Disunity, Destruction

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain

Presbyterian Church, and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.

Special welcome if you are new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here,

and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community. And as we follow Jesus together,

we become convinced that there's no one so good. They don't need God's grace,

and no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what

God has to say to us in His Word. We're continuing this morning our series in the book of Judges,

and you'll remember that the book of Judges is about many things. It's about the need for

constant renewal and revival among God's people. It's about the need for a true and faithful king,

a king who can do what no human can do, which is to change the hearts of men.

It's about the power of Spirit-filled leadership, and it's about God's mercy to hard-hearted people,

people like you and me. We've been taking a look at the story of Jethwa in three parts,

and we're now to the third part, the very end. Last week, we saw the most tragic portion of Jethwa's

story. We were reminded that Jethwa doesn't know anything. He was ignorant of God's Word

and His ways. This morning, as we end Jethwa's story, we're going to come back to a theme that

has shown up over and over again throughout chapters 8 through 10, which is the sorry state

of Israel, that groups and individuals are loyal only to themselves. We'll see the havoc that that

tribalism, that ego has on God's people. And so I invite you with that to turn with me in God's Word.

We're now in Judges chapter 12. You can turn in your Bible. You can turn on your phone.

Judges 12 · chapter mention

You can turn in your worship guide. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word,

and God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold,

and it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. And so that's why we

read now Judges chapter 12, starting at verse 1. The men of Ephraim were called to arms, and they

Judges 12 · chapter mention

crossed to Zaphon and said to Jethwa, Why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites and did not

call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire. And Jethwa said to them, I and my

people had a great dispute with the Ammonites. And when I called you, you did not save me from their

hand. And when I saw that you would not save me, I took my life in my hand and crossed over against

the Ammonites. And the Lord gave them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to fight

against me? Verse 4. Then Jethwa gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim. And the men of

Gilead struck Ephraim because they said, You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of

Ephraim and Manasseh. And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when

any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, Let me go over, the men of Gilead said to him, Are you an Ephraimite?

When he said no, they said to him, Then say Shibboleth. And he said Sibboleth, for he could not pronounce it

right. Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. At that time, 42,000 of

the Ephraimites fell. Jethwa judged Israel six years. Then Jethwa the Gileadite died and was buried

in his city in Gilead. Verse 8. After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. He had 30 sons and 30

daughters that he gave in marriage outside his clan, and 30 daughters he brought in from outside for his

sons. And he judged Israel seven years. Then Ibzan died and was buried at Bethlehem.

After him, Elon the Zebulonite judged Israel, and he judged Israel ten years. Then Elon the Zebulonite

died and was buried at Eijilin in the land of Zebulon. Verse 13. After him, Abdan the son of Hillel,

the Pirithonite, judged Israel. He had 40 sons and 30 grandsons who rode on 70 donkeys,

and he judged Israel eight years. Then Abdan the son of Hillel, the Pirithonite, died and was buried

at Pirithon in the land of Ephraim in the hill country of the Amalekites. I invite you to pray with

me as we come to this portion of God's Word. Our Father in heaven, we praise you again that you

give us your Word, that you teach us, that you instruct us. And we confess again that we need

your help, that unless your Spirit is with us, we will not be able to understand and believe and apply

what you have here for us. And so we ask that you would give us that help, that most of all you would

use this passage to show us Christ, that he would be more and more beautiful and glorious and lovely to

us. We ask these things in the mighty name of him, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

For us to understand what's happening in this passage before us in chapter 12,

it's important for us to remember briefly what has come in the last several chapters.

You'll remember back in chapter 10, things were getting so bad in Israel that we were told they

were not just worshiping some of the idols, that's what they had done before, but in fact they were

worshiping all of the idols. The judges' cycle, some call it judges' spiral, continues as the judges go

deeper and deeper into sin and rebellion. And so God says, look, you have not repented, I'm not going to

help you. But then they cry out, God has mercy on them, he raises up Jephthah to save them from the

Ammonites. And that's what we saw last week. Jephthah, in fact, saves them from the Ammonites.

