Judges 14 
 
Once Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw a Philistine woman. Then he came up, and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a Philistine woman at Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.’ But his father and mother said to him, ‘Is there not a woman among your kin, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?’ But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me, because she pleases me.’  His father and mother did not know that this was from the Lord; for he was seeking a pretext to act against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.
 
Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. When he came to the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion roared at him. The spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as one might tear apart a kid. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson.  After a while he returned to marry her, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey.  He scraped it out into his hands, and went on, eating as he went. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion.
 
His father went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast there as the young men were accustomed to do. When the people saw him, they brought thirty companions to be with him. Samson said to them, ‘Let me now put a riddle to you. If you can explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments. But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty festal garments.’ So they said to him, ‘Ask your riddle; let us hear it.’ He said to them,
 
‘Out of the eater came something to eat.
Out of the strong came something sweet.’
 
But for three days they could not explain the riddle.
 
On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, ‘Coax your husband to explain the riddle to us, or we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us here to impoverish us?’ So Samson’s wife wept before him, saying, ‘You hate me; you do not really love me. You have asked a riddle of my people, but you have not explained it to me.’ He said to her, ‘Look, I have not told my father or my mother. Why should I tell you?’ She wept before him for the seven days that their feast lasted; and because she nagged him, on the seventh day he told her. Then she explained the riddle to her people. The men of the town said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down,
 
‘What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?’
 
And he said to them,
 
‘If you had not ploughed with my heifer,
you would not have found out my riddle.’
 
Then the spirit of the Lord rushed on him, and he went down to Ashkelon. He killed thirty men of the town, took their spoil, and gave the festal garments to those who had explained the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.
 
Reflection
 
We don’t get a flattering picture of Samson from this story!  He shows his parents scant honour (vv.2, 3, 6, 9).  His desire for a Philistine wife ends badly for her and all caught up in the festal marriage celebrations that are prematurely aborted.  He kills 30 men from a neighbouring Philistine town so that he can use their garments to fulfil the promise he made (vv.13,19).  He returns home an angry young man, all because the Philistines outwitted him by solving his riddle (vv.12-14).  He is presented as a self-centred trickster.
 
His visit to the vineyards of Timnah (v.5) and his return there, scraping honey from the lion’s carcass (vv.5-6), raise questions as to whether he is adhering strictly to the conditions of being a nazirite.  The ‘spirit of the Lord’ rushes on Samson twice (vv.6, 19); but solely to equip him with physical strength.  There is no sense of divine guidance being bestowed on Samson, nor any reference to God’s purposes being fulfilled, beyond the narrator’s comment that God was prompting Samson to adopt a pretext to act against the Philistines (v.4).
 
No-one interacts with God in this story.  It is a tale of hot-headed young men, partying and trying to outdo one another; of a young woman, threatened by her own people (v.15), using guile to persuade Samson to reveal the riddle’s answer and then being maligned and deserted by him (vv.18, 20).  
 
It’s a picture of a hedonistic, amoral, society; but it also makes me think about communities today where gang culture thrives, seemingly beyond the control of ordinary, decent, folk.  In such contexts relationships between parents/children often break down; and a lack of respect for others prevails.
 
Our challenge as God’s people, is to find ways to bring God into the forefront of communal life – not as the source of physical might, but as the Almighty who’s present among us as a loving, forgiving God, equipping us to share in the divine work of re-creating a just and peaceful world.
 
Prayer
 
God, most of us don’t know where to start 
when it comes to sharing the good news of Jesus 
in places where gang culture prevails, 
or drug misuse and knife crime 
cause family breakdown and increase community despair.
 
We pray that you will raise up and equip people 
to serve you in such contexts.  
Inspire us all to be faithful in prayer 
and practical support for them, 
as they strive to fulfil your mission of love 
and lead people to you.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Judges 13:2 – 25
 
The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years.
 
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.’ Then the woman came and told her husband, ‘A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name;  but he said to me, “You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.”’
 
Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, ‘O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.’ God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, ‘The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.’ Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, ‘Are you the man who spoke to this woman?’ And he said, ‘I am.’ Then Manoah said, ‘Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?’ The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.’
 
Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you.’  The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt-offering, then offer it to the Lord.’ (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, ‘What is your name, so that we may honour you when your words come true?’  But the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.’
 
