It appears from here forward that the Lord is not at all involved in the proceedings. The narrator does not say that the Lord was with the judge
(as the paradigm had it, Judges 2:18), or that his Spirit came upon Ehud (as he did with Othniel, Judges 3:10). And the narrator does not attribute the final victory by Israel to any involvement on the Lord's part either (Judges 3:29–30).1
Commentators have variously explained the apparent absence/silence of the Lord in the narrative. Some have taken it to mean that the Lord was against Ehud's deceptive tactics.2 Block says, “The narrator's silence on the role of God in the assassination of Eglon is deafening. Prior to Judges 3:28 there is no hint of any spiritual sensitivity in Ehud's heart nor any sense of divine calling. On the contrary, Ehud operates like a typical Canaanite of his time—cleverly, opportunistically, treacherously, and violently, apparently for his own glory. But the narrator appears not to be concerned at all about the morality of the affair. He simply describes what happened from his point of view, and in so doing reminds the readers that in the dark days of the governors the tools available to God are crude."3
Others have argued that the narrator intended the silence so that the reader will conclude that it was the Lord himself who prevented obstacles from getting in Ehud's way. Thus, Y. Amit believes that the narrator gathers data on various coincidences
that are in Ehud's favour, in order to help the reader see that the Lord did have a part in the plot.4
It’s quite possible that the Lord's silence may emphasize that man’s initiative, taken in faith, is not necessarily antithetical to and may even facilitate God's program.
5 Richard Bowman adds, “The narrator does not explicitly state that the spirit of God is given to either Ehud or Deborah…. Yet, both successfully deliver Israel from the oppression of its enemies, and both voice their own conviction that God gave them their victories…. Even though both of these judges credit God with the victory (Judges 3:28; Judges 4:9), their stories stress the importance and necessity of the human involvement in the achievement of success."6
16 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.