Judges 12:1 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.  The people of Ephraim were angry with Jephthah because he hadn't asked them to go with him to fight, and threatened to burn his house down.  They had the same quarrel with Gideon earlier, all brought about by hurt pride.  It is too bad that God's people often allow pride to cause them to have disputes with each other.  Verse two states, 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.  Jephthah then tells them that he did invite them to join him, but they didn't send even one man to help.  Sometimes, the people who become upset by the success of others, even the success of fellow believers, are those who refused to help to start with.  Verse three adds,  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?  Jephthah states that when they didn't help, that he took on the battle without them, and that God delivered him.  If they had a problem with his victory, it wasn't with Jephthah but with God.  The same is  true today.  As followers of Christ, our success is due to God and He should be given the credit, then no else should be upset by our success.  Verse four declares, 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.  The men of Gilead fought with the men of Ephraim.  It is a sad situation when those who are called God's people fight among themselves.  The people of Ephraim evidently saw the people of Gilead as being less worthy than they themselves were.  We cannot afford to look at fellow Christians the same way and fight amongst ourselves.  Jephthah and his forces, by God's power, had already defeated the real enemy, and the people of Ephraim should have been celebrating with them instead of fighting against them.  Verse five states, 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;  When the men of Ephraim had been defeated, Jephthah cut off their way to escape back across the Jordan.  Matthew Henry says that maybe this was excessive, but that Jephthah evidently felt it was necessary in order to preserve the peace.  Verse six adds, 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.  If they denied being from Ephraim, they were asked to pronounce a particular word which they couldn't do, probably because of differences in dialect among the tribes.  Forty-two thousand men of Ephraim were killed, all because they were angry with Jephthah because they said he didn't call on them to fight with him against the Ammonites.  Jealousy can lead to great destruction if we allow it to rule us.  Verse seven concludes, And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.  Jephthah ruled Israel for six years, and then he died.  No matter how successful people are in God's kingdom today, they will ultimately die if Christ does not return first.  Verse eight says, And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.  We are told that the next ruler was Ibzan,  Verse nine adds, And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.  Ibzan had sixty children, thirty sons and thirty daughters, whom he arranged marriages for.  He judged, or ruled, Israel for seven years, though he had evidently lived a long life.  Verse ten states, Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.  Verse eleven adds,  And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.  After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulon became the ruler of Israel.  Not all the judges, or rulers, were from the same tribe.  Verse twelve says, And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.  We are told even less about Elon than we were about Ibzan, but he ruled Israel for ten years, then he died.  Verse thirteen states, And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. Then verse fourteen adds, And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.  Abdon was of the tribe of Ephraim, and he had forty sons and thirty nephews that we are told rode on seventy donkeys, either as judges under him or as men of distinction.  Verse fifteen concludes, And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.  Like the others, Abdon died.  We are not told much about Israel during this time, and Matthew Henry points out that we are told nothing about the high priest.  He says that the priesthood was looking forward to the eternal priesthood of Christ.  We do know that the priesthood today is not an office, but a relationship with Christ.  Through our faith in Christ, we are all a part of the royal priesthood.

