want to disturb him. The initial reason was this phrase in the King James Version, he covered his feet in the summer chamber. It was probably a parlor, maybe even on a rooftop where they could get some of the cool breeze throughout the daytime. This covering the feet is a euphemism for relieving himself. And so they did not want to disturb him. But after they tarried a while, they finally got a key and opened the chamber and they found their king dead. By this time, Ehud is long gone. And he has had a chance to go all the way back to, past the quarries, back to Gilgal, to Mount Ephraim, And this was part of the region that was under the control and dominion of the Moabites. And he blew a trumpet in Mount Ephraim and told the Israelites that their enemy, the king, is dead. And this gave them a resurgence and hope that they could be vanquished of their foe and their enemy. And with great courage they attacked their enemy and slew 10,000 of the enemy at this time. Notice in verse 28 though, when he summoned the troops, what did Ehud do? He said, look what I did. Look what I'm able to accomplish by my hand, by my craftiness. Is that what you see in verse 28? No, in verse 28 we notice that Ehud gave the credit to the Lord. The Lord has delivered your enemy. And it's important for us, important for him to realize that it is of God's doing. God orchestrated and ordained that they would be under the dominion and control of the Moabites. And it is God who will bring relief. After they cried out in supplication to the Lord, God brought a judge, a deliverer, and salvation. for this people. When I use the word salvation in this context, we're not talking about being saved as we think of today. We're talking about being saved from an enemy, from the physical torment of an enemy is the salvation that came to them. We're not really told in the text how Ehud came up with a scheme to assassinate the king. There's no text here that says the Lord helped him with this. Some even condemned this as assassinating an enemy as a wicked thing for Ehud to do. But I'm not sure I would agree with that. Eglon was the enemy and there had been a command to exterminate the enemy, to defeat the enemy so that they could live at peace and live in the promised land. The enemies were to be exterminated and he was at the head, taking care of the leader of Moab at that time. That would be ultimately the way God would deliver them. Well, God then brought peace, or our fifth S in the cycle, silence in the land. For we read, there was peace in the land for 80 years. That was the longest period of peace. that Israel enjoyed during these various cycles in the book of Judges. Truly, we see the sound or observe a broken record already this early in our study in the book of Judges. But the sound of a broken record reminds us of the fact that the human race, including you and I, are depraved. The Bible teaches way back at the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, verse 6, that every part of man, his mind, his will, his emotions, his flesh have all been corrupted by sin. By our sin nature. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That we are depraved, destitute individuals. In another passage in Genesis 6, verse 5, leading up to the flood upon the earth, God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was evil continually. And God judged the world with, we believe, a worldwide, a global flood. I'd like to share with you three key thoughts And there's certainly a lot of thoughts we could share about the depravity of the human race. But three thoughts that we need needs to resonate in our heart and mind so that we understand what we've been saved from, those who are saved. Or if you're not saved, what you need to be saved from and the possibility of salvation through our Savior, our Deliverer, Jesus Christ. The first truth is that sin has penetrated and affected the whole of man's being. Sin has penetrated and affected the whole of man's being. It penetrates the very core of our being so that everything really is tainted by our sin. Isaiah says, even our righteousness is like filthy rags. Isaiah 1, verse 6 points out exactly this point of sin penetrating our whole being when Isaiah says, from the sole of the foot, even to the head, there's no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. Once again, not a very pretty picture in God's description of our sin nature. Jeremiah the prophet reminds us, the heart is deceitful. Above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know it? And then Paul says in Ephesians 4, verse 18, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. Sin blinds. And there's a lot of people out in our society that are totally blind. Do not understand how deep they are in the depths of their depravity. So sin has penetrated and affected the whole of man's being. But a second truth is that the world is getting worse, just as it was getting worse in the time of judges. And we will see as we walk through the book of Judges that every cycle seems to get worse. The domination by an enemy gets longer and longer. And we'll see at the end of the book how wicked their society had become. We notice in 2 Timothy 3, verse 1, this know also that in the last days perilous times shall come. In the same chapter, 2 Timothy 3, verse 13, says evil men proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. Paul wrote this 2,000 years ago, almost 2,000 years ago. He said, they were the last days. How much closer are we? Well, we're at least 2000 years closer. Does this mean that Christ could come today? Yes, or maybe. We know that. When the time is right, Christ will call his church home through what we call the rapture, set up a seven year, there'll be seven year tribulation period on the earth, and then there will be the return of Christ on the earth. And there are events that while the rapture could occur at any time, we read in Matthew chapter 24, the events that will take place during the tribulation period where there will be utter depravity and where men will curse God as the judgments of God are falling upon the earth and billions of people will die during the tribulation period and still will reject the Lord. The world is getting worse and we can see that by the depravity of mankind. And then a third truth is that the unsaved person has no possible means of salvation within himself or herself. Unsaved people have no means of saving themselves. It truly is a gift of God, as the Bible states. Paul describes us in Ephesians 2.1 as dead men We are dead in our trespasses and sins. Before you and I were saved, we were dead. As a result of regeneration, we have been imparted with new life, spiritual life, the miracle of regeneration. And as a result of that, I thank God for our Deliverer, Jesus Christ. I thank God for His mercy that He has showered upon us. We deserve death. We deserve eternal death because of our depravity, because of our sinfulness. And we truly are the recipients of God's grace, of His undeserved, unmerited favor toward we who are condemned sinners. And Paul writes in Ephesians 1, verses 6 and 7, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood. The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. It truly is the riches of God's grace. His patience with you and I. His mercy. When I look at the book of Judges, I have to say, my God is a patient God. To allow them to go through cycle after cycle, 300 plus years of that. Will you look at yourselves? Well, I look at myself. We all need to look at ourselves and say, God is patient with us. Thank God for His grace and mercy. The glory of His grace wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved, where we have been credited through saving faith by His righteousness. But the fact that mankind is so depraved That runs contrary to modern concepts, even modern religious concepts, psychological and philosophical views run against the grain, run against Scripture. We are truly the oddballs in our society because we believe, I hope you believe, what Scripture says, whether it's in Isaiah 1, Romans 3 or whatever text that describes this. The Bible doesn't teach us that the root cause is some environmental problem, that if we just had utopia, we would be all right. What did Adam and Eve live in? What did they live in? And yet they took of the forbidden fruit. Our society does not want to admit that we are wicked and selfish. And when we understand that we're depraved, That helps us understand that by grace are you saved through faith. The riches of God's grace that we cannot be dependent on ourself, on our own works, our own abilities, but we need Christ. Repentance was the only hope for Israel to get out of the slavery, the domination by an enemy. Repentance was their only hope. And repentance is our only hope today. True faith in Christ alone and repentance of our sin will deliver us from our sin and give us regeneration, the new birth, eternal life. The gift of God truly is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If your life is like a broken record, If you feel like you've been on that broken record, maybe it's because you're really not born again. Maybe you still are dead in your trespasses and sins. We need to ask ourselves if there's no life. If we're not a new creature, if we're in that endless cycle, maybe we're just going through the ritual. Maybe we're going through a facade. Maybe we're just trying to make people think we are what we really are not. You know your heart. God knows your heart. And the way to get out of endless cycles of sin and despair is to turn to Christ, our loving Savior, our loving Deliverer, who wants to save you today. Shall we bow together