Judges 11:1-28 - God is the True Judge

Judges 11:1-28

Jephthah

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 

6 Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”

7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”

8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”

10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The LORD will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, “What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?”

13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably.”

14 So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: ‘Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon; 16 for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let me pass through your land.” But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh. 18 And they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land into our place.” 20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21 And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

23 ‘And now the LORD God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel; should you then possess it? 24 Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. 25 And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them? 26 While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? 27 Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the LORD, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.’” 28 However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him.

The judge Jephthah of Gilead was a mighty man of valor but because he was the son of a harlot, he was disinherited from his family and treated badly.  Yet God had called and chosen him to fight the battle for his people Israel because God is the true Judge and Deliverer of us all.  When Ammon made war against Israel, the leaders came to put him in charge of the army and Jephthah reminded them that they had ostracized him before, and so agree only if they put him in charge as their commander, the judge over Israel.  He then dealt with the invading king of Ammon by first pointing out that the land was Israel’s by God’s inheritance and by the fact that they had the land for a long time before Ammon could have taken it back from others.  He pointed out their flawed reasoning to claim possession of the land and the history behind it.  For the LORD God of Israel had previously delivered Ammon from its king Sihon into the hand of Israel after they defeated them and so had gained possession of all the land of the Amorites then.  God kicked the Amorites out and now they wanted their previous land back.  He asked why their ‘god’ Chemosh didn’t give it back to them if he was so mighty as he mocked their idolatry.  He was making the point that the only God, the LORD of Israel, had made the inheritance of the land to His people and that the king of Ammon sinned by asking this of them and fighting against them for what now belonged to God’s people.  He put it to the hand of the Judge of all, the LORD, for judgment and resolution.  But the Ammonite king did not listen to reason, unfortunately for him and his people.  He would be defeated because he refused to acknowledge that the LORD God is the judge and arbitrator over all people and their inheritance, a fact we see in this picture of Christ and the inheritance we have in Him in the promised heavenly kingdom to come.  Our enemies will face His judgment (Revelation 6:10) and retribution for attacking His people in the end when the last battle is fought (Revelation 19:19, 20, 20:10, 14) and all stand before Him.  The kingdom is given to whom God has chosen (Daniel 7:18, Luke 12:32), not those who attempt to take it (Matthew 11:11, 12) by force.