Judg 12:3 | KingComments | STEP | Jephthah does not react like Gideon, but reproaches them. The second part of the first verse of Proverbs 15 applies to him, as does the first part of that verse for Gideon: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” ( ). It is striking how often Jephthah uses the word ‘I’ in what he says to the Ephraimites. The ‘I and my people’, that is Gilead, refers to partisan, sectarian actions. He no longer has an eye for all the people of God. Jephthah expresses himself in this way, because he feels personally offended. When one’s own ‘I’ comes to the fore, it becomes a search of one’s own interest and standing up for one’s own honor. These are the things that are found in people who are guided by law. If you want to be a zealot for the law, you cannot escape finding yourself important and seeking your own honor. The law is given to man so that by keeping the law he may show that he lives according to the norm of God. But there is no one who has kept or can keep the law. This is not due to the law, but to man. Those who sincerely want to keep the law will discover that they cannot keep it. Such a person confirms the purpose of the law, which is given to show man who he is by nature. This is why it says: “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious” and so on ( ). Through the law man learns to know his sinfulness. This will make him go to Christ with Whom salvation can be found through His work on the cross. He who has taken refuge in Christ is free from the curse of the law. It is written: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”” ( ). It even says that he who believes no longer has anything to do with the law: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” ( ). Whoever, as a Christian, still wants to keep the law, if only to do so out of gratitude, is once again under the curse of it. The law cannot produce anything else. The law can only condemn and kill because it is meant for the natural man. When a believer (again) keeps the law, he does something that Paul denounces sharply in his letter to the Galatians. He describes the consequences of this in their dealings with one another in this way: “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another” ( ), and: “Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” ( ). This is reflected in the life of Jephthah and it is also reflected in the lives of Christians who take the law as their rule of life. If one’s own honor is hurt and the rule of life is the law, then the reaction is one of retaliation, of standing up for one’s own honor. The result is that there is no more fruit for God. Ephraim means ‘fertile’ isn’t it? The above does not mean that the Ephraimites can be excused. They behave far from worthy of their name. They are the instigators of Jephthah’s attitude. However, a lot of bloodshed would have been prevented if Jephthah had reacted otherwise. How much quarrel, discord and spiritual manslaughter would have been prevented in local churches if one’s own honor and interests had been set aside and brotherly love had been put into practice.

‏ Judges 12:3

The Reaction of Jephthah

Jephthah does not react like Gideon, but reproaches them. The second part of the first verse of Proverbs 15 applies to him, as does the first part of that verse for Gideon: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Pro 15:1). It is striking how often Jephthah uses the word ‘I’ in what he says to the Ephraimites. The ‘I and my people’, that is Gilead, refers to partisan, sectarian actions. He no longer has an eye for all the people of God. Jephthah expresses himself in this way, because he feels personally offended.

When one’s own ‘I’ comes to the fore, it becomes a search of one’s own interest and standing up for one’s own honor. These are the things that are found in people who are guided by law. If you want to be a zealot for the law, you cannot escape finding yourself important and seeking your own honor.

The law is given to man so that by keeping the law he may show that he lives according to the norm of God. But there is no one who has kept or can keep the law. This is not due to the law, but to man. Those who sincerely want to keep the law will discover that they cannot keep it. Such a person confirms the purpose of the law, which is given to show man who he is by nature. This is why it says: “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious” and so on (1Tim 1:8-10). Through the law man learns to know his sinfulness. This will make him go to Christ with Whom salvation can be found through His work on the cross.

He who has taken refuge in Christ is free from the curse of the law. It is written: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”” (Gal 3:13). It even says that he who believes no longer has anything to do with the law: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4).

Whoever, as a Christian, still wants to keep the law, if only to do so out of gratitude, is once again under the curse of it. The law cannot produce anything else. The law can only condemn and kill because it is meant for the natural man.

When a believer (again) keeps the law, he does something that Paul denounces sharply in his letter to the Galatians. He describes the consequences of this in their dealings with one another in this way: “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another” (Gal 5:15), and: “Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Gal 5:26).

This is reflected in the life of Jephthah and it is also reflected in the lives of Christians who take the law as their rule of life. If one’s own honor is hurt and the rule of life is the law, then the reaction is one of retaliation, of standing up for one’s own honor. The result is that there is no more fruit for God. Ephraim means ‘fertile’ isn’t it?

The above does not mean that the Ephraimites can be excused. They behave far from worthy of their name. They are the instigators of Jephthah’s attitude. However, a lot of bloodshed would have been prevented if Jephthah had reacted otherwise. How much quarrel, discord and spiritual manslaughter would have been prevented in local churches if one’s own honor and interests had been set aside and brotherly love had been put into practice.