So Manoah took the kid with the grain-offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders.  When the flame went up towards heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, for we have seen God.’ But his wife said to him, ‘If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt-offering and a grain-offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.’
 
The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him. The spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
 
Reflection
 
This story begins like a deliverer story in which the Philistines are the oppressors and ends with the birth of Samson, whose exploits fill chapters 14-16 but the main focus here is on his father, Manoah, and his unnamed mother, from the tribe of Dan.
 
Manoah is portrayed as a rather stupid man, who fails to recognise God’s presence in the ‘man’ who visits them; and demonstrates a lack of religious awareness throughout the story.  His wife, however, is presented in the tradition of Sarah (Genesis 18), as a barren wife to whom God appears to promise a son.  She immediately appreciates the divine nature of her visitor; but when she reports the encounter to her husband, she adds a reference to the death of their, as yet, unborn son (vv.5,7).  A nazirite vow (see Numbers 6:1-8) is usually entered into by the individual concerned as a temporary commitment.  Here it’s decreed by God to apply to Samson from birth; but the conditions about eating and drinking are also imposed on his mother.  The significance of nazirite status will unfold in the whole Samson narrative.
 
Manoah isn’t satisfied with his wife’s report and asks God to send the man again, to both of them; but the angelic figure appears again only to the woman.  She fetches her husband who asks the ‘man’ to repeat his instructions; but is effectively told ‘support your wife in responding faithfully – she knows what to do’.  Manoah tries again to take control of the situation and still doesn’t understand that it’s a divine encounter until the angel disappears in the flame on the altar (as in 6:21).
 
Even then it’s his wife who has to correct his understanding of what’s happened – she’s the one who displays religious insight at every point in the story; and she gently corrects her husband when he makes foolish statements.
 
At one level this story mocks patriarchy; but it challenges us all to be expectant that God might appear in unconventional ways.
 
Prayer
 
Amazing God, 
break through the conventions of church and society 
by which we live, especially when 
they prevent us from seeing or hearing you though others.  
 
Whenever we discern your guidance, 
help us to be gentle with those who are slower to grasp 
what you are saying or where you are leading us as your people today.  
 
Help us always to build one another up in faith, 
that together we might fulfil your purposes. Amen.

Judges 10:1-5 and 12:7-15 
 
After Abimelech, Tola son of Puah son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, who lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim, rose to deliver Israel.  He judged Israel for twenty-three years. Then he died, and was buried at Shamir. After him came Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel for twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; and they had thirty towns, which are in the land of Gilead, and are called Havvoth-jair to this day.  Jair died, and was buried in Kamon….Jephthah judged Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died, and was buried in his town in Gilead. After him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.  He had thirty sons. He gave his thirty daughters in marriage outside his clan and brought in thirty young women from outside for his sons. He judged Israel for seven years. Then Ibzan died, and was buried at Bethlehem. After him Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel; and he judged Israel for ten years. Then Elon the Zebulunite died, and was buried at Aijalon in the land of Zebulun. After him Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel.  He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys; he judged Israel for eight years.  Then Abdon son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried at Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
 
Reflection
 
Today we consider six brief accounts about individuals known as the ‘minor’ judges.  Jephthah’s inclusion (12:7) is surprising since we have just read an extensive narrative about him; whereas we are given minimal information about the others.  This is presented in a formulaic style, similar to the genealogical material in Genesis 5 and that in ancient king lists (e.g. 1 Kgs 14:31; 15:8, 24-25, 33-34; 16:25-28).
 
The accounts purport to be sequential but their geographical diversity suggests otherwise.  Tola, from Issachar, is linked with Shamir (perhaps = Samaria) in Ephraim.  Jair is from Gilead on the opposite side of the Jordan; likewise Jephthah.  Ibzan from Bethlehem in Judah; Elon from Zebulun in the Galilee region; and finally Abdon from Pirathon, in mid Ephraim where Amalekites also resided.
 
These men are portrayed as clan chieftains exercising leadership in local areas; but reference to God is absent from these stories.  No oppression or enemy from whom Israel needs deliverance is mentioned.  The only event of interest that is recorded is intermarriage between clans arranged by Ibzan  Status is measured in terms of the number of offspring and donkeys each judge possessed, or in Jair’s case towns he controlled, with thirty and forty being symbolic numbers; and the length of their rule ranges from 23 years down to 6.  They all appear to have died peacefully in their home town.
 
