When Israel Came Up From Egypt - Judges 11:16

In the book of Judges we learned how, ”Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What have you to do with me, that you are come against me to fight in my land? And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon, and said unto him, Thus says Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon”, and in chapter eleven and verse sixteen of Judges, we learn how Jephthah shared about, “when Israel came up from Egypt” where we read,

But when Israel came up from Egypt, 

and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;

The verse reads, “But when Israel came up from Egypt, …” The writer began with the words, “but when Israel” which means “however, nonetheless, notwithstanding and moreover at the time and moment Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “came up from Egypt” or ”arose and ascended separate and apart from Egypt whose name means ‘land of the Copts” and was a country at the northeastern section of Africa, adjacent to Palestine, and through which the Nile flows”, and the following happened. The writer shared how “Jephthah’s” response to the “king of Ammon” referred to the time and moment that “Israel” arose from the land of “Egypt”.

The verse continues, “… and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;” The writer added the words, “and walked through the wilderness” which means “and ambled and made their way within the open field, pasture and uninhabited desert” “unto the Red Sea” or “to the reed, weeds and especially the papyrus large body of water known as the Red Sea”, “and came to Kadesh” which means “and approached and entered into Kadesh whose name means ‘holy’ and was a city in the extreme south of Judah”. The writer shared how “Jephthah” recalled how the people of “Israel” ambled and made their way within the desert open land until they reached the “Red Sea”, and after crossing it, they approached “Kadesh”. (See Numbers 14:25; Deuteronomy 1:40)

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover more of “Jephthah’s” response to the “king of Ammon”. He referred to the time that “Israel” departed from “Egypt”, ambled through the open desert place, approached the “Red Sea” and came upon “Kadesh”. We shall see more of “Jephthah’s” story in our next verses, but for now, let us be mindful that “Jephthah” gathered from past memories and events to manage his current situation. Once again, this was to be a diplomatic solution or at least an attempt to discover a way to solve this problem. All of these things were known by Jehovah God, and He will tend to this situation. He has a plan for all of us, and following that plan begins with yielding to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and rose from the dead after three days. When we submit to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and remind us of His working in the past to encourage us to believe He is working in the present circumstances as well. (See John 3:16; Deuteronomy 32:7-8; 1 Corinthians 1:9)

Next time we learn how, “Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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