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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
SURVEY OF BIBLE HISTORY
(THE JUDGES TO THE KINGS)
Tainted Victory
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson
Copyright - Lester Hutson -
1998
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express
written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.
Lesson 21
Judges 11:12 - 12:7
G. To relieve the oppression at the hands of the Ammonites, Jephthah attempted to resolve the conflict through diplomacy without bloodshed Judges 11:12-28.H. In the battles which followed, the Ammonites were defeated; and their rule over Israel broken: Judges 11: 29-33.1. He first sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites demanding to know why he had involved the country of Israel, Verse 12. The Ammonite king responded by accusing the Israelites with taking the Ammonite land between the Amon and Jabbok rivers when they came up out of Egypt.
The fact was that Israel had taken this land from Sihon king of the, Amorites, Numbers 21:21-26. It was Sihon who had taken this land from the Ammonites ( a part of the Moabite alliance, Numbers 21:26). Israel had not taken the land from Ammon at all; nevertheless, Ammon blamed Israel since Israel was now in posession of the land. Now, the Ammonites were demanding in Verse 13, "Now therefore restore those lands again peaceably
2. In the next several verses, Jephthah systematically argues the land to belong to Israel. He argued in Verses 15 that when Israel came out of Egypt, she specifically asked Edom and Moab for permission to pass through their land, a permission that was denied, Verse 1 . To avoid passing through their land, Israel skirted the land of Edom and Moab to the east, stopping east of Moab and Arnon, Verse 11. From there permission to pass through the land of the Amorites (formerly Ammonite territory) was requested, Verse Sihon refused permission, thus Israel attacked, conquered Nihon and Amorites, and took the land, Verse 20-22. Thus, Jephthah argued that Israel had a rightful claim to the land first because they took it in battle, second because they took it from the Amorites; not the Ammonites, and third because God had given Israel the land by driving out the Amorites. Thus, Jephthah reasoned that Ammon had no legitimate claim to the land. Listen to Verse 23, "So now the Lord God of Israel hath dispossessed the Arnorites from before His people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?"3. In Verse 24, Jephthah makes a very barbed, but legitimate, statement. He suggests that Israel possess what her God had given her. The implication is obvious. The Moabite god, Chemosh, had done nothing to protect Ammon from the Amorites, but Jehovah had given the land to the Israelites. Thus, Chemosh was weak and stingy while Jehovah was strong and generous. (Chemosh was the Moabite god; Milcom was the Ammonite god. Both Moabites and Ammonites worshipped both gods; so since Ammon was in alliance with Moab at the time of the defeat by Sihon, Jephthah mention's Chemosh rather than Milcom.)
4. Jephthah also reminded the king of Ammon that even Balak and the Moabites feared Israel when they took this land, and attempted to lay no claim to it then, Verse 25. Furthermore, he argues, Israel had it for 300 years, from Heshbon till Jephthah, and the Ammonites had not attempted to take it before. Why now? Verse 26.
5. In Verse 27, Jephthah denies Israeli wrong doing; yet Verse 28 says the king of the Ammonites "hearkened not unto the --words of Jephthah." So war was at hand.
I. After the battles were won Jephthah had to face his awful vow: Judges 11:34 - 40.1. The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah giving him the power necessary to prevail in the coming battle, Verse 2 . With his men from Tob, Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh and to Mizpeh of Gilead from which he launched the attack against the Ammonites.
2. On his way to the battle, Jephthah made an awful vow. In Verse 30 and 31, he vowed that if he was successful in battle against the Ammonites he would offer the first thing coming through his doors to meet him upon his return. It was common for domestic animals of that age to be kept inside the house or outer courtyard. So whether Jephthah had animal or human sacrifice in mind is uncertain. Whichever the case, he was intense in his desire for victory. Being of dubious birth and patronizing vain hearted men would shed considerable doubt on Jephthah's convictions in the truths of God. It was not too unusual for the surrounding kings to offer human sacrifices, II Kings 3:26-27. Jephthah's vow was surely ill spoken and loose in view of the fact that man or beast could, easily pass through his doors upon his return.3. Not many details of the actual battles are given. Verses 32-33 simply show how Jephthah devastated the Ammonites in twenty cities from Aroer to Minnith. Verse 33 says it was "a very great slaughter " which "subdued" the children of Ammon.
1. Jephthah had vowed to offer as "a burnt offering" the first thing coming "forth of the doors of my house to meet me." Verse 30. verse 34 declares, "And Jephthah come to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter come out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter ." Surely the haste, rashness, and ungodly nature of Jephthah's vow is evident now. Yes, he was a very religious man. His making of the vow and solicitation of the help of God proves his deep religious convictions. And, his careful knowledge of Israeli history and the positions of God in talking to the king of the Ammonites proves he was far from ignorant of the law and history of Israel. So Jephthah was a well schooled deeply religious man. Yet, he did not act according to truth in all he did. Too much fellowship with the wrong kinds of people had infected his life with some of the pagan religious thinking of his cohorts. Jephthah had somewhat of an ecumenical bias. Yes, he was religious; but whose religion didn't matter too much. No he wouldn't give up his belief in God, but he would embrace some of the beliefs and practices of other gods. So while Jephthah in some ways stood strong for God, he was also willing to offer a human sacrifice, which was as rotten and pagan as anything he could have done. Remember from IIKinqs 3:26-27 that the Moabites offered human sacrifices, and various other neighbors did so also from time to time.
