What historical context in Judges 11:15 supports Israel's territorial defense? Opening the Conversation Around Judges 11:15 “Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites.” (Judges 11:15) Backdrop: Israel’s East-Bank Wanderings • Numbers 20–21: Israel requests peaceful passage through Edom and Moab—both deny it, so the nation skirts their borders (Numbers 20:14-21; 21:11-13). • Deuteronomy 2:8-9, 19: The LORD expressly forbids Israel to attack either Moab or Ammon because those territories have been allotted by God to Lot’s descendants. • Numbers 21:21-24: Sihon, king of the Amorites—not Ammon or Moab—aggressively confronts Israel. Israel defeats Sihon and occupies his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok. • Deuteronomy 2:24-25, 31-33: God commands Israel to take Amorite territory; He delivers Sihon into Israel’s hand. • Joshua 12:1-6: The conquest on the east side of the Jordan is cataloged, emphasizing Israel fought Amorites, not Ammonites. Why Jephthah Appeals to This History • The land in dispute was Amorite, seized only after Sihon’s unprovoked attack. • Ammon had no historic claim; the Amorite kings had already displaced Ammon generations earlier (cf. Joshua 13:10). • God Himself transferred ownership: “The LORD God of Israel dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel” (Judges 11:23). • Israel scrupulously avoided Moabite and Ammonite territory when God forbade encroachment, demonstrating a pattern of restraint (Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 9, 19). Evidence That Supports Israel’s Territorial Defense • Legal precedent: Divine command in Deuteronomy 2:24 authorizes possession of Amorite lands. • Historical right: Three hundred years of continuous Israelite settlement east of Jordan (Judges 11:26). • Moral high ground: Israel responded defensively, not aggressively, to the Amorite attack (Numbers 21:23). • Covenant foundation: God promised territory to Abraham’s descendants stretching to “the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18-21). The east-bank victories fulfill that oath. • Ongoing hostility: Ammon’s current aggression violates God’s territorial assignments, while Israel stands on God-endorsed boundaries. Supporting Scripture Snapshots • Numbers 21:24—“Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land…from the Arnon to the Jabbok.” • Deuteronomy 2:19—“You are to leave them unmolested, for I have given the land of the Ammonites to the descendants of Lot as their possession.” • Judges 11:23-24—“So now, since the LORD God of Israel has driven out the Amorites…would you not possess it? Whatever your god Chemosh gives you to possess, do you not possess it?” Takeaway The historical record shows Israel only defended and retained territory that God explicitly granted and that had already been forfeited by an aggressive Amorite regime—leaving Ammon without legitimate grounds. This context undergirds the justice of Israel’s territorial defense asserted in Judges 11:15. |
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