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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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JEPHTHAH’S
NEGOTIATIONS WITH AMMONITES Judges 11:12-29,
10/30/13 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert
I. AMMON’S POINT OF VIEW (12-13) A. In spite of Jephthah’s past, the people of
Gilead ask him to become their chief (Jdg 11:8). Jephthah accepts after the
people swear an oath before the Lord to make his head (Jdg 11:9-11). His
first plan as head was to attempt to negotiate with the invading Ammonites
(Jdg 10:17; 11:4). B. [12] Jephthah at least goes through the
motion of attempting to solve the problem between the king of the sons of
Ammon and Israel. He asserts himself as the strong leader and inquires as to
why they are fighting against “my land.” C. [13] The king of Ammon replied with the
claim that Israel
took way his land when Israel came up from Egypt. The land was from the Arnon
River to the Jabbok and the Jordan. The only peaceful solution was for Israel
to return their land immediately. II. JEPHTHAH’S POINT OF VIEW (14-22) A. [14] While the king’s assessment was not
totally inaccurate (Nu 21:24), there were extenuating circumstances that
would ethically explain Israel’s possession. Jephthah sent a reply explaining
those extenuating circumstances to the king of Ammon. B. [15] But it inevitably meant that Israel
had not in fact taken the Ammonites land away from them. C. [16] Jephthah explained the correct
history account. Israel came up from D. [17] Israel approached the king of Edom to
allow Israel to pass through their land. The king of Edom rejected their
request (Nu 20:14-21). The Pentateuch does not record Israel’s request to the
king of Moab but it was confirmed by inspiration here. E. [18] So Israel went into the wilderness
around Edom and Moab stopping on the on the side of Moab territory. They went
as far northward as the Arnon River (the border of Moab), but emphatically
did not enter the land. The Lord had
given earlier instructions not to fight against Edom, Moab, and Ammon because
these peoples were all related to Israel; and God had given them their own
territory (Dt 2:5, 9, 19). F. [19] Evidently, Ammon was also having
land disputes with Moab (Dt 21:26) and the Amorites. For Moses did not
approach the Ammonites but the Amorites to pass through their land.
Jephthah’s account agrees with Nu 21:21-22 that Moses approached king Sihon,
king of the Amorites. 1. One wishes that Jephthah would have
defined the eastern boundary more clearly since Ammonite territory lay in
that direction. According to Numbers 21:24, however, Moses’ conquest reached
up to the Ammonite border but did not include any of their land. Yet some of
the kingdom of Sihon may have once belonged to the Ammonites, since the tribe
of Gad was allotted “half the Ammonite country” in Joshua 13:25. Based on the
borders at the time of Israel’s conquest, Jephthah’s case is a strong one.
Moses had seized only Amorite territory and had avoided any open conflict
with either Moab or Ammon. EXP G. [20] Not
only did Sihon refuse Israel’s request, but he did not trust them an engaged
in attack against Israel. Sihon went out into the wilderness to fight against
Israel at Jahaz (Nu 21:23). H. [21-22] The Lord fought for Israel and
gave Sihon and his land into their hands. Israel possessed all of the land of
the Amorites from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. Its eastern border was
Jazer, which bordered the boundary of Ammon. Its western boundary was the
Jordan River. III. JEPHTHAH’S REASONING (23-27) A. [23] Often in Old Testament warfare,
battles were essentially fought between the gods. Israel’s claim was that it
served Elohim (the Great One, chief among all gods), El Shaddai
(God Almighty, stronger than all gods), and El Elyon (Most High God,
higher than all gods). B. Jephthah reasons that their God, the “LORD” (Yahweh
- Self-Existent God) is the “God” (Elohim - the Great One, chief
among all gods). It was their God who drove out the Amorites, why then should
the Ammonites have the land back? C. [24] The Ammonites served “Chemosh” (the destroyer, subduer, or fish-god, the god of the
Moabites, Nu 21:29; 1Ki 11:7, 33; 2Ki 23:13).
Satirically, Jephthah replies satirically that the “destroyer,” and the
“subdue” certainly can protect that which is his. According to the Ammonites,
Chemosh is responsible for giving their nation the land that they have. If
the national-god principle is true for the Ammonites, it should be true for
Israel. Besides, Israel did not take any land from the Ammonites, only the
Amorites. D. [25] Jephthah reminds the Ammonites of
Balak, the king of Moab. He attempted to get Balaam to curse Israel so that
he could regain Sihon’s land. But Balaam was unable to curse Israel and
repeatedly blessed them to his own surprise (Nu 24:10). Balak then recognized
that the land was Israel’s and there God protected it. This included the
villages of Aroer and all the cities on
the bank of the Arnon River. For that reason, Jephthah did not have to fight
against them. E. He brings another argument. Israel
possessed the land for over 300 yrs. If the Ammonites thought it was theirs
and wanted it back, why did they wait until now.
This argument revealed that the Ammonites were greedy opportunists,
attempting to take land from the weakened nation of Israel. 1. The mention of the 300 years fits in
neatly with an early date for the Conquest. Those favoring the late-date
theory view it as a round number denoting several generations (like 480 in 1
Kings 6:1) or as a total of what were actually overlapping periods. The
number of years given thus far for the periods of
oppression and peace comes to 301, not counting the 18 years of
Ammonite oppression. EXP F. [27] Jephthah’s conclusion was that he
and Israel have not sinned against the Ammonites. They have substantial
reason for claiming the land. The Ammonites on the hand do not. They are
actually the offenders by making war. If the only solution of peace is give
up the land that is rightfully theirs, then there would be no peaceful
solutions. War would be inevitable and it would be a battle between the gods.
Jephthah looked to the Lord to be the Living Judge and he would settle
between Israel and the Ammonites by fighting for them. IV. JEPHTHAH’S DIVINE CONFIRMATION (28-29) A. [28] The king of the sons of Ammon understood
Jephthah’s position but disregarded it. Let the battle between the gods
commence. B. [29] At this point we see the divine
affirmation that Jephthah was the leader of Israel. In the typical fashion in
Judges, the “Spirit of the Lord” came upon Jephthah to enable him to carry
out leadership for Israel (Jdg 3:10; 6:34; 146). So Jephthah went through
Gilead, Manasseh, and Mizpah gathering
troops for battle. V. OBSERVATIONS AND APPLICATIONS A. Cool heads prevail (Pr 16:32;17:27) 1. Jephthah demonstrates his leadership
qualities by keeping a cool head and trying to work a way of peace. 2. Anger and lack of control over emotions
demonstrate a kink in the armor of leadership and maturity. B. Live at peace with all men, if possible
(Ro 12:18) 1. We may not always be able to live
peaceably with some people. But we must make sure that it on their account
and not ours. 2. Even after we have tried all we can do to
maintain peace, but to no avail, we must give in to bitterness but keep an
attitude of readiness for peace. C. The battle of the gods continues (Ro
8:31ff) 1. The battle without - the battle of the
gods without is a constant defense of the faith. Whether it is those who
believe in other gods or those who have no god at all, our faith and defense
must be bold. 2. The battle within - This battle might be
a little more difficult. The idolatrous gods within our heart of anything
that is raised above God, must be subdued. But even
in the midst of battle, our God loves, is for us, and nothing can ultimately
be against us. |
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