In the book of Judges these stories function as brief interludes of calm between the downward spiral of deliverer stories which depict a less and less godly society and increasing discord between tribes and nations.
 
Periods of calm are always welcome after times of conflict or chaos in life; but unless we use them in constructive ways, as opportunities to draw closer to God, to seek God’s guidance about the steps to take into the future, then history may consign them to a few insignificant words on a page, like these stories of the minor judges.
 
Prayer
 
Eternal God, conflict and chaos 
are daily realities for many around the globe; 
but we thank you that we live 
in relatively calm times in this land.
 
We thank you for leaders in local communities 
and pray that they may be open 
to your Spirit’s guidance in all they seek to accomplish.
 
Help us to keep Christ at the centre of our living 
and use this age to make a significant difference 
for good to bring nearer your kingdom.  Amen 

Judges 12:1-6 
 
The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, ‘Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down over you!’ Jephthah said to them, ‘My people and I were engaged in conflict with the Ammonites who oppressed us severely. But when I called you, you did not deliver me from their hand.  When I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life in my hand, and crossed over against the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day, to fight against me?’  Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because they said, ‘You are fugitives from Ephraim, you Gileadites—in the heart of Ephraim and Manasseh.’  Then the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. Whenever one of the fugitives of Ephraim said, ‘Let me go over’, the men of Gilead would say to him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ When he said, ‘No’,  they said to him, ‘Then say Shibboleth’, and he said, ‘Sibboleth’, for he could not pronounce it right. Then they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites fell at that time.
 
Reflection
 
The story of Jephthah ends in another conflict, without mention of the land having rest.  The Ephraimites are angry that Jephthah didn’t invite them to join his fight against the Ammonites; he accuses them of failing to assist when asked to help.  Out of nowhere a difference of opinion about who said or did what has escalated out of proportion and sub-tribes become separate factions.
 
Nowadays ‘the king’s English’ or ‘received pronunciation’ has less significance for job-seekers, or would-be media broadcasters, than previously; but the way a person speaks still says a great deal about them.  In a light-hearted sense, how someone says ‘bath’ might lead to comments about ‘northerners’, or being from the ‘home counties’; but someone with a speech impediment can still be subject to cruel taunts in some quarters.
 
No matter how open and accepting we are of different dialects, accents, ways of speaking, speech remains an indicator about a person’s origins, and the environmental influences they’ve absorbed through life.
 
This was equally true among tribal groups in the ancient past.  The difference between Shibboleth and Sibboleth depends on the opening letter (in Hebrew shin or samek) but it means ‘a flowing stream’ in both variants.  We are familiar with variant spellings in American English (e.g. -ize instead of -ise) where the sound is the same; but we also know that many non-native English speakers struggle to pronounce ‘th’ and confuse ‘v’ and ‘w’ sounds.  Evidently the Ephraimites pronounced some words in a distinctive way to those from Gilead; and the linguistic test of those wanting to cross over the ford, led to their mass slaughter!
 
The whole story of Jephthah is intended to show us what can happen when society loses sight of God; when civil structures break down; when leaders become self-serving; when the richness of human diversity becomes something to be feared and eradicated.  Sadly, even today, this kind of story might be reported at a national or local level – will we ever learn?
 
Prayer
 
Holy God, 
we know that your love is all-inclusive, 
reaching out to invite humanity 
into fellowship with you and with one another.
 
Yet our world is too eager to focus 
on differences between people; 
and too ready to create divisions in society 
leading to fear and hatred.  
We acknowledge that political leaders 
often stoke these negative feelings.  
Forgive us all for our complicity in the brokenness of society.
 
Inspire us as Church to witness 
to a loving, all-embracing, way of living 
that offers real hope to the world.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 ​Judges 11:29-40

Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, ‘If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt-offering.’  So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighbourhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her.  When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, ‘Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.’  She said to him, ‘My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.’  And she said to her father, ‘Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.’  ‘Go,’ he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains.  At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that  for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Reflection

Here we find Jephthah opening his mouth again.  This time, not as a peacemaker but to make a rash vow.  He’s been equipped with the divine spirit; but showing a lack of faith he bargains with God about the coming conflict with the Ammonites, as if the outcome is in doubt.  He promises to sacrifice as a burnt offering to God whomever comes out to greet him if he returns as victor.

The story subsequently reveals that his daughter was his only child.  Given the Old Testament tradition that women led victory celebrations with singing and dancing (e.g. Miriam, Exod.15:20-21, Deborah, Judg.5:1), the first person to come out of his house would most probably be his daughter!

When she welcomes him home, he immediately blames her for causing him trouble because of what he has vowed. She confronts him with the consequences of making a vow to God – it cannot be retracted – and submits, effectively offering herself in self-sacrifice.  It is worth noting that unlike Isaac, Jacob’s son, (Genesis 22) she isn’t redeemed with a ram – she goes faithfully to death (v.39), as did God’s son, Jesus.

This abhorrent story reminds us that there was a time when human sacrifice was practised (2 Kings 21:6; 23:10).  

Verses 35 and 36 emphasise ‘opening one’s mouth’.  Do we ever make promises rashly without thinking through what the consequences might be, or who might have to bear the weight of them?  Do we ever try to wriggle out of responsibility, when we realise the negative consequences, by transferring the blame for a situation onto someone else?  Do we ever make vows (promises) lightly, without thinking whether we will be able to keep them?

Jephthah opened his mouth once too often when he took the Lord’s name in vain; and in so doing brought his blood line to an end.

This is a cautionary tale.  We should think carefully before making promises, whether in God’s name or not; and then we should keep them.

Prayer

Gracious God,
forgive me when I speak without thinking and end up saying hurtful things I regret.  
Forgive me when I fail to keep my word and let someone down.
Forgive me if I ever take your name in vain.
 
Renew me by your Spirit that I may open my mouth to proclaim your good news;
to express words of comfort and hope;
to further your purposes of justice and peace; in Jesus’ name, Amen

Introduction
 
Hello, my name is Nicola Furley-Smith and I am the Deputy General Secretary for Ministries.  Our service today comes from Purley United Reformed Church.
 
Call to Worship
 
Come and worship the living God, whose goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.  Come and worship the living God who gathers us to his side, as a shepherd gently gathers in the flock. In the name of Jesus: come and worship, for all are welcome here!
 
Hymn       The King of Love, my Shepherd Is
Henry Williams Baker (1821-1877) Public Domain sung by the 7pm Choir of St. Francis de Sales Church in Ajax, Ontario, Canada and used with their kind permission
 

The King of love my shepherd is,
whose goodness fails me never;
I nothing lack if I am His
and He is mine for ever.
 
2 Where streams of 
living water flow
to rest my soul He leads me,
and where the 
verdant pastures grow
with heavenly food He feeds me.
 
3 Perverse and foolish 
I have strayed,
and yet, in love, He sought me,
and on His shoulder gently laid,
and home, rejoicing, brought me.
 
4 In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
with You, dear Lord, beside me;
Your rod and staff my comfort still,
Your cross before to guide me.
 
5 You spread a table in my sight;
Your saving grace bestowing;
and O what joy 
and true delight
from Your pure chalice flowing!
 
6 And so through all 
my length of days
Your goodness fails me never:
Good Shepherd, may 
I sing your praise
within Your house for ever.
 

I will sing the wondrous story
of the Christ who died for me.
How he left the realms of glory
for the Cross on Calvary:
 
Yes, I’ll sing the wondrous story
of the Christ who died for me,
sing it with his saints in glory,
gathered by the crystal sea.
 
2 I was lost; but Jesus found me,
found the sheep that went astray,
raised me up, and gently led me
back into the narrow way:
 
3 He will keep me till the river
rolls its waters at my feet;
then he’ll bear me safely over,
where the loved ones I shall meet:

Blessing
 
Go now in the peace of the Shepherd:
gathered in his love, guided by his voice, guarded by his grace.
May Christ, the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls,
lead you into abundant life, and may the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son and Holy Spirit
be amongst us and remain with us
this day and for evermore. Amen.

