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Judges 11, specifically verses 
1 to 28. We're going to split up the Jephthah 
cycle, because there's a lot of material there. So we'll just 
look at chapter 11, verses 1 to 28, under the two broad considerations, 
the agent of deliverance, which is Jephthah himself, and then 
secondly, the attempt at diplomacy. Jephthah seeks diplomatic means 
to try and quell the disturbance between Israel and the Ammonites. And Jephthah shows himself to 
be quite a studied man and an able man when he presents these 
things to the king of Ammon. So we'll just pick up reading 
in chapter 11 at verse 1. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was 
a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot, and 
Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead's wife bore sons, and 
when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said 
to him, you shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you 
are the son of another woman. Then Jephthah fled from his brothers 
and dwelt in the land of Tob. And worthless men banded together 
with Jephthah and went out raiding with him. It came to pass after 
a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. And 
so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, 
that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land 
of Tob. Then they said to Jephthah, come 
and be our commander, that we may fight against the people 
of Ammon. So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, did you 
not hate me and expel me from my father's house? Why have you 
come to me now when you are in distress? And the elders of Gilead 
said to Jephthah, that is why we have turned again to you now, 
that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon and 
be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. So Jephthah said to 
the elders of Gilead, if you take me back home to fight against 
the people of Ammon and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I 
be your head? And the elders of Gilead said 
to Jephthah, The Lord will be a witness between us if we do 
not do according to your words.' Then Jephthah went with the elders 
of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. 
And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord and Mizpah. Now 
Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, 
saying, What do you have against me, that you have come to fight 
against me and my land? And the king of the people of 
Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took 
away my land when they came up out of Egypt from the Arnon as 
far as the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore 
those lands peaceably. So Jephthah again sent messengers 
to the king of the people of Ammon and said to him, thus says 
Jephthah, Israel did not take away the land of Moab nor the 
land of the people of Ammon. For when Israel came up from 
Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red 
Sea and came to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to 
the king of Edom saying, please let me pass through your land. 
But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner, they 
sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel 
remained in Kadesh. And they went along through the 
wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab 
came to the east side of the land of Moab and encamped on 
the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border 
of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. Then Israel sent 
messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon. And 
Israel said to him, please, let us pass through your land into 
our place. But Sihon did not trust Israel 
to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people 
together and camped in Jahaz and fought against Israel. And 
the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into 
the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus, Israel gained 
possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that 
country. They took possession of all the 
territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from 
the wilderness to the Jordan. And now the Lord God of Israel 
has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel. 
Should you then possess it? Will you not possess whatever 
Chemosh your God gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord 
our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. And now, 
are you any better than Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? 
Did he ever fight against them? While Israel dwelt in Heshbon 
and its villages, in Arar and its villages, and in all the 
cities along the banks of the Arnon for 300 years, why did 
you not recover them within that time? Therefore, I have not sinned 
against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May 
the Lord, the judge, render judgment this day before the children 
of Israel and the people of Ammon. However, the king of the people 
of Ammon did not heed the words with which Jephthah sent him. 
Amen. So in this particular cycle, 
we see the deliverer is Jephthah. He is the man chosen to free 
the children of Israel from the Ammonite oppression. As I've 
already mentioned or indicated, he seeks, first of all, by diplomatic 
means, instead of just launching a combat mission and going in 
and utterly destroying the Ammonites. He sends a delegation to the 
king of Ammon and then Jephthah basically schools the king of 
the Ammonites with reference to history, theology, and precedence, 
which we'll look at in just a few minutes. But note first the agent 
of deliverance. The setting is given to us back 
in chapter 10. Remember that this was one of 
those cycles, one of those instances, one of those times where the 
children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. 
After Tola and Jer pass away, the children of Israel engage 
in that wickedness, they revert, they go back to their corruption, 
back to their idolatry, they cry out to the Lord, the Lord 
God then reproves them and says specifically in verse 14 that 
they ought to cry to their idols, perhaps their false gods would 
bring deliverance for them. They again renew their repentance, 
they promise to put away their idols, and at the end of verse 
16 we see that God's soul could no longer endure the misery of 
Israel. So that same cycle, sin, oppression, 
here specifically by the Ammonites, and then this cry of distress, 
and then the Lord in His mercy responds to that by raising up 
Jephthah for them. So verses 17 and 18 indicate 
the particular setting that we find ourselves in. And the people 
of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And the children 
of Israel assembled together and encamped in Mizpah. And the 
people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, who is the 
man who will begin the fight against the people of Ammon? 