And so we would expect at this point for there to be some peace in the land, right? There would be

celebration of some sort. Israel would come together. Maybe they would thank Jephthah, right,

for all the good that he's done for them. But instead of that, at the very beginning, verse 1,

we encounter the opposite. The Ammonites are done, we should expect peace. But no, there is an army

that shows up on the doorstep of Jephthah. The men of Ephraim, this is verse 1, were called to arms,

and they crossed to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, why did you cross over to fight against the Ammonites

and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house over you with fire. They don't send a

diplomat. They don't send a representative to say, hey, we're upset. No, this entire army crosses from the

heartland of Israel in the west across the Jordan River to a city on the east so that they can tell

Jephthah that it is time for his house to be burned down. There's a whole military force that comes,

and we find out later in verse 6 how big this force is. Jephthah ends up killing 42,000 of them.

The men of Ephraim roll thick. They are here to let him know how mad they are. And their response is

what we would call a disproportionate response. Their ego has been damaged, and so they're going

to respond by wrecking Jephthah and his people. This is pretty extreme to state the obvious.

Things are getting out of control in the land of Judges. Now, as I mentioned during our confession

of faith, we've seen this same issue before. The men of Ephraim were angry back in chapter 8. They

were angry at Gideon because Gideon did not invite them. What they didn't do there, though, was threaten

to destroy anything. And so their anger, their response is becoming worse and worse. Where does this anger

come from? Well, we know from last time they were mad at Gideon back in chapter 8 because they were

not invited, and Gideon is able to calm everything down by stroking their egos. Remember, Gideon says,

you guys are so great. In fact, what I did is nothing in comparison to what you did. You know, the men of

Ephraim are the best. And so that seems to calm them down. Not so this time. Gideon stroked their ego

Jethro. Jethro does not have Gideon's diplomacy. Remember, Jethro is a wild man. And so he does what wild

men do. He starts a fight. And what a fight it is. And so we need to see and remember and understand

here that this is worse than ever. We are continuing in the free fall of God's people in the book of Judges.

Verse 4, they have this fight. It is blue on blue. Gilead versus Ephraim. Israelites versus Israelites.

Turns out that Ephraim's talk is bigger than their game. Jethro makes quick work of them.

And then he decides it's not enough to make quick work of them. They're in a tight spot. He's going to

make it even tighter. Remember, I told you they've crossed over the Jordan River. They brought this

entire army with them into a different land, the place where Jethro's people are, the place of Gilead.

So what are they going to have to do if they want to escape? Well, they're going to have to cross back

over. Jethro realizes this. Remember, we know that Jethro's a great warrior. He's a great tactician.

And so he decides, look, I know exactly what to do. I'm going to get rid of these men of Ephraim.

We're going to take the fords. So that when they try to cross back over from the east to the west,

they're going to have to go through what we've set up.

In a sense, he's telling Ephraim this. Two can play this game. You want to be tribalistic?

I'll be tribalistic. You want to make a big deal about honor? I'll make a big deal about honor.

Game recognizes game. And it turns out there's some sort of linguistic difference between these two

groups. His people are able to pronounce Shibboleth with the H. Their people are able to pronounce it

without the H. And so this has become a cultural term that of a Shibboleth is a test to know if

someone belongs in your group. And of course, again and again, and this is what we see in verses five and

six, they fail the test. That's how Jethwa is able, verse six, to take out 42,000.

Jethwa here goes beyond what self-defense allows.

Jethwa is not just defending himself. No, he is purging and cleansing. Jethwa is out for revenge.

Remember, I told you when we first came to Jethwa, hard times call for hard men.

And Jethwa is nothing if not a hard man for better or for worse.

After all of this happens, verse seven, we're told Jethwa judged Israel six years.

And there is an absence here of what we've been told in the past.

In the past, when we've seen a judge and we're told how long he judged, we are also told,

and the land had rest. The land had peace for however many years.

We don't hear that here with Jethwa because the land has no peace.

The violence within Israel increases more and more.

So the point of the story is this.

The selfishness and the tribalism and the violence of Israel has reached a new low.

Things are worse than they've ever been.

And this draws us to the overarching theme of the previous few chapters and the chapters to come,

which is that more and more what we're seeing in the nation of Israel is that they look just like the nations around them.

That's what we saw last week, right?

