Judges 11:12-27: a reflection

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 going to war with the Ammonites, Jephthah does something worth noting: he first sends messengers to their king, seeking to resolve the dispute by reasoned appeal. He lays out the history carefully, argues that Israel has not wronged Ammon, and appeals to reason and justice, trying to settle the conflict without bloodshed. Only when this reasoned appeal fails does the fighting come. And he closes by appealing to God: May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between us.

Notice Jephthah's measured approach to conflict: he sought to resolve it by reasoned appeal before resorting to force, and entrusted the outcome to God the Judge. He did not rush to war; he first tried to settle the dispute through careful argument and appeal to justice, seeking a peaceful resolution. And when that failed, he appealed to God the Judge to decide between them. His was not a hasty resort to force, but a measured effort to resolve the conflict rightly, entrusting the outcome to God.

That measured approach to conflict is wiser than the hasty resort to force or hostility we are often tempted to. When conflict arises, we can rush to hostility, to force, to fighting, without first seeking to resolve it reasonably. But Jephthah first sought a peaceful resolution through reasoned appeal, and only when that failed did he fight, entrusting the outcome to God the Judge. When you are in a conflict, do not rush to hostility or force; first seek to resolve it reasonably, through honest appeal and a search for justice, as Jephthah sought to resolve the dispute before fighting. And entrust the outcome to God the Judge, rather than taking vengeance into your own hands. A measured effort to resolve conflict rightly, seeking peace first and entrusting the outcome to God, is wiser than the hasty resort to hostility; follow Jephthah's example of reasoned appeal before force, and of leaving the final judgment to God.

Lord, before going to war, Jephthah first sent messengers to the Ammonite king, seeking to resolve the dispute by reasoned appeal, laying out the history and appealing to justice; and only when that failed did the fighting come, and he entrusted the outcome to you, the Judge. Give me that measured approach to conflict, wiser than the hasty resort to force or hostility I am often tempted to. When conflict arises, I can rush to hostility, to fighting, without first seeking to resolve it reasonably. But Jephthah first sought a peaceful resolution through reasoned appeal, and only when that failed did he fight, entrusting the outcome to you, the Judge. When I am in a conflict, keep me from rushing to hostility or force; help me first seek to resolve it reasonably, through honest appeal and a search for justice, as Jephthah sought to resolve the dispute before fighting. And help me entrust the outcome to you, the Judge, rather than taking vengeance into my own hands. A measured effort to resolve conflict rightly, seeking peace first and entrusting the outcome to you, is wiser than the hasty resort to hostility; help me follow Jephthah's example, Lord, of reasoned appeal before force, and of leaving the final judgment to you.