He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." So that's 
the context. Now notice, secondly, the deliverer 
identified, verses 1 to 3. Jephthah, the Gileadite. Now Gilead is on the east side 
of the Jordan. So we're dealing with the trans-Jordanian 
tribes in this particular instance, in this particular historical 
setting. Gilead was more of a political region, though back in the book 
of Genesis there is a Gilead that is the father of this particular 
people. So we see that Jephthah the Gileadite 
was a mighty man of valor. This is an impressive statement. Where did he learn how to be 
a mighty man of valor? It wasn't in the armies of Israel. Remember, he was excluded from 
the armies of Israel. He learned to be a mighty man 
of valor when he was living in Tob, raiding with these particular 
men, these worthless men that banded together with him. Nevertheless, 
he is described here as a mighty man of valor. He's a strong warrior. 
He is in the book of Hebrews in chapter 11. He finds his place 
with the other judges referenced. He was not only a mighty man 
of valor, but he was a man of faith. And then note what it 
says concerning his mother, but he was the son of a harlem. Now 
some have seen some parallels between Jephthah and Abimelech. This is not parallel. Remember 
that Gideon's concubine bore to him Abimelech. A concubine 
had legal protection in Israel. She wasn't a prostitute, she 
wasn't a harlot, whereas Japheth's mother was a harlot. And then 
it says Gilead was the name of the man who begot Japheth. So 
we see that his family was a bit tattered. And when we understand 
that he was the son of a harlot, it certainly indicates that things 
aren't well in Israel. Why would Gilead lay with a harlot? Was she an Israelite? If she 
was, then she was violating the 7th commandment and its specific 
detailed application in the law of the Lord. If she was a Canaanite 
harlot, then why in the world would Gilead go and lie with 
her in direct violation to the Book of Deuteronomy? Remember 
in Deuteronomy 7, 1 to 5, they were told not to lay with Arlots 
when they went into the land of Canaan, but rather they were 
to utterly destroy all of the Canaanites, they were to dispossess 
the land of the Canaanites, they were to have no truck with them 
whatsoever. So we don't know all of the particulars 
but the reality is that he was the son of a harlot and this 
does not bode well either primarily on his father and I think as 
we move through the passage on Israel as a whole. His brothers 
didn't treat him very kindly either as we work our way through 
this particular passage. Notice he's excluded by his family. In verse 2, Gilead's wife bore 
sons. So he was a married man He was 
having sons with his wife, but he also went into this particular 
harlot and he had a son with her, namely Jephthah. Now as 
these sons start getting older, the reality of inheritance becomes 
more alluring to them. It's not just the reality that 
he was son of a harlot, but he did not have the same sort of 
pedigree and heritage that they had, and so they want him out 
of the picture so that there's more in terms of inheritance. 
For them, verse two, Gilead's wife bore sons, and when his 
wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, 
you shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you 
are the son of another woman. which in many respects is a violation 
of the law itself, because inheritance laws come through the father, 
has nothing to do specifically with the mother. So they concoct 
this and they cast him out, they exclude him based on this particular 
fact. So in the very first verses, 
as this Jephthah is introduced, Hopefully, we already have a 
bit of sympathy for him. I mean, here's a man who was 
despised by his people, raised up by God, sent to be a champion 
in Israel. That's a theme that, as new covenant 
Christians, we ought to be somewhat familiar with. One who was despised, 
he came to his own. His own received him not. Nevertheless, 
God had raised him up to be a champion or a deliverer. in Israel. We'll 
see more of that parallel as we move through the particular 
passage. So the brothers of Jephthah drove 
him out, the brothers did not want him to share in the inheritance, 
and then the brothers are not, or rather are symptomatic of 
the Canaanization of Israel, just like the reality that Gilead 
had this particular harlot. This is the kind of stuff that 
Canaanites do. Brothers in Israel are supposed 
to show compassion, according to the book of Deuteronomy. They're 
supposed to, according to the book of Leviticus, love their 
neighbors as themselves. Now, do you think that the law 
of God specifies that you're to love your neighbor as yourself? 
