Judges 10:1-11:33 Comments by Stephen Ricker
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Jephthah
Comments for Study 10

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Memory Verse: 10:1
Questions
Outline
A MAP OF THE DIVISION OF CANAAN
A MAP OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF ISRAEL
ISRAEL'S HISTORY
ISRAEL'S JUDGES

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I. Tola and Jair (10:1-5)

>1. Who was the next judge of Israel and how long did he reign? (1-2)

* Judges 10:1-2 "After the time of Abimelech a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, rose to save Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir."

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>Who followed him and for how long? (3)

* Judges 10:3 "He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years."

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>What was the one thing he was noted for? (4-5)

* Judges 10:4-5 "He had thirty sons, who rode thirty donkeys. They controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth Jair. When Jair died, he was buried in Kamon."

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>These two judges weren't noted for doing anything worthwhile; what will be God's summery of your life? (Matt. 6:1, 16:27, 13:43, 17:1-2; Dan. 12:3)

* Matthew 6:1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

* Matthew 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

* Matthew 13:43 "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

* Matthew 17:1-2 "After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light."

* Daniel 12:3 "Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."

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II. Forsaking Our God and Serving the Baals (10:6-18)

>2. What happened for the sixth time since Joshua died? (6a)

* Judges 10:6a "Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines."

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>Was the Lord response different than before? (6b-7)

* Judges 10:6b-7 "And because the Israelites forsook the LORD and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites,"

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>How might we today forsake the Lord? (John 14:23-24, James 1:22)

* John 14:23-24 "Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me."

* James 1:22 "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

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>3. Who was the first to be attacked by their enemies? (8)

* Judges 10:8 "who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites."

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>Who was next? (9)

* Judges 10:9 "The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and the house of Ephraim; and Israel was in great distress."

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>What can we learn about what happens to us if we forsake the Lord?

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>4. What did the Israelites finally admit was the source of their problem? (10)

* Judges 10:10 "Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals."

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>What was the Lord's response to their repentance? (11-14)

* Judges 10:11-14 "The LORD replied, "When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, 12 the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? 13 But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!"

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>5. What did the Israelites plead? (15)

* Judges 10:15 "But the Israelites said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now."

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>What did they finally do? (16)

* Judges 10:16 "Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the LORD. And he could bear Israel's misery no longer."

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>How is the Lord's long suffering love revealed? (Exodus 34:6-7; Psalm 86:15; Joel 2:12-14; Nahum 1:3)

* Exodus 34:6-7 "And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

* Psalm 86:15 "But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness."

* Joel 2:12-14 "'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing-- grain offerings and drink offerings for the LORD your God."

* Nahum 1:3 "The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet."

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>When no Israelite stepped up in faith to lead what reward was promised? (17-18)

* Judges 10:17-18 "When the Ammonites were called to arms and camped in Gilead, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah. The leaders of the people of Gilead said to each other, "Whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be the head of all those living in Gilead."

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III. The Spirit of the Lord Came Upon Jephthah (11:1-33)

>6. Who was Jephthah? (1)

* Judges 11:1 "Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute."

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>What did his legitimate brothers do? (2)

* Judges 11:2 "Gilead's wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman."

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>What did their greed force Jephthah to do? (3; Luke 15:31-32)

* Judges 11:3 "So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him."

* Luke 15:31-32 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

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>7. Why might the Israelites seek Jephthah's help? (4-6)

* Judges 11:4-6 "Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. "Come," they said, "be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites."

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>What did the elders of Gilead have to promise? (7-11)

* Judges 11:7-11 "Jephthah said to them, "Didn't you hate me and drive me from my father's house? Why do you come to me now, when you're in trouble?" 8 The elders of Gilead said to him, "Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead." 9 Jephthah answered, "Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me--will I really be your head?" 10 The elders of Gilead replied, "The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say." 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah."

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>Who did Jephthah repeat the words before and what does this say about him?

* "And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah."

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>8. What did the Ammonites claim as the reason for their attacks? (12-13)

* Judges 11:12-13 "Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: "What do you have against us that you have attacked our country?" The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah's messengers, "When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably."

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>What history lesson did Jephthah give them? (14-22)

* Judges 11:14-22 "Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15 saying: "This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the desert to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. 17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, 'Give us permission to go through your country,' but the king of Edom would not listen. They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed at Kadesh. 18 "Next they traveled through the desert, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was its border. 19 "Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, 'Let us pass through your country to our own place.' 20 Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 "Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel's hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, 22 capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan."

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>9. How did he logically propose the truth to them and who did he say would judge between them? (23-27)

* Judges 11:23-27 "Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess. 25 Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? 26 For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn't you retake them during that time? 27 I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites."

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>How did the king of Ammon respond to the truth? (28)

* Judges 11:28 "The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him."

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>Why do so many reject the truth even when it is made plain to them? (John 3:19-21, 16:7-11)

* John 3:19-21 "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

* John 16:7-11 "But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

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>10. When the Spirit came on Jephthah what did he do? (29-31)

* Judges 11:29-31 "Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering."

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>Who ensured deliverance? (32-33)

* Judges 11:32-33 "Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon."

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>What can we learn about how to fulfill the will of God in our lives?

* Colossians 1:25-27 "I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

* 2 Timothy 2:14-16 "Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly."

* 2 Peter 3:3-7 "First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."

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