Gooding, David: 10 - Leading God's Nation

We must now push on and try to get this section on Abimelech finished, and ourselves moving on to the next deliverer. So now we come to what is called Jotham's fable. This This is is chapter eight nine and verse six and seven onwards. Let's just notice, before we pass on, what we mean in literature by a fable. Sometimes Christians will say, uh, in response to unbelievers or modernists, there are no fables in the Bible. And what they're talking about is that the Bible is true, and that the historical events that the Bible records are to be regarded as historical events. They are not fables. But, uh, uh, and that is a good thing. But let us notice now there is at least one fable in the Bible, and this is it. Technically speaking, a fable is not false. It's not untrue. That is, the message that it is conveying is not false, is true. In fables, of course, things happen that don't happen in normal life. In this one, trees talk, you'll see, in others, animals talk. But that's the nature of a fable, and that's how you recognize it is a fable. And everybody knew it was a fable when Jotham spoke it. It's more like a parable. But whereas in parables, what goes on is true to ordinary life, even though the parable has a deeper meaning. So a f- a sower went forth to sow. It's a parable, of course, in the mouth of our Lord, and the seed is the word of God or the word of the kingdom, and so forth and so on. But even in ordinary life, farmers do sow seed, and there are such things as harvests. This is a parable, therefore. But in a fable, things happen that don't happen in ordinary life, as here, trees talk, but everybody knows that trees don't talk. But then Jotham is using this to make a very, uh, important truth, to convey an important truth. So it is a fable. It conveys truth. And in it was a protest, of course, against the seizure of power by Abimelech. And an exposure of the wickedness of Abimelech. So these trees, verse eight, went forth on a time to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness wherewith by me they honor God and men, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? You'll notice the sarcasm. The olive o- olive tree is very good at sarcasm. Be king? Why would I want to be king? Look at my ministry that God has given me of an olive tree to produce oil, wherewith people honor God and everybody else and feed them and make their faces to shine and all this. That's the valuable thing. Why do I want to go? Notice how he describes a ruling waving over the trees. What's the uses of waving over the trees? Even if it's a scepter you're waving, what good does that do? And we're coming now to Jotham's point. What is the point of being king? What is the function of being a king? You'll see. And similarly, the fig tree. The verse ten, the fig, the trees said to the fig tree, come thou and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, should I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go to wave to and fro over the trees? And similarly, the vine. The tree said unto the vine, Come thou and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine where, which cheereth God and man, and go to wave to and fro over the trees? Protests from three kinds of trees. They saw very clearly what was the better function. To feed, to comfort, to enjoy, to promote the joy of God and man. Just exercising power in itself, what use Is is it? it? We need to get hold of it, gentlemen. You'll see, and in our youth, well, in your youth, not mine, but in our youth, uh, you'll see, to get our values straight. The more important thing is not to have power and rule over people. Still less is it to be in power and decide whether we shall have electrical heating or gas heating. The real thing is, can you contribute? Your oil and figs and wine. Can you feed God's people? Gentlemen, if all of you were elders tomorrow, some of you already are, but if you were elders tomorrow, could you feed God's people? And keep up the supply? This is a thing to be faced, isn't it? And there's a sense in which, if you're not elders, thank God for it, that you don't have the responsibilities and can use these next ten years, God willing, by your own feeding on scripture, knowledge of scripture, knowledge of God in life, to be able, when you come later on, to be elders or preachers or pastors or whatever, to feed God's people. It's good to have one or two sermons under one's belt, I suppose. That won't last very long, gentlemen. There are uh sixty six books in the Bible. The need, therefore, to get this proportion, there's something vastly more important than ruling over, and that is feeding, nourishing, promoting the joy of our fellow believers. And it's a sorry old world, and people need that kind of feeding and support and comfort and joy. But then the trees, uh, verse fourteen, came unto the bramble, come thou and reign over us. And the bramble said unto them, if in truth you anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow, and if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon. He was some fabled talker, was this chap, just that, you know. Do notice the sarcasm of it. Do you see this bramble? They've got to bow down to him. And why should they bow down? Because he feeds them? No, got nothing to