STICKING UP FOR THE JUDGES: PART 1
by Peter MastersFROM SWORD & TROWEL 2000 No 2
These much maligned leaders were in reality deeply spiritual heroes of faith
It is fashionable today to regard Judges as a most gloomy book, full of
repeated periods of apostasy and woe. It is seen as a book that merely chronicles the desperate
decline of Israel after the death of Joshua, necessitating the arrival of the monarchy under Saul.
The keynote of the book is thought to be the sad sentence of the last verse - ‘In those
days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.’ What a
miserable history of darkness and anarchy, recorded only to prove that the people needed a king!
The problem with this idea is that the giving of a king was not what God
strictly intended for them, for it is repeatedly described in Scripture as a downward step. Samuel
warned Israel against a monarchy, and spelled out to the people how it would be to their serious
disadvantage - and so it proved to be. The book of Judges would hardly be intended to
justify something which was wrong, and which would give even greater trouble.
Indeed, a simple piece of arithmetic shows that the Israelites fared better in the time
of the judges than they did under kings. The narrative speaks of 111 years of oppression, and 296
years of peace and quietness under the mild and limited rule of judges, a three-to-one ratio of peace
to trouble. During the monarchy, however (taking account of both the kings of Judah and Israel), the
position was far worse. Bad kings outnumbered good kings, and times of insecurity and captivity
outnumbered times of peace and liberty by more than three-to-one.
The time of the judges was in many ways far superior to the period of the monarchy.
It was certainly not (as some have said) a time untouched by spiritual understanding, characterised
throughout by anarchy and moral ignorance. How can some writers paint - as they do - such a
dismal picture of the land which saw triumphs of such magnitude that they secured a place for no
fewer than four heroes of faith in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame?
It is true that each period of peace in the book of Judges deteriorates
into sin and punishment in a series of cycles. It is also true that the final chapters describe a period
of horrific evil (events which most probably occurred at the beginning of the time of the judges, as
the record seems to show). Nevertheless, there are also seasons of deep repentance, culminating in
great blessing, as judges were given and inspired by God to demonstrate the power of faith and
obedience, and to prefigure a future great Deliverer.
These judges were saviours, governors and magistrates. Matthew Poole
tells us they were ‘inferiors to kings, and could neither make new laws, nor impose any tributes, but
were the supreme executors of God’s laws and commands’. While they ruled, the land
was as close as it could be to pure theocracy, for there was no dictator, and no ruler, aside from
God. And while the Ark of the Covenant remained in Shiloh, the power of God stood by them,
ready to bless.
The gloomy view of the judges turns out to be, on inspection, superficial. It is easy to
ascribe bad motives to these deliverers and to ‘discover’ deficiencies in them. But if the rule of
interpretation adopted is the rule of Hebrews 11, we look more carefully, realising and
remembering that they were, in fact, great men of faith, and then we see these pages in quite another
light.
What are we to make of the judges? How we regard them will determine our
understanding of everything that takes place, and whether or not we find the spiritual lessons for
today. There is a choice to be made. On the one hand, we may regard them as -
- regenerate and spiritual men
- holy and faithful men
- judges with a spiritual mission
- judges who saw the all-important issue to be the spiritual kingdom of Heaven and not just the earthly prosperity of the Jews.
On the other hand, we may regard them as -
- people of their age
- not necessarily regenerate
- prone to use unworthy methods
- often sinful and irresponsible
- lacking the light and understanding of men like Abraham and Moses
- people who brought only earthly deliverance to the Jews.
This survey aims to prove that the judges must be regarded in the first
manner - as spiritually enlightened people. This is the more traditional view of Bible
commentators, but it has been swept aside by a modern generation of commentators who bow to
liberal ideas far more than is often realised.
It must be said that the second way of regarding the judges virtually empties the
history of all its real lessons on faith. It is therefore important that we set out the arguments in
favour of regarding the judges as God’s faithful men, and true heroes of faith.
First, that great chapter of faith - Hebrews 11 - tells us that key judges
must be regarded as spiritually enlightened people, and doubtless all of them broadly share the same
status. The four named judges (Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah) are severely criticised in
many commentaries, but the verdict of God is that they were great heroes of faith.
Hebrews 11.39 makes it plain that all named in the chapter were
commended for their faith. What kind of faith did they have? Was it just faith in God to solve
some pressing military crisis? No - it was more - it was faith in God’s righteous covenant, faith in
God’s promises, and even faith in a future resurrection. ‘And what shall I more say? for the time
would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and
Samuel, and of the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained
promises . . . that they might obtain a better resurrection’ (Hebrews 11.32-35).
Hebrews 11 is all about spiritual faith, and the key judges
are linked with the patriarchs before them, and with David and the prophets after them. They were
not of this world, but set their ultimate aims and affections on heavenly things.
We repeat that the judges appear in a glorious list of people who believed in future,
unseen blessings. They are of the same faith and order as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sara, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses and Rahab.
Nothing destroys the book of Judges more than to turn these heroes of
faith into civil and military devotees of an earthly state who were only zealous for the
earthly prosperity of the people, and who understood little of the true way of salvation.
They were ready to obey whenever God called them to deliver the people, but they
also knew that the only real hope for the souls of men was salvation, and the future to which they
most looked forward was a heavenly one. We must see the New Testament in the Old to understand
the theology and motivation of the glorious judges, and Hebrews 11 is the essential key
to the book.
We should not be unduly surprised about the spiritually enlightened status of the
judges, because all the light of the Pentateuch, not to mention the book of Joshua, was
available to them. They possessed a powerful heritage of doctrine. They stood in an
intensely self-conscious, cultural tradition, and in possession of the Law and the Covenant. The idea
that there was a strange gap in spiritual enlightenment between the death of Joshua and the
beginning of the monarchy is barely credible.
The judges would have known what Abraham felt about the promises of God, and
that he did not go about to establish an earthly kingdom, but looked for a heavenly one. They surely
knew that he had been a stranger and pilgrim on the earth who looked for a divine fulfilment of
promises made to him.
The judges would have understood the solemn words of Moses recorded in
Deuteronomy chapters 28 to 30, where he spoke of the blessings of
obedience and the curses for disobedience. They surely knew the prophecies that the children of
Israel would sin in their new land, and turn to other gods, leading to destruction of the land, and
future captivity and exile. The schooling and culture of the judges would certainly have left them in
no doubt that the grace and mercy of God, leading to godliness, were the only hope for the
blessedness of the people.
The spiritual training of the judges probably included the expectation of an eternal
hereafter for God’s people. They certainly had the record of God’s words addressed to Moses
(Exodus 3.6) - ‘I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob.’
They also had the record of Jacob’s dream at Bethel, showing interaction between
Heaven and earth, a scene which led Jacob to call that place the gate of Heaven. Further back they
had the record of Enoch, translated directly by God to be with Him. The spiritual culture of the
judges could so easily have made them aware that God’s purposes went far beyond and above their
earthly national circumstances.
There are, of course, powerful indications of the spiritually enlightened status of the
judges within the book itself. The first is the occurrence of theophanies by which the Lord Jesus
Christ appeared and spoke to them. This would obviously have confirmed their realisation that they
dealt with a living God Who could be personally known, and they would surely thereafter have
served Him, even after His disappearance, ‘as seeing him who is invisible’.
Judges is a book of theophanies, and we can scarcely imagine the
powerful effect that these must have had on the convictions of those deliverers who were privileged
to witness one. At times they must have felt as though they lived in the vestibule of Heaven,
dramatically sensing the eternal context of their lives. The theophanies demonstrated mightily that
they were engaged on a spiritual mission for a living and eternal Lord.
A further indication of the enlightened spirituality of the judges is drawn from their
disregard for worldly honours, for not one of them would allow himself to be made a king. They did
not seek such position, and when supreme office was offered it was declined. They did not pursue or
acquire privileges such as a noble court, a retinue of servants, bodyguards, or a royal succession for
their children. Rather, they limited themselves to the pattern permitted to the Jews of that time by
the Lord. They were men of clear understanding and obedience to that system left in the books of
Moses and Joshua, and these made no provision for a monarchy.
The FIRST JUDGES
Chapter 1 sets the scene and we are introduced at once to a great change in the
fortunes of the children of Israel. In the early verses two tribes easily overpower a king who had
himself defeated seventy warrior-kings, cutting off his big toes and thumbs (just as he had done to
defeated foes so that they could never again successfully wield swords or ride war-horses). Two
tribes could capture the subduer of seventy kings, whereas by verse 19, Judah could achieve only a
partial victory, and failed to drive out inhabitants from the land, a failure due to their compromise
and forfeiture of God’s blessing.
