Judges 12 TOUCHY PEOPLE It is to be expected when there are times of victory that joy, encouragement and edification would be the result as the Lord's people share in good fellowship the results of divine work done for us and through us. Unfortunately, there are those who find reason to be critical and complain even in times of great blessing. By their very nature, complaints and criticisms are destructive and divisive. The results at best are pettiness and quarreling instead of joy. Usually the results go farther than that to a shattered unity and unhappiness that divides God's people and creates a problem from which comes the darkness of "war" between brethren.
The touchy Ephraimites were ignorant of their personal responsibility. Touchy people are like this. They let others do the work and they criticize or condemn what the others do. The Ephraimites were small in number but knew what they considered were their rights. They seemed to be ready and willing to fight the enemies of the Lord's people after the battle was over. They wanted to share the glory and benefits after the pain and hard work was done. Anger and jealousy led to arrogant and aggressive behavior. Petulant and touchy people seem to have a lot to say in a confrontational and malicious way. Such people seem to think we should pay attention to them just because they holler and make a lot of noise. Those who have grace usually seek to pacify and calm them down seeking peace instead of pettiness among brethren.
Apparently Jephthah had asked for the help of the Ephraimites in the serious situation that the Gileadites were having with the invaders from Ammon, but while the Ephraimites were waiting to see the outcome, or were discussing what they would do, the men of Gilead went ahead and did what needed to be done under divine direction. But when the men of Ephraim came with their touchy threatening, the response of Jephthah and the men of Gilead was much different than that of Gideon who had appeased those touchy people before. Ephraim came threatening and armed to make war with their brethren, and found no tolerance at all with their taunts, threats, touchy and belligerent behavior. They found their brethren not willing at all to take the insulting words and jealousy. To their total lack of wisdom, they found they were put to the sword and 42,000 men of Ephraim died as a result.
The place where unity was most common, the crossings of the Jordan River, was the place where the disaster was the greatest. Assemblies of God's people should be a united place where the catalyst of our common faith is the strongest, but it can also be the place of our greatest defeat. No one wins when there is conflict between brethren. Lack of wisdom, jealousy, touchiness and aggressive behavior on one side, will bring bitterness, anger and malicious retribution on the other side. There is something terribly sad about believers who are against each other. Healing never completely takes place and barriers are there placed by legalistic attitudes on both sides that are passed on from one generation to the next.
Ignorance due to legalism is dangerous. The battle with Ephraim was not Jephthah's fault but he showed no grace. He treated his brothers as enemies. Revenge against the touchy people was wrong also and the rash actions of a hard-hearted legalistic man brought death, disgrace and tragedy. Bitter words lead to bitter actions and bitter results. There are unreasonable men who will make a man "an offender for a word," or as in the case of the men of Gilead with the Ephraimites, and offender for a letter in a word. Nobody really wins in such situations as this.
Jephthah was a decisive, skilled, articulate, strong man of faith in the Lord, but he could also harbor bitterness and act rashly without considering the lasting effect his actions would leave on those who followed him. There needs to be a balanced attitude on both sides when there are differences between brethren. Making threats and ultimatums indicate a lack of grace and spiritual discernment. Ignorance of God's will and ways because of a legalistic attitude leads to deadly results and disaster. Even in spite of the terrible events, for six years Jephthah was able to judge Israel and keep order with his legal ways of authority.
Three times in this chapter we read "after him," so that the succession of four judges gave Israel freedom from the oppression of their enemies for thirty-one years, and a measure of stability prevailed. Ibzan of Bethlehem was probably a man of wealth and widespread influence through his sons and daughters who had connections through their marriages. For the seven years of his judgeship there was no recorded times of tension, so he probably was able to maintain a consistent testimony with God's people for those years. Elon (strength) seems to have been a quiet man of character as his name suggests and enabled there to be ten more years of consistent peace and testimony. Abdon may have remembered the twenty-three years Tola lived among the Ephraimites, and who had thirty sons who each had a donkey of their own. He too was a man of wealth and influence who provided personal and peaceful (donkeys, not horses) means of transportation for his own forty sons and thirty nephews. He was able to keep the peace and unity of Israel for another eight years. Even the Amalekites who lived there did not seem to be a problem as long as Abdon was the judge. The wealth and influence of a quiet man may not always be appreciated at the time, but it did keep order among the Lord's people. Such leaders are very valuable to us even though they may not have done mighty exploits.