In Judges 11, Jephthah had been tasked with leading his people and defending them from the Ammonites. At first he seeks a diplomatic solution. But it quickly becomes apparent there will be no peaceful resolution to the conflict. The king of Ammon responds to Jepthah by making a false accusation about Israel’s history – he accuses Israel of having stolen his people’s land after the exodus (11:13). Jepthah sends his messengers to the king to set the record straight. The messengers give an extensive history lesson. They make it clear Israel did not take lands from other nations when they were in the wilderness but always asked permission to pass through (11:17).
Lesson #1: Do not ask for forgiveness unless you really sinned. Satan loves to make false accusations. Do not be steered into apologizing when you (or your people) actually did nothing wrong.
Lesson #2: Know the history of your people so you don’t fall for revisionist history that would be used to manipulate you. (For example, you should be able to refute the 1619 Project, the “stolen lands” thesis, the crazy claims made about Christians of the past like the Salem Witch Trials and the Crusades, etc.)
—
False accusation is Satan’s strategy against the godly again and again in Scripture. The godly must know how to deflect these accusations and not be cowed by them into falsely apologizing.
Jephthah provides us with a great example of this in Scripture. He was a hired gun, brought in to defeat the Ammonites. He tried diplomacy first, seeking to avoid armed conflict. Instead of making peace, the Ammonites made false accusations against Israel, specifically the Israelites of the exodus generation. Jephthah heard his people’s ancestors accused of sins and crimes they had not committed. He set the historical record straight. He defended his people and their history. Judges 11 has a lot of relevance to the situation Christian’s find themselves in today.
TPC Pastor's Page 