SEE BOOK OF JUDGES 11, 12. JUG 11:1-401Now 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. 30And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. 33And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. 34And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. 36And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 38And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 39And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. (Judges 11:1‑40) JUG 12:1-151And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. 2And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. 3And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me? 4Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites. 5And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; 6Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. 7And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. 8And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years. 10Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem. 11And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years. 12And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun. 13And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. 14And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years. 15And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites. (Judges 12:1‑15)
THE time of testing will surely come. The day approaches when mere profession will be found vain, and when the boast of infidel and scoffer will turn to hopeless sorrow. The Lord Jesus will not tarry forever. He will not keep open the door of mercy always, but before long He will surely draw His sword of judgment, and make war, and with swift destruction destroy His adversaries.
In the near presence of that day, we would earnestly inquire if you, clear reader, before the heart-searching God, have bowed as a redeemed sinner to the name of Jesus? He is rejected among men; His glories are disowned; His honor disbelieved; but every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess Him Lord. Either in hell below, or in heaven above, His Lordship shall be owned by all men, and by you.
Turn with us now to the scene described in the chapters before us, and learn a lesson of the last days.
The broken and discomfited army of the opposers of Jephthah, God's appointed judge, are retreating towards the Jordan. They had avowed to rid themselves of Jephthah, and he in return had given them opportunity to repent, but in vain. In their-self-confidence they came on against him, yet only to prove the strength of his arm and the keenness of his sword. Despising his forbearance they reaped his judgment. And now one by one, their pride hidden, their valor gone, they steal through oliveyard and vineyard down the mountain sides, hoping to reach the fords of Jordan, and escape.
But as they approach the fords they see there before them a band of Jephthah's men, and in their hands the sword of judgment. Suppliants when too late, pleaders for mercy when the day of mercy is passed, they cry one by one, “Let me go over.”
But vain are their desires, useless their longings. Of what avail to the thirsty sword the plea, “On yonder shore are wives, daughters, babes! On yonder shore is home and peace and joy! “The sword of judgment knows no mercy.
Righteousness alone can bid it be sheathed.
“Let me go over," says the fugitive, and Jephthah's men reply, “Art thou an Ephraimite? “Art thou an enemy of Jephthah?" If he said, Nay: then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth; and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then took they him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan.”
“It was plain speaking and dealing; no excuses heard, no falsehood accepted. Judgment and its .sword were there, the river of judgment (as Jordan signifies) was there: mercy was gone.
What! dear reader, will you come unexpectedly to death and judgment to plead in vain for an entrance to the bright and shining land beyond? Parents there; children there; friends there; happiness there; and there no pain, no sorrow, no death. "Let me go over." But you plead to the sword in vain? What is your title?
By what right do you say, "Let me go over"?
Art thou an enemy of Jesus? A cold formalist; a lifeless professor; a self-righteous Pharisee; a boasting infidel; a jovial scoffer? “He that is not with me is against me," said Jesus. What art thou?
No, no, you weep when too late, and profess in vain, "I am not an enemy of Jesus." Like the false Ephraimite, men may answer, Nay. Yet think you they shall escape judgment by deception?
Now mark this; there is a test, an infallible test, which all will be put to. We know a man by his life. "Thy speech bewrayeth thee." "What think ye of Christ?" "Say now Shibboleth." Let us now hear what you think of Christ? Is He your all for eternity and time? Your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption? Is He your Saviour, your peace? This is the gospel of Shibboleth, and if you can speak of Jesus the Lord as those who love Him speak, you are saved. You are not against Him, but with Him; and in that case righteousness is on your side, for you belong to Jesus. He bore your judgment, and you "shall not come into judgment." "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24); Rom. 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9).) JOH 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) ROM 10:99That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)
It was only a little lisping over one word that cost these Ephraimites their lives; but their inability to pronounce that one word proved they were Ephraimites. And when a man does not confess that Jesus is Lord, but goes about in 'the naughtiness of his own way, it is evident he is an enemy of God by wicked works. They should have crossed the "waterflood" could they have said Shibboleth. So if you, dear reader, from your heart own Jesus, you have no waterfloods of woe to fear. He went into the "deep waters" for you, therefore the waterflood shall not overflow, neither shall the deep swallow you up, nor shall the pit shut her mouth upon you. But if, fellow-sinner, you cannot pronounce His name aright; if you only think of Him as a makeweight for your short-comings, a help for your weakness, a partial deliverer, or, it may be, a model for imitation, a mere man, then your Sibboleth will be indeed a "burden," an everlasting burden; for you shall bow beneath the sword of judgment and divine vengeance. Own Him Lord you will indeed, but by bowing under His almighty strength and terror.
Men act as if Jesus were to be trifled with. They count the delay of the day of wrath slackness. Thus, after the hardness of their impenitent hearts, they treasure up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath. Reader, has the goodness of God led thee to repentance, and to bow before the Lord Jesus, owning Him Lord to the glory of God the Father? "Kiss the Son; lest He be angry." "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh." His voice is mercy. "Harden not your heart, if you will hear His voice." There remains a rest; there is a home above, a bright peaceful home; and God Himself shall wipe away all tears from off all faces there. He has said that, no death, no pain, no thirst, no hunger, shall be there. Will you not now, "to-day," hear His voice, His voice of forbearing love, bidding you, hater of Him, despiser of Him, to come? Harden not your heart, we pray you. Cry now, "Let me go over." He is love, He will not say you nay. He died that sinners might live! "Believe, and be saved." (Acts 13:38, 3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39).) ACT 13:38-3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39)