But it really doesn't demand such from your brother or for 
your brother. Of course it demands that you 
love your brother as yourself. So when we read this introduction, 
we see all of the trappings of Canaanite society upon Israel. They are living like the Canaanites. 
They are having idols, they are forsaking Yahweh, they're lying 
with harlots, they're not showing compassion, they're not showing 
kindness to brothers. It's truly a terrible scene and 
it does legitimize the very presence of these Ammonites to bring oppression 
upon them via God Most High. Bloch says concerning their getting 
rid of Jephthah, by this act they also violate Israelite inheritance 
law, which depended not on the mother, but on the father. Jephthah's 
birth from a prostitute mother offers them an excuse for expelling 
him, but this aim required a legal decision of the court. Now, the 
way that verse 7 reads, it almost sounds like they did get a legal 
decision from the court. In other words, in verse 7, Jephthah 
said to the elders of Gilead, did you not hate me and expel 
me from my father's house? Seems to indicate that there 
was some sort of procedure involved. It wasn't just mob violence. 
If they did seek this through the legal system in Israel, again, 
just another marker and identifier that it's really a wretched time 
in Israel. And then what was Jephthah's 
recourse after this? He's excluded from his home. 
We don't want to get too sympathetic for him because what he's doing 
probably wasn't the best thing in the world. Then Jephthah fled 
from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob. Tob literally 
means good or goodness. Jephthah is excluded from Israel, 
or from Gilead rather, and he's living in the land of goodness. 
And it's in the land of goodness that these worthless men band 
together with Jephthah and they go out raiding with him. So it's 
a band of thugs, essentially. These worthless men, the word 
used to identify them, are the same worthless men, or the same 
hitmen, or the thugs that Abimelech hired with the 70 shekels to 
go and eliminate all of the potential ascendants to the throne of Gideon. And so what we find here is that 
Jephthah is excluded from the children of Israel or from Gilead 
specifically. He goes, he dwells in the land 
of Tob and then he and these worthless men band together and 
they go raiding together. So that's the agent of deliverance. Now notice the deliverer sought 
verses 4 to 11. It came to pass after a time 
that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. And so it 
was when the people of Ammon made war against Israel that 
the elders of Gilead went to Jephthah from the land of Tub. 
Then they said to Jephthah, come and be our commander that we 
may fight against the people of Ammon." Again, I think what 
we need to appreciate is that Jephthah is an intelligent man. 
Jephthah knows what's going on. Jephthah understands the score. Jephthah knows the right questions 
to ask and he understands that these people have to stress and 
they simply want to use Him to get them out of a particular 
problem. Sounds just like what happens 
in chapter 10. The children of Israel suffer 
distress, they cry out to Yahweh, not because they're genuinely 
repentant, not because they're genuinely sorry, but because 
they're genuinely distressed and they want God to deliver 
them. Right? This is what's happening 
here. If you remember in chapter 10, 
verse 18, they promise that the man who delivers them will be 
the head over Gilead. They've brought that down a notch. This is their first sort of bid 
to Jephthah. Notice in verse 6, come and be 
our commander. Now this is still a high and 
noble calling, being the commander of a military, but it's not being 
the head of Gilead. So this is their first attempt 
to try and make it such that Jephthah will come and play on 
their side so that they can take out Ammonites. They don't like 
the distress that they find. They don't like the difficulty. 
Jephthah has proven himself to be a mighty man of valor. He 
and these men from Tob, as they go out raiding the countryside, 
they've seen that Jephthah has a natural leadership ability. 
