Day 81 of the podcast, reading Judges 11-12 NET, read along at:

https://netbible.org/bible/Judges+11-12/

This is day 81 of our journey.

God raised up Jephthah as the next Judge to deliver the Israelites. The Ammonite king gathered his army for war, claiming that Israel had stolen their ancestral lands. Jephthah tried a diplomatic approach to the conflict by presenting a very clear and accurate argument that completely discounted all of the King’s claims. This argument did not appease the Ammonites who attacked, but God faithfully delivered Jephthah and Israel again. Jephthah was more faithful in following God than some of his predecessors, but as he was fighting the Ammonites, he made a rash vow, that resulted in Jephthah offering his daughter as a sacrifice to God. We don’t know if this sacrifice was one involving a knife and fire or simply giving her to the temple to serve the Lord, but either way, Jephthah fulfilled his vow and lost his daughter forever. After this great victory, Israel should have been rejoicing, but instead, the men of Ephraim came out against Jephthah for not including them in the battle. In the civil war that resulted from this conflict, 42000 Ephraimites were killed. Finally, order was restored and 3 more judges rule: Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon.

Join me in Judges 11-12 to see God's deliverance despite Israel's disunity.

Key verses:

Judges 11:27

I have not done you wrong, but you are doing wrong by attacking me. May the Lord, the Judge, judge this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites!’”

Judges 12:3

When I saw that you were not going to help, I risked my life and advanced against the Ammonites, and the Lord handed them over to me. Why have you come up to fight with me today?”

All Scriptures are from the NET.