| “And the men of Ephraim said unto him [Gideon], Why hast thou served us thus, that thou callest us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? … And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you?” (Judges 8:1-2). |
| “And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together … and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? … Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim” (Judges 12:1, 4). |
| Perhaps you have heard of the expression, “low self-esteem.” It has become a rather common expression during the past twenty or thirty years, and refers to those who have a rather low opinion of themselves. When I was young it was called an “inferiority complex.” It tends to make people, and especially young people, “show off” by doing things to attract attention to themselves, but sometimes it works the other way, causing people to become depressed and angry because they feel that they are not appreciated as they ought to be. In the modern world of social media, all this has become more pronounced, often prompting young people to join gangs in order to feel accepted and appreciated. Sometimes, however, those who are depressed and angry resort to violence, perhaps by taking a gun and shooting a number of people, and then often shooting themselves. |
| In the history of Gideon and Jephthah, we see two men, one of whom (Gideon) was comfortable with what the Lord had done in his life, but the other (Jephthah) who had a real problem with low self-esteem. We need to remind ourselves that low self-esteem is really pride, and because we are not as gifted as some others, or are not getting enough appreciation from others, we become either angry or depressed. |
| When the Ephraimites approached Gideon, he could have answered them roughly. But instead, he gave them credit for what they had done, and praised them for capturing the leaders of the Midianites. He cooled down the whole situation and avoided any conflict with the Ephraimites. However, when Jephthah fought with the children of Ammon some years later, the same Ephraimites complained that he had not called them to help. Of course they were very wrong to get upset like this, for there was no reason for Jephthah to call them. However, Jephthah was a proud man, and instead of giving them a soft answer, as Gideon had done, he immediately went to war with the Ephraimites. As a result, 42,000 of the Ephraimites were killed. |
| Perhaps you and I would say that they deserved this, and certainly their attitude was wrong. But how much better would it have been to give a soft answer to them, and have avoided killing many men. If you read the whole story of Jephthah, you will find that he had not been treated very well by his family. He too went out and formed the equivalent of what today we would call a gang, and later, when the men of Israel asked for his help against the Ammonites, he consented only if they would make him their leader. All this is pride, and not of God. |
| If we walk before the Lord, we can be content with His approval, and not allow low self-esteem to spoil our lives. |
