March
29th Judges
11
Jephthah leads Gideon’s army
1:
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. 5:
And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against
Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land
of Tob: 6:
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may
fight with the children of Ammon. 7:
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. 11:
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him
head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before
the LORD in Mizpeh. 12:
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: 16:
But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness
unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; 17:
Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I
pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not
hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab:
but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh. 18:
Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land
of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land
of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within
the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. 19:
And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king
of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee,
through thy land into my place. 20:
But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon
gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought
against Israel. 21:
And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into
the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the
land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 22:
And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even
unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 23:
So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from
before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it? 24:
Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to
possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before
us, them will we possess. 25:
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king
of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight
against them, 26:
While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her
towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon,
three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within
that time? 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. 28:
Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the
words of Jephthah which he sent him.
Jephthah’s
vow
29:
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. 33:
And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even
twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great
slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the
children of Israel. 34:
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. 36:
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.
39:
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto
her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed:
and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, 40:
That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of
Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.
Judges
12 Jephthah delivers Israel 6 yrs
1:
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? 4:
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought
with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said,
Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and
among the Manassites. 5:
And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the
Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were
escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him,
Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; 6:
Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth:
for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and
slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of
the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. 7:
And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the
Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
Ibzan
delivers Israel 7 yrs
8:
And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9:
And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad,
and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged
Israel seven years. 10:
Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.
Elon
delivers Israel 10 yrs
11:
And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel
ten years. 12:
And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the
country of Zebulun.
Abdon
delivers Israel 8 yrs
13:
And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.
14:
And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and
ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years. 15:
And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in
Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.
Judges
13 Samson’s birth
1:
And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD;
and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty
years. 2:
And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites,
whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. 3:
And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her,
Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt
conceive, and bear a son. 4:
Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong
drink, and eat not any unclean thing: 5:
For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come
on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the
womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the
Philistines. 6:
Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came
unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of
God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told
he me his name: 7:
But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and
now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing:
for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of
his death. 8:
Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of
God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we
shall do unto the child that shall be born. 9:
And God hearkened to the voice of Manoah; and the angel of God came
again unto the woman as she sat in the field: but Manoah her husband
was not with her. 10:
And the woman made haste, and ran, and shewed her husband, and said
unto him, Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came unto me
the other day. 11:
And Manoah arose, and went after his wife, and came to the man, and
said unto him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the woman? And he
said, I am. 12:
And Manoah said, Now let thy words come to pass. How shall we order
the child, and how shall we do unto him? 13:
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto
the woman let her beware. 14:
She may not eat of any thing that cometh of the vine, neither let her
drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: all that I
commanded her let her observe. 15:
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us
detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. 16:
And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I
will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering,
thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an
angel of the LORD. 17:
And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, What is thy name, that
when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honour? 18:
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after
my name, seeing it is secret? 19:
So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock
unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife
looked on. 20:
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off
the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the
altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces
to the ground. 21:
But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his
wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. 22:
And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have
seen God. 23:
But his wife said unto him, If the LORD were pleased to kill us, he
would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our
hands, neither would he have shewed us all these things, nor would as
at this time have told us such things as these. 24:
And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child
grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25:
And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of
Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.
In todays Bible
reading we have a description of five more Judges of Israel,
Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon and Samson. Jephthah is the leader of
the army of Gideon. He does not have a great start, he is the son of
a prostitute and when he grew up this was a constant background to
his life. When his wife bear children and grew up the sons were
forbidden from having their inheritance as a result of his mother’s
sin. Jephthah ran away and lived with the outcasts of Tob. However
when Israel was threatened in war with Ammon they sent for Jephthah
asking him to come and lead Israel. Jephthah was a great man of war,
fit, strong and a wise commander this was recognized by all. Jephthah
answered the elders of Gilead, why did you hate me? and cast me out
of my fathers house? And why come to me now when you are in distress?