offer them. They bow down because if they don't, fire will come out and destroy them. And look at the thing, fire shall come out of the bramble, the twisty old weak terry thing with all its thorns insinuating itself all over the place. Destroyed the cedars of Lebanon. What those beautiful, stately, glorious trees, magnificent trees compared with a old bramble. Ah, but the bramble isn't content until it's, um, rules everything. Cedars of Lebanon as well. The concept of rule, and of course it's easy to see that the bramble in the, in the fable is a picture of what Abimelech was and would do, with all the destruction he meted out on on his people, and particularly on those that didn't bow down to him. So let's just remind ourselves, uh, of uh, uh, uh, the New Testament on these matters. Mark ten. Mark ten verse thirty five. And They come near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying unto him, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? And they said, Give us, grant us, give us, that we may sit one on thy right hand and one on thy left hand in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We are able. Jesus said unto them, The cup that I drink you shall drink, and with the baptism that I am baptized with all shall you be baptized. But to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for them for whom it has been prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John. And Jesus called them to him and saith to them, you know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it is not so among you. But whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister, your servant, and whosoever would be first among you shall be servant of all. For verily, the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom for many. It is not wrong, presumably, to have ambitions in spiritual life. Paul uses the words in two Corinthians five, wherefore we are ambitious that whether in the body or absent we might be pleasing to the Lord. To be ambitious to please the Lord, to have it as an ambition in life, that surely is very good. But when we have ambitions in the spiritual realm, we need from time to time to check our motives, don't we? Here come these sons of Zebedee with their request, we want you to do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee. When our Lord asked what was it that they were asking, grant us to sit one on thy right hand and one on thy left hand in thy glory. That is, when he comes in his glory as king over the world, over the universe, grant us the second and third places beside you, on your right hand and on your left. It's not wrong, surely, to we want to reign with Christ. We are promised if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him. Not wrong to reign. But the question is, um, uh, you'll see, the place that we seek. We want to be the chief boys under Christ, second and third in the kingdom, therefore. Our Lord's first reply is, are you prepared for the cost? Can you drink of the cup that I drink of, or be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with? Are you prepared for the cost in suffering? It is written if we suffer with him, we shall be glorified together. It's not what I know necessarily, it's what I'm prepared to suffer for Christ. They replied, being stout-hearted men, we don't care what it costs. We're prepared to suffer anything to be granted the second and third positions in the kingdom. And of course, from my sense of point of view, their calculation was good, wasn't it? As was it, uh, uh, uh, uh, one of the missionaries said, I would be no fool to sacrifice what I can't keep to get what I cannot lose. They said, we're able. And our Lord said, well, you will suffer that then. But, in the first place, to sit on my right hand or on my left hand is not mine to give. It is for them for whom it has been prepared. Here is the balance of scripture when it comes to the matter of rewards. We shall be rewarded for every suffering. But the decision as to what place we occupy, that God reserves to his own decision. But then, you see, there's a second point. Suppose you were given the second and third position in the kingdom, and you reign. What would it mean to reign? What does it mean to be first in the kingdom and to be second? Okay to look for the reward, but would you want the reward when you got it? Now our Lord gives us the secret, uh, and what it means to reign. You'll see the Son of Man is going to be first. No one will occupy that position but except he himself. He'll be the first. How is he qualified to be the first? What does it mean to be first? The Son of Man, he says, came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. He shall be first because he serves the most, the most people, and the greatest task. That's what it means to be first. Mm-hmm. And Mark, I can't resist telling you, gentlemen, that leads us astray, I know, but Mark, with his accustomed literary skill that's given to him, follows the story of the two brothers with the story of Bartimaeus. Yes? I expect you've noticed it. Story of the two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Other gospels tell us it was their mama who came and asked. Some ma- mammas are very ambitious for their sons, but Mark, uh, leaves out all talk about the mama and points out that