Jephthah's Conflict with Ephraim

January 10, 2021

 

 

Judge 12:1-7-8-15

 

Jephthah's Conflict with Ephraim

The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.”   And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand.   And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?”  Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.”   And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,”  they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan.  At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell.

Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then, Jephthah, the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.

My history of many years as a part of the body of Christ, and what many refer to as the Church, but often they are referring to a building where people go on Sunday.   We also refer to it as the local church, and it goes by many names Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, and the list goes on, and on.  Now I’ve been part of a Baptist church since a child and one thing I’ve noticed especially in the large ones, they like to pick from those who are successful in the world to serve as teachers, deacons, and most leadership roles, and that great, but is that Spirit lead or just a little bit of the values of the world system creeping into the local church?

 

As we explore the people God has picked in the Scriptures, we find murders, like Moses, and what about his brother Arron as the first High Priest, and he did not do so well in the truth department.   And as we look at our Lords Genealogy and the four ladies listed, we are shocked to see some that would not be picked to lead out in the women ministry, of most churches, such as Tamar found in Genesis 38, or Rahab of Jericho who saved the spies sent by Joshua, and Ruth was a Moabitess, and one amazing Lady, and then last we know her name but the Bible refers to her as the wife of Uriah” was a Hittite.  Yes, four Gentiles ladies in Jesus line or genealogy.  And what about Jephthah, a son of a prostitute, not going to be picked to lead out in the local church, but God ways are very different than ours, and yes He can see the heart of a person, and we can’t, but I often wonder, why we are looking to what the world calls successful and not seeking God’s leadership in many of the people we pick to teach classes and be in leadership roles?  Nor any of these four that came after him.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon

After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel.   He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons, he brought in thirty young women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years.  Then Ibzan died and was buried in Bethlehem.

After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years.  Then Elon died and was buried in Aijalon in the land of Zebulun.

 After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel.   He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years.   Then Abdon son of Hillel died and was buried at Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.

 

From The Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

 

 

 

A Vow made to God

 

January 9, 2021

 

Judges 11:29-40

 

Jephthah's Tragic Vow

Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites.   And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand,  then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.”   So, Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand.   And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow.  So, the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her, he had neither son nor daughter.  And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”   And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.”  So, she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.”   So, he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains.   And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

Before I began to write this passage I told my wife that is one of the saddest accounts in the Scriptures.  Did Jephthah give any thought to who might come out of the door to meet him?  In my job, I travel a lot, and most of the time the first one to run and meet me was my sweet baby girl.  She also was an only child and I'm sure  Jephthah longed to see that precious little person who was the apple of my eye. 

 

Should we, you and I be very careful about what we vow, will the Lord hold us to account?  If you believe God’s word, in the book of Deuteronomy 23:21-23, it states the following; “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.   But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin.  You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.  

Anybody no matter what their title is pastor, teacher, or deacon that is pushing a fundraiser and tells people in the pew, make a pledge, and if down the road you cannot meet the requirement, or if you move, it is ok to not do what you vowed.  I will leave that to you: which word are you going to value, God’s or some person? 

 

We had a family living down the street from us when we were kids and the youngest son was not given much chance to live, our pastor went to pray with them they were not believers, and yet they promised the pastor that if God healed their son they would be at church each Sunday.  The son got well, they never came, not one Sunday, and as a teenager, he got caught up in drugs and brought much heartache to that family.  He died at a very young age.  

 

“When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.   It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. “  (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5)

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Jephthah knew the History of Israel

 

January 8, 2021

 

Judges 11:12-28

 

Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”   And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now, therefore, restore it peaceably.”  Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites,  but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh.   Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So, Israel remained at Kadesh.

 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.   Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’  but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.   And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So, Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country.   And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.  So, then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them?  Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.   Now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them?   While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time?   I, therefore, have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”   But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

 

Are you a little amazed that Jephthah knew the true history of Israel as it came out of Egypt after being slaves for 400 years?  Can you see the value of not only knowing the history of a nation but being able to articulate it to others who have no understanding of it?  I recall one of Jan and my visit to an area in Canada and at the sight, they were very proud to share how they kick our butts out of Canada when we on December 31, 1775, sent a force into Quebec City, and it was a failed American attempt to invade Canada and rally French-Canadian support for the Patriot movement against the British.  I recall both Jan and I were shocked that we ever picked a fight with the Canadians.  As a citizen of the USA, it is important that we understand our real history and not some of the revisionary stuff that is being crammed into the minds of our children in public school.  

 

When you understand history as Jephthah did of Israel history, it gives you an understanding of how to give an accurate account to someone like the king of the Ammonites.

 

As a follower of Christ, we need to be able to give an accurate account of what God has done for us, to those we live with and around.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Jephthah Delivers Israel

 

January 7, 2021

 

Judges 11:1-11

 

Jephthah Delivers Israel

Now, Jephthah, the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah.   And Gilead's wife also bore him sons. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.”   Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

After a time, the Ammonites made war against Israel.   And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.   And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.”   But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”   And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”   Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.”   And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us if we do not do as you say.”   So, Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

History tells the story of illegitimate children and often they are not received by the legitimate child.  Throughout history, illegitimate children—or children born out of wedlock—were treated harshly under the laws of inheritance and property rights. They often were denied any rights at all to inherit from their unmarried parents.  As we read the account of Jephthah, it seems the sons said you are not part of this family and kicked him out.  