They see that he's a strong man, that he knows his way around 
weaponry, and so they have recourse to go to him. They offer him 
the job of being the commander. Now notice in verse 7, So Jephthah 
said to the elders of Gilead, did you not hate me and expel 
me from my father's house? Why have you come to me now when 
you are in distress? Sounds just like Yahweh in chapter 
10, right? They cry out to the Lord. And 
what does the Lord say? Really? You're going to come 
to me now? Why don't you go fetch Moloch? Why don't you go after 
Baal? Why don't you go after the Ashtoreth? 
you only come crawling back to me when you want something. See, 
Jephthah knows that these people are doing this. Notice what they 
then say. Verse 8, the elders of Gilead 
said to Jephthah, that is why we have turned again to you now, 
that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon and 
be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. Now it's not just 
commander anymore, they're sweetening the pot. They know they're dealing 
with Jephthah and he knows what's going on, so they up the ante 
a little bit, okay? If it's being the head over Gilead 
that you want, then we'll throw that into the mix. Then verse 
9, So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, If you take me back 
home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers 
them to me, shall I be your head? Jephthah's not a dummy. You want 
to sign. Let's have a contract. Let's 
make a covenant. Let's know what we're entering 
into. Again, as we read through chapter 
11, whatever Jephthah learned in the land of Tov or in the 
city of Tov, he was certainly a shrewd and a wise particular 
man when it comes to this sort of hard bargaining. And so he 
gets them to confirm this. Verse 10, the elders of Gilead 
said to Jephthah, the Lord will be a witness between us if we 
do not do according to your words. Now I should say that one of 
the commentators that I especially like is pretty tough on Jephthah. I part ways with Daniel Block 
on this particular theme. He really is negative when it 
comes to Jephthah. Well, one of the things that 
he points out is that the people go after Jephthah. He's not God's 
man, but later on in verse 29, the Spirit of the Lord does come 
upon Jephthah. The marks of God are all over 
this particular passage. Daniel block notwithstanding 
what we find in Jephthah is God's man. And here particularly in 
verse 10, the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, the Lord will 
be a witness between us if we do not do according to your words. 
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead and the people made 
him head and commander over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words 
before the Lord in Mizpah. Now, I've already alluded to 
some of the parallels along the way, but let's look at them in 
more detail. There is rejection, verse 6 and 
verses 1 to 3. My Bible's good because, I mean, 
it's the Cambridge, but both columns are lined up here. So 
you can see the narrative with Yahweh in Israel and then Japheth 
in Israel. And as Davis says, it's an acted 
parallel. The parable, the way the Gileadites 
treat Jephthah is an acted parable of the way Israel approaches 
God. So there's rejection, verse 6 
in chapter 10, and then verses 1 to 3 in chapter 11. There is 
distress, verses 7 to 9 in chapter 10, and verse 4 in chapter 11. So we see rejection of God, we 
see rejection of Jephthah, and then there is this distress or 
suffering or difficulty. Then there is repentance, verse 
10. And there is repentance, verses 
5 and 6. The fact that they say, we're 
returning to you, is indicative of the fact that they are repenting 
or expressing such a thing to them. Then you have objection, 
both on the part of Yahweh, verses 11 to 14, and on the part of 
Jephthah in verse 7. Now you want me to come? Now 
you want to be my friend? Now you want me to participate 
in your lives? Same sort of thing going on. 
We have appeal, verses 15 to 16a in chapter 10. We have sinned. 
Do to us whatever seems best to you. Only deliver us this 
day we pray. Again, more than likely, they're 
going through a particular motion to get what they want out of 
God. It is manipulation, it is tactic, it is strategy, and the 
reality that God does deliver them indicates not the success 
of tactic and manipulation. It demonstrates the kindness 
and the mercy and the grace of God Most High, who delivers, 
even when His children function in such a manner as this. And then we see in verse 8 this 
whole appeal with reference to Jephthah, verse 8 of chapter 
11. That is why we have turned again to you now that you may 
go with us and fight against the people of Ammon and be our 
head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. And then it ends with 
acquiescence. Verse 16b, his soul can no longer 
endure the misery of Israel. And then of course in verses 
9 to 11, Japheth agrees to undertake on behalf of Israel. In summary, 
Davis says it this way, the parallels between Israel's way with Yahweh 
and Gilead's way with Jephthah seem too close to be accidental. When the Israelites are in a 
jam, they cry to God to bail them out, as the elders of Gilead 
do to Jephthah. Both God's reply and Jephthah's 
show that they know someone is trying to use them. The way the 
Gileadites treat Jephthah is an acted parable on the way Israel 
approaches Yahweh. This is good storytelling. It 
makes for interesting reading when you see these parallels 
being set forth in the scripture. Matthew Henry saw this as well. He said in the 1700s, the particular 
case between the Gileadites and Jephthah was a resemblance of 
the general state of the case between Israel and God at this 
time. They had thrust God out by their 
idolatries, yet in their distress begged his help. He told them 
how justly he might have rejected them, and yet graciously delivered 
them. So did Jephthah. Many slight 
God and good men, till they come to be in distress. And then they 
are desirous of God's mercy and good men's prayers." I think 
that's a very perceptive comment when you look at chapters 10 
and 11 sort of side by side. So we see parallel between Jephthah 
and with Yahweh in the Old Testament. But as we move our way into the 
New Testament, That deliverer that God sends to be a champion 
for Israel shares some similarities with Jephthah. Not that he was 
the son of a harlot, not that he was the son of Gilead, not 
that he was an actual sinner, not that he was an actual criminal, 
not that he went to Toph and gathered with him worthless men 
and went on raids. but the reality that he came 
to his own and his own received him not. Isaiah 53.3 describes 
Christ in this way. He is despised and rejected by 
man, a genuine Jephthah in Israel, a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces 
from him. He was despised and we did not 
esteem him. We reference that particular 
text in Matthew 13 in the city of Nazareth, when the prophet 
is without honor in his own country, when the prophet is despised 
within his own country. The same motif is present with 
our Lord Jesus. So Jephthah not only typifies 
Christ in the deliverance that he brings to Israel, but also 
sort of in the manner by which he does it. He is someone that 
people are not looking to initially as the one who would bring deliverance. 
John 1, 10 and 11. He, Christ, was in the world, 
and the world was made through him, and the world did not know 
him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. And then in the sermon on the 
day of Pentecost, in the book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 23, 
Peter says, Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and 
foreknowledge of God, you have taken, by lawless hands, have 
crucified and put to death. In other words, you have taken 
Jephthah, and you have sent him to die. But it's Jephthah that 
you need to bring deliverance because of these pesky Ammonites. That's what Peter goes on to 
say in verse 38. Verse 23 indicates that they 
have crucified him by lawless hands. And in verse 38 he says, 
repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus 
Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift 
of the Holy Spirit. The Japhta typifies Christ both 
in deliverance and somewhat in the manner by which he will bring 
deliverance. And if we look at the wisdom 
of a Japhta and we look at the wisdom of the Lord Jesus, there's 
a lot more parallels going on between these two men. then perhaps 
we have realized up to this particular point. So that's the agent of 
deliverance. Now let's move secondly to the 
act of diplomacy or the attempt at diplomacy. Notice what Japheth 
does. As soon as he is installed, as 
soon as he is ordained, as soon as he has made head and commander 
over the people, he gets to work. It's beautiful. I mean, and this 
is an inauguration ceremony. Verse 11, Jephthah went with 
the elders of Gilead, the people made him head and commander over 
them. Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord and Mizpah. 
Probably an oath, ratification, all the sorts of things we're 
used to in a political inauguration. And as soon as this happens, 
what does he do? He sends a delegation to deal 
with the king of Ammon. He doesn't go golfing. He doesn't 
go look at his new palace or mansion. He doesn't go and do 
all the things that royalty often does. He gets to work. He rolls 
up his sleeves. He wants to deal with this Ammonite 
threat. So while he may have been hard 
bargaining with these particular elders, it wasn't for nothing. 
This man means business. Jephthah's going to bring deliverance 
and he's going to do it effectively and swiftly. So verse 12, Jephthah 
sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon saying, what 
do you have against me that you have come to fight against me 
in my land? Basically, what gives? What's 
your issue? Why are you here, Ammonites? 
Now we, as careful readers, knowing chapter 10, realize that this 
is the plan of God. God is angry with Israel, so 
what does he do? He sends Ammonites and he sends 
Philistines. Jephthah didn't have chapter 
10. He didn't have the book of Judges in his lap. He didn't 
understand that God sovereignly ordained this. But even had he 
understood this, that God sovereignly ordained this, which he would 
have being an Israelite, nevertheless, he would have still undertaken 
in this particular way. He asks the king of Ammon, what 
is your problem? What have we done? What has brought 
on this calamity, this distress, this trial, this difficulty? Notice verse 13, the king of 
the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, because 
Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from 
the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Now, therefore, 
restore those lands peaceably." This man could not have been 
further from the truth. This is absolutely inaccurate 
completely through and through. That's why the extended response 
from Jephthah and that's why the emphasis upon history Because 
Jephthah, diplomatically, is appealing to the king of Ammon 
to say, you have no idea what you're talking about. You have 
no clue what's going on in the Transjordan. You have no understanding 
whatsoever of Moab, of Edom, of Ammon, and of the Amorites. 
You are completely out to lunch, which, by way of an aside, we 
ought to understand that not every political figure is always 
accurate and always honest with everything they say. Now, hopefully 
that doesn't need to be said, but we oftentimes listen to people 
and we don't check what they're saying. There's a whole group 
of people today, I don't know where they are, I don't know 
how they function, I imagine it's a handful of guys with a 
computer that have Google, they're called fact checkers. So that 
when a president or a prime minister or there's a debate, somebody 
says something, these fact checkers go to work to see if what they're 
saying is actually true or not. Well, Jephthah's a fact checker 
right on the scene. Jephthah knows Israelite history. 
He knows the penetration and the acquisition of land in the 
Transjordan. And this king of the Ammonites 
could not be more wrong. So that's what's going on in 
this particular context. So the king of the people of 
Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, because Israel took 
away my land when they came up out of Egypt from the Arnon as 
far as the Jabbok and to the Jordan, now therefore I restore 
those lands peaceably. You see, what he says is that 
we were minding our own business. We Ammonites were just doing 
our thing. We were growing our grains, we 
were feeding our cattle, we were wiping our children's rear ends, 
we were keeping to ourselves, we were working hard, and then 
these nasty Israelites came in and they dispossessed us and 
we want our land back. That's what's going on. Now notice, 
Jephthah's rejoinder. Verses 14 to 26. He gives, first of all, background. Historical background. Verses 14 to 22. Verse 14, so Jephthah again sent 
messengers to the king of the people of Ammon and said to him, 
thus says Jephthah, Israel did not take away the land of Moab, 
nor the land of the people of Amen. This just isn't the case. That's a thesis statement right 
there. He answers the king of the people of Amen. The people 
of Israel did not do this, and here's why I know they did not 
do this. Verse 15, thesis, here's what 
I'm asserting to you, king of the people of Ammon, and here's 
the supporting statements, the supporting facts, the documented 
evidence as to how I know that the children of Israel did not 
take away the land of Moab nor the land of the people of Ammon. 
Note first, he says they respected Moab and Edah. It is simply not 
the case that they invaded Moab and Edah. You need to have a 
bit of background in terms of Deuteronomy and you need to have 
a bit of background in terms of numbers, specifically 2021, 
22 to 24 when he references Balak. But basically what happened? 
The children of Israel were going to go into the promised land 
via the east. Initially, those lands on the 
east had not been given to them by God. They were just passing 
through. They appealed to those particular 
kings, they said, may we pass through safely, may you just 
leave us alone because we're going to cross the river Jordan 
and our destination is on the west side of the river. So he 
says, our interest was not those particular parcels of land. He 
then says the Israelites had no interest, basically, in that 
land. They just wanted to pass through. 
Notice in verse 16. For when Israel came up from 
Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red 
Sea and came to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to 
the king of Edom saying, please let me pass. through your land. But the king of Edom would not 
heed, and in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but 
he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh, 
and they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land 
of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the 
land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Armin." 
They really didn't go in and take those lands. They didn't 
engage in combat. They didn't engage those particular 
enemies. And then verse 19, then Israel 
sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, king of Eshbon. 
