A Life of Contention - Judges 10-12

There is a simple adage that is a warning to all of us: "Hurt people, Hurt people." In almost every story of a school shooting we hear the student was an outcast. The feeling of hurt built to the to the point where they wanted to hurt others.

People who have been deeply hurt by others need to find help to deal with the hurt or it will come out in their relationships with other people. We have already seen illustrations of this in the revenge of Gideon, the feeling of rejection in Abimelech, and now it is illustrated again in the story of Jephthah in Judges 10-11. Though the writer of Judges is telling us the true story, it does not mean what this man does is right. In fact, it is far from right.

Before we get to Jephthah, we read about two other Judges: Tola and Jair. We aren't going to say anything about them because we are not told anything about them. They both served for long periods of time. They likely served well but nothing extraordinary happened. They are like some of our Presidents. They served but nothing in their history stands out.

As the chapter begins, we read the familiar refrain that Israel was back to the worship of idols. They were becoming more and more like the Canaanites. They forgot about God, so He abandoned them to the Ammonites and the Philistines who dominated the tribes on the east side of the river (known as Gilead).

There is nothing more terrifying than the words, "He abandoned them." When the Lord abandons us, we are defenseless. We have nowhere to turn. When God withdraws His favor, the only thing left is misery and emptiness. Tim Keller writes,

Idolatry and slavery go hand in hand. Idolatry leads to slavery and slavery to idolatry. So, God says to the person who worships money: If you want to live for money instead of for me, then money will rule your life. It will control your heart and emotions. If you want to live for popularity instead of for me, then popular acclaim will rule and control you. If you want another god besides me—go ahead. Let’s see how merciful it is to you, how effective it is in saving and guiding and enlightening you. (Judges Loc 1444)

After 18 years Israel finally called out to the Lord. His reply? "Call out to the god's you have been serving and see what they can do to help you." It was a dire situation and Israel had to plead with God to forgive their sin and foolishness. They looked at it as a "last resort." Like us, Israel was calling out to God not because they wanted to serve Him but because they wanted to be served by God! They were looking for a fix, not someone they could honor and worship.

Contention Within the Tribe

Jephthah was a man who was born out of an unfortunate union. His father was Gilead, his mother was a prostitute. Gilead's wife also had children with Gilead and it appears the children were raised together. When they got older, Gilead's biological sons tormented Jephthah and told him he did not belong to the family. He would get no part of the family inheritance. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to know the kinds of things said to him.

Jephthah left the family and assembled a group of fighting men who were likewise outcasts for various reasons. In a sense, Jephthah became a crime boss or a pirate. Apparently, he made quite a reputation for himself as a fighter, because when Gilead wanted to throw off their bondage to the Ammonites, they sought out Jephthah and asked him to be their commander.

There is nothing here that says God called Jephthah to be a Judge any more than God called Abimelech. Jephthah sensed they were simply using him. He asked, "How can I believe anything you say?" Their response: "You have our word, if you defeat the Ammonites you will be our leader. He made them swear under oath that he would be the commander and leader if he defeated the Ammonites. He took the job.

Contention with the Ammorites

The first thing Jephthah did was try diplomacy. He sent a messenger to the Ammonites and asked them why they were opposing Israel. They responded saying the land was originally theirs and Joshua took it from them.

Jephthah responded by telling them to:

Check your history . . . Israel did not take the land. The Ammonites attacked Israel when they were seeking peace. They lost their land in a war THEY started.

Check your theology . . . The Lord gave the land to Israel. They would keep the land the Lord God gave them and the Ammonites could keep whatever land their god wanted to give them.

Check your logic. Israel had occupied the land for 300 years. The Ammonites could have taken it before and didn't, therefore they had squandered any right to the land.

The King of Ammon ignored the words of Jephthah and prepared for battle. We are told, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. In other words, God empowered the leader. What Jephthah does next is the height of foolishness.

And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, 31I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” (11:30-31)

Jephthah showed his lack of knowledge about God and about the Law of God. He tried to strike a bargain with God! It is the equivalent of us saying, "Lord, if you get me out of this, I will go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life." God is not a crooked Judge, selling justice or blessing to the highest bidder! He can't be bought. He is the Sovereign ruler. He loves us. He had already placed his Spirit on Jephthah. That was all Jephthah would need. This was pagan superstition. Jephthah's vow was horrible, disgusting, insulting and unnecessary.