They answered we want you to lead us in battle. The elders swore that
they would follow him if he came. Then Jephthah sent a message to the
king of Amon asking why he had come to battle. But the answer came
back that the children of Israel has taken their land when they came
out of Egypt. They wanted their land back. Jephthah replied that
Israel did not invade the land but requested to pass through and
being denied, passed around the land. Then he said we entered into
the land of Moab because Moab came to war with us. The Amonities
refused to listen to Jephthah. Jephthah knew that this war which was
unwanted was also unavoidable. At this time the Spirit of the Lord
came upon him and he went forward to battle and he vowed a rash vow
that if the LORD gave him victory then whoever comes out of his house
first will be offered to the LORD in sacrifice. This was a foolish
vow but God holds men to their vows. He would regret this bitterly
later. Suffice to say that the battle was a total success and the
Ammonites were subdued by Israel. However when he returned home his
only daughter came out firs to meet him and she was offered as
sacrifice. His dear daughter understood his vow and encouraged him to
keep it but asked for two months to go on the mountains and weep for
my virginity. Later she returned and offered herself to her father.
It became a custom in Israel that the children would go into the
mountains four 4 days to weep for her virginity. Jephthah brought
peace to Israel for 6 years. Then the men of Ephraim gathered to find
fault with Jephthah saying that he ad not invited them to battle but
Jephthah replied that he had asked them to help but that they did not
come and that he had to engage in battle straightaway and put hs life
on the line. And he said why have you come today – to pick a fight
with me? Then Jephthah gathered the men of war of Gilead and fought
with the Ephraimites and overcame them and chased them away as far as
the fords of Jordan. Then they found a man who said that he was not a
Ephraimite but they asked him to pronounce the word Shibboleth and
when they found he could not they knew he was a man of Ephraim and
they killed him there. 42,000 Ephraimies died in the battle. It’s
sad to see the people of God go to war with their enemies but it is
even more a tragedy when the people of God fight against each other.
Next we are told of the lives of three other Judges. Ibzan had 30
sons and 30 daughters. He sent his 30 daughters out (Possibly to
another country) and he took 30 daughters from a far for his sons. He
judged Israel for 7 years. He was buried at Bethlehem. Then came Elon
who judged Israel for 10 years. He was buried in Aijalon. Then we
read of Abdon who had 40 sons and 30 nephews who rode on 70 ass
colts. He judged Israel for 8 years. He was buried in Pirathon. Then
lastly we are introduced to one of the most famous judges of Israel,
Samson. Because the children of Israel forsook the LORD and did evil
in his sight he delivered them to Philistine oppression for 40 years.
After 40 years the LORD began to move in deliverance. A man called
Manoah had a wife who was barren. (This barreness was a judgment on
Israel according to the Mosaic Law) Then an angel of The Lord
appeared to her to tell her that she was to bear a son but she must
never drink wine or fermented alcohol or eat anything unclean because
the child born of her is to be a Nazarite from birth. He was to be
brought up by her as a Nazarite. He would never cut his hair and he
would deliver Israel from the Philistines. She told her husband what
had happened and Manoah prayed that the Lord would teach them how to
bring up this child. The Lord answered his prayer and appeared to the
woman when she was in the field. She ran and called her husband. When
they both came back, Manoah asked him how should we order his life
and bring him up? The answer was that she must not eat anything from
the vine. Manoah offered to give a sacrifice to him but he replied l
will not eat of any food but you may offer this kid of the goats to
the Lord. By this Manoah knew he was talking to an angel and not the
Lord himself. Manoah asked him what was his name but the angel asked
him why do you want to know because it is secret. Then Manoah offered
a burnt offering and as they looked on the angel ascended to heaven
in the first of the sacrifice. They both fell on their faces and
Manoah said we will die because we have seen Gods face. But she
answered we will not die because if we had done wrong then the Lord
would not have received our sacrifice. She bore a son and the child
grew and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to
move him at times. Samson was learning what it was to be empowered by
the Spirit of God.
- Who was Jephthah and how is he remembered?
- What was the role of the judges?
- What do we learn about Samson's early life?
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