And Israel said to him, please let us pass through your land 
into our place. You remember that, right? We've 
gone through Deuteronomy. We read Deuteronomy 2. You've 
probably read the book of Numbers. You've seen the children of Israel 
marching along in the wilderness wanderings. They were not out 
looking for battles when they didn't have to fight them. They 
didn't want to fight people any more than you and I want to fight 
people. They say to Moab, they say to Edom, we just want to 
pass through. Notice the absence of Ammon. He's probably doing this to give 
them what for. He's probably doing this, leaving 
them out conspicuously, to almost suggest, you didn't even merit. 
Our attention was with Edom and Moab. This was one big region. It was divided up between these 
peoples, to be sure, but the children of Israel did not engage 
these as enemies. But when they made this appeal 
to Sihon, king of Bashan, notice in verse 20, But Sihon did not 
trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered 
all his people together and camped in Jahaz and fought against Israel. 
And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into 
the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus, Israel gained 
possession of all the land of the Amorites who inhabited that 
country. The fact is the Ammonites have 
nothing to do with any of this whatsoever. The fact that he 
hasn't referenced them indicates that they don't even merit in 
this historical discussion. Japheth is really letting these 
people have it. letting this king have it big 
time. And then notice in verse 22, they took possession of all 
the territory, this is Israel, of the Amorites from the Arnon 
to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. This is the piece 
of land in question. This is what Ammon says was taken 
from them 300 years ago and now they want it back. That what 
Jephthah says is, that's just not accurate. We did not engage. We tried to pass through. We 
appealed to Sion. He then engaged. God delivered 
him into our hands. And that's when the Lord gave 
us the land east of the river Jordan. Bloch says the land between 
the Arnon and the Jabbok, the desert and the Jordan, had previously 
belonged to the Amorites, not Ammon. When the battle was over, 
this territory passed directly into the hands of the Israelites. 
Accordingly, Israel has never claimed any land belonging to 
Edom, Moab, or Ammon. The Ammonites have no historical 
claim to this land whatsoever. So you see Japheth, while on 
the one hand, son of a harlot, son of Gilead, cast out of his 
father's house, he's not a dummy. He's not a village idiot that 
just fell onto the sea. When these elders of Gilead selected 
Jephthah, they selected correctly. This man is waxing eloquent historically 
on what's really gone on with that parcel of land. And in so 
doing, the king of the people of Ammon has no claim whatsoever 
to take it. And then notice, he not only 
lays out this historical background, he brings out some specific implications 
in verses 23 to 26. Some specific arguments. First, the argument from history. Verse 23, and now the Lord God 
of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before his people 
Israel. Should you then possess it? Will you not possess whatever 
Chemosh your God gives you to possess? We'll look at that in 
just a moment. an historical argument. This 
is legit. When this king of the people 
of Ammon says, that's my piece of land, and Jephthah is able 
to say, no, this is how we acquired it. We didn't want a battle. 
We wanted to pass through. They engaged us. And as a result, 
we decimated them. And then God, the Lord, gave 
us this land. Now remember, in this context, 
It wasn't just Israel who believed that the God of the people gave 
them the land. This is why he refers to Chemosh. This was accepted. Your God, 
your particular deity, gave you the piece of land that you were 
in. And so Jephthah's argument is historical. But secondly, 
it's a theological argument. He says the Lord God of Israel 
gave us this land. You want to try and take it from 
us? You want to fight against the living and true God? And 
then notice when he says this. Will you not possess whatever 
Chemosh, your God, gives you to possess? Again, that dear 
brother thinks that he's actually citing Chemosh. He thinks that 
this appeal to Chemosh means that Jephthah accepts the reality 
of these pagan deities. I don't think that's what's going 
on. I think he's using a reductio ad absurdum. He's doing similar 
to what Gideon's father did. Remember when that altar of Baal 
had been torn down and the people of the town wanted to destroy 
Gideon? And what does Gideon's father say? Let Baal contend. If Baal's a god, then Baal can 
deliver himself. Baal will deal with Gideon. I 
think that's the emphasis here with Jephthah. Will you not possess 
whatever Chemosh your God gives you to possess? This is the theological 
argument. The God of Israel has given us 
these transjordan lands. What will your God, Chemosh, 
give to you? Now interestingly enough, if 
you keep up on your Canaanite deities, Chemosh was more specifically 
the God of the Moabites. Milcom, or Molech, was the god 
of the Ammonites. And again, people say, well, 
Jephthah got it wrong. No, the primary agent and player 
in that part of the world was Moab. So they would have agreed 
that it was Chemosh that would have given them this particular 
land. Jephthah knows his stuff, both historically and he knows 
his stuff theologically, and he tells them. So whatever the 
Lord our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. And then note the argument from 
precedence, verse 25. He says, and now, are you any 
better than Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he 
ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them? 
