Judges 11:12-22
12 So Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, saying, “What conflict do you and I have, that you have come to me to fight against my land?”
13 And the king of the sons of Ammon said to the messengers of Jephthah, “It is because Israel took my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; so return them peaceably now.”
14 But Jephthah sent messengers once again to the king of the sons of Ammon.
15 And they said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘Israel did not take the land of Moab nor the land of the sons of Ammon.
16 For when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh.
17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Please let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. And they also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.
18 Then they went through the wilderness and around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came to the east side of the land of Moab, and they camped beyond the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.
19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Please let us pass through your land to our place.”
20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people and camped in Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, handed Sihon and all his people over to Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.
22 So they possessed all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness as far as the Jordan.
Negotiation with the Ammonites (1)
Seeking peace
The privilege of being a Christian is the assurance that everything we have is given by God. All things are given to us by the Lord. Therefore, even when the Lord takes them back, we can let go of them through faith. But what should we do if someone else tried to claim ownership of our possessions? Today’s passage provides a good example through Jephthah. He first seeks to persuade the enemy and seeks a peaceful resolution. Jephthah sends messengers to the king of the Ammonites, asking, “What conflict do you and I have, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” In other words, he asserts that Gilead (east of the Jordan River) belongs to the Israelites.
Historical review
Then the king of the Ammonites claimed that the land on the east side of the Jordan had been taken from them by the Israelites during the time of Exodus, and he demanded that it be returned to them. So, Jephthah sent messengers again, and through a historical review, he demonstrated that the land of Gilead did not originally belong to the Ammonites. The battles fought by the Israelites, led by Moses, were against the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, not the Ammonites, Moabites, or Edomites. (2) God had commanded them to respect the boundaries of these nations’ territories (Deut. 2:5, 9, 19). Therefore, the Israelites did not engage in battles with these nations. (3) The Israelites were forced into battle against the attacks of Sihon and Og, and as a result of their victories, they came to possess those lands. This event had nothing to do with the Ammonites. Jephthah was well-versed in the history of the Israelites. This implies that he had studied the Law of Moses. God encourages a childlike faith but doesn’t delight in ignorance. Likewise, when faced with questions about our faith, we should strive to be able to explain our beliefs in an organized manner.
Today's prayer
O God of Israel, You have revealed your plan of salvation throughout history. Help me learn the lessons from the history of the Bible. I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.