 

When a man is a mighty warrior they often are a magnet that draws some of the worst of society, we saw that with David and we see that with Jephthah.  But when a nation is in trouble they often are the ones people want to follow.  A warrior, often, is on spot with his commits and he is not all that worried about your feelings, but he knows how to get the job done.  I’ve often referred to President Trump in that manner, and often a warrior is his own worst enemy.  

 

So, when the elders came and asked him to come back and lead them into battle, it surprised many that he tried to work out a peace deal, but the King of Ammonites was not open to listening so the battle was going to happen.  And Jephthah wanted them to pledge that if he fought for them, they would make him a leader over them.  When you see all your dreams and hopes going south, you do not want the politician, you want the guy who knows how to solve the problem, it has not taken a year to see that our nation is void of anyone who knows how to solve the problems.  We got woken, but the Church has so much of the world in it they would have never walked around Jericho for seven days, and believed God was going to bring down its walls.  I and many others have been asking the Father to awaken His Church and purge it of worldly men and women, with programs that have no room for the Holy Spirit, because they are void of God's Spirit.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

One More trip around the Mountain

 

Judges 10:6-18

 

Again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him,  he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.   The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress.   Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”

The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines,  the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands?   But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you.   Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.”   Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And he could bear Israel’s misery no longer.

When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.   The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in Gilead.”

As I read this, my thoughts were those goofy Israelites, they are slow learners. How many times do they have to go into captivities?  Then my mind went to the Church, not a building, but a body of people who go by the name of Christian, and are just as goofy as those Israelites.  Unlike the Jewish people, the Churches idols or little gods are not so obvious, is not an idol anything that comes before God.  The one that defines many is a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revealed, above God or takes His place in your thoughts and heart.

 

All sin leads us into captivity and steals our joy and peace, it also breaks fellowship with the Father, but never the relationship.  I recall my pastor in Spring sharing a meeting he had with a mother whose son was breaking her heart, and Harlon, said you do not like that boy very much, and the lady was shocked and he was quick to say it ok, not to like them when they are in rebellion, but that does not keep you from loving them.  Often I’ve had to do as those Israelites, go into captivity before I remember, I was not about me, but about the Lord.

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The curse of Jotham

 

 

Judges 9:46-57

 

When all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem heard of it, they entered the stronghold of the house of El-berith.   Abimelech was told that all the leaders of the Tower of Shechem were gathered together.  And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an ax in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.”   So, every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.

 

Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it.   But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower.   And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire.   And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull.   Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died.   And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home.  Thus, God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers.   And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

The revenge of Abimelech against the leaders of Shechem, who put their faith in the tower of Shechem.  It proved to be a very misguided faith, for Abimelech set the stronghold on fire and killed about 1000 men and women.  What a lesson for you and me who have often placed our trust and hopes on things just as foolish.

 

But Abimelech then went to Thebez and encamp0ed against Thebez and captured it, all but a very strong tower within the city, and just about everyone had gathered there.  So Abimelech used the same plan, to burn it to the ground, but this time a woman dropped an upper millstone on his head and crushed his skull.  The Bible refers to her as “a certain woman” and I told you this guy was prideful. He asked his armor-bearer to kill him so that no one could say a woman had done so.  

 

Thus, God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers.   And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

God used many men to prophesy and if you go back and read Jotham the son of Gideon's words, they all came to pass.  It matters not where Jotham knew he had been used by God to proclaim a curse on these evil people, God did all that he stated in his curse.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Evil often seems to win

 

Judges 9:34-45

 

 

So, Abimelech and all the men who were with him rose up by night and set an ambush against Shechem in four companies.  And Gaal the son of Ebed went out and stood in the entrance of the gate of the city, and Abimelech and the people who were with him rose from the ambush.   And when Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops!” And Zebul said to him, “You mistake the shadow of the mountains for men.”   Gaal spoke again and said, “Look, people are coming down from the center of the land, and one company is coming from the direction of the Diviners' Oak.”   Then Zebul said to him, “Where is your mouth now, you who said, ‘Who is Abimelech, that we should serve him?’ Are not these the people whom you despised? Go out now and fight with them.”   And Gaal went out at the head of the leaders of Shechem and fought with Abimelech.   And Abimelech chased him, and he fled before him. And many fell wounded, up to the entrance of the gate.   And Abimelech lived at Arumah, and Zebul drove out Gaal and his relatives so that they could not dwell at Shechem.

 

On the following day, the people went out into the field, and Abimelech was told.   He took his people and divided them into three companies and set an ambush in the fields. And he looked and saw the people coming out of the city. So, he rose against them and killed them.   Abimelech and the company that was with him rushed forward and stood at the entrance of the gate of the city, while the two companies rushed upon all who were in the field and killed them.   And Abimelech fought against the city all that day. He captured the city and killed the people who were in it, and he razed the city and sowed it with salt.

 

Evil often seems to win, “but God”, from the book of Genesis to Revelation, we have “but God”, when it comes to bringing judgment on those who do evil, and most often it does not fit our timeline. But, it is not about us, and God who is all-knowing and holy timing is always right on schedule.  It has been three years, and it looks like God has not spoken, but Abimelech judgment is on schedule, look back to verse 23; “And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,  that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.” 

 

Do you recall Abimelech getting warned about Gaal by Zebul, and it was Zebul that used the pride of Gaal to get him to go out with the men of Shechem, and Gaal soon realized he had let his mouth get him in big trouble, and he ran?  Today we have many Gaal, I pray that the people of God will be seekers of truth, for truth is only found in Jesus Christ.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice