Just the Facts

Jephthah, the “mighty man of valor,” does not resort to the sword immediately upon becoming Israel’s leader. Instead, he attempts diplomacy with Ammon, proving he is mighty in word as well as war.

His first step is to send messengers to the Ammonite king to ask “ ‘What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?’ ” Ammon has had its way with Israel for 18 years (Judg. 10:8). This question, therefore, is almost impertinent, but it certainly communicates that Israel has grown a backbone and is prepared to resist its oppressors. Warily, the Ammonites respond with a claim that Israel took their land upon coming up from Egypt centuries before, and so should restore it now. In reply, Jephthah gives a “history lesson” that completely demolishes this bogus claim, laying out several arguments to set the record straight.

First, he says, Israel did not come up from Egypt with visions of mass conquest. On the contrary, Israel was unfailingly polite to the nations along its route to Canaan—it asked permission to cross the borders of Edom and Moab, and, when permission was denied, it went around them. (Jephthah stresses Israel’s dealings with Moab here because Moab and Ammon share a common heritage, exist in close proximity, and may in fact be ruled jointly by the Ammonite king at this time.) Second, the land in question did not belong to Ammon at the time of Israel’s conquest—it was held by Sihon king of the Amorites, and Israel would not have taken it had Sihon not rashly challenged Israel to battle when Israel sought his permission to pass through. Third, Israel’s victory over the Amorites came about because “ ‘the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel.’ ” God gave Sihon’s land to Israel, Jephthah says, and Ammon will have to be satisfied with what it receives from its god. Finally, he notes that Balak, king of Moab at the time of the conquest and perhaps ruler of Ammon as well, made no claim to the land after Israel took it, so why should Ammon do so three hundred years later?

Jephthah’s conclusion, therefore, is that the Ammonites are in the wrong for attacking Israel, and God will be the Judge of the matter, for He is sovereign over Israel, Ammon, and all affairs of men and nations. But the king of Ammon refuses to heed this word of truth.