“Why did you go to fight the Ammonites without calling us to go with you?” Judges 12:1
The Ephraimites wouldn’t have gone to Jephthah with a complaint had the Israelites lost the battle to the Ammonites. Surely they wouldn’t have wanted to be a part of a losing campaign, but this was a different story, for the Gileadites had scored a great victory against their foes and the Ephraimites became angry because they were kept from joining the battle. The fact was, however, Jephthah did urge them to join him in the struggle against the Ammonites, but for some reason they declined.
The Ephraimites greatly desired to enjoy the glory and benefits of victory but were unwilling to participate in the fight toward the success of the battle when they were called upon to do so. Yet their hearts were filled with jealousy when they realized that the battle had been won and they weren’t part of the success.
There was no reason for the Ephraimites to celebrate, because they did not shed a single drop of blood for the victory. The victory over the Ammonites did not mean a whole lot to them, since they were outsiders in that particular campaign.
Why couldn’t they just be happy and enjoy for a while the peace and tranquility that victory had brought. They might not have earned the glory of victory for themselves, but they should have been thrilled for those who did, since the mortal threat from the Ammonites had been eliminated.
“It’s truly miserable to be rooting for someone else’s defeat,” I said to my son, who was bemoaning the possibility of his rival school’s football team being on the verge of winning big. “Just be happy for them,” I added.
Had the elder son continued to stand in the dark outside of his house feeling sorry for himself, he would never have had the opportunity to rejoice with his father and all his neighbors over the safe return of his prodigal brother. We may have great difficulty rejoicing with those who rejoice if we consider other people’s triumph our defeat and our neighbors’ joy our sorrow.
“If you can’t beat them, join them,” I said to my son jokingly.
It was almost midnight when streams of cars drove by our house, honking their horns. I could hardly feel their euphoria over the victory over their rivals, for I was trying to get some sleep. I might have been feeling a little sorry for myself because I wasn’t a part of the great post-game celebration. How wonderful it would have been had I decided to become a “T-shirt” fan and claimed the university as my own.
The Ephraimites could have easily joined the Gileadites in their celebration party and rejoiced with the rest of the Israelites, but out of their jealousy they determined to raise a big fuss and consequently another war broke out and many lives perished.
