“‘I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands.”
~ Judges 12:2
Hi James and Ellen,
The Bible is a book about guys and gals who lived years ago. The Judges Book is about guys and a gal who were called judges. The judges who are written about in the Judges Book lived 2400 to 2150 years ago. There are twelve guy judges and one gal judge written about in the Judges Book. The judges who were written about in the Judges Book lived in a country that had become known as Israel. The people group who lived in the country known as Israel were/are God’s specially chosen guys and gals. After Joshua led the Israelite people group’s guys and gals into the country that became known as Israel – which was the land that God had promised Abraham, then Isaac and then Jacob that their extended families would always have as their very own land to live in if . . . there was no guy after Joshua died in place to take over leading God’s specially chosen guys and gals. For about 350 years after Joshua died, at least twelve different guys and a gal did their best to keep the enemies of God’s specially chosen guys and gals from taking over the land that God had promised that them they would always have as their very own land to live in if . . . these different guys and the gal were known as judges.
The different guys and the girl who were known as judges over 2150 years ago did not come from just one of the twelve Israelite people group tribal clans; they were from different Israelite people group tribal clans and from different places in the country that had become known as Israel – the land that God had given to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have as their very own land to live in if . . . God did not want His specially chosen guys and gals to forget the names of the different judges and what these judges did. God had the Judges Book editor explain in Judges 12 why 42,000 guys from the Ephraim tribal clan ended up being killed by a judge. The judge’s name was Jephthah. Jephthah was from the Gileadite people group. The Gileadite people group’s guys and gals lived on the west side of the Jordan River. Verse 2 says, “Jephthah answered, “‘I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the Ammonites, and although I called, you didn’t save me out of their hands.” Ephraim was one of Joseph’s sons. Ephraim’s extended family became one of the Israelite people group’s twelve tribal clans. After Jephthah had taken on and beat up the Ammonite people group’s guys who had become a real bother to the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, the Ephraim tribal clan guys told Jephthah that they were really mad at him for not asking them to help fight the Ammonite people group’s guys. Jephthah had asked the Ephraim tribal clan guys to help him but . . . now Jephthah was really upset with the Ephraim tribal clan guys. Jephthah and the guys who were with him captured the Jordon fords – the places where the Ephraim tribal clan guys could fairly easily cross the Jordon River from one side to the other, and they began to stop the guys who wanted to cross the Jordon River – to ask them to say Shibboleth. If the guy could only say Sibboleth instead of Shibboleth, it would mean that the guy was from the Ephraim tribal clan and . . . Jephthah was not going to put up with guys telling him something that was not true. How would you like to be remembered as the judge who killed 42,000 guys who could not say Shibboleth?
The Judges Book author wrote short accounts in this chapter on three other judges. One of the judges was from the Benjamin tribal clan. This judge’s name was Ibzon. Ibzon is remembered as the judge who from outside the Benjamin tribal clan found thirty wives for his thirty sons and who gave his thirty daughters as wives to thirty guys from outside the Benjamin tribal clan. Another judge was from the Zebulun tribal clan. This judge’s name was Elon. Other than leading Israelite people group’s guys and gals as a judge for ten years, nothing more is known about Elon. Another judge was from the Ephraim tribal clan. This judge’s name was Abdon. What Abdon is specially remembered by is that his forty sons and his thirty grandsons each rode a donkey. In what way do you think that you will be remembered when you get as old as your grandpaa? About six month after your grandpaa arrived in Bolivia with your grandmaa, dad and Aunt Lynn, a natural disaster took place when days of persistent, heavy rains carved open five deep ravines between the towns of Portón and Chochís. The only way to get to Portón and Chochís is by train. Your grandpaa got the opportunity to see what took place between Portón and Chochís when he traveled with two other South American Mission missionary guys to take used clothes, food and money to the Christ-follower guys and gals who lived in Portón and Chochís who had been affected in one way or another by the prolonged, heavy rains. During the three or so days that your grandpaa spent in the Portón and Chochís communities, your grandpaa and the two missionary guys with him – Todd Ecker and Brad Prillar, could not wash or shave because there was no water. When your grandpaa left on the train from Santa Cruz to Portón and then on to Chochís, your grandpaa did not have a mustache. When your grandpaa got back to Santa Cruz after having spent about a week in Portón and Chochís, your grandpaa had a mustache. When your grandpaa’s Bolivian friends saw your grandpaa with a mustache, your grandpaa’s Bolivian friends began calling your grandpaa Charlie Bronson. After your grandpaa grew a mustache, your grandpaa’s Bolivian friends said that your grandpaa looked like a guy who acted in movies. When you get as old as your grandmaa and grandpaa, do you want to be remembered as looking like a guy or gal or do you want to be remembered by what you do with your lives? Your grandmaa and grandpaa want to be always remembered for serving God and how God reflected His glory through the lives of your grandmaa and grandpaa.
Judges 12 (291)