​Judges 11:1-28 

Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead was the father of Jephthah.  Gilead’s wife also bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, ‘You shall not inherit anything in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.’  Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws collected around Jephthah and went raiding with him. After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. They said to Jephthah, ‘Come and be our commander, so that we may fight with the Ammonites.’  But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father’s house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?’  The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘Nevertheless, we have now turned back to you, so that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites, and become head over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’  Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘If you bring me home again to fight with the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.’ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, ‘The Lord will be witness between us; we will surely do as you say.’ So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah. Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, ‘What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?’ The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, ‘Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.’ Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites  and said to him: ‘Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea[a] and came to Kadesh.  Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, “Let us pass through your land”; but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh. Then they journeyed through the wilderness, went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, arrived on the eastern side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, “Let us pass through your land to our country.” But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. They occupied all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.  So now the Lord, the God of Israel, has conquered the Amorites for the benefit of his people Israel. Do you intend to take their place? Should you not possess what your god Chemosh gives you to possess? And should we not be the ones to possess everything that the Lord our God has conquered for our benefit? Now are you any better than King Balak son of Zippor of Moab? Did he ever enter into conflict with Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the towns that are along the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? It is not I who have sinned against you, but you are the one who does me wrong by making war on me. Let the Lord, who is judge, decide today for the Israelites or for the Ammonites.’ But the king of the Ammonites did not heed the message that Jephthah sent him.

Reflection

Jephthah’s name derives from the verb ‘he opens’ and in today’s and Monday’s reflections we discover its significance in two different ways. His parentage is presented as being somewhat obscure – ‘Gilead’ implies someone from the town, rather than an identifiable individual; and he is rejected by the townsfolk, becoming an outlaw with a reputation as a warrior.

When the Ammonites attack, the Israelites ask Jephthah to return and lead their troops.  He rightly points out that they’re the ones who drove him out!  They respond by indicating that now they need him; and offer to make him head over the whole community, if he’ll do it.

Jephthah is the one who brings God into the conversation, saying he’ll accept their offer if God gives him victory over the Ammonites.  The Gileadites don’t wait for this outcome – they make him head straightaway.

In verses 12-28 we encounter Jephthah trying a diplomatic approach to resolving the conflict – the ‘warrior’ doesn’t immediately go to war.  He asks the Ammonite king what the problem is; and on hearing his position, Jephthah responds with a lengthy explanation of how the situation appears from Israel’s perspective.  He refers to Chemosh (the Ammonite god) and Israel’s God as both acting on behalf of their respective people during the area’s past history.  He suggests that God be asked to resolve the dispute between the two peoples now; but the Ammonite king rejects Jephthah’s attempt to make peace through dialogue and negotiation.

In this passage Jephthah opens his mouth as a peacemaker.  He’s presented as a faithful man of God who is prepared to speak about God to his own society and a foreign king.  He knows what God has done in the past and is ready to tell the story; and he’s also respectful of the Ammonite’s own faith traditions.

In this passage of text Jephthah is a reminder that we should be wary of prejudging any whom our society rejects; and he sets us a good example.

Prayer

God of all, we know you are impartial 
and that you call individuals 
from every section of society to fulfil your purposes.

Forgive us when we underestimate 
the insights and abilities of those 
whom our world pushes to the sidelines as ‘unacceptable’.  
Help us to listen to their wisdom and faith, 
born out of experience of your love.

Give us the confidence to speak more openly of you 
in all our conversations and inspire us to be peacemakers.  
In the name of Christ, Amen.

​Judges 10: 6-18   

The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, worshipping the Baals and the Astartes, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. Thus they abandoned the Lord, and did not worship him. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,  and they crushed and oppressed the Israelites that year. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites that were beyond the Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.  The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was greatly distressed. So the Israelites cried to the Lord, saying, ‘We have sinned against you, because we have abandoned our God and have worshipped the Baals.’ And the Lord said to the Israelites, ‘Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites, from the Ammonites and from the Philistines?  The Sidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you; and you cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.  Yet you have abandoned me and worshipped other gods; therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry to the gods whom you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress.’  And the Israelites said to the Lord, ‘We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you; but deliver us this day!’  So they put away the foreign gods from among them and worshipped the Lord; and he could no longer bear to see Israel suffer. Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead; and the Israelites came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. The commanders of the people of Gilead said to one another, ‘Who will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’

Reflection

This passage begins like a standard deliverer story but it serves as an introduction (v.7) to both the story of Jephthah and the Ammonites (10:8-12:6); and the stories of Samson and the Philistines (14:1-16:31).   Ammon, lying east of the Jordan alongside the tribal region of Gad, is oppressing Gilead one of the Israelite towns.

When Israel repents of their apostasy and cries out to God (v.10), God effectively responds ‘Enough is enough! Go and ask the gods you’ve been serving to deliver you from your oppressors.’  However, God’s compassion overrules divine anger when the people submit to God’s will, whether that results in deliverance or judgment; and seem sincere in their repentance.