Are you better than Balak? Are you more preeminent than 
Balak? The idea being is that Balak 
far outweighed the significance of this king of the people of 
Ammon. And Balak, though he resisted 
Israel and wanted Balaam to curse Israel, It wasn't over the land. It wasn't because of a piece 
of property. And so what Jephthah in essence 
is saying is if this man had no beef with us, then who do 
you think you are trying to bring this to us now? And then he argues 
from chronology, verse 26. While Israel dwelt in Heshbon 
and its villages, and Aroer and its villages, and in all the 
cities along the banks of the Arnon for 300 years, why did 
you not recover them within that time?" If any political leader 
today answered any other political leader the way Japheth did, he'd 
get my vote. He knows his stuff. He's informed. He's wise. He is arguing legitimately. He is seeking to diplomatically 
stop the king of the Ammonites from advancing against the Israelites. This is masterful. This is wisdom. This is good. Now, of course, 
whenever masterful, wise, and good arguments are presented, 
everybody just submits and acquiesces to that, don't they? No. Not 
at all. Verse 27, Therefore I have not 
sinned, this is Jephthah. And this is legal in terms of 
himself, of him distancing himself from any guilt, responsibility 
or culpability from the war that will ensue. if the king of the 
people of Ammon does not accept these terms. Therefore, I have 
not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against 
me. May the Lord, the judge, render 
judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people 
of Ammon. In other words, what Jephthah 
is saying is, you need to fish or cut bait. You need to accept 
what I've told you, and you need to back down and back off and 
quit harassing us. Or if you are going to step it 
up, I am not the aggressor in this transaction. I am the one 
that is judicially innocent with reference to this situation. 
If you, king of the people of Ammon, cross this particular 
line, you will lose, and you will lose big. That's verse 28. However, the king of the people 
of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him. There is the typical political 
response to wisdom, to good argument, and to something that should 
be a no-brainer. The king of the people of Ammon 
should have said, forget it. You're right. I'm wrong. We do 
not have a claim to that particular land. And so what happens, of 
course, is that the spirit of Yahweh comes upon Jephthah and 
they engage the enemy in war. So God uses Jephthah. He raises 
him up out of these noble beginnings and uses him as the deliverer 
for Israel over the threat of these people from Ammon. that 
sought to take a parcel of land that they had no claim to whatsoever 
that had been gifted to them by the living and true God of 
Israel. So that's the first section in 
the Jephthah cycle. God willing, next week, we will 
look at Jephthah's victory and his vow. So make sure you do 
your homework. We may have the brawl for it 
all next week as we deal with Jephthah's vow. Everybody understands 
Jephthah's vow. He either sacrificed his child 
or he sacrificed her virginity. That's, or not sacrificed, made 
sure her virginity was always in place. So that's a huge difference 
in terms of interpretation. I told Roger, I may Matthew Henriette 
and come and say, here's the two positions and not tell you 
where I belong or what I think. Anyways, powerful passage of 
scripture next week. Well, let's pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for this reading of scripture. We thank 
you for your grace and mercy to your ancient people. We see, 
God, that they only want you when they are distressed. May 
we learn from this, God. not to be fair-weather fans, 
not to be those, Lord, who do not serve You if things do not 
go our way, but help us to be faithful in trial, help us to 
be faithful in persecution, help us, God, to always draw near 
to You and to see You as our God, as our Father, as our Lord, 
in the midst of all circumstances. Nevertheless, in our distress, 
we will cry out to You, trusting that You are merciful, trusting 
that You are gracious, but keep us from a manipulative a technique-driven 
mentality. God, may we humbly submit to 
your rule and to your lordship in our lives. Go with us now, 
we pray. In Jesus' holy name, amen.