We are told that - ‘when Israel was strong . . . they put the Canaanites to tribute, and
did not utterly drive them out’ (verse 28). When Israel was strong she could have put the Canaanites
out of the land, but instead she took revenue from them, and when she grew weak they overran her.
The story of many churches is that of failure to work vigorously for the Gospel, until
the day comes when they have shrunk to near invisibility in their communities, and no longer have
the means or the strength to grasp opportunities. A low level of evangelistic activity, coupled with
borrowing from the surrounding worldly culture in worship and lifestyle, is prefigured in the
experience of Israel throughout the book of Judges.
Chapter 2 reflects another feature of present-day evangelical life, namely, the ability
to feel strongly about certain things without necessarily doing much about them. The Angel of the
Lord preached to the people with the result that they were deeply convicted of their failure, and
began to weep terribly. They wept so much, so long, and so hard that the very name of the place was
changed to ‘Weepers’. Unfortunately, the weeping made no lasting difference, demonstrating that
sorrow over sin or duties omitted need not lead to remedial action. Indeed, some people have made
an art out of washing away the pangs of conviction by tears rather than by change of conduct. We
may weep for awakening, but does it change the evangelistic ‘work’ rate of the church?
The first judge to be considered by name appears in chapter 3, when an eight-year
bondage is ended by Othniel who secures a forty-year peace. The two main offences giving rise to
God’s punishment had been intermarriage with Canaanites, and spiritual compromise. These were
the principal offences recurring in the period of the judges, as well as throughout the subsequent
monarchy. The worldliness of today’s evangelicalism is again prefigured, particularly in bringing
the idiom of this world into worship and evangelism.
Also in chapter 3 there is the account of Ehud who ended eighteen years of
oppression by plunging a dagger into the stomach of the Moabite king. Did Ehud work alone
because the people had grown too weak and cowardly? The Lord often uses individuals to revive
His cause in days of great weakness, when the majority of believers have become indifferent and
inactive. Ehud was a divinely appointed instrument, and not, as modern commentaries say, a person
of questionable morals who ‘stooped to assassination’. His nation was at war, and his act very
courageous.
Was BARAK A COWARD?
Judges 4 brings the reader to Deborah and Barak, people who can be
rightly appreciated only in the light of Hebrews 11, where Barak is named as a hero of
faith. Surprisingly, he is often portrayed as a cringing, fearful individual who needed reproof from
Deborah before undertaking his mission. Because his strong spiritual trust is made known to us
in Hebrews, we are bound to draw the following conclusions about the events
involving him.
After twenty years of oppression the prophetess Deborah received the command of
God to march upon the oppressor, and transmitted that command to Barak. The Lord had said to
Deborah that the enemy commander would be driven into their hands. Barak does not hesitate, but
he is neither a judge nor a prophet at this point, and if he acts, how shall it be seen that this is the
Lord’s doing, and how shall the glory be the Lord’s for victory? If the prophetess is there, then he
can be sure that events will be rightly interpreted by the people, and all the glory and credit will be
given to the Lord.
As though to confirm that this was what was uppermost in Barak’s mind, Deborah
assures him that his leadership will not bring him personal glory, but the execution of the enemy
general will be given to an obscure woman. Barak carries out his mission with great courage and the
eventual victory leads to forty years of peace.
The victory was a display of amazing human effort, the effects of which were greatly
magnified by divine intervention as God sent a fearful night storm to swell the river which Sisera
had to cross, so that a raging torrent swept his chariots away.
We learn from this that God’s method is often to greatly magnify the efforts of His
people to bring about blessing, and we certainly need this lesson today. The Lord wonderfully uses
human instruments, but, to be used, they must do something.
Judges 5 - a song of praise and gratitude - establishes beyond doubt the
forwardness of both Deborah and Barak. The leaders led, and the people volunteered,
and Deborah sings of the great willingness of the governors (including Barak). There is so much in
this song which should be channelled into pastoral application today, principally the message that
without earnest enthusiasm, much practical effort, and courageous faith little can be achieved for the
Lord.
