The Men of Ephraim Gather Together - Judges 12:1

In the book of Judges we learned how Jephthah’s, ”daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! you have brought me very low, and you are one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My father, if you have opened your mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which has proceeded out of your mouth; forasmuch as the LORD has taken vengeance for you of your enemies, even of the children of Ammon. And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year”, and in chapter twelve and verse one of Judges, we learn how, “the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together” where we read,

And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passed you over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? we will burn your house upon you with fire.

The verse reads, “And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, …” The writer began with the words, “and the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together” which means “and the male human beings belonging to Ephraim whose name means ‘double ash-heap: I shall be doubly fruitful’ and was the second son of Joseph, blessed by him and given preference over first son, Manasseh collected or assembled their own selves with one another”, “and went northward” or ”and departed, left and proceeded in a northern direction”, “and said unto Jephthah” which means “and uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked Jephthah whose name means ‘he opens’ and was a son of Gilead and a concubine and the judge who defeated the Ammonites; after the victory because of a vow taken before the battle he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt offering” the following question. The writer shared how the male human beings belonging to “Ephraim” assembled, departed in a northern direction, proclaimed and asked the following question.

The verse goes on to say “… Wherefore passed you over to fight against the children of Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? we will burn your house upon you with fire.” The writer added the words, “wherefore passed you over” which means “for what reason and cause did you, Jephthah, cross, march or traverse” “to fight against the children of Ammon” or “to engage in battle and war in opposition to the offspring and progeny belonging to Ammon whose name means ‘tribal’ and was a people dwelling in Transjordan descended from Lot through Ben-ammi” “and did not call us to go with you” which means “and in no way or manner cried out or proclaimed aloud to us, the men of Ephraim, to walk, depart and proceed forward alongside and accompanying you, Jephthah”? “We will burn your house” or “we, the men of Ephraim, shall kindle and set your, Jephthah’s, dwelling place, habitation and abode” “upon you with fire” which means “on you, Jephthah, by the use of fiery fire”. The writer shared how the “men of Ephraim” asked “Jephthah” why he crossed and march to do battle with the offspring of Ammon without asking for them for help, and they were so upset that they told “Jephthah” that they would kindle a fiery fire upon his home. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn how the “men of Ephraim” assembled themselves with one another and traveled in a northern direction to ask “Jephthah” why he didn’t contact them when he went to engage in battle with the offspring of “Ammon”. For whatever reason, they were upset for being left out that they said they would set his home on “fire”. We shall see how this story unfolds in our next verses, but for now let us be reminded that Jehovah God was overseeing all of these events. God knows and loves people, and even when they are without understanding and angry, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days. When we yield to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and to give us the ability to live according to that truth so whatever we encounter we can trust Him to be with us. (See Philippians 4:6-7)

Next time we learn how, “Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon”, 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.”