In Genesis 22, God had demonstrated that human sacrifice was not in order. Furthermore nowhere in Israel's past history had God ever condoned such a thing. To the contrary, the sanctity of life was always stressed; and the death penality was imposed against anyone deliberately taking the life of another. The principle is stated as early as Genesis 9:6 where God said, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image God made He man." Micah 6:7 asked, "shall I give my, firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" The answer is a clear "no". The only human sacrifices were offered to false gods by pagan religions on false altars.
Yet, Jephthah offered his own daughter to God. What a foul, god dishonoring mess occurs anytime men attempt to mix the worship of the true God with the worship of idolatry. Maybe those who attempt such activity are sincere; but that sincerity avails nothing. On top of other considerations, a true burnt offering could only have been legitimately offered at the tabernacle at Shiloh by the priesthood, Exodus 29:38-44, Leviticus 1:1-3, etc. So, Jephthah, who was not qualified to offer a burnt offering, offered his daughter contrary to the will of God as a burnt sacrifice in a place where no burnt sacrifice was to be offered. He is a sad look at what a mixture of truth and error produces. The truths of God can not be ecumenically mixed. II Corinthians 6:14-18 says, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my People. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sonsand daughters, saith the Lord Almighty ."No man, however sincere, can mix a little of the truth of God's word with a little of the false thinking of other religious groups, and come up with a new blend which is right. The product of such activity may seem so sanctimonious and holy and good to many, and they may brand those who reject it as bigots, hate-mongers, and prejudiced; but God is not in a new blended Christian-pagan religion, however good and smug it may make its adherents feel. God is not interested in adding some pagan twist to His law and practices. He is only interested in all men keeping His ways, without deviation in any sense. Listen to Him say so in Deuteronomy 5:32-33 "Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the righthand or to the ILL Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess." Listen to Him in Joshua 1:7-8, "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the low shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have -good success. " Jesus spoke on the subject and said, "But the hour cometh, an now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24; Jephthah mixed truth and error in a sort of ecumenical conglomeration, and the outcome was one of the most hideous events in Israeli history.
2. The scriptures emphasize that this girl was his only daughter, and she was a virgin. Why Jephthah didn't realize his error, repent before God, and put himself at the mercy of God for making such a mistake in the first place is a mystery; but he didn't. Verse 37 says she was given two months to "bewail my viriginity." She was Jephthah's only child, and she was childless. Her death not only meant the end of her personal lineage; but also of Jephthah's personal lineage. Her death was a devastating blow; not only personally, but to Jephthah as well. At the end of the two months, Verse 39 says, "And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her accordingly to his vow which he had Vowed and she knew no man."J. Following Jephthah's victory over the Ammonites, the Ephraimites rose up in jealousy against him. Judges 12:1-7:1. The Ephraimites were probably the most egotistical, proud,and hot headed of all the Israelites. They were extremely jealous, and figured they should be involved in whatever another tribe was doing, particularly if there was any "glory" involved, or spoils of war, as in Jephthah's case. In Judges, they had come bullying to Gideon after his victory over the Midianites in a similar way.
2. Now Judges 12: says they came to Jephthah threatening to burn his house (destroy him) because he didn't call them to help against Ammon. Earlier Gideon had very politely and tactfully apologized, but not Jephthah. Bullies usually meet their match, and Ephraim did in Jephthah. In Verse 2 Jephthah reminded them he did call, but they refused to come, even though he really needed them against Ammon. He also reminded these "Johnny come lately heroes" that Israel had been in bondage to these Ammonites for a -long time (18 years) before he came to deliver them; and during all that time, Ephraim had not come forth to deliver. Now, in view of their refusal to help and Jephthah having risked his own life to save Israel, he wants to know why these Ephraimites have crossed the Jordan to make trouble. Verse 2-3.3. The response of the Ephraimites to Jephthah in Verse 4 proved to be a fatal mistake. They accused Jephthah and his followers of being fugitives of Ephraim and Manasseh. The charge may have been partly true; but true or not, it so insulted Jephthah and the men of Gilead that they attacked the Ephraimites, who were overmatched.
Verses 5 and 6 say Jephthah and his Gileadite forces took the Jordan river fords. As the Ephraimites attempted to cross the river back into the safety of their inheritance, Jephthah's men would kill them on the spot. Apparently after the initial battle, the Ephraimite army broke up, and these men tried to sneak back across the river unnoticed and unrecognized as Ephraimites. Although, the Gileadites knew the Ephraimites dialect could not pronounce the "sh" combination correctly. It came out simply as "s". So, the Gileadites controlling the fords asked each one who would pass over to pronounce "shibboleth". When the Ephraimites tried, it came out "sibboleth." The result was the execution of 42,000 Ephraimites.
4. What an ugly, yet typical, picture the story of Jephthah is! Any time a society degenerates to a point where "every man" does "that which is right in his own eyes," as is characteristic in the era of the judges, lawlessness and vicious living will be the order of the day. Verse 7 says Jephthah judged Israel six years and died.
QUESTIONS ON "TAINTED VICTORY"
Judges 11:12 - 12:7
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"