it was the two sons of Zebedee. And in the next story he says, do you see, verse forty six, the son of Timaeus, Bar Timaeus. Bar Timaeus is Aramaic, but Mark is concerned that you should see the connection of thought, and so he translates the Aramaic for you. Do you see the son of Timaeus? Bar Timaeus in, in Aramaic, but in English, son of Timaeus. Contrast the son of Timaeus with the sons of Zebedee, if you will. And they came to our Lord, did the sons of Zebedee, saying, Master, we would that you should do for us whatever we ask of you. Do you see? Give us. T- Timaeus stood by the roadside. He began to cry out, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on him. And many people rebuked him that he should hold his peace, but he cried out the more a great deal, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still and said, call him. And they called the blind man, and he, verse fifty, casting away his garment, sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered him and said, what wilt thou that I should do unto thee? You notice the comparison with the sons of Zebedee? They came saying, we want you to do whatever we ask. He says, uh, what is it you're asking for, gentlemen? This man came. It's for what is it you want me to do, said our Lord to Bartimaeus. Yeah. Give us, say the sons of Zebedee. Give us. The Greek, grant us, give us to sit. And our Lord replied, it is not mine to give. Give us. They were following Jesus in the way, do you see? And they came to Christ and asked if they might sit down. Didn't they? Grant us to sit. They were following, but they weren't looking forward to the time when they could sit down, you see. Now Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside. He was a beggar, had been crying out, give us, give us, give me, give me, give me all his life over many years. He came to Christ and got his request. What would you want me to do? That I might receive my sight, you see, says he. And the Lord gave him his sight with the result that he gave up sitting by the roadside crying, give me, and followed him, Jesus, in the way. Interesting because Bartimaeus began by crying out to our Lord, thou son of David, that's the title of our Lord as king. When he asked for his sight, I wonder what he thought he was going to see. Somebody crowned with a jeweled crown and robes. What he saw was the Son of Man, travel stained, on his way to a cross. And with his eyes open, he'd done with begging, of course, and sitting, he followed him on his way to where? Yes, you see the contrast, gentlemen. What does it mean to be first or second or third, for that matter? Luke twenty two tells us an astonishing thing, at least it would be astonishing if we didn't know human nature. Luke twenty two verse twenty four. In the upper room, in sight of the emblems of bread and wine on the table, within an hour or two of Gethsemane, within a few hours of Calvary itself, there arose a contention among them, which of them is the greatest, or counted to be the greatest? La la. And our Lord had to point out once more the difference between Gentile concept of rule and Christ's own concept of rule. The kings of the Gentiles lord over them, and they that have authority over them are called benefactors. They were, of course. The Greek term eurgates applied to the Ptolemies and to the Seleucids from time to time, eurgates means benefactor. And I suppose these kings did grant them some benefits, at least peace sometimes and safety, and all of us should be grateful for government, however poor. Better a poor government than no government, gentlemen. Government is necessary amongst men. Government is necessary in the church, isn't it? But now look at the difference of spirit. The Gentile thinks in terms of power and wielding power and amassing titles and so forth. But so it shall not be among you, that he is a greater among you, let him become as the younger, and he that is chief as he that deserve. For whether is greater he that sitteth at meat or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat, but I am in your midst of you as he that serves. I say, you would be embarrassed, wouldn't you, if tonight you sat down at your dinner and a servant came in with your meal to put it on the table for you and ask you, was it all right? And was it to your liking? And would you like anything else? And a bit more gravy and some more veggies? And you had another look, and it was the Lord himself. What, what would you do? Would you turn around and say, I can't have you serving me like that, Lord? Wouldn't you? You wouldn't get him to stop serving you. That's his concept of rule. He says, uh, uh, you see, but you are they which have continued with me in my t- trials, and I appoint unto you a kingdom, even as my Father appointed you, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you shall sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Notice our Lord's expression of what it means to rule. Let's look at one Peter chapter five, shall we? m One Peter chapter five. The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow elder and a witness at the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. You will notice the delicacy of Peter's phraseology, won't you? A witness of the sufferings, a partaker of the glory. He doesn't say, I who was a partaker of his sufferings. You'll notice that, won't you? Because Peter never could forget himself, and his fellow believers knew that he had denied the Lord thrice because he was afraid of suffering. Eventually, he had it from the Lord that in the end, yes, God would give him the courage and he would die a martyr's death. But he won't boast about his sufferings, not Peter. But notice that remark about himself as he, uh, uh, exhorts the elders. The implication is that they should be like him. Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight not of constraint, but willingly, according unto God, nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves in examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall be manifested, you shall receive the crown of glory that fades not away. Likewise, you younger be subject to the elder. Yea, all of you gird yourselves with humility to serve one another, for God resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the humble. Gird yourself means to gird yourself with an apron, so to speak. A striking metaphor, gird yourself with humility to serve both elders and youngers. And as you read it, you can't forget what happened in the upper room. When Peter saw the Lord rise from table, divest himself of his garments, and gird himself with a towel, and kneel at his apostles' feet and wa- uh, uh, and wash them. And Peter did his best to protest, Lord, you should never wash my feet. The Lord carried on. Making the apostles feel that they were important. And he, their humble servant. Because he did regard them as important anyway. This wasn't an outward show like some politician kissing babies to get to their mothers' hearts. It was an expression of our Lord's permanent attitude to serve. And they were important in his eyes, and so important that he would serve them humbly in a menial task. We're a long way from Abimelech, gentlemen, a long, long way. This is God's, this is Christ's concept of what it means to rule. He is, after all, the shepherd king. So that when we read of him saying, I am the good shepherd, and we think of Psalm twenty three, the Lord is my shepherd, we should remember that the man who wrote Psalm twenty three was a king. This is David the king writing it. The Lord is my shepherd. And that enshrines the concept in Israel of a true king. He would be a shepherd king. And when Peter was reinstated, the terms of his reinstatement was that he should both shepherd and feed the sheep. My sheep, says Christ. It's the king who speaks. Now let's look further down, Josie, to verse twenty two. And this will tell us of an attempt to get rid of the tyranny of Abimelech. But it was no use. Not only ineffective, but it led to far more trouble for the people than they were in before. Let's read it. Verse twenty two: and Abimelech was prince over Israel three years, and God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem, and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech. This is said to be God's own intervention. Now, God moves in a mysterious way, doesn't he? And one part of his government is that what you sow, you reap. And since this alliance between Abimelech and the men of Shechem was such an unholy alliance, and such a murderous conspiracy at its beginning, guilty with the blood of the sons of, uh, of Gideon. Now God allows that thing, that same spirit, to produce a harvest of discord amongst the conspirators. Yes. That the violence done to the threescore and ten sons of Jeroboam might come, and that their blood might be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them, and upon the men of Shechem, which strengthened his hands to slay his brethren. The conspirators are turning their guns on each other, of course. For they follow the principle of the chap with the biggest gun and the biggest craft and the biggest money. He's the ruler. Well, you'll see. There came the point when a certain Gael, verse twenty six, the son of Ebed, came with his brothers and went over to Shechem, and the men of Shechem put their trust in him. Uh, and they went out into the field and gathered their vineyards and trod the grapes and held festival and went into the house of their god, oh dear, and did eat and drink and cursed Abimelech. What a subject for a religious meeting. They went into the house of their god and cursed Abimelech. Didn't get them very far, really. And Gael the son of Ebed said, who is Abimelech and who is Shechem that we should serve him? I think I hear the man speaking, you know, don't you? Can't you hear? Who is this Abimelech, this upstart? We're not gonna put up with him, that we should serve him. Is he not the son of Jerubbaal and Zebul his officer? Serve ye the men of Hamor, the father of Shechem. But why should we serve him? And would to God this people were under my hand, where I will remove Abimelech. And he said to Abimelech, increase thine army and come out. What do you think of Gaal? Would you think this was a good tactics now to you? Somebody's got to get rid of this Diotrephes, haven't they? Is this the way to go about it, though? Who is this Abimelech upstart, you'll say. Serve the father, harm also. It's, it's now still a family affair, as you notice. Different branches of the family striving for the upper hand. And would God they were