The Ammonites gather and besiege Gilead.  The Israelites gather at the neighbouring town of Mizpah.  Will there be a stand-off?  It is sad to read that it’s God’s people in Gilead who make the decision to initiate a battle – but who should lead them?  It is also sad to read the presumption that such a military commander should also be regarded as the supreme leader over the whole community.

The third sad point to note is that no-one thinks it necessary to involve God in their planning, their decision making, their discernment of someone with skills to lead.  No-one suggests turning to God in prayer or worship.  They may have turned away from other gods; but there is little evidence that they have actually turned to the true God, for guidance, for deliverance, or for anything at all.

It’s easy to be critical of God’s people of old, to claim that because we have learned from Jesus and have the Holy Spirit to guide us, we wouldn’t make the mistakes they did – time and again.  But I fear that we’re self-delusional and may be just as guilty of pushing God to the side-lines and only paying lip service to God in some of our worship in times of stress.

Honest self-examination is just as necessary after Easter as during Lent!  

Prayer

Compassionate God, 
thank you for never giving up on us.  
Give us the honesty to recognise ourselves 
in the ancient stories of scripture; 
and save us from our headstrong tendencies.

Forgive us when we project our ideas 
of how to respond to oppression 
onto you and depict you as violent.

Remind us of your way of suffering love
that leads through the cross to victory over sin and evil 
and to life for the world.  
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reading  ​Judges 9:1-7, 16-21, 50-57

Now Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s kinsfolk and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,  ‘Say in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem, “Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?” Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.’  So his mother’s kinsfolk spoke all these words on his behalf in the hearing of all the lords of Shechem; and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, ‘He is our brother.’  They gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the temple of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him.  He went to his father’s house at Ophrah, and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone; but Jotham, the youngest son of Jerubbaal, survived, for he hid himself. Then all the lords of Shechem and all Beth-millo came together, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem. When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim, and cried aloud and said to them, ‘Listen to me, you lords of Shechem, so that God may listen to you…‘Now therefore, if you acted in good faith and honour when you made Abimelech king, and if you have dealt well with Jerubbaal and his house, and have done to him as his actions deserved —  for my father fought for you, and risked his life, and rescued you from the hand of Midian;  but you have risen up against my father’s house this day, and have killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and have made Abimelech, the son of his slave-woman, king over the lords of Shechem, because he is your kinsman —  if, I say, you have acted in good faith and honour towards Jerubbaal and towards his house this day, then rejoice in Abimelech, and let him also rejoice in you;  but if not, let fire come out from Abimelech, and devour the lords of Shechem, and Beth-millo; and let fire come out from the lords of Shechem, and from Beth-millo, and devour Abimelech.’  Then Jotham ran away and fled, going to Beer, where he remained for fear of his brother Abimelech…Then Abimelech went to Thebez, and encamped against Thebez, and took it. But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the lords of the city fled to it and shut themselves in; and they went to the roof of the tower.  Abimelech came to the tower, and fought against it, and came near to the entrance of the tower to burn it with fire.  But a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech’s head, and crushed his skull.  Immediately he called to the young man who carried his armour and said to him, ‘Draw your sword and kill me, so people will not say about me, “A woman killed him.”’ So the young man thrust him through, and he died.  When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they all went home.  Thus God repaid Abimelech for the crime he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers; and God also made all the wickedness of the people of Shechem fall back on their heads, and on them came the curse of Jotham son of Jerubbaal.

Reflection

Abimelech is one of the seventy (or more) sons of Gideon/Jerubbaal (8:31) but he is also identified with the people of Shechem who worship Baal and not the God of Israel.  His massacre of his brothers in a desire to claim ‘kingship’ in succession to his father, results in him being elevated as leader over what might be called a petty Canaanite City State.  

However, one Israelite brother, Jotham, survived and he speaks out against the leaders of Shechem, questioning the wisdom of their support for Abimelech.  He then flees in fear for his own safety.  The seeds of discord are sown and the omitted section of text states that God furthered the breakdown in relationships in Shechem.  The ensuing treachery and rivalry is better understood as the consequences of human dissatisfaction and suspicion; but the end result is more conflict, death and destruction.

Abimelech’s actions are all about self-preservation and he shows no regard for people or property as he fights for survival.