But there are strong notes of condemnation in this song for those who were unwilling
to serve. Reuben is mentioned, among whose people there was much discussion about going to war,
but no action. Here is an obvious application to our present climate when many will debate and
discuss the theology of revival, but so few are inclined to act. Gilead also kept out of the way, and
Dan preferred commercial business to the service of God.
The inhabitants of the town of Meroz are especially cursed for not coming to the help
of the cause of God. It is a terrible thought that in every congregation there are always some people
who possess spiritual blessings and abilities, but who never come to the help of the work, avoiding
the trials and labours of service. Perhaps they need a glimpse of the Lord’s displeasure in the curse
of Meroz.
Modern evangelical writers see coarse brutality in the exploit of Jael, who killed
Sisera, but in Deborah’s song she is praised and applauded above other women. They are cruelly
wrong, as usual in their treatment of Judges, for she was undoubtedly a sensitive,
gentle, godly woman who did something utterly abhorrent to her, but did it because she clearly
knew the prophecy of Deborah that a woman’s hand would fell the enemy general.
Did GIDEON LACK FAITH?
Judges 6 is about Gideon and the appearance of the Lord to him. Once
again we have to decide between two starkly contrasting interpretations. It is said that Gideon was a
faithless man who repeatedly asked for signs. One writer cynically says that when the Lord greeted
him with the high praise, ‘the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour’, these words were
spoken in sarcasm, or at least with teasing humour. The right interpretation starts with the
Hebrews 11 key, and in the light of this identifies Gideon as a spiritual man already equipped
with great trust in the Lord. This view sees the Lord’s greeting as an indication that Gideon could be
used because of his great faith and courage. He had already distinguished himself, probably as an
effective resistance worker, providing for the feeding of the oppressed Israelites.
Gideon knows the people have sinned and failed and says, in effect, ‘Oh Lord, with
all this tragedy, surely we have now been permanently rejected?’ His spiritual insight is
commended, for he understands that God must punish sin. It is this light, combined with his faith,
and indeed with his frustration for action, which is his ‘might’, and which the Lord will use.
In other words, it is when believers feel ashamed of their inactivity and can scarcely
believe God will use them again, and also feel pained at the victory of worldliness over the Gospel,
that God will begin to use them.
When Gideon points out that he lacks the means to accomplish the defeat of the
Midianites, he is not complaining, but seeking help and direction. How can he save Israel? His
family is poor and he has no noble authority. How will he raise a mighty force from a demoralised
people? His questions are realistic and reasonable, and the Lord assures him that He will be with
him, and empower him. Gideon asks for a sign, a request which indicates his humility rather than
his lack of faith. So today, the aspiring preacher should be ready to test his call, and not to plunge
ahead without clear attestation.
As the wonder of a theophany strikes Gideon, he feels under judgement in the
presence of a holy God, and, for all his human valour, we see humility and godly fear. If only we
also could combine courage and confidence in the Lord with a lack of self-confidence,
and a deep awareness of our need of grace, then we would have the balance of a Gideon.
The next significant event is that God moves Gideon to burn his father’s altar to
Baal, and by so doing he begins his mission in a storm of antagonism and opposition, for his entire
household and city is incensed. Consider the position of Gideon. His own family and all the
townspeople want him sentenced to death. He has no money and his nation is away from God,
demoralised by oppressors. But despite the impossible circumstances, he believes the promises of
God and prepares to carry out the task God has given him. Why then, if he is so trusting, does he
ask for more assurance from God? Why is there a double trial of God in the incident of the fleece?
We must remember that Gideon was about to risk thousands of lives in battle. He was
about to take responsibility not merely for himself but for a host of others, and if he was deluded in
his understanding of God’s will, there could occur a most crushing humiliation of the nation and its
testimony. He had to be certain that the Lord was truly sending him on this seemingly impossible
assignment, and it was in that spirit that he asked for such extensive tokens. It is significant that the
Lord freely responded to Gideon’s pleas.
We have great advantages over Gideon in these days, for we already have the assurances
we need in the record of the Word of God, and also in the history of the church. We know what
things are plainly commanded as our duty, and we have a wealth of examples of the power of God
to bless His people. We have the example of the New Testament, of the early church, of periods of
reformation, martyrdom, and awakening.
We have more fleeces than we could desire to give us a liberated faith in the power
of God. We shall never have to ask for a special sign like this great hero of faith who had only six
books of the Bible. But like him we must make certain that all our activities for the Lord are carried
out in the way He has commanded.
