King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Thursday, March 03, 2025
Chapters: Judges 10-12
Message: Judges: Jephthah Judges Israel
Hello My Friend,
As we continue in the reading of Judges we learn the importance of not judging someone based on their past, family, or how they came into the world, that God grieves in His soul when we come to Him in sincere repentance and if we are going to make a vow to God it needs to be thought out and achievable, [Romans 2:1,3,5-6 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:]
God is the ultimate Judge, whoever He chooses, uses, or even brings into the world serves a purpose and if there is one thing I have learned these past several years it is that you cannot judge a book by its cover and you cannot pass judgment on anyone who has gotten caught up in sin because we are all sinners and guilty of something. The key to a prosperous Christian life is to love God with all our heart and love others as we love ourselves, [Mark 12:29-31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.]
Today we learn of two more judges that protected and led Israel in their walk with God and things seemed to be doing well for about forty-five years. That all changed as we learn that Israel not only forsook God for one false god, but several.
[Judges 10:1-3,5-6 And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim. 2 And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir. 3 And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years. 5 And Jair died, and was buried in Camon. 6 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.]
Nothing is more provoking to God than idolatry, especially when they are not ignorant of Him, Israel was not ignorant to who God is, they were fully aware of His judgments and yet they continued to worship these dead man made gods. God was not only angry with them, His anger was hot against them, meaning it burned like fire through His soul, and this time He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammon.
[Judges 10:7-10 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon. 8 And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. 9 Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed. 10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.]
What did it mean that they were sold? This was in regards to slavery, it was not uncommon in those days for nations to take a group of captives and sell them off as slaves to other nations. The slaves may or may not have been forced to go with the group but many of them did seek asylum and or a better life and saw no other option than to be purchased by someone. God had a rule about this [Leviticus 25:44-46 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids. 45 Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. 46 And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.]
Think about it, are we not slaves to those we work for? While a few are blessed to have employers that are decent and take care of their employees most are employed by those who work you to death for a little pay as they can. For eighteen years Israel suffered without calling for God’s help. So why do we suffer for so long when God is right there to help us? [1 Peter 4:14-15 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.]
I believe there is one of two reasons? The first one has to do with sin and no one wants to go to God when they have sin in their life, [Hebrews 12:4-6 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.]
The second reason is fear, and this is my case, we do not want to lose the security that we have so we suffer with what we have hoping that something better will come up if we keep suffering through. God does not want us to live that way, He wants us to trust Him and while He certainly does not want us to quit our jobs He does want us to trust Him while we endure what we are given at the moment without fear, [Luke 12:28-31 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? 29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. 30 For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. 31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.]
Remember when the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh swore they would not forsake God living on the other side of the Jordan? Well, they were the first to fall and become oppressed by them, but even the Judah and Benjamin were guilty of worshiping these idols. Of course they cried out to God once again, but this time God had a message for them that they did not expect.
[Judges 10:11-14 And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? 12 The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. 13 Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. 14 Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.]
God will forgive us of our sins ten times over and even help us out of any situation that we have gotten into but if we are not sincere in our please we can forget about it. Well, this time Israel not only pleaded with God they repented of their sin, [Judges 10:15-16 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. 16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.]
Yes God does have a soul and it grieves Him to see His people living under such oppression but they bring it upon themselves with their impious living. Nevertheless He will be there in a heartbeat as soon as they sincerely cry out to Him, [James 4:7-10 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.]
This time God sent a God fearing man named Jephthah to judge Israel, but the people frowned upon him, and rejected him. Why? His mother was a prostitute. God was about to show these people a thing or two about humility and treating people with the same respect. Jephthah was a descendant of Gilead who was the son of Machir of the tribe of Manasseh, called after the name of his great ancestor and they wanted nothing to do with him.
[Judges 11:1-4 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. 4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.]
