Negotiating Through Life - Judges10:17-12:7

Our text today contains a series of negotiations. In many ways, all of life is based on our ability to negotiate, though that may be less true than it once was. We expect our government to negotiate trade deals, peace treaties, etc. Local governments might negotiate with businesses, non-profits, etc. for various matters. We saw this when Amazon was interested in building a second headquarters.

Business negotiate with employees, employees negotiate with business. Individuals negotiate with each other on the sale of used vehicles, etc. Just check out FB marketplace and there are few things sold there that haven’t been negotiated.

Sometimes we use the phrase, negotiating your way through life. This an expression that refers to the idea that you’re doing your best to make it through life in the best way possible.

On its own, negotiations aren’t sinful. Many characters in the Scriptures negotiated, including Abraham with God himself!

Problems arise, however, when we negotiate for the wrong things, or the right things for the wrong reasons, or even if you want a good thing for a good reason, you’re willing to give up something you shouldn’t in order to get it.

Our passage today is full of negotiations. But as the author of judges presents them to us, these are the actions of men who have abandoned their king, and as a result are left drifting and grasping at things beyond their reach.

God is gracious in the midst of these things, but he is not presented as taking as active of a role as he took in previous judge cycles. Here we have the actions of men, and God’s graciousness despite their efforts, rather than God’s graciousness raising up and deploying the leaders he chooses.

Negotiations made without godly motivations will always end in disaster. It may not be in this life, but we will have to give an account. And in that day, there will be no negotiating our way out of anything.

Recall that we are just coming out of a section where Israel has sought to get God to free her from the Ammonites, and God tells Israel to go fly a kite. I’ve rescued you countless times before, but you keep going after your foreign gods. Let them save you.

The people seek to manipulate the Lord, but ultimately they do not rest upon his deliverance. This is evident with our first major heading, where the people seek to negotiate salvation, not with God, but with anyone who would be willing to rise up to save them.

Negotiating Salvation

Judges 10:17–18 ESV

17 Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. 18 And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.”

The people offered the kingship to anyone who would lead them and save them from their peril.

How many times has this played itself out over history? People become desperate and so they are willing to go after any leader who seems to be able to offer them the freedom or relief they desire. Churches can do this when selecting a pastor. They’re looking for a charismatic leader—and I don’t mean theologically charismatic, but her personality—rather than a godly man who displays a high degree of moral character.

God knew there would come a time when Israel would seek our a king. He made provision in his law for the kind of man to appoint. It was not just anyone who could deliver the people. It had to be a man of character who would read and obey the word of God.

Deuteronomy 17:18–20 ESV

18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

This will be instructive for us as we continue to move through this passage.

As we come into chapter 11, the scene shifts to Jephthah. It provides background information on the man that is relevant to the story, as the narrator tells the story of how Jephthah comes to power.

Negotiating Leadership

Judges 11:1–3 ESV

1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

In many ways, Jephthah’s story is going to mirror the story of Abimelech. Both were children of women who were not the wife of the father, one from a concubine, the other from a prostitute. Both men gather about themselves worthless fellows. Both gain power not for the sake of their people but for their own agendas.

Let’s read on.

Judges 11:4–11 ESV

4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

Jephthah is rightfully skeptical of the people. Why come to him after they have driven him out? Jephthah requires them to give them some assurance and they make an oath with him. Here we have them invoking the name of the LORD. There is very little in this passage about the LORD, and when his name is used, He is a passive witness rather than an active agent. Rather than submit to the LORD as king, they use his name to accomplish their own agendas.

So Jephthah assumes command, and his first act seems to be get on the hotline to the king of Ammon in order to negotiate a peace settlement.

Negotiating Peace

Judges 11:12–13 ESV

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” 13 And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.”

It seems as though Ammon wants to reclaim her land. Trouble it, it was never actually theirs, as Jephthah is about to demonstrate and is corroborated by archaeological evidence.

Judges 11:14–28 ESV

14 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites 15 and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, 16 but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. 18 “Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. 19 Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ 20 but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan. 23 So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? 24 Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. 25 Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? 26 While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? 27 I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” 28 But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.

There are several elements of this worth noticing.

First, Jephthah deserves credit here, because he knows his history! Whether he just knew it from his upbringing, or if he learned it in preparation to respond to Ammon, he has given a thorough recounting of both Israel’s history and the geopolitical lay of the land.

It’s important to note that there are two different people groups being mentioned that are similar and you can get them confused if you don’t read carefully. There are the Ammonites, who are making war against Israel, and then there are Amorites, who were the ones actually used to possess the land, but God gave it to Israel.

Jephthah makes a historical argument: This land wasn’t yours. It was Amorite.

He makes a theological argument: God took it from them because they refused to let us pass through the land peaceably. Who are you to try to take it for yourselves?? The mention of Chemosh is difficult. Is Jephthah validating their a false god? No, we must remember that this is political jockeying. Chemosh isn’t even the god of the Ammonites, but rather the god of the Moabites. This may be an intentional insult from Jephthah, who questions if they think they are better than kings like Balak, king of Moab.

He makes a chronological argument. If this land was yours, why have you not tried to retake it these 300 years?

He concludes his argument by once again invoking the name of the LORD to serve as judge and witness between them.

By all accounts, this is a well crafted and well done defense for Jephthah.

It fact it is so well done that it will shortly stand in strong contrast to what is missing from his life later on.

For all his efforts, however, it was ineffective to get the king of Ammon to back down, and war was looming.

