Judges 12 – Walking With Christ in the Midst of Conflict

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

The child of God is often met with conflict, so how should we deal with it? Judges 12 helps to show what stirs up conflict and what we can do to be in alignment with Christ.

Introdcution

In this week’s study of Judges 12, we are going to finish the story of Jephthah. In our study of Judges 11, I briefly touched on the peculiarity of God choosing someone like Jephthah.  As we conclude his story, I’m going to dig deeper into Jephthah’s parallel that walked in step with Christ, and the steps that Christians can take to walk in parallel with Christ.  

Judges 12:1-7 – Conflict Between Brethren

Judges 12:1 opens with the men of Ephraim crossing over toward Zaphon to speak with Jephthah.  “Crossing over” reminds us that Gilead was in ‘East Manasseh’, which meant that those of Ephraim had to cross over the Jordan River to the northeast. 

Ephraim’s anger against Jephthah 

What did they want to speak to Jephthah about?  They wanted to speak to him about his fight against the Ammonites, but not to see how he and his people were doing.  They asked him, “Why did you cross over to fight against the people of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you?”

Now, looking back to Judges 11:33, we’re told of the places where Jephthah fought and defeated the Ammonites.  If you take a look at the map below, you will notice that these battles took place in the land east of the Jordan.  Notice where Gilead is, where the battles took place, and then notice where Ephraim is located.  

The reason why I point this out is because the men of Ephraim’s complaint is odd.  Yes, Jephthah and the Gileadite army traveled, but they traveled nowhere close to the land of Ephraim.  Making matters worse, taking a look at the rest of Judges 12:1, the men of Ephraim spoke of burning down Jephthah’s house!  Frankly, the men of Ephraim sound crazy, don’t they?

This wasn’t the first time the men of Ephraim acted in such a manner.  In Judges 8:1, the men of Ephraim complained to Gideon, criticizing him, about not calling on them to fight with the Midianites.  Now, Gideon managed to calm their anger at that time by telling them that they had actually done more than he had.  Personally, I feel like Gideon didn’t want to deal with the headache, so he fed their pride to calm them down.  

Imagine being told, ‘Don’t be mad, you did more than I did to win the day,’ and that satiates your anger.  They had to be a tribe that was made up of prideful people in order for that to work.  I hope that makes sense what I am saying to you, as many people are like that; mad because they see themselves as inferior, but the moment they’re praised, all is right in the world.

The driving forces of Ephraim’s anger

Was Ephraim just a blood thirsty tribe that wanted to do nothing but fight and war?  It may seem that way, but no, they were dealing with some other issues.  

If we look back to the conquest years, we can get a glimmer of what was going on between Ephraim and the Gileadites.  During the conquest years, Ephraim, like all of the other tribes, backed off and ceded land when their enemies proved to be stubborn (Judg. 1:29).  However, the only time they ever really enjoyed success was when they worked with Manasseh, bringing together the house of Joseph(Judg. 1:22-26; 34-35).  

The Gileadites, Jephthah’s people, I will remind you, were a clan of Manasseh East, and therefore, were of the house of Joseph.  So, in a manner of speaking, we have two brothers talking to each other.  I believe part of Ephraim’s problem with Jephthah’s action was that they were hurt that their brothers didn’t call on them to fight alongside them.

Now, as honorable as that sounds, the other part of the problem will make you shake your head.  For us to understand the other part of the problem, we must remember their complaint against Gideon was because they felt inferior.  The fact that Jephthah and his people defeated the same people who had troubled Ephraim before seemed to hurt their pride (Judg. 10:9).  In fact, I’d say that Ephraim was jealous that their brothers had won the fight alone.

Jephthah could have taken the same route Gideon took to appease Ephraim, but Jephthah responded rather bluntly to them.  In Judges 12:2-3, Jepthah indicated that a message had been sent to Ephraim, but Ephraim did not respond.  Jephthah was not going to let Ephraim lie about his actions!

Then, because Ephraim had not responded, Jephthah and his people chose not to wait.  In fact, why would they need to wait, especially after the spirit of the Lord had come upon Jephthah (Judg. 11:29)!  So, Jephthah chose to stand by the truth, and Ephraim could either accept that truth or not.

Let me just say, when it is time for you to move by faith, don’t delay for anyone.  Jesus told one who desired to follow Him, but wanted to bury His dad, “Let the dead bury the dead” (Luke 9:59-60).  Faith does not delay in moving for anyone!  Delayed faith means a delayed blessing!