under my hand, I would destroy this Abimelech, and then what would you do? Well, I should. Hmm. Doesn't quite say that, does he? That he would be boss. Leader of the opposition. Gentlemen, this is quite false, as you see. For instead of delivering the people from Abimelech, it led to such warfare as many perished, and the institutions in Israel broken down. Virtual civil war, do you see? And verse thirty eight, you see, then Ziba said unto him, when they saw Abimelech and his troops coming down the mountain. Then Zebul, he, uh, Abimelech's lieutenant, said, where is now thy mouth that thou saidst, who is Abimelech, that we should serve him? Is not this the people that thou hast despised? Go out now, I pray, and fight with him. And Abimelech overcame him, of course. Verse forty four. We saw, uh, uh, and Abimelech and the companies that were with him rushed forward and stood in the entering of the gate of the city, and the two companies rushed upon all that were in the field and smote them. And Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he took the city and slew the people that was therein, and he beat down the city and sowed it with salt. Sad business. The, the tyranny of Abimelech was bad enough. This attempt to get rid of him made things worse. What would Gaal have done if he'd been a good man? They would that they were under my hand, I would, yes? What should he have done? Was he ready to feed the people, I wonder? Was he ready to point out where they had gone astray and to call the people back to repentance and dependence on the Lord? To prayer and self-judgment? Or was it merely a power struggle. Uh, do you see? Verse forty six, notice, and when all the men of the tower of Shechem heard thereof, they entered into the hold of the house of Elberit. And it was told Abimelech that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together, and Abimelech got him up to the Mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bow from the trees and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said unto the people that were with him, What have you s- what you have seen me do? Make haste and do as I've done. And all the people likewise cut down every man his bow and followed Abimelech and put them in the, uh, put them to the hold, and they set the hold on fire upon them. And all the men of the tower of Shechem died also, and about a thousand men and women. Do you remember anybody else who beat down a tower? What did we read about Gideon this morning? When after his victory, because some of the tribes had slighted him and not stood, uh, in the battle with him, when he came back, he beat down their tower. How can it help the people of God if you, if you break down their defenses? And look at the lives that were lost. These people sought comfort and and and protection. When they heard it, they entered into the hold of the house of Elberith, the false covenant, the false God, and sought for comfort and and safety therein. There was no safety. Yeah. Gentlemen, it's not an easy thing to get rid of tyrants. They obviously have the wrong concept of what it means to rule. They're not th- not like the olive tree, the vine, and the fig tree. Their primary function to feed the people of God and comfort them. They're out to rule, to govern, to control. To get rid of them on the same presupposition, let me do the ruling, that isn't much use either. What will help? Well, the final story is how Abimelech, verse fifty, then went and encamped against Thebes. There was a strong tower within the city, and thither fled all the men and women and all they of the city and shut themselves in and gat them up to the roof of the tower. And Abimelech came unto the tower and fought against it and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head and break his skull. And we've talked about that, I don't need to say it again. The key to, uh, uh, putting an end to Abimelech's nonsense was an unnamed woman getting on with the job of feeding the family. And he couldn't stop his nonsense, eh, couldn't put up with his nonsense anymore and used a millstone because he was, um, breaking down the tower of this city, breaking down its defenses. And soon they were to be consumed and to slaughtered by Abimelech. She took her millstone, threw it over the wall. I don't know what angel guided it, whether it was Michael or, or, or, or, uh, his fellow archangel. It lighted on the head of Abimelech. Millstone. Gentlemen, I can't say that in my youth I suffered under any dictators. If you'll promise not to tell anybody, I did think sometimes that they were a little bit fuddy-duddy and weren't with it, and they weren't keen, so keen on open-air evangelism as we youngsters were. Mm-hmm. I'm glad that, uh, uh, the Lord didn't make me an elder forthwith, and gave me some time at least to get to know him and his word, so that when opportunities eventually came, under God I had food wherewith to feed the people of God. Vastly important. If you were an elder tomorrow, could you feed the people of God and comfort them. And defend them. Certainly we must learn to serve, mustn't we, like the Lord Jesus. And to prepare for it sometimes will take us years. We might need to ask God to give us the time to develop, so that when the duties come, we shall have a sufficient supply