Negotiating Victory

This next section contains the only two mentions of God’s direct involvement in an active rather than passive way, and it is almost in passing.

Judges 11:29 ESV

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites.

We aren’t told why he passed through these regions, but the last time we saw something like this was Gideon, who passed through the land in order to rally the troops, so it seems best to understand that such things are happening here.

It’s not clear if Jephthah was even aware of the Lord’s help here, and even though he invoked the LORD’s name before Ammon, he does not seem to be confident of victory. So, being the negotiator that he is, he seeks to negotiate victory…with the LORD.

Judges 11:30–33 ESV

30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

There is no response from the LORD, but the offer is made. Whatever comes out of my house I will sacrifice. Scholars debate Jephthah’s intent here. Some argue that he was quite aware this might cost him his own children and he was willing to give that up in order to secure victory.

This can happen sometimes. We get so desperate for something that we want, that we over promise or over pay to get it…only to wish that we hadn’t done so after the dust settles.

Other scholars argue that he was only thinking of his animals at the time. In those days, the farm animals would live and have access to courtyard of the house, and whatever came out upon his return might have been a cow, a goat, a sheep, or other farm animals.

In either case, he makes this promise. Whatever it is that comes out, I will offer it as a burnt offering.

And God gives the victory! At first glance it seems as though God honored his vow!

But we must not get too far ahead of ourselves. The fact that God gave Ammon into Jephthah’s hands is true, but it is almost glossed over in the text. It’s almost as if the author is acknowledging God’s sovereignty over the matters rather than drawing attention to God’s direct intervention. This would make sense in light of the sparse mention of the direct acts of God in this passage. God graciously handed them into the hands of Jephthah, but his involvement was not as it has been at other points in this book.

And as we read on, we find more reason to doubt that God granted victory on account of the vow:

Judges 11:34–40 ESV

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” 36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” 37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. 39 And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

In many ways, this is one of the saddest portions of this book. Jephthah, perhaps expecting an animal, perhaps regretting his vow, is devastated by his daughters appearance. All she was doing was celebrating her Father’s conquest…and for that, she must die.

Scholars debate what actually happened here. Some seek to soften this passage by saying that she simply had to live out her days as a virgin serving in the tabernacle. It seems highly unlikely that such is the case. I believe that she was literally offered as a burnt offering, just as Jephthah promised.

This should sicken us. This should repulse us. This ought to enrage us. What are you doing, Jephthah??

We praise him earlier for knowing his history, but when it comes to this matter, he fails because he doesn’t know the Law.

Some argue, what was he supposed to do? He made a vow and God honored it.

The Law of God had provision for rash vows.

Leviticus 5:4–6 ESV

4 or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; 5 when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, 6 he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

Jephthah didn’t have to sacrifice his daughter, something that God is explicitly clear is expressly forbidden. God hates child sacrifice. The Law made provision for how to make it right when rash vows were uttered. But he either didn’t know the law or disregarded it. In either case, we have a man who does the unthinkable. He does what only the Canaanites do: sacrifices his own child.

Though he secures military victory, Jephthah’s negotiations cost him dearly.

Sadly, we aren’t quite done with Jephthah’s story. Bear with me a bit longer as we look at seven more verses. It seems that Jephthah could hardly properly grieve and mourn his daughter as another crisis arises

Negotiating Civil War

Judges 12:1–7 ESV

1 The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire.” 2 And Jephthah said to them, “I and my people had a great dispute with the Ammonites, and when I called you, you did not save me from their hand. 3 And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight against me?” 4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of Gilead struck Ephraim, because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manasseh.” 5 And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me go over,” the men of Gilead said to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?” When he said, “No,” 6 they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time 42,000 of the Ephraimites fell. 7 Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in his city in Gilead.

We’ve seen the Ephraimites get like this before. After Gideon’s victory they confronted him. The same thing occurs here.

Gideon successfully negotiates with the Ephraimites. Jephthah was unsuccessful.

Jephthah claims he did try to call them out, but they refused. Scripture doesn’t record that for us, and we are left to wonder if he is making it up or if he was being truthful. It would seem strange for Ephraim to be there threatening to burn things down if it were true, but we aren’t given all the details.

Where Gideon’s approach was one of flattery and an attempt to deescalate things, Jephthah was defensive and aggressive. The result was civil war.

Jephthah may have delivered Israel from external threats, but now the nation is crumbling from within as they go to war and 42,000 men of Ephraim fell.

Notice the concluding verse.

Jephthah judges Israel six years. The shortest of the cycles, eventful though it was. He died and was buried. No mention of rest. No mention of God’s work. He judged. He died. He was buried.

Such is the was of one who negotiates his way through life paying little more to God than lip service.

As I mentioned last week, the author wants us to continue to stair in the face of our own depravity. Like taking a dog and rubbing his face in the mess he made so that he learns not to do it again, we must stair in the face of our own depravity. Jephthah was motivated by he own agenda to secure for himself the kingship in Israel. He negotiated his was through life, invoking the name of the Lord, but ultimately doing that which is despicable in his sight because he failed to know the Law of God and the LORD’s character.

Life doesn’t have to be lived this way. We don’t have to negotiate our way through life living for our own selfish agendas. And we especially don’t have to negotiate our standing before God to curry his favor!

If you are in Christ, there is nothing more to negotiate! You don’t have to make this promise or that for God to love you and work things for you good!

There is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ!

In him we have received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba, Father!

If God is for us who can be against us??

When we see that we can step forward in faith knowing that whatever comes it is a gift from his sovereign hand and he works all things for our good and His glory.