In the book of Judges we learned how Jephthah asked the king of Ammon, ”Will not you possess that which Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess”, and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-five of Judges, we learn how Jephthah asked, “now are you any thing better than Balak?” where we read,
And now are you any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab?
did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,
The verse reads, “And now are you any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab?” The writer began with the words, “and now are you” which means “and at this time do you, king of Ammon, exist as” “any thing better than Balak” or ”more good, pleasant, agreeable and excellent compared to Balak whose name means ‘devastator’ and was a king of Moab who hired Balaam to curse Israel” “the son of Zippor” which means “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Zippor whose name means ‘sparrow’ who was the father of Balak the king of Moab at the time of the exodus”, “king of Moab” or “royal ruler and leader of Moab whose name means ‘of his father’ and was a son of Lot by his eldest daughter and the nation that descended from the son of Lot”? The writer shared how “Jephthah” asked the “king of Ammon” whether he thought he was more pleasant and excellent compared to “Balak” who was “Zippor’s” male offspring and the royal ruler belonging to “Moab”.
The verse goes on to say, “did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,” The writer continued with the words, “did he ever strive against Israel” which means “did he, Balak, at any time physically contend or quarrel in opposition to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “or did he ever fight against them” or “or at any time did he, Balak, wage war and battle in opposition to them, Israel”? The writer shared how “Japhthah” asked the “king of Ammon” whether “Balak” at any time contended with or waged war in opposition to “Israel”.
When we consider the words in this verse, we see how “Jephthah” continued to engage with the “king of Ammon” concerning whether he thought himself to be greater than “Balak” who was “Moab’s” royal ruler, and he wondered if the “king of Ammon” knew whether “Balak” ever contended with or waged war with Israel. We shall see more about “Israel’s” contention with “Balak” in our future verses, but for now let us be reminded that God loves the people of “Israel”. “Israel” is God’s chosen people because they were to be the nation through whom the Messiah Jesus would come, (See Genesis 12:3) and because Jesus came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and rose from the grave after three days, when we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and teach us to trust in Him with those who rise in opposition to us and Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 5:38-39)
Next time we learn how Jephthah shares about, “while Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance”
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