The final verses illustrate his final rampage against Thebez and record how he got his come-uppance. He approaches the tower, intending to burn it down; but a resourceful, unnamed, woman throws down a mill-stone from its ramparts that lands on Abimelech’s head.  The text suggests that with his final breath, to avoid a dishonourable death, Abimelech asks a servant to kill him with a sword (although his death is attributed to the woman in 2 Samuel 11:6).

Abimelech wasn’t raised up by God, he didn’t deliver Israel and his failed attempt to take control of God’s people has to be seen as a relatively short-lived period of upheaval; after which the Israelites return home while Shechem learned the error of their ways.

What happened to Jotham we are never told.  He is the unsung hero in the story, for he had the courage to speak truth to power and then patience to wait, trusting that ultimately God’s will would prevail.

Prayer

Transcendent God, 
remind us that we don’t always have to be centre stage as your people 
but give us the courage to be outspoken truthtellers against the powers of evil.

Grant us patience if your presence and activity are hard to discern 
while human power struggles lead people away from trust in you.

Work your miracles of grace by your Spirit 
and reveal yourself anew through the body of Christ 
as you transform this world into your kingdom.  Amen.

Judges 8:22-35

Then the Israelites said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also; for you have delivered us out of the hand of Midian.’  Gideon said to them, ‘I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.’  Then Gideon said to them, ‘Let me make a request of you; each of you give me an ear-ring he has taken as booty.’ (For the enemy had golden ear-rings, because they were Ishmaelites.)  ‘We will willingly give them,’ they answered. So they spread a garment, and each threw into it an ear-ring he had taken as booty.  The weight of the golden ear-rings that he requested was one thousand seven hundred shekels of gold (apart from the crescents and the pendants and the purple garments worn by the kings of Midian, and the collars that were on the necks of their camels). Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his town, in Ophrah; and all Israel prostituted themselves to it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.  So Midian was subdued before the Israelites, and they lifted up their heads no more. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon. Jerubbaal son of Joash went to live in his own house.  Now Gideon had seventy sons, his own offspring, for he had many wives.  His concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.  Then Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age, and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. As soon as Gideon died, the Israelites relapsed and prostituted themselves with the Baals, making Baal-berith their god.  The Israelites did not remember the Lord their God, who had rescued them from the hand of all their enemies on every side; and they did not exhibit loyalty to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel.

Reflection

Verse 28 concludes the deliverer story that began in 6:1 and the passage has a double ending referring initially to Jerubbaal (vv.29, 35), then the family of Gideon and his death (vv 30-31).  Abimelech (meaning ‘my father is king’) is introduced and he features in chapter 9, as the downward spiral of doing evil and forgetting God begins again.

But verses 22-27 tell a distinctive story.  Following Gideon’s victory over the Midianites, God’s people suggest that he rule over them, becoming their first dynastic king.  Gideon piously declines saying that God is King over Israel; monarchy is not God’s will for them.  (The stories of Saul and David in 1 & 2 Samuel relate the origins of Israel’s monarchy.)

Gideon then asks everyone to give him some of the booty they’d seized from the enemy; and an amazing collection of gold and precious items is amassed.  Gideon uses it to create an ephod, which originally was a highly decorated priestly vestment (Exodus 28) worn by Aaron to symbolize holiness.  However here it is evident that it’s set up in Gideon’s home town as some kind of idol and the people begin worshipping it (representing wealth, power, status?) instead of focusing on God.

We are back where this story started with a people totally muddled about who is God; about how God calls us to live and to worship in a faithful covenant relationship; and with Gideon unable to exercise godly leadership in his community.  He too has been snared by success into believing that everything revolves around him and material gains.

It’s tempting, as Christians, to dismiss stories like this because Jesus has come and made all things new.  They still speak to us, however, as cautionary tales about how we organise ourselves as God’s people, identify our leaders and express our expectations of them; showing how easy it is to lose focus on God when in the midst of difficulties and competing ideologies all around.

Prayer

Holy God, 
forgive me when I say the right words and mean the right things;
but then fail to follow through with the right behaviour.  

Forgive me when the adulation of others 
leads me to forget that victory is never mine, 
because success and glory belong only to you.

Sustain me by your Spirit 
that I may fulfil my role within the body of Christ faithfully, 
today and every day.  Amen.