Preventing Conflict

Gideon had just driven the Ammonites out of Israel.  As frequently happens, there were a group of people who were not satisfied, as Judges 12:1 describes.  “And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.”  They were threatening to burn Jephthah and his house for not letting them take part in the battle. 

The entire nation had been suffering the depredations of the Ammonites, with the Gileadites suffering the most because they were closest to Ammon and on the same side of Jordan.  Since they were less affected by the Ammonite attacks, some of the other tribes did not feel the same urgency to deal with the problem, as we see in Judges 12:3-4.  “And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.  And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?” 

Frustrated by their failure to act, and desperate for relief, Jephthah and the Gileadites had acted on their own, at the risk of their own lives.  The rest of the tribes would benefit greatly from their actions but instead of appreciating it, they were mad about it.   When the Ephraimites crossed the Jordan to attack the Gileadites, claiming they were not really part of Israel at all, it was just too much, as Judges 12:4-6 tells us.  “Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.   And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.” 

Some people are not as aware of problems in a country or church as others, and the bigger the organization the greater the differences.  Those differences in perception can become sources of serious conflict, as we see in difference between the attitudes of the common people who deal with the crime, drugs, diseases, and job competition resulting from an open border, and the wealthy political and academic figures who live in gated communities far from the border and benefit from the job competition by hiring illegals for lower wages.  The same kinds of things happen in churches, with different groups losing contact with what other groups are dealing with.   Wealthy pastors or church members often lose sight of what the poorer members are struggling with, for example, and begin making demands and setting standards that create hardships or drive away those who are less fortunate.     

Paul addressed this issue in Galatians 5:13-16.  “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”  As he says, we are to love one another, and that requires developing a personal relationship so that we understand each other.  Godly love requires accepting people as they really are, rather than what we imagine them to be.    While we have a great deal of freedom as Christians, we also have a responsibility to consider the needs and feelings of others. 

When we begin to attack others who want or need something different we can seriously harm the relationships between us, sometimes even destroying the nation or church.  Ephraim’s attacks on the Gileadites resulted in the deaths of forty two thousand people.  As Paul pointed out in I Corinthians 3:3, conflict always indicates an unspiritual state.  “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”  When we are walking in the Spirit, we will not be focused on our pride and selfish desires, but will be considerate of others, as Philippians 2:3 commands.  “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.”