Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god, &c.— This is plainly an argument ad hominem, in which Jephthah does not by any means confess Chemosh to be a god; but only argues with the king of the Ammonites, from the opinion which he and his people had, that Chemosh, whom they worshipped, was a god; and that, according to the opinion which all nations held of their gods, they owed their conquests to him. He, therefore, appeals to the king, whether he would not keep what his god had given him, and look upon it as rightfully possessed by him; and if so, continues he, upon the very same foundation, we also will possess what Jehovah, our God, has given us. Wretched, indeed, must be the cause of infidelity, which finds it necessary to pervert so clear a passage as the present in order to serve and support it! Thus did Voltaire.
REFLECTIONS.—Jephthah now being constituted captain, before he draws the sword of war, seeks a peaceable accommodation.
1. He sends to enquire the reason of this invasion of the Ammonitish king; as they had given him no offence, he wishes him quietly to retire, and not oblige him to use force to repel force. Note; We must follow peace with all men, and never seek litigious redress till every fair proposal has been rejected.
2. The Ammonite, unwilling to plead the law of arms, trumps up a demand of a former title, that, at least, he might seem to cover his pretensions with a specious plea of justice. Note; (1.) They, who are destitute of conscience or honesty, are not willing to appear so. (2.) They who seek a pretext for a quarrel will never be at a loss to find one.
3. Jephthah makes a most satisfactory reply to the unreasonable demand. The lands in question between Arnon and Jabbok were not in possession of the Ammonites, but of the Amorites, when Israel dispossessed them; and, though the land might originally belong to the Ammonites, they had suffered them peaceably to enjoy it, and quitted to them the title. So far were the people of Israel from offering the least violence to the children of Lot or Esau, that when refused a passage through their countries, though able, if they had chosen it, to have opened their way by force, they rather underwent the fatigue of a long march to compass their territories, than set a foot upon them, much less seize them for their own use; nor would they have touched the land of Sihon, if himself had not been the aggressor, and not only refused to let them go through, but also came out, unprovoked, to attack them, and thus brought his ruin on his own head. God having delivered Sihon into their hand, his land became theirs by the gift of God, nor was there the least reason why they should conquer it for the Ammonites. He appeals to him, what would be his own conduct in a like case? Would he quit what he thought he had conquered, under the influence of his idol god, or give up his own land to the original inhabitants whom he had dispossessed? No, surely. Why, then, should he expect it of the Israelites? He pleads farther their uninterrupted enjoyment of this country for near three hundred years; during which time neither Balaak nor his successors ever pretended to claim it; and the Moabites had an equal, if not a better right to it, than the Ammonites; so that, on all these accounts, the war must appear most unjust and unprovoked; and therefore Jephthah appeals to God for a decision of the controversy, if he should persevere in his demands. Note; (1.) When we have justice and truth on our side, we may confidently appeal to the God of truth for a decision in our favour. (2.) When our own harmless and inoffensive conduct speaks our peaceableness, it is at their peril who then make themselves ready for battle.