Ephraim chose not to accept the truth.  Imagine being angry about your brother taking on a fight and winning.  So, both brothers fought each other, with Jephtah and his people winning.  I’m not going to go over how Jephthah and the Gileadites won, but you can read it in Judges 12:4-6.  At the end of the battle, Jephthah and the Gileadites killed 42,000 Ephraimites.

Beware of Pride and Jealousy

What this passage of scripture shows us, aside from another victory for Jephthah, is how an assembly can tear itself apart.

I want to point out what the Ephramites had said to the Gileadites in Judges 12:4.  The Ephramites said to the Gileadites, “You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephramites and among the Manassites.”

What did they mean by this?  A fugitive is someone who runs from the law.  So, Ephraim was acting as the police of what was lawful and unlawful.  They accused the Gileadites of being outlaws to Ephraim and to Manasseh, which one can maybe assume they were speaking on behalf of West Manasseh.

Again, their charge is nonsensical because the Gileadites were Manassites.  Their charge was nonsensical because they were speaking from a place of pride and jealousy.  Pride and jealousy will not only have you speaking foolishly, but they will also have you moving foolishly as well.

In New Testament scripture, Christ spoke against covetousness, envy, lust, and jealousy.  In Mark 7:20-22, covetousness is listed amongst the evil things that come from within and defile a man.  Christ taught that we should love our neighbors, nothing more or less than that.

In his letters, using the teachings of Christ as the foundation, Paul also warned the early church against covetousness, lust, and jealousy.  For example, the Ephesian church was a church that was divided between the Jews and the Gentiles.  Paul called on the Jews and Gentiles of the church to keep the unity of the Spirit, and be as one body (Eph. 4:3-4).  The Ephesian church ultimately failed because of its lack of love.

To the Philippian church, a strong and united church, Paul wrote, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil. 2:3-4).”

Can you understand why we, sincere believers, are called on to work united together rather than through selfish pride?  That is because jealousy and pride will defile the soul, and can also either hurt/damage a relationship, or bring the end to a relationship

A Wonderful Parallel

Do you think Jephthah was in the wrong for how he responded to Ephraim by fighting them?  

There is a wonderful parallel that we can find between Jephthah and Christ.  Jephthah’s story, in a way, is similar to Joseph’s story.  Joseph was sold away by his brothers, only to rise to a position of great authority and be needed by them.  Jephthah was pushed away by the elders and his brothers, only for him to rise to a position of authority and be needed by the elders of the Gileadites.

When I did my study series on the story of Joseph, I pointed out his parallel with Christ.  So, if I tell you that Joseph’s story parallels Christ’s story, then Jephthah’s story must do the same thing.  So, in what manner does Jephthah’s story parallel Christ’s story?

Let’s start from the beginning with their people and the situation they were in.  The people of both were living in oppression.  The Gileadites of Jephthah’s day were under the Ammonites.  The whole world, both Jews and Gentiles, was under the oppression of sin when Jesus was manifested in the world.

Then, there is a matter of the births of Jephthah and Jesus.  Jephthah was born to a Gileadite man and a harlot, who was likely a gentile–a foreign woman.  Jesus was born of a virgin by way of Mary, who was of Judah, and of the Holy Spirit.  If you wanted to, you could say that the Holy Spirit was foreign, considering the Spirit is not of the world.

Both Jephthah and Jesus were rejected by their own people.  Jephthah was pushed out because he was illegitimate by birth, and according to the law, he was not to be part of the assembly of Israel.  Jesus, when He announced His ministry, proclaiming to be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the Messiah (Is. 61:1-3), His own hometown, Nazareth, kicked Him out (Luke 4:16-30)!  

Now, Jephthah, after being pushed out by his brothers because of his illegitimacy, banded together with worthless men and went out raiding in the land of Tob.  Jesus, after He was pushed out, went out into Galilee and banded together with men who were deemed worthless by society.  Together, Jesus and the twelve went out ministering throughout the land.

There was a great need for both Jephthah and Jesus after they had been kicked out.  The Gileadite elder came to get Jephthah to lead the Gileadites, while people came from all over for Jesus’ help.  