Jethwa is acting as if Yahweh was a pagan god.

He brings this human sacrifice because that's what the nations around them do.

Here the same thing is happening.

What is it that's true of the nations around them?

Well, that nothing and no one is greater than me and my tribe.

My ego is of ultimate importance.

Nothing is more important than protecting and defending that.

If it requires revenge, I'll take revenge.

If it requires violence, there will be violence.

If you attack my honor, I will attack your honor.

Israel is cannibalizing itself.

God doesn't even need to send in the other nations at this point.

They are doing a great job destroying each other.

They have lost all perspective, all sense of unity because tribalism and self-interest rule the day.

They rule the day for Ephraim as they come to attack Jethwa for not giving them the honor they believe they deserve.

They rule the day for Jethwa as he slaughters his brothers rather than seeking peace.

Now the text hints at this in verse 7.

It is not just Jethwa who dies.

It is Jethwa the Gileadite.

And in case you think that's just a mistake, remember how the last chapter ended.

Verse 40 of chapter 11.

The daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jethwa, the Gileadite.

Jethwa is a Gileadite first.

The men of Ephraim are men of Ephraim first.

God's people have lost their unity together.

In fact, as we talk as a church about what it means for us to have thick community,

the kind of community that goes beyond simply knowing someone's name and saying something pleasant,

but being deeply invested in each other's lives, it is this that is one of the greatest threats.

You may have seen this on page 3 of your worship guide.

Israel shares no higher allegiance.

Judges provides for us a warning.

As we think about the need for constant renewal and revival among God's people,

this particular passage reminds us of our need for this,

our need not to lose the big picture out of concern for personal honor.

Not to value what is good for us rather than what is good for the community.

And yet the temptation, the pull, the draw, the lie is constant.

That shows up in the person who doesn't get the attention he wants,

so he creates drama to get it.

It comes in the person who doesn't get the attention he wants,

It comes in the woman who congratulates herself that everything would fall apart except for me.

It comes in the man who's outraged that he doesn't receive the honor and the praise that he believes he deserves.

It comes in the person who only thinks about what is best for me and my clique, my constituency,

rather than what's going to bring the whole community together.

It comes in the person who complains that no one helps,

and yet loves to be seen doing everything.

God's people are meant to be one people on one mission.

They're not meant to be different people on different missions.

God's people are one people with one mission,

not different people with different missions.

And that the Bible reminds us again and again that we have ultimately two options.

We can go on a mission with each other,

or we can go on a mission against each other.

We can go on a mission with each other.

We can go on a mission against each other.

That's our warning from Judges 12.

Our warning not to become like the nations around us,

not to be dragged in to the petty bickering and tribalism

that characterizes so much of our world.

And Judges also reminds us that left to ourselves,

that is exactly where we will go.

And so we need to remember the words of our Lord Jesus.

Remember, I've told you before,

Jesus tells us, Luke 10, verse 20,

Luke 10:20

as disciples come back,

they're so excited about the success they've experienced in ministry.

And Jesus tells them this,

Do not rejoice in this,

that the spirits are subject to you,

but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

How do we avoid the fate of Israel?

How can we run away from the temptation of the men of Ephraim?

It's to remember that our glory comes from God and God alone.

Our honor is that our names are written in the book of life.

The praise and thanks we get

is not worth comparing

to following and serving our Lord Jesus.

The honor that we seek after

is hearing,

well done, good and faithful servant.

That is what is great.

Joy and contentment and honor

come from that and that alone.

Remember I mentioned during our confession of faith,

our solution to seeking our glory over God's glory

is to remember how great God is.

It is the difference

between climbing a 14er

and making a 14er.

You think you have glory?

Check out God's glory.

You think you have power?

Check out God's power.

You think you're impressive?

God is impressive.

In fact, it's we see God as great

that we abandon our own delusions.

And so it's not just that God gives us glory.

It's not just that we rejoice

that our names are written in heaven.

It is that God's glory eclipses ours.

That is how we follow Jesus

as one people together.

We will not

and we cannot

abandon our own agendas

and pride and ambition

until we see

how great and glorious God is.

we will not

and we cannot

rest

from our own agenda

until we see

how glorious and great

God's agenda is.

we will not

and we cannot

turn away

from our individual missions

until we have caught

the vision

of God's mission.

