Chapter 93. Judges 11:1-291Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 2And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. 3Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. 4And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 5And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: 6And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 7And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? 8And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 10And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 11Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh. 12And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? 13And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 14And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: 15And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: 16But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; 17Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh. 18Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. 19And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. 20But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 23So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 24Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. 25And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them, 26While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time? 27Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the Lord the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. 28Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him. 29Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. (Judges 11:1‑29). Jephthah.
THE Israelites had now sunken deep into idolatry. They worshipped many false gods —Baal, Ashtaroth, the gods of Syria, of Moab, of Ammon, of the Philistines—entirely setting aside the only true God, the One who, had delivered them from Egypt and its bondage and brought them to that beautiful fruitful land of Canaan.
God’s anger was aroused against His people for their sins, and He allowed the nations around them to vex and oppress them so much that they cried to the Lord for deliverance. But the Lord answered them, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from all the Canaanites? And yet you have forsaken Me and served idols. Go cry to them and let them deliver you from your troubles.”
But the children of Israel said: “We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto Thee. Deliver us only, we pray Thee, this day.” Their consciences were reached and they were brought to confess their sins, and to acknowledge God’s righteousness in judging them. God heard their cry, as He does of every sinner who comes to Him. “If we confess our sins,” He says “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:99If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9).
The children of Israel would not have been really repentant, had they kept their strange gods with them. They showed their sorrow by putting them away and serving the Lord.
At that time the Ammonites gathered together and encamped against Gilead. The Israelites assembled at Mizpeh. The princes among them, and the people asked who could lead them against their foes, saying that whosoever would, should be, made head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
At that time there lived a Gileadite named Jephthah. He was a brave warrior, but his brothers did not love him and told him he should not inherit any of their father’s wealth, and they showed their hatred of him so, that he fled from them, and went, to live in the land of Tob. Some people went away with him also.
At the time when the Ammonites threatened Israel, the Gileadites thought of their brother Jephthah, and went to him to fetch him from Tob. “Come,” they said, “and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.” But Jephthah answered, “Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? Why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?” But they said: “Therefore we turn again to thee now that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and, be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” They also promised at his request that, if he came back victorious over the Ammonites, he would become their chief. How Jephthah’s history reminds us of that of the Lord Jesus. Like the Gileadites of their brother, the Jews said of Jesus: “We will not have this man to reign over us.” (Luke 19:1414But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. (Luke 19:14).) After His rejection and death, He went away, but will come back and be acknowledged as the Head or King of Israel and fight for them against their enemies.
Jephthah went with his brothers, the Gileadites, and became their captain. He sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites to ask him why he had come to fight Israel in their land.
The Ammonite king answered: “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, ... .now, therefore, restore those lands again peaceably.”
But Jephthah sent back the messenger with this answer: Israel took not away the land of Moab or of Ammon; when they came from Egypt through the wilderness they sent to the king of Edom to ask to be allowed to pass through their land; but he refused to let them. In the same way to Moab who would not consent. They went around these countries and not within their borders. Then Israel sent to the king of Amorites, asking the same favor. Instead, of granting it the Amorites gathered together to fight Israel. God delivered them into His people’s hands, and Israel possessed their land. So now that God has given us this land, shall we give it to you? Whomsoever the Lord our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess. Israel has dwelt in this land for three hundred years; why did you not recover that land within that time? So we have not sinned toward you, and you do us wrong to war against us. Let God be judge between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon. But the king of Ammon would not heed Jephthah’s messengers. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he passed over into the land of the Ammonites to fight them.
Oh! that we may, like Jephthah, allow no one to deprive us of the blessings God has given us! Christ’s death not only has saved us from the wrath to come, but has made us a place in heaven so sure that the Apostle Paul tells us we are already seated there. (Eph. 2:66And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (Ephesians 2:6).) If such is the portion of all believers in Jesus, and that it is by grace, through faith that we are saved, not of ourselves, but the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, what is there to fear? Shall we allow the enemy to rob us of the peace that is ours? No, let us, like Jephthah, cling to God’s promises, and say: We will possess the land that God gives us.
ML 05/26/1912