Judges 12:1 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
Ephraim was a tribe in Israel that never seemed to be happy. Joshua 17 gives us an idea of the consistent nature of the Ephraimites. As the tribes are settling in Canaan, verse 14 tells us that the children of Joseph, which included Ephraim as seen in Joshua 16:4, “spake unto Joshua saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?” They literally were not content with their lot in life. They didn’t like what God had apportioned to them.
Verse 15 says, “And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.” So, they complained to Joshua that what they had was not enough and Joshua said, “If what you have is not enough, then be industrious. Chop down some trees.”
So, they were not content or happy with what they had. People can be like that too. They want more than they have. What they have is never enough. They want something more and different, someone else’s lot in life.
In Judges 8 you find Ephraim again. When Gideon had defeated the enemies of God, the Midianites, verse 1 says, “And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.” The Ephraimite’s pride was hurt. They seemed to be proud and not thankful, and for them everything devolved into something personal.
All of us know people like this. You tell them you have a health problem, and they have a greater health problem. You tell them you have some good thing, and they have more of that good thing. You say you have been to Paris, Tennessee, but they inform you they have been to Paris, France. Everything comes back to them no matter the situation or topic of conversation. The Ephraimites seem to have been like that. When God gave Gideon victory over the Midianites, they complained, “Why didn’t you call us?” I don’t know if they wanted to fight. I just know they wanted the esteem that came from fighting.
Well, Gideon was somewhat of a diplomat and said, “Who am I? You are a great tribe and good for you.” When Gideon said that, their anger was abated. Gideon’s diplomacy had soothed their hurt pride. In Judges 12 you find the same thing. After Jephthah had a great victory, verse 1 says, “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 kept complaining and having hurt pride until they picked on a guy who was going to have none of it.
Joshua encouraged them to put their enemies elsewhere instead of complaining, Gideon was diplomatic, but Jephthah was going to have none of it. He had come from a poor background and had done amazing things because God used him. Jephthah ended up whacking the Ephraimites. The Ephraimites had insulted Jephthah probably where it hurt most. They implied that the Gileadites, Jephthah’s people, were just the refuse of their common stock in Joseph. Jephthah was not going to take that, so there was a great battle and people died unnecessarily.
Psalm 78 is a passage that gives us God’s commentary on the Exodus and conquest of Canaan. Verse 9 mentions the Ephraimites and verse 8 says that Israel was not to be “as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.” Then it says, “The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.” I don’t know what battle this is, but I wonder if it might be one of the battles where they came after the fact and their pride was hurt. Maybe they had turned back and later complained that they weren’t invited to the battle.
Psalm 78:67-70 says, “Moreover he [God] refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: but chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved…He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds.” So, it was no to Ephraim and yes to Judah, the tribe of David.
The Ephraimites seem never to have been happy, but were proud, unthankful and took things personally. The obvious takeaway is that we become tribal when we forget that we are part of something bigger. Ephraim was not an end to itself. It was one of twelve tribes that God had guarded, guided, and protected, yet everything was personal to them. It was all about them, more land, more credit, more opportunities. The Ephraimites were never satisfied because they didn’t think of themselves as part of something bigger.
When the tribes came into the Promised Land, they became separated. They were not close together and unified as they had been when they were camped around the Tabernacle in the wilderness. When the Ephraimites left the battle with Jephthah, they went to their part of the Promised Land. They had become tribal.
So many times, I determine whether I am a success or failure purely by what my day holds, by what I have done and how I am appreciated. Sometimes I can think, “Everything is fine because look at what I have done” or “Everything is bad. No one knows what I have done.” I need to remember I am part of something that supersedes me. The Ephraimites were never happy and all they ever thought about was their part and never saw how they fit into the bigger picture.
When you go to church next time, realize you have a part that is important, but that is not the only part. When you are part of something that God is doing, realize that your part is important whether you are recognized and noticed or not. No matter if you have a good day or a bad day, you are part of something that is much larger. That is important to remember because we become tribal, separated and divided, when we forget we are part of something bigger.