It is God's beauty

and power

and glory

and majesty

and mercy

and grace

and authority

that causes

everything else

to pale.

it is great things

that give us

perspective

on small things.

I recently

re-read

The Hobbit

by J.R.R. Tolkien

and if you're

a Gandalf

shows up one day

and he recruits

Bilbo

to this adventure

this adventure

to go out

with the dwarves

and the dwarves

need to go on adventure

because the dragon

smog

has taken over

their home.

You'll remember

that they

have the lonely mountain

or at least

they had the lonely mountain

at one point

the dragon

has driven them out

and it's even worse

than that

it's not just

that he's driven them out

he is also

sitting

sleeping

napping

on top of all

of their treasure.

And so the dwarves

have lost their home

and

they have lost

their gold.

Now the dwarves

have great doubts

about Bilbo.

It's unclear

to them

whether he is

an asset

or a liability

and there's

tension

ongoing

between him

and them.

In fact

he proves himself

to be a liability

at multiple points.

They go out

onto their adventure

what does Bilbo do?

He sleeps in.

He gets up late

he has to race

to catch up with them.

They run into

some trolls.

What does Bilbo do?

Bilbo almost

gets them killed.

Gandalf has to

show up

to the rescue

at the last minute

to protect

all of them.

Sometimes

maybe many times

the dwarves

regret

bringing Bilbo.

In fact at one point

you'll remember

Bilbo disappears

and the dwarves

have this conversation

with Gandalf

where they say

hey why don't we

just leave him behind?

We don't actually

need him.

Right?

Bilbo for

his part

dreams constantly

of returning

to his hobbit

hole.

And yet Bilbo

also ends up

being an asset

at some points.

Bilbo saves them

later on

from the spiders.

He saves them

from the wood elves.

Bilbo

goes first

against the dragon

smog.

In the midst

of all these

tensions

and egos

Thorin

the head dwarf

has an ego.

Gandalf by the way

shows his ego

a few times.

what is it

that holds

all of them

together?

Why do the dwarves

not leave

Bilbo behind

and why does

Bilbo not run

home?

It's because

they're all

seeking

the treasure.

They are

different people

with one

mission.

And so they

have to work

together

and they have

to partner

together

to make

it to the

end.

Brothers and

sisters

God has

given us

his greatest

treasure

in the gospel.

God has

given us

his greatest

treasure

in his

son.

And when

and as

we are

tempted

to be

concerned

about our

own honor

and praise

and success

and glory

we are

reminded

again and

again of

the true

mission

that we

are on.

We're

reminded

again and

again that

honor and

ego pale

in comparison

to what God

has for us.

And so

in the midst

of human

imperfection

and sin

we work

together

we partner

together

to make

it to the

end

because

God's

treasure

is

greater.

Gandalf

jumps in

and out

of the

hobbit.

Sometimes

he's with

them

sometimes

he's

not.

At one point

he is

with them

for a time

when they're

in Mirkwood

Forest.

He walks

with them

all the way

to the

forest.

He's

sort of

this

protective

presence

and then

he has

to leave

them.

he reminds

the dwarves

how important

Bilbo is

to their

adventure

even as

they consider

leaving him

behind.

He encourages

them to have

faith in him

and then

he reminds

them to

persevere

and his

exhortation

his words

to them

are this

think

of the

treasure

at the

end.

Christian

think

of the

treasure

at the

end.

Let's

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven

we

praise you

and thank

you for

your word

which encourages

us and

also warns

us.

We thank

you for

the warning

of the

men of

Ephraim

and we

ask that

you would

be at

work

us

individually

and as

a

community

that you

would pull

us

together

as

different

people

on one

mission

that we

wouldn't

be

concerned

about

our

power

and honor

and praise

and glory

because we

would know

that it

comes from

you

and that

your glory

is so much

greater

than our

glory.

But that

would free

us.

It would

give us

peace

to worry

not about

our standing

but simply

to follow

you in

faith.

We thank

you that

we haven't

earned or

deserved

these things

and so we

simply ask

them in the

mighty name

of Jesus

Christ.

Amen.