to feed his people. But with that, we must leave, uh, Abimelech and, uh, come now to, uh, uh, the deliverance by Jephthah. So let's go on forthwith to chapter ten and verse six. And the children of Israel again did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baalim and the Ashtarot, that is the male and the female gods, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Sidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. And they said, it doesn't matter which religion you follow so long as you're sincere, do you see? And, uh, everybody should be allowed to have his say, and don't say yours is the only god, and so forth. So they had all these gods. Well, they had a variety, didn't they? A virtual menu of gods. Uh, but they forsook the Lord and served him not. You can't serve God simultaneously with serving other gods, of course. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hand of the children of Ammon. And they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel that year. Eighteen years oppressed they all the children of Israel that were beyond Jordan, in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead. And then the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah and against Benjamin and against the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was sore distressed. So let's observe where exactly geographically these Ammonites were. They were, if you've got maps in your Bible, look at your maps now. I think you're not going to be able to see this from where you sit. It's too faint, I dare say. But headquarters of A- uh, the Ammonites, eh, do you see, were, uh, east of Jordan. And when the Israelites eventually came to enter the land, Moses under God took them across Jordan, low down in the south, and they came up on the east of Jordan, through the sundry, uh, countries there. First of all, there was Edom, and then as they came north, there was Moab, and then the next was Ammon, and there were Amorites. And God made the Israelites fight those people. He saw they weren't to fight because he was their national brother. Uh, the Moabites, they were to go round them and not fight them. But a king of the Amorites came out to fight them, and Israel were obliged to fight, and they took him and his territory. And as you know, two and a half tribes were eventually given their inheritance east of Jordan. Don't criticize them as though they were second rate believers or something. The land was given as their inheritance from the Lord. The condition was, of course, that Moses laid down to them. Yes, they would eventually have, uh, the, uh, land across the other side of Jordan that they'd taken from the Amorites. They would have that as their inheritance, these two and a half tribes, on the condition, however, that they didn't try there and then to settle down, but were prepared to go with the united army of all the tribes, go with Joshua across the Jordan and fight the battles of the Lord. And then, and only then, when the kings had all been defeated, could they disband and come back east of Jordan into their inheritance. That inheritance was given them by God. They're not to be regarded as world borderers if they weren't really keen. It is the point that they made to Moses. We are not deserting Israel. We're prepared to go in the vanguard with Joshua and fight the opposition, the kings of Canaan, and only when the conquest is complete will we come back. And on those terms, Moses said, yes, they would do that, and very good, and God bless them. It was their inheritance. But now in these years, with Israel apostatizing from God and worshiping all the pagan gods, doozy. God allowed the Amorites, uh, the Ammonites, sorry, the Ammonites to come. And as you heard in that reading, they were not content merely to, uh, stay the east of Jordan, Ammon, but they came across the Jordan west against the Israelites. And what is more, the land that the Israelites had taken from the Amorites, and therefore it was their land, now the Ammonites had, uh, uh, gone in and, and, and seized it. And hence now, uh, they were getting bolder and coming across, eh, the, uh, Jordan into Canaan itself to steal the inheritance in Canaan from the Israelites. Ammonites, therefore. Aided by Philistines, of course. But the chief enemy is the Ammonites, and it is with the Ammonites that we will find Jephthah has a big argument. But now let's do what we have been doing, reconnoitering the enemy. Who were the Ammonites anyway? What was their culture? What are the characteristics that the Holy Spirit attaches to the Ammonites in scripture? And we shall notice that consistently throughout scripture, the Holy Spirit attaches certain characteristics to Ammonites. Ammonites, by definition, uh, were not Mesopotamians. They weren't Moabites. They weren't Canaanites. Who was Ammon then? Well, in Genesis nineteen, Ammon was the son of Lot by one of his daughters. Originally national brothers to Moabites. But they had this particular about them, and you'll notice it recurs throughout the Old Testament. They were forever mocking Israel. Taking the mic out of them. Shaming them. So, for instance, in one Samuel eleven two, Nakash the Ammonite comes up. He proposes to make a covenant with the men of Jabesh, a political covenant, to spare their lives, on