He gained a stunning victory over the Ammonites. Unfortunately, the first thing out of the door was his daughter, his only child. She was celebrating the victory and the fact that her dad (the hero) was home. Jephthah tore his clothes in anguish. He told his daughter about the vow.

She was one remarkable girl! She said, "A promise to God is something you have to pay." She asked for a couple of months to prepare and mourn with her friends. Jephthah granted the request before fulfilling his vow.

There have been many attempts to sidestep what this text seems to be saying. We are horrified that someone would sacrifice their daughter on the altar. This is expressly forbidden in the law of God but it is unlikely that Jephthah knew the Law. Some have suggested the daughter just became a worker at the Tabernacle. Kind of like someone might take vows to be a nun.

However, the plain sense of the text is Jephthah would offer whatever was first out of His door as a burnt offering. It is likely Jephthah followed the practice of the Canaanites and actually did sacrifice his daughter.

We are rightly horrified by the story, but that is kind of the point. The writer wants us to see the depth of depravity the children of Israel was sinking to. They had become desensitized to violence and acted increasingly like the pagans. And as our culture turns increasingly away from God, we should be warned that we could become just like these folks.

If Jephthah had known the Law of God, he would know Leviticus 27 has a whole chapter on "buying out" a vow. Jephthah had not learned the Law, therefore he ended up sacrificing His daughter.

Contention with the Ephraimites

Once again, the Ephraimites were upset that Jephthah did not summon them to help in the battle against the Ammonites. Gideon faced the same criticism from the Ephraimites. This was a quarrelsome group of people. They seem to be always complaining.

Gary Ingrid wrote,

I am afraid that there are far too many Christians who are Ephraimites when it comes to understanding their God-given responsibilities. They are more than willing to let other believers move out into the world and to let other Christians confront the world with the gospel. Other people should get involved in teaching Sunday school or doing menial work or going to the mission field or engaging in Christian service. But these people reserve the right to criticize from the sidelines or even to condemn what these other Christians do. They are very critical of their brothers and sisters, but they are not involved in confronting the enemy. As someone has said, their prayer is, “Lord, use me in your work, but in an advisory capacity!” (Hearts of Iron Loc. 3757)

There are always those who are better at criticizing than actually serving the Lord. They quote verses and sound spiritual, but what they need to do is stop talking and get to work!

A man came up to D. L. Moody and said, “Mr. Moody, I don’t like the way you preach the gospel.” “You know,” Mr. Moody said, “I’m always willing to learn. Tell me about the method you use.” “I guess I don’t really have one,” the man said. “I’ll tell you what,” Moody said, “I like the way I do it better than the way you don’t do it.”

Jephthah told the men of Ephraim that he HAD summoned them, and they refused to respond! Jephthah went to war, the Ephraimites criticized from the sidelines.

Rather than respond with humility and gratitude, the Ephraimites became hostile. They provoked a war with their countrymen. Jephthah and his men routed Ephraim decisively. They sealed off the area. Any individual who tried to cross the river was given a test. They had to pronounce the word "Shibboleth". The people of Ephraim were unable to pronounce the "h." Everyone who said "Sibboleth" was killed.

Don't miss what is happening here. 42,000 people from Ephraim were killed . . . not by a foreign oppressor, but by the man who was tapped to lead Israel. Things were out of control quickly. Israel had become its own worst enemy.

Lessons to Learn

Once again, we find ourselves scratching our head, wondering what are we to learn? I propose four different lessons we learn from Jephthah.

It is important to have a well-informed theology. Jephthah got in trouble because he was uninformed as to the true nature of God. He tried to make a bargain with the God who is not manipulated by the "deals" of men. This ignorance cost him the life of His daughter. If he had known the law of God, he could have given a financial offering to save the life of his only child. If He had known the heart of God, he would have known such a promise was unnecessary.

We need to understand our attempts to "make a deal with God" are offensive to the Holy and Righteous God. It implies God is indifferent and can be bought by the highest bidder. In times of desperation we likely do not offer our children to sacrifice but we make other deals: We will go to church more; we will cuss less, we will drive slower, we will be nicer to people, we will get places on time and on and on. Each time we do this we are negotiating with God. To do so is to show Him disrespect.

