Diplomatic Solutions to International Threat

God's Urgent Call
Called to Be Strong

Jephthah Answers the Call

Judges 11:12-27 The Message

12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with a message: “What’s going on here that you have come into my country picking a fight?”
13 The king of the Ammonites told Jephthah’s messengers: “Because Israel took my land when they came up out of Egypt—from the Arnon all the way to the Jabbok and to the Jordan. Give it back peaceably and I’ll go.”
14-27 Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites with the message: “Jephthah’s word: Israel took no Moabite land and no Ammonite land. When they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the desert as far as the Red Sea, arriving at Kadesh. There Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom saying, ‘Let us pass through your land, please.’ But the king of Edom wouldn’t let them. Israel also requested permission from the king of Moab, but he wouldn’t let them cross either. They were stopped in their tracks at Kadesh. So they traveled across the desert and circled around the lands of Edom and Moab. They came out east of the land of Moab and set camp on the other side of the Arnon—they didn’t set foot in Moabite territory, for Arnon was the Moabite border.

For Reflection

With the threat of aggression, the Ammonites marched on to Israel. Jephthah was not interested in armed conflict and turned to a diplomatic solution.  Jephthah argued that the Exodus was a peaceful journey and care was taken to avoid a hostile takeover of land. Jephthah insisted that that not only was there no intent to occupy Ammonite land but also no act of war over the possession of such lands.

Jephthah enters a plea of "not guilty."

Pray

Pray that your first reaction to a threat is one of appeal to reason. Pray for the skill to avoid a knee-jerk response to fight in defense. Pray for the wisdom to act justly.