condition that their right eyes shall be put out, says the king, and I will lay it for a reproach on all Israel. The point of cu- uh, uh, putting out their right eyes, gentlemen, of course, is that if you're going to shoot an arrow or whatnot, you need your right eye. To, you see, to shoot your, unless you're left-handed. To guide the old arrow. If they take a right eye, you wanna, if you're uh, uh, right-sided, therefore, you see, you wanna... you're in a mess, aren't you, right eye goes. They not only made them ineffective, therefore, as soldiers, but did it on purpose to mock them, shame them, make them look fools, unmanned them and all that. Similarly, one Chronicles nineteen verses four to five, the king of Ammon died, and David, being a peaceable chap, sent his servants to convey condolences to the king's son, who was, who's now become king in the place of his father. And the king of Ammonite, his servants suggested to the king that David had sent these chaps merely as spies, that his condolences were not sincere. And so they took the gentlemen and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and the men were greatly ashamed. Cut off half the beards too, make them look nonsensical. Here's Ammon up to his tricks, making the people of God look utter fools and shaming them. The BBC has a number of Ammonites on its staff these days. Mm-hmm. Oh, look what happened in the days of Nehemiah, do you see? Nehemiah, you should not forget Nehemiah was a man of great substance and eminence. He was the appointee of the emperor of Persia. He had access to the king himself as his servant in the court of Persia. And when he, uh, uh, asked for help to go and build, rebuild Jerusalem's walls, it was the king personally, the emperor personally, who gave him permission and the wherewithal and appointed him governor. He was not just a, a, a little fellow, you know. Politically, he was a very eminent man. He came and they, uh, you know, they got on with, um, building the walls of the, uh, city of Jerusalem. And, uh, when San- Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite heard it. What did they do? They, ah, you'll see, laughed us to scorn and despised us. And then old Nim- uh, Tobiah the Ammonite, afo said, came up and looked and said, you know, no, you see how stupid these evangelicals are. Why, even if a fox went up and wagged his tail, it would push the old wall over. What are they trying to do? What a ridiculous lot. Yeah. Mocking the people of God. Peter, two Peter, chapter three, warns us that in the last time there shall come... remember the word? Scoffers, mockers, yes. Mocking the whole basis of the Christian faith, mocking it. Where's the sign of his coming, and so forth, and so on. Of course, when, uh, Tobiah and company didn't get very far with their mockery, and Nehemiah refused to be ashamed, and all that, then they tried the political route and represented it to the emperor of Persia that Nehemiah was a potential, uh, uh, rebel against Persian authority, and they were seeking to build up Jerusalem, to make Jerusalem independent of the Persia, and uh, thus uh, promoting rebellion against Persia. And that was a lie too. Nehemiah had no such intent. You'll see. The other characteristic... uh, you'll see, was that the Ammonites wanted and tended to come and steal away Israel's inheritance and take it for themselves. They could be quite ruthless, ruthless about it. Look at Amos one thirteen. Ammon, what about them? They have ripped up the women with child of Gilead. Wow. That was a savage technique employed by some armies in the ancient world. And they're doing it, uh, Ammon doing it, that they might enlarge their border. For Gilead, you see, was east of Jordan, in the north, and it was Israelite territory given them by God. And Ammon came not merely to mock them, but came to seize their territory east of Jordan. And for that purpose, they were absolutely ruthless. Taking Israel's inheritance from them. Or Zephaniah two eight: I've heard the insults of Moab and the taunts of the Ammonites, who insulted my people and made threats against their land. Or notice Nehemiah thirteen verses one and four and six. An Ammonite, said God, should not be allowed to enter into the assembly of God. Nor a Moabite either, for historical reasons. Nehemiah, however, had to go back to Persia at one stage, and when he came, returned to Israel- to Jerusalem, what do you suppose he found? Old Tobiah Ammonite was now, if you please, living in a great chamber in the courts of the house of the Lord, if you please. For the high priest was in li- league with old Tobiah the Ammonite and had given him, I- I think, uh, the Queen in England calls it a house of grace, grace and favor residence, you see. Given him a grace and favor residence in the court of the house of the Lord. You can't do better than that if you're an Ammonite, can you, Otto? Talk about occupying Israel's territory. Now they're occupying a bit of God's territory as well. So consistently then throughout the Old Testament, two things: they mock the people of God, shame them, despise them, and secondly, they are always trying to filch from the people of God their God-given inheritance. So notice now, if you will, the tactics that, um, uh, uh, uh, Jephthah employed against them. Because once