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Context No. 1854 of 4322 · Judges

Context · Reflection

Judges 11:12-27: in context

12Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, saying, “What do you have to do with me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13The king of the children of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore restore that territory again peaceably.” 14Jephthah sent messengers again to the king of the children of Ammon; 15and he said to him, “Jephthah says: Israel didn’t take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon; 16but when they came up from Egypt, and Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea, and came to Kadesh, 17then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let me pass through your land;’ but the king of Edom didn’t listen. In the same way, he sent to the king of Moab, but he refused; so Israel stayed in Kadesh. 18Then they went through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they encamped on the other side of the Arnon; but they didn’t come within the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19Israel 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 my place.’ 20But Sihon didn’t trust Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21The LORD, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they struck them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22They possessed all the border of the Amorites, from the Arnon even to the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan. 23So now the LORD, the God of Israel, has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and should you possess them? 24Won’t you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whoever the LORD our God has dispossessed from before us, them will we possess. 25Now are you anything better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them? 26Israel lived in Heshbon and its towns, and in Aroer and its towns, and in all the cities that are along the side of the Arnon for three hundred years! Why didn’t you recover them within that time? 27Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you do me wrong to war against me. May the LORD the Judge be judge today between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.”

Before Jephthah goes to war with Ammon, he sends messengers to their king, seeking to resolve the conflict by reason. What quarrel is there between us, he asks, that you come against my land? When the king claims Israel stole his territory, Jephthah answers at length, laying out the history: Israel did not seize Moab's or Ammon's land, but took the land of Sihon, whom God gave into their hand, and has held it three hundred years. He appeals to the facts and, finally, to God: may the LORD, the Judge, decide today between us.

Before Jephthah reaches for the sword, he reaches for reason. He sends messengers, states his case, engages the Ammonite king's claim honestly, lays out the history, and tries to resolve the dispute by argument and truth rather than by immediate force. War comes only after the attempt at a reasoned settlement fails. There is wisdom in this order that we do well to imitate in our own conflicts. When we are wronged, or in dispute, or opposed, the temptation is to move straight to conflict, to fight, to attack, to escalate, without first attempting to resolve the matter by honest reasoning and appeal. Jephthah's example is to try first the way of words and truth: to state one's case, to engage the other honestly, to seek a peaceful resolution before resorting to force. So far as it depends on us, Scripture says, we are to be at peace with all; and blessed are the peacemakers. This does not mean conflict is always avoidable; Jephthah did end up fighting, for the king would not listen. But it means the effort at peaceful resolution comes first, the honest attempt to settle the matter by reason before it comes to blows. And notice where Jephthah finally rests his case: may the LORD, the Judge, decide between us. Having made his honest appeal, he commits the dispute to God the righteous Judge. This too is worth learning: to make our honest case, to seek peace as far as we can, and then to entrust the matter to God who judges rightly, rather than taking the whole burden of vindication on ourselves. Jephthah sought to resolve the conflict by reason before force, and committed the outcome to God the Judge; and in our own conflicts, the way of the peacemaker who reasons first and entrusts the rest to God is the wiser path than the rush to fight.

When I am wronged or in conflict, do I move straight to fighting and escalation, or can I follow Jephthah, seeking first to resolve the matter by honest reasoning and appeal, making peace as far as it depends on me, and entrusting the outcome to God the righteous Judge rather than taking the whole burden of vindication on myself?

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