Ultimately, both Jephthah and Jesus made sacrifices in their leadership.  Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, offering up His daughter’s ability to give life, though he did not have to do that.  He then went on to deliver his people from the hand of the Ammonites and further delivered them from his brother’s wickedness.

To be clear, Jephthah wasn’t in the wrong for how he dealt with the Ephraimites.  Keep in mind, they were going to literally burn down his house!  Not only that, but the Ephraimites also set out to kill the Gileadites as fugitives.  The Ephraimites left Gilead with no choice!  

One day, regardless of who they were, sinners will leave Christ with no choice but to separate them from His sheep.  Jesus fulfilled the Father’s vow to mankind by laying down His life for all people.  Through His shed blood, Jesus atones for the sins of those who believe and have faith in Him, delivering them from chains of sin.

The Christian’s Parallel With Christ

So, why do I point out this parallel between Jephthah and Christ?  Well, consider this:  Who would ever think that the son of a harlot who lived his life as an outlaw would have a story that parallels the story of Christ?

Jepthah’s story is so peculiar in that God used such a one to deliver His people from wicked hands.  I said in the study of Gideon, Judges 6-8, that God can, and will, use anyone for His work.

The Christian life is a life that is meant to parallel the life of Christ.  Jesus told the disciples that one ought not think that they won’t face the same things that He faced, as a servant is not greater than their master (John 15:20).  

Like Christ, Christians have been given an assignment by Christ that calls on us to fulfill the Father’s will and vow to mankind that whoever receives His will be saved.  Striving to fulfill the Fathers will be met with trials and tribulations.  Jesus also told us that it will cause us to be despised and hated, even in our own homes (Luke 12:49-53).

Many of us don’t even think we’re fit to be able to carry out such an assignment, yet, in God’s eyes, we are more than fit for the assignment.  Jephthah was a good judge of Israel, serving in the role faithfully for 6 years (Judg. 12:7).  I believe that all of us have it within ourselves to also serve and fulfill our calling all the years of our journey.  All we have to do is continue to heed the Spirit.

The rest of this chapter, Judges 12:8-15, covers the three more judges, but you will notice that the scripture doesn’t provide much in the way of what these judges did for Israel. 

Judges 12:8-15 – Warning Against Wasted Time

All we’re told about two of the judges, Ibzan and Abdon, is how many children they had and what they gave to their children.  These two judges sound a lot like Jair, who gave each of his 30 sons their own donkeys and towns.  Elon was a judge between Ibzan and Abdon, and the only thing that is told of him is that he judged Israel for ten years and died.

Between these three judges, 25 years had passed since Jephthah.  In all, there were 31 years between the four, and something, but I do want to point out something that is missing in this chapter.  In the previous chapters, after a judge had led Israel to victory, scripture would tell us that there was rest in the land, or the land was quiet.

The last time we saw such wording was after Gideon had defeated Midian (Judg. 8:28).  Abimelech brought wickedness in his reign, but Tola “saved Israel,” which could imply the land returned back to being quiet after Abimelech’s wickedness.  However, following Jair’s 22 years, Israel was oppressed by both the Philistines and the Ammonites.

Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, but we haven’t seen a word about the Philistines since Judges 10.  I do believe that the Ammonites’ defeat brought some semblance of quiet to the land, but I also believe that during the 25 years that followed Jephthah, wickedness stirred about.

We will see this in Judges 13, but the reason why we know that wickedness had to be stirring about was because there was no spiritual leadership in the 25 years that followed Jephthah.  The race of faith is a marathon, and when one finishes their leg of the race, they pass off their baton to the next runner to run with.  Neither of the judges ran with the baton Jephthah passed off, which meant that wickedness would gain ground.

The reason why I wanted to mention these three judges in this study is because I believe we’re living in a time when we need more  Jephthahs to be running the race.  A generation has been passing off their batons for quite some time now, and the next legs aren’t being run in the race.  So, we can’t be sitting around today being dumbfounded at the spread of wickedness.

Something I have been preaching about in this sermon series – The Winning Spirit – is about how we must step up and run the Christian race.  We’re living in a day when wickedness must be confronted by those who are God’s children.  If we don’t run the race, doing our part, then wickedness will continue to spread and hurt upcoming generations.

So, let us stop wasting time and pick up our batons because there is a race to be run, and it is a race that we can certainly win.  Like Jephthah, the spirit of God will come upon, and has already come upon all of us who believe.  When we run with the Spirit, we will put wickedness behind us.