Israels Judges

Judges 12
Introduction
In chapter 11 we learned of the ninth Judge of Israel, Jephthah. He was the illegitimate son of
Gilead. His brothers ran him off saying, You will not share in our fathers inheritance. We
also learned that he was mighty warrior who was called upon by the people of Israel to lead
them into battle against the Ammonites.
Jephthah made a vow to God saying, If God delivers the children of Ammon into my hand I
will sacrifice the first thing that comes out of my door to greet me when I return home from
battle to Him. God did cause Israel to defeat the Ammonites, but sadly and horribly the first
thing to greet Jephthah upon his return was his only daughter!
In chapter 12 we will learn of internal struggles and jealousy among the people of Israel.
***First, we hear of
I. Ephraims Threat vv. 1 7
The men of Ephraim called out their forces, crossed over to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, "Why did
you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn down your house
over your head. Jephthah answered, "I and my people were engaged in a great struggle with the
Ammonites, and although I called, you didn't save me out of their hands. When I saw that you
wouldn't help, I took my life in my hands and crossed over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD
gave me the victory over them. Now why have you come up today to fight me? Jephthah then called
together the men of Gilead and fought against Ephraim. The Gileadites struck them down because
the Ephraimites had said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh. The
Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim
said, "Let me cross over," the men of Gilead asked him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" If he replied, "No,"
they said, "All right, say 'Shibboleth.'" If he said, "Sibboleth," because he could not pronounce the
word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand
Ephraimites were killed at that time. Jephthah led Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died,
and was buried in a town in Gilead.
Understanding the Word:
1. Who is angry with/jealous of Jephthah and the children of Gilead? _____________________
2. Why? ________________________________________________________________________
3. How did Jephthah respond? _____________________________________________________
4. When the Ephraimites would not help what did Jephthah and his people do? ____________
________________________________________________________________________________
5. What was the outcome of the battle? ______________________________________________
6. Jephthah asked, Knowing that why do you want ________________________?
7. What did Jephthah do next? _____________________________________________________

8. At the battle sight some of the Ephraimites tried to escape and the men of Gilead asked
them, Art you an Ephraimite? If they answered no, they were told to say, Shibboleth but
they could not correctly pronounce the word and were therefore _________________.
9. How many Ephraimites were killed in this battle? _________________
10. What caused them to want to war against Jephthah in the first place? _________________
11. This should show us the danger of _________________.
12. How long did Jephthah act a judge over Israel? _________________
***Second, we hear of
II. Ibzan, the Tenth Judge vv. 8 10
After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem led Israel. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He gave his
daughters away in marriage to those outside his clan, and for his sons he brought in thirty young
women as wives from outside his clan. Ibzan led Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died, and was buried
in Bethlehem.
Understanding the Word:
1. Who became the tenth judge? ____________
2. What town did he come from? ____________
3. He had _______ sons and _______ daughters.
4. To whom did he give his daughter in marriage? ____________
5. To whom did he give his sons in marriage? ____________
6. How long did he judge over Israel? ____________
7. Since nothing bad is said about ____________ we can assume he was a ____________.
8. Also, when we consider him having many children we can assume he was ____________.
***Third, we hear of
III. Elon, the Eleventh Judge vv. 11 - 12
After him, Elon the Zebulunite led Israel ten years. Then Elon died, and was buried in Aijalon in the
land of Zebulun.
Understanding the Word:
1. Who was the eleventh judge of Israel? ____________
2. What tribe did he belong to? _________________

3. How long did he judge over Israel? _________________

4. Nothing bad is stated about ____________.
***Fourth, we hear of
IV. Abdon, the Twelfth Judge vv. 13 15
After him, Abdon son of Hillel, from Pirathon, led Israel. He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who
rode on seventy donkeys. He led Israel eight years. Then Abdon son of Hillel died, and was buried at
Pirathon in Ephraim, in the hill country of the Amalekites.
Understanding the Word:
1. Who was the twelfth judge of Israel? ____________
2. What tribe was he from? _________________
3. How many sons did he have? ____________
4. How many grandsons did he have? ____________
5. How long did he lead Israel? ____________
6. Scripture says ____________ bad about Abdon.
7. And when we think of him having many sons and grandsons we can assume his was
____________.
Closing Thoughts:
1. Jephthah faced external and internal foes! Even in life we face opposition from the world
and from our family members as well as from inside the church and from outside the church.
2. God led Jephthah to victory against his foe and so he could trust God to continue helping
him. And He did! If God has sent us and led us then will see us to the end!
3. Even though the judges from Jephthah to Abdon only judged over Israel for short periods of
time they all appeared to be good judges. You can make a mark for right even in a short
period of time. We must maintain our faithfulness and commitment to God and grow where
were planted.
Pray