Judges

Judges 12: Israel needs the LORD's peace

Begin in prayer

Before we read how the LORD gave victory and Israel still fought itself, let us come to Him together. Ask Him to humble our hearts and to show us Christ, who makes peace with God.

Don’t oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.’

Zechariah 7:10

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Please show us the harm that sinful anger can do. Turn us to Jesus for forgiveness and teach us to seek peace. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

After victory over Ammon, Ephraim threatens to burn Jephthah's house around him because he fought without them. He says they failed to answer his call and that the LORD gave him victory. Insults lead to fighting, and Gilead defeats Ephraim, then holds the Jordan crossings. The guards identify fugitives by their pronunciation and kill them, and forty-two thousand of Ephraim fall. Jephthah judges six years and dies, followed by Ibzan, Elon and Abdon, whose years and burials are recorded. Ibzan and Abdon have large families.

As you read Judges 12, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD gives victory, and Israel still needs His rule and peace.

Ephraim had quarreled with Gideon in the same way, because he did not call them to fight Midian (Judges 8 verse 1). Gideon answered them gently, but now the same proud complaint becomes a threat to burn Jephthah's house around him. Jephthah says he called and they did not come, so he risked his life, and the LORD gave the victory. Insults follow, the quarrel becomes war, and Gilead holds the fords of the Jordan where Ephraim's men must cross to get home. The guards make each man say “Shibboleth,” a word for a stream of water, and Ephraim's men cannot say it right. So forty-two thousand of God's own people die at the river, killed by fellow Israelites. Jephthah and three more judges are named in verses 7 to 15, and each judges for a few years, then dies and is buried. Abdon's seventy riders on donkeys show a man of honor and wealth, yet he too dies like the rest. Israel needs a ruler who makes peace and never dies, and God gives that King in His Son.

How does Judges 12 show us that the LORD gives victory, and Israel still needs His rule and peace?

The LORD's victory is followed by threats within Israel.

Ephraim threatens to burn Jephthah in his house because they say he failed to call them. He answers that they did not help when called and that the LORD gave victory (verses 1 to 3). The rescue from Ammon has not brought peace among Israel's own people.

Israel's quarrel becomes a deadly war.

Gilead fights Ephraim after the insult that calls the Gileadites fugitives. Men guarding the Jordan crossings use a spoken word to identify Ephraimites trying to escape (verses 4 to 6). They kill those who cannot pronounce it, and forty-two thousand of Ephraim fall.

Israel's judges lead for a time and then die.

Jephthah judges for six years before his death. Ibzan, Elon and Abdon follow, each ruling for a stated time before dying (verses 7 to 15). Each one is buried in his own town, from Bethlehem to Pirathon.

Memorise

I put my life in my hand, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and Yahweh delivered them into my hand.

Judges 12:3

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, where has my anger hurt others, and will I ask Jesus for His peace?

Jephthah says, “Yahweh delivered them into my hand.” Yet the people who have received rescue from Ammon soon kill one another. The rescued tribes turned on each other at the river, and every judge after Jephthah died and was buried.

Jesus Christ brings guilty people peace with God through His cross. At the cross He carried the sins of His people and made peace with God for them. His finished sacrifice is enough to take away their guilt, and He rose from death to live forever. He also makes peace among those He brings together in Himself (Ephesians 2 verses 13 to 16).

Turn from your sins and trust the living Savior. His gracious rule welcomes every believer with the forgiveness His blood has bought. If you have wronged someone, confess it and seek peace. Jephthah's victory ended in war, but the peace Christ makes with God will never end.

Parent's note

Tell your children that Jesus brings guilty people peace with God. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Explain the threat against Jephthah and the killings at the river crossings without making them a game about accents. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that Jesus makes peace with God for all who trust Him and His call to seek peace with others, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:18

Lord, please forgive the anger and pride that make us hurt one another. Bring us to trust Jesus and receive His peace. Help us confess our wrongs, seek forgiveness and treat others with love. Amen.