In Judges 7 we read of the massive army assembled, but 22,000 men are
rejected from the outset. Here is yet more evidence of the great courage and faith of Gideon, for we
can scarcely imagine a man of little faith immediately sending all those men home. There is a lesson
here, for it is common today for would-be evangelists to depend on the help of non-evangelicals,
crowd-effect, stunts, and huge budgets. In Gideon’s campaign the ‘arm of flesh’ was sent home.
After the rejection of 22,000, another 9,700 had to be pruned out, and eventually
only 300 were left. There are different explanations for Gideon’s water-lapping test (Judges
7.5), but the best verdict seems to be that this was a way of identifying true worshippers. Baal
worship involved much kneeling and bending of the head to the ground, and this posture had
therefore assumed offensive significance to the truly spiritual remnant. Kneeling smacked so
strongly of Baal worship that the godly would not drop to their knees and bend their heads to the
water. Probably they squatted or stooped and used cupped hands, lapping the water out of their
hands.
The main pastoral application of this event is drawn from the fact that only 300 men
were used. The Midianite oppression was among the very worst, the Midianites being extremely
vicious and barbaric, and also exceedingly numerous. Yet the smallest army is selected to overthrow
them.
Before the Reformation there was only John Wycliffe and his poor preachers, a mere
handful, and yet what tremendous instrumentality was given to them.
Centuries later, in 1739, a cold, grey dawn witnessed a small band of believers
gathered round a young, squinting preacher named George Whitefield. That was the beginning of an
awakening which rocked London and the whole country. Today, when we are surrounded by cities
bigger than history has ever seen, and a tightly controlled national media, we feel like tiny specks in
the midst of a faceless humanity.
Gideon’s 300 succeeded, because it is the Lord’s strange work to manifest His power
through small groups of committed people, amplifying their every human effort. If revival came
today, it could be that thousands of surprised believers might be disqualified from instrumentality,
because of their worldly compromise.
The men of Ephraim complained bitterly that they had not been called to take part in
the action against the Midianites. The Ephraimites were relatively unaffected by the oppression for
they held the most defendable territory. However, it is significant that they had taken no initiative to
deliver the remainder of the land. They regarded themselves as the principal tribe and enjoyed the
prestige of having the most important religious towns, Bethel and Shiloh, within their borders.
Ephraim could almost be seen to represent the establishment. All
constituencies of evangelical people have been afflicted at some time or other with comfortable
establishments which have failed to take real initiatives for the furtherance of the cause, but which
have been full of resentment when the Lord has raised up other instruments. Gideon had not called
them because God did not want them. They were lazy and unfeeling. The largest, most comfortably
off, and most prestigious tribe of that time was bypassed by the Lord.
The Ephraimites were not really upset about being left out of instrumentality, but
about loss of ‘face’ or reputation, for all Gideon has to do to placate them is to make much of their
past battle honours. The thought that they were still remembered for bygone deeds seems to satisfy
them.
How many churches, preachers, and individual believers are more concerned about
what people think of them than what they are currently achieving for the Lord?
Judges 8 includes verses showing Gideon rejecting the offer of kingly
status. However, although a true hero of faith, there was a tragic area of inconsistency in his life
which led to great tragedy for his family and for the land. The inspired record focuses attention on
this, not sparing Gideon, so that pastoral lessons can be drawn in subsequent days. He had
numerous wives and sons. The sorry narrative of chapter 9 shows how polygamy opened the door to
a holocaust of murder and rebellion. The record stands as a warning of the consequences of failing
to honour the Lord’s command in all things - even in the household of faith.
Seventy sons were murdered by one. The almost total collapse of the royal house of
evangelicalism in our own time has been the work of illegitimate sons within the household. It has
been made so easy for people lacking a conversion experience to make a passable profession of faith
that the churches have been spoiled by what the apostle Paul called ‘wood, hay and stubble’.
After the troubles of Abimelech, Tola judged Israel twenty-three years, and also Jair
for twenty-two years. Then the children of Israel turned again to the gods of the surrounding nations
so that the Philistines and Ammonites were allowed to successfully oppress them for eighteen
years (Judges 10).
Was JEPHTHAH A PAGAN?
