Articles
A Gentle Answer
The book of Judges demonstrates a steady moral decline in Israel as they drift further from the Law that God provided them. In each situation, the people are acting worse, and are ruled over by the brutal nations around them. There is in also a visible decline in the people God chose to save them. Even though they are the “best” in the nation, each (major) judge is worse than the previous. One by one, God’s chosen “saviors” of the people become more brutal, and less godly. Thus, they represent a reflection of the people.
A good demonstration of this decline is how two different judges handled a potentially volatile situation. The difference in how they approached the matters can still provide lessons for us today.
The first account we can look at is when Gideon was faced with an army of angry Ephraimites in Judges 8:1-3. The context for the discussion is seen in the previous chapter. Gideon had just defeated the Midianites as God had promised him, and the two kings Oreb and Ze'eb had been killed by the tribe of Ephraim near the Jordan river. (Judges 7:19-25) Because of this, Ephraim was angry that they had not been summoned at the beginning of the battle, even though Gideon had only taken 300 men. When the tribe approached the judge, they were ready to quarrel. “What is this thing you have done to us, not calling us when you went to fight against Midian?” (Judges 8:1) This could gone one of two ways, but we see how Gideon responded. “What have I done now in comparison with you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer? God has given the leaders of Midian, Oreb and Ze’eb into your hands; and what was I able to do in comparison with you?” (Judges 8:2-3) Gideon answered wisely and the Ephraimites were pacified.
The later judge, Jephthah, was faced with an almost identical situation in Judges 12:1-6. He had defeated the army of the Ammonites with the support of the men of Gilead after giving the king of Ammon a history lesson. (Judges 11:12-33) The victory in this battle had been provided by God, and Jephthah, in return had sacrificed his daughter according to his vow. (Judges 11:34-40) Ephraim, again, was angry that they had not been summoned into battle, and spoke harshly. “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon without calling us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you.” (Judges 12:1) Jephthah responded by telling Ephraim the hard truth, but added a great deal of hostility. Not surprisingly, Ephraim and the Gileadites exchanged insults and engaged in a conflict that ultimately resulted in the death of 42,000 Ephraimites. Jephthah had seized the fords of the Jordan and killed all those of Ephraim they identified by their accent.
What an enduring lesson for us today. Wisdom recognizes that how we respond to others can either incite them to anger, or invite them to peace. “A gentle answer turns away wrath / But a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1) How will we choose to respond to hostility?
