Monday 23rd June Judges 12.1-15

Qn. 7

…“Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammorites and did not call us to go with you?…(1): Could be that the men of Ephraim were selective in choosing who to go with for war, but eventually those left behind felt ashamed of having no say in the celebration of their victory. The reason behind this is that even during Gideon’s time, the men of Ephraim were involved in arguments after the war (8.1). In our families and our place of work, there are people who behave like the men of Ephraim, who think that other people cannot manage without them. In actual fact, the issue is that there is no guarantee that they would have helped if one asked them to do so. Praise God that he never lets us down whenever we seek his help (3; Ps. 46.2). Then Jephthah gathered all men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim…(4): Jealous is very horrible, the men of Ephraim couldn’t back up their brothers as they were fighting foreigners (the Ammorites), yet later on they are turning against them to fight them. When we offer no support to a brother or sister, at least we should leave her or him to manage on his or her own. Consider: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him (Jn. 1.11).