Judges 10-12

• 2nd post (the last one had the wrong chapters in the title)- sorry. Sometimes I am too tired to proofread. 😴
• Click here to read
• Click here to listen
• Good morning. So let me ask you, are you amazed at how much of the Bible we really don’t know until we actually sit down and read it like this. If we made a pie chart of all the things we put first, how small a sliver would reading your Bible be (before this read).  I am just thinking out loud as I reflect on the Lord’s forgiveness and grace for our disobedience too.

---

As you can see we continue to cycle.  We have read about Judges 1-5, and today we will read 6-11 all in one day. Leaving Samson for Sunday!

 

The Judges and their Tribes:
1. Othniel – Judah
2. Ehud – Benjamin
3. Shamgar
4. Deborah – Ephraim
5. Gideon – Manasseh
6. Tola – Issachar
7. Jair – Manasseh
8. Jephthah – Manasseh
9. Ibzan – Judah
10. Elon – Zebulun
11. Abdon – Ephraim

12. Samson – Dan (Sunday)

We have two “minor” judges Tola and Jair raised up to save Israel.  Then we have this long story about Jephthah #8.

---

What we are reading is not just a deterioration of the Israelites but also of the judges.  The evil the Israelites commit is clearly specified as apostasy evident in the long list of foreign gods they are worshiping as well as they have completely forsaken the Lord and no longer serve him at all. (look for details like how long or short their reign was or how their wealth accumulation is growing 😢)

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.

Before you shake a finger at them. What is the desire of your heart?

:

This text is also setting up the scene for Samson and the Philistines.  However, this story grows as they move from the east side of the Jordan to now the west side.   The Lord initially refuses to save the people telling them to go cry to the gods they serve (ouch).  Instead of waiting for the Lord to raise up a Judge to deliver them, they enlist Jephthah.

Jephthah was half Hebrew, half Canaanite (his mother was a prostitute.)

I am not sure of you caught it, but just in case you didn’t…¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”

Jephthah could have just said “Liar, Liar pants on fire!” but he didn’t.  He did something better: he schooled them on their history.  Israel did not take land from the Ammonites, he took it from the Amorites!  NOW the Ammonites are trying to take what isn’t theirs.  Tsk Tsk!!

Unlike Gideon who shows doubts about his ability without the Lord’s help, Jephthah feels confident in himself and his band of hoodlums to get the job done.

Prior to this, we see Judges that show concern for the suffering of Israel, as the people deteriorated in their sins.  Jephthah’s motivation is self-interest.  He has a dialogue about the land with the Ammonite king.  He argues:

1. When Israel came out of Egypt they did not steal land, rather the Moabites did.
2. The land taken away from the Amorites was given from the Lord (King Sihon battle)
3. They had the land the Lord gave them for 300 years,  He sarcastically adds we will keep the land our Lord gave us, you keep the Land your god, Chemosh,  gave you. (this god will come up again when we read about Solomon)
4. And concluded with: “I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the Lord, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”

   The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him.

Let the games begin!

---

Chapter 11: When preparing for war Jephthah makes a vow with the Lord:  “If you give the Ammonites into my hands,  whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

Go back, who was his mother and father?  His mother was a Canaanite, and his brothers hated him for it.

• One of the Cannonite practices was ‘bartering’ with their god.
• One of the Israelite commands was keeping your vow.

We see here what happens when you mix 2 religions- it’s mud.

Just like many Christians know “a little” about the Bible and OFTEN take scriptures out of context. He knows “a little” about the Law of Moses and takes it out of context.  He should have known that the Lord would never want a human sacrifice.

---

Chapter 12…Lord have Mercy!  AGAIN!!  The Ephraimites cross over the Jordan to complain like babies AFTER the battle, “why weren’t we asked to fight in your battle”.  This time threatening to burn down Jephthah’s house.  Gideon handled this diplomatically when it happened to him…Jephthah on the other hand, obviously not in the mood to dialogue like Gideon had, calls on the Gileadtes to fight them.  They cut off their path to escape back to the other side of the Jordan and kill 42,000 Ephraimites.

If all this is confusing with all the names just remember that the Ephraimites are ISRAELITES.  The conflicts are now internal and escalating in intensity.

Jephthah led Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in a town in Gilead.

It does not say ANYTHING about years of peace following this Judge.  I am thinking ‘days’ in my head.

---

Three Minor Judges are then listed Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. If you have time take a moment to look back on the Printables (that you don’t need to print I keep them in the Menu at the top for you)

• Cycle of the Judges
• Judges Overview

Sadly,  the Israelites are still in the ‘disobedience’ stage.  We haven’t even reached the ‘disgrace’ stage yet.  I wonder what stage the Lord would say the world is in today?  I wonder in his eyes what “chapter’ we resemble.  Well, let’s keep reading this week and see what happens next.