Making a Mountain out of a Shibboleth
The nation of Israel was in trouble, as it was many times during the period of the judges. This time it was from the nation of Ammon, claiming that the Gilead (the land east of the Jordan River primarily possessed by Gad and Reuben) was rightfully theirs. The warrior Jephthah was chosen by the elders of Gilead to oppose the Ammonites. Full of the Spirit of God, Jephthah led the armies of Israel to victory over the Ammonites and delivered Israel from oppression. If ever there was a time for gratitude and celebration, this was it. But the tribe of Ephraim felt differently about their deliverance and the judge who won it for them.
The tribe of Ephraim crosses the Jordan River and confronts Jephthah with a grievance. They claim he did not call them to battle, and they threaten to burn his house down while he’s inside it (Judges 12:1). This is not the first time the tribe of Ephraim has made such claims against a judge (though not as threatening). Ephraim similarly complained to Gideon that he did not call them to his battle against the Midianites (8:1).
Have you known people like the Ephraimites? Perhaps you accomplished something great, completed a difficult project, overcame a difficulty or obstacle in your life, came into a fortunate circumstance, whatever it might be. And instead of being happy for you, or congratulating you on your great success, the only thing on this person’s mind is, “What about me?” “Why didn’t you call me?” “Why didn’t you do it this way like I think it should have been done?” “Why wasn’t I involved?”
We have two different responses from the judges that had to deal with these Ephraimites. Gideon strokes their egos, and that seems enough to satisfy the Ephraimites’ anger (Judges 8:2-3). But if you notice in the next verse (8:4), the Ephraimites do not join Gideon on his pursuit of the remaining Midianite kings. They just wanted validation it seems, not to actually participate. Jephthah does not treat the Ephraimites so diplomatically (perhaps because they threatened to kill him). First, Jephthah refuted the claim that he did not call Ephraim, but that they refused the call (12:2), and then he went to war with them (12:4).
In this civil war between the Gileadites and the Ephraimites, the Gileadites captured the River Jordan crossings. And as the fleeing Ephraimites attempted to cross back over to the west, the Gileadites would ask them to pronounce the word “Shibboleth.” Apparently, the Ephraimites had a different accent and could not pronounce the word, instead saying “Sibboleth,” and by that, the Gileadites could identify those who had come from Ephraim and kill them. The text says that 42,000 Ephraimites were killed in the conflict. Compare that to other Israelite army numbers in the book of Judges: Barak had an army of 10,000 men (Judges 4:6). Deborah said that there were 40,000 spearmen available to fight in Israel (5:8). Gideon initially gathered 32,000 men (7:3). This was a tremendous loss of life, and it was Israelite fighting Israelite over a dispute of egos.
One of the many interesting aspects of Judges is that even though we seem to remember the big battles between Israel and the oppressing nations from the outside, the book itself usually does not dwell long on those conflicts. It is instead, the conflicts of Israelite-on-Israelite that the text slows down and gives us more details. This period of time when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” led to internal conflict, war, and death within the nation of Israel. We would do well to understand this proclivity toward internal conflict within ourselves as well.
As Christians we are called to “encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). If someone among our number does something great, or perhaps even just falls into good fortune, our attitude should not be that of the Ephraimites, a “well, what about me” kind of attitude. But rather, we ought to be able to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 12:15). As fellow Israelites, the Ephraimites should have understood that Jephthah’s victory was also the Ephraimites’ victory. They should never have been at odds with one another. So too as Christians, one brother or sister’s victory is a victory for all. There should be no room for envy, jealousy, or contempt for another’s fortunate circumstances within the body of Christ.
But too often (and once is too often) jealousy can grip the heart of someone, and bitterness develops, and this eventually leads to the division and destruction. One day the Ephraimites were just complaining, and Gideon soothed them with words. But a little while later, the Ephraimites were complaining and threatening to kill Jephthah. This kind of bitterness and contempt grows underneath the surface if not dealt with. In part, this seems to me why Paul tells Christians to “reject a divisive man after a first and second admonition” (Titus 3:10). Because eventually the divisiveness will spread and destroy a church.
Notice that this is a different treatment than a false teacher who can also cause divisions. Paul says to “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them” (Romans 16:17). There is no warning a first and second time for people teaching something other than the gospel of Christ. You might think of those kinds of dangers as outside dangers coming in, like the oppressing nations coming into Israel. But the internal divisions can be just as if not more harmful to the body of Christ. Someone can be speaking truth like the Ephraimites “you did not call us” (at least with Gideon it was true), but still using that to divide.
These kinds of divisions come up in the church, and they are ultimately personality conflicts rather than actual conflicts of right and wrong. Suddenly, the divisive person demands that the church bow down to their own ego and understanding of things. And people end up getting divided along arbitrary lines. Just as pointless as whether someone pronounces a word as “Shibboleth” or “Sibboleth,” so too can be internal conflicts that destroy a church.
Say hypothetically that the Ephraimites were completely right to feel wronged by Jephthah. Say that someone in the church did do something wrong. Paul tells us how we should consider such slights: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). This was the path our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ left for us, to love and forgive. Let us not walk according to bitterness and self-conceit as the Ephraimites and Jephthah did, which leads to death. But let us walk according to the One who is able to give life.