Judges 11:12 says, And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?  Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon to ask him why he was coming to the people of Israel in war.  The best way to react to those who oppose us as followers of Christ is to first attempt to ask them what they have against us.  Verse thirteen states, And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.  The king of Ammon said the people of Israel took away his land when they came out of the land of Egypt, and demanded that they return it.  There are people today who feel that Israel took away their land when it was established again, and they likewise want it restored.  This has been a centuries old problem.  Verse fourteen says, And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:  Then verse fifteen declares, And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:  Jephthah sent messengers once again to tell the king of Ammon that Israel had not taken away the land of Moab or the land of Ammon.  He gave a direct answer to the claim that the king of Ammon made, and included the land of Moab with it.  We need to be able to answer people honestly today as Christians if they accuse us of taking something that is theirs and be able to say that it isn't true.  Verse sixteen adds, But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;  Jephthah had the messengers tell the king of Ammon what had really happened.  Verse seventeen continues, Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.  Jephthah said that when the people of Israel came up from the Red Sea that they asked the king of Edom and the king of Moab to allow them to pass through, and they wouldn't allow them to, so they abode in Kadesh.  Verse eighteen adds, Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.  Jephthah said the people of Israel went by way of the wilderness around, not through, the land of Moab and Ammon, to the other side of the land.  Then verse nineteen continues, And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.  Jephthah said the people of Israel had asked Sihon, the king of the Amorites to allow them to pass through his land.  There were still no demands, but only requests.  Verse twenty declares, But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.  Jephthah said that Sihon did not trust the people of Israel, so he not only didn't allow them to pass through his land, but he went to war against them.  Sihon, not the people of Israel, was responsible for the conflict.  Then, in the war, Israel had defeated Sihon and taken the land.  Israel was not the aggressor, but Sihon was, and in a war, the victor takes the spoils.  If we do engage in war against anyone in the world today as followers of Christ, we need to be sure that they initiate the war.  Of course, we are to live in peace with all people to the best of our ability and are never to covet what others have.  Israel did not covet the land of Sihon, but they did defend themselves and take his land when attacked.  Verse twenty-one says, And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.  The credit for Israel's victory over Sihon did not go the people of Israel, but to the LORD.  If the king of Ammon now wanted to fight Israel for the land, he needed to know that he would be fighting against God.  As followers of Christ today, if we are living by His guidance, if we are in a war with people of the world, we need to rely on God for the victory and give Him the glory.  Verse twenty-two states, And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.  Because of Sihon's coming against Israel in battle and losing, the Israelites took possession of all his land.

Judges 11:34 says, And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.  When Jephthah returned home successfully, his daughter, his only child, was the first to come out of his door to meet him.  He had made a vow to God to sacrifice the first thing out of his door to God, as a burnt sacrifice.  This had been done basically as a bargaining tool, to help ensure God's giving Jephthah the victory.  We need to be careful what we promise to God as a bargaining tool.  If God does give us the victory over whatever problem we are facing, then we must be prepared to live up to our end of the bargain.  Verse thirty-five states,  And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.  His daughter was celebrating, but Jephthah said she had brought him low and was one of the ones who was causing him trouble because of his vow to God, which he couldn't take back.  We need to realize that when we make a vow to God that we cannot take it back without consequences, therefore we should know for sure what we are promising before we make the vow.  Verse thirty-six declares, And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.  Jephthah's daughter told him that whatever he had vowed to the LORD concerning her to do it, because God had fulfilled His part by giving Jephthah victory over the Ammonites.  Though she wasn't sure what the vow was, she recognized the importance of fulfilling it.  We must also recognize the importance of fulfilling our vows to God, because He will always fulfill His part if we have truly made a vow to Him.  Verse thirty-seven adds, And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.  His daughter did ask for two months before the vow was fulfilled.  Verse thirty-eight declares, And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.  Jephthah allowed her to go with her companions for the two months.  I have to wonder what they both might have been thinking during this time.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,  When she returned, Jephthah fulfilled his vow.  I cannot believe that this is something that God really wanted, but it was done because of the faithfulness of Jephthah to God.  I likewise believe that we may sometimes make vows to God that may not even be something that He would want us to do, but if we believe that God has given us success because of the vow, we cannot just suddenly change our mind about fulfilling our part of the vow.  That is why it is very important that we make sure that what we promise God is in accordance with His will.  Verse forty concludes, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.  The daughters of Israel went yearly to lament Jephthah's daughter for four days.  She had told Jephthah to fulfill his vow to God, and it had cost them both dearly.  We need to make sure that if we make a vow to God that it is not going to cost someone else even more than it costs us.

Judges 11:23 says, So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?  The question was if the LORD God of Israel had given the land to Israel, dispossessing the Amorites, should the Amorites now possess it again.  The things of this earth that God gives us may be taken away by other people, but the one gift that is important, salvation through Christ, can never be.  Still, just as Jephthah said, Israel had not defeated the Amorites by their own power, neither will we defeat the forces of the world by our own power.  Verse twenty