After the death of his father, Jephthah (Judges 11) was expelled
from his home and heritage by his brothers. He went into the land of Tob (probably Ish-tob of
2 Samuel 10.6) outside Israelite territory, and became the leader of a group of
bankrupts whose fallen fortunes no doubt led them to respond against the oppressors of their nation.
(The word translated ‘vain’ in Judges 11.3 literally means emptied
or worthless. Bankrupt or dispossessed is probably more apt
than worthless.)
As Jephthah is commended from the beginning of the narrative for might and valour,
and as he is the obvious choice of the Gilead elders as a general to repel the Ammonites, it seems
apparent that he was already valiantly fighting the Lord’s battles. His many daring exploits and
skirmishes against Israel’s oppressor were the activities of a man of God, not the activities of a
common brigand.
Jephthah demanded greater honesty and sincerity from the Israelites before he agreed
to their request. Several lessons may be distinguished for us today. First, when the people cried out
for the restoration of their past they were not immediately granted deliverance. So we cannot expect
a restoration of evangelical blessing at the mere asking. How earnest are we? How truly do we
desire change?
Secondly, there could be no answer to prayer until the foreign gods were actually put
away. Will modern believers empty their homes of the gods of excessive materialism which have
robbed the work of God for so many years? And once again we ask - will we abandon the worldly
worship forms so beloved in numerous churches?
Thirdly, there could be no deliverance for the Israelites until they were ready to act in
a zealous, costly and courageous manner. Jephthah was already putting them to shame, albeit with a
small band of men who had no other income but the spoils which they recovered. Only when the
children of Israel recognised the Lord’s servant, and were ready to follow him into battle, were they
delivered. So today, only when comfortable Christians begin to stand behind their preachers and
follow them into new levels of zealous activity for the Lord, will there be a return of evangelical
power. The sad lament of pastors who cannot, for example, get their people to operate Sunday
Schools must become a thing of the past if prayer is to be heard.
In Judges 11 there is the vexed matter of Jephthah’s vow to the Lord. He
vows 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.’
Victory is given to him and when he returns it is his only daughter who first comes
out of the door of his house to meet him. Now it is plain that when Jephthah made his vow he might
have expected the welcome of his family, and it is unthinkable that he vowed to burn one of them.
Here is a perfect example of how the interpretation of a passage is affected by how one estimates the
judge in question. Some modern commentators have no respect for the spirituality of this judge,
insisting that one act after another was not according to Christian standards. But if we are guided by
the Hebrews 11 key, we cannot conceive that Jephthah, a man with a spiritual outlook,
would have been no better than the Ammonites whom God had just used him to defeat. He stood for
the right way as opposed to the wrong way.
Jephthah clearly vowed that the person to greet him would be consecrated to the
Lord along the lines of the Nazarite vow practised in those days. His daughter would be dedicated to
God not to marry and bear children, and the line of Jephthah would die out.
Her own wonderful and gracious response includes a request that she might be able
to spend two months visiting all her friends to ‘bewail my virginity’ before her consecration to the
vow. This would be a strange thing to bewail if it was not the subject of the vow. To confirm the
interpretation, when the Scripture records the performing of the vow it says that Jephthah, ‘did with
her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man’. That phrase surely signifies
the nature of the vow, namely the consecration of the daughter to virginity.
Some think that the annual four-day lamentation which was observed by the women
of the land points to her having been sacrificed. But Jephthah would have inaugurated the
observance for positive reasons, so that for four days in the year her example of consecration to the
Lord in thanksgiving for victory, would be remembered.
In Judges 12 the men of Ephraim gather themselves together and
challenge Jephthah, as they had challenged Gideon before him. As ever, they took no initiative,
made no contribution, and so the Lord had no use for them, but in their own estimation they were
the people who mattered, and were insulted at having been passed over. Indolent and jealous, they
thought they had a divine right to be consulted about how things would be done, and, unhappily,
they have their counterpart in some churches today.
The Ephraimites began to speak against the Gileadites with taunts and insults, and
eventually there was war. To this day those who will not act in the cause of Christ spend much
energy speaking against those who will. But the Lord is gracious, and if His obedient, serving
people continue in His service, committing all their problems to Him in prayer, then who knows but
that the Lord may deliver them from such problems and impediments, as He ultimately delivered
Jephthah.
See also ‘Sticking up for the Judges’ Part 2 (2000 No. 3)
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