Anytime a Jew married someone who was not of their own tribe they were rejected as being a part of the family, add children and that made things even worse. How awesome is it that God does not discriminate against us by who our biological parents are? In fact, since He is our creator, I am pretty sure that He has a purpose for it. The people soon found out that they needed Jephthah too, only he was not so eager to help.
[Judges 11:7-10 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? 8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.]
We need to be careful of how we treat people, we do not know their situation, and we do not know how they live their lives. Making assumptions based on ones appearance, background, or past only makes us look like fools, as none of us are without sin. God, was about to use this man to show Israel that He accepts all who come to Him regardless of who their parents are. Jephthah, agreed to help them. First, Jephthah, tried to reason with the Ammonites, who claimed that they were just taking back land that belonged to them which was taken by Israel all the way back to their days in the wilderness.
[Judges 11:12-15,27 And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? 13 And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 14 And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: 15 And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: 27 Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.]
We have no idea what purpose God has for the lives of those He brings into the world through some ungodly or unorthodox way, but all we need to understand is that God knows what He is doing. God, had a purpose for Jephthah, being full of the Holy Spirit he makes this unorthodox vow to offer whatever walked through his door as a sacrifice to God.
[Judges 11:29-32 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.]
In other words, if God would graciously bring him back from a victory whosoever or whatsoever should first come out of his house to meet him would be offered up to God for a burnt-offering. Well that vow turned tragic for him when his one and only daughter comes out the door, [Judges 11:34-35 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.]
First of all, Jephthah had no idea that a person would be coming out of his house in regards to offering a burnt sacrifice, back then they kept sheep and calves in their homes. Second, while he may or may not have been aware of the Law, he did know that a vow to God is a vow that must be fulfilled for the duration of the vow. And third, when he saw his one and only daughter come out, whom was the apply of his eye, that vow meant that she would never marry or have children and there would be no heir after him. While everything we have is a gift from God and ought to be dedicated to Him, this is why we need to be careful of what we not only ask Him for but the vows we make as well, [Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.]
Besides all that God would have never allowed her to be offered up as a human sacrifice, since Jephthah had no idea who or what could have walked though his door, so the only logical solution was for her to follow through with the vow and she did.
[Judges 11:36-38 And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. 37 And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. 38 And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.]
This was not like one of those vows that you say to God like, “I vow to read my Bible every day”, this was her saying, “God, has been good to us, if I never get married, then so be it, the most important thing is that God delivered us from the Ammonites.”. I will say this, the most honorable thing that we can ever do after we get saved is give our lives to God as a living sacrifice, [Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.]
Let me tell you, we struggle no matter what path we have chosen in this life so we might as well struggle with Christ, at least, we have eternal life to look forward to. With that said, we are going to make a lot of enemies because we choose Christ, even among family and friends. Once again, the men of Ephraim became offended because they were not a part of the battle, when they heard that Jephthah defeated the Ammonites, they were so angry that they literally started a civil war with Gileadites.
[Judges 12:1-3 And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire. 2 And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands. 3 And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?]
This time there was no reasoning with them, their pride and stupidity led to forty-two thousand of them needlessly losing their lives because of this. Jephthah was right, they were not there when he needed their help, in fact, they pushed him away so why would he want to call on them for help? Pride, was at the bottom of their quarrel, and God will always stop pride in its tracks, [Proverbs 29:23-26 A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. 24 Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not. 25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe. 26 Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Judges 10:16 And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for giving us a choice, we do not have to worship You, but if are going to say that we choose you, then all You ask is that we do so by first believing in and accepting Your Son as our Saviour. Now, we whom have received Christ as our Saviour have the joy of knowing that one day we will struggle no more, and enjoy eternal life with You. Until then, all You ask that we do is worship only You and as You have outline here in Your Word. It truly is a sword to those who take is seriously and accept the fact that we must worship you as it is written. So many people truly do want to worship You, they are just blind to the truth, open their eyes to see what we see. Give us Your power, mercy, and grace to become living sacrifices that enable us to reach the lost with the Gospel as a testimony that You have truly delivered us from Satan, the second death, and hell. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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