more, the tactics with Jephthah are different. We have all the while been noticing the tactics that the various deli- deliverers used against the enemy. Jephthah is different from the others in this in particular. Verse twelve, chapter eleven. And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come unto me to fight against my land? And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land when he came out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok and unto Jordan. Now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. So now you notice what Ammon is claiming, that Israel has stolen this territory from the Ammonites, and it really belongs to the Ammonites. Here's Ammon up to his tricks again, trying to filch Israel's God-given inheritance, maintaining it's theirs. So, verse fourteen, and Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon, and he said unto him, thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab nor the land of the children of Ammon, but when they came up from Egypt and Israel walked through the wilderness unto the Red Sea and came to Kadesh, then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land. But the king of Edom hearkened not. And in like manner he sent unto the king of Moab, and he would not, and Israel abode in Kadesh. Then he walked through the wilderness and compassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and they pitched on the other side of Arnon. But they came not within the border of Moab, for Arnon was the border- border of Moab. And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon. And Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land unto my place. But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through this border. But Sihon gathered all his people together and pitched in Jahas and fought against Israel. And the Lord, the God of Israel, delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them. So it was that Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country, and they possessed all the border of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. So now the Lord, the God of Israel, hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess them? Wilt thou not possess that which Chemesh, thy God, giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the Lord our God hath dispossessed from before us, then will, them will we possess. Now art thou anything better than Balak the son of Boa, the king of Moab. Notice those long verses of what we should now call, nowadays call diplomacy. This is to the historians a very interesting passage, for it is an example of the kind of diplomacy that went on in this ancient time between these various states. Typical example of the international disputes and the diplomacy. So notice this special feature about Jephthah, he doesn't immediately go to war, but long diplomatic exchanges and arguments brought up from history as to the rights and wrongs of Israel's possessions. And pointing out in detail what happened. We didn't steal your land. It is not yours anyway. When we came out from Egypt, well, we weren't allowed to, to go through Edom. The Edomites wouldn't let us go, and God said, don't you attack them. We weren't allowed to go through Moab. We had to skirt them. God wouldn't let us, and the Moabites and the Edomites wouldn't allow the multitude of Israel to go through and take their water and take their food, you see. And God said, you're not to attack them. We didn't attack Ammon either. What happened was that the king of Sion came out. He was king of the Amorites, not the Ammonites, the Amorites. He came out, we had no option. He attacked us, we had to fight him. And God gave us victory over him, and we took his land and have held it, believing it was God that gave it to us. Now you are wanting to seize it and call it your land, but it never was your land, not originally. And we're not giving it back to you because it wasn't yours to start with. This is diplomacy. Using history and arguing the rights and wrongs of the inheritance. And arguing from history to prove that the Ammonites were wrong in claiming that Israel's inheritance really belonged to them. That is to be noticed, therefore, as a, as a tactic. It's not just a wordy exchange, and we can pass it by on the grounds that Christian people shouldn't argue. When you have sustained yourself for the fray, uh, do you see, uh, by lunch and come back like giants refreshed. I'm going to get you arguing a bit of church history and pointing out to you that sometimes you will need to know your church history in order to be able to answer those who tell you that you have no right spiritually to this and that position, and that you are to give it up. And how learning church history will enable you to fight to retain the inheritance that God has given to you and to his people from those that would filch it and steal it from you. Okay? So pray notice this particular tactic peculiar to Je- Je- uh, Jephthah in his dealing with the Ammonites. Diplomacy and the argument from history about the rights of the inheritance. As I say, I hope after lunch, God willing, to show to you that we too, in our day, need to know history, to do battle with those who would filch from us the inheritance that God has given to his people. Uh, first of all, lunch.