The only way to avoid sins such as this is to know the Word of God. What He wants is our faithful trust and obedience. If we want to live rightly we need to work at understanding who God is. He is not an opportunist who needs to be "bribed. " He is the loving Lord who has come to rescue us.

An important question to ask is: How do I become knowledgeable of the character of God so I will better know what is right and what is wrong?

Read the Bible for yourself. Don't simply read haphazardly, read systematically. Read through the gospels. Get to know Jesus. Read through the letters and other books as a whole don't use the hunt and peck method. Listen to God's Word as if you were a person trapped in a minefield and someone is giving you directions to get out.

Sit under good teaching. This is why is it essential to attend a church that helps you understand Scripture. Pep talks have their place but it is the Word of God that changes our lives. Take part in adult Sunday School classes and Bible Studies. Take advantage of our sermon archive and You Tube videos. All of these things will help you know how God has revealed Himself.

Read good Christian books. We have several available here. When I read an insightful book, I like to read the books they reference in footnotes and bibliographies. You can also find someone you respect as a believer and find out what they are reading. And don't be afraid to read books written by dead guys who made an impact on Christianity!

The better you know God, the more clearly you will see His path for your life and you won't have to copy the patterns of the world.

Second, unrepentant sin continues to cause problems. Israel was in this mess because they refused to turn from their sin. They said what they felt they needed to say in order to get God's help. Israel spent 18 years being oppressed simply because they would not confess their sin honestly and with repentance before the Lord.

We will never grow in our relationship with Christ if we are not willing to stop making excuses and start being honest about our sin. It doesn't do any good to blame others or to argue that you didn't mean to do anything wrong. It is best to begin our prayer with "Father, I have sinned before you. Please forgive me and help me to live according to your word."

Jephthah was wrong and foolish in his pledge, but He did do what He promised He would do. He had more integrity than most today. Jesus told us to "let your "yes" be "yes" and your "No" be "no". We are to be people who don't have to resort to vows because we ALWAYS tell the truth. Our world is longing for people of integrity.

Third, Hurt people, hurt people. We have seen this is the last three accounts. This is a powerful reminder of the power (for good or for bad) we can have in the lives of others. What we may call playful teasing, may be inflicting scars on someone. Hurtful words, disrespectful actions, recounting a person's mistakes to others over and over again, and even indifference, are all wounds.

Here is a tip: when someone "spews," it is best to look for the hurt behind the anger. You must address the hurt before the behavior can change. This requires really seeing the other person. It means listening to them. Hear what they are saying rather than just looking for an opportunity for a rebuttal.

If the hurts are yours, spend time with the Wonderful Counselor. Let Him teach you how to forgive, to love, and to heal. Draw your identity from the Lord and not from your pain. Jason Gray sings a great song with the recurring phrase: "Remind me who I am to you." God has declared us holy, righteous, beloved. He is our healer, redeemer, counselor and friend. The more we see ourselves through His eyes, the better we will be able to escape the hurts that haunt us.

Finally, we see the importance of the home and family. Jephthah was uninformed because he did not learn the Law of God as a child. His rejection at home led to his anger toward others. The home is supposed to be the place where our children find their spiritual roots.

In Deuteronomy 6 we are told,

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

We work hard to help our children grow physically and intellectually. We try to teach them how to manage money, time, and social media. We drill into them the ideas of hard work and being a good teammate. But what are we doing to teach our kids spiritually?

What are you doing to help them learn the Word of God?

Are you teaching them to pray?

Are you showing them Christlikeness in your dealings with others and in the priorities that you set as a family? Are you showing them that the Lord gets FIRST place?

Are you applying spiritual truths to everyday situations in life?

Of all the things we teach our children NOTHING has as greater long-term impact than teaching our children how to know and serve God. Faith begins at home. If we fail in teaching our kids the truth at home . . . we should not be surprised if our country continues to follow the path of idolatry. We also should not be surprised if our children make reckless decisions like Jephthah. He never knew anything better! May God help us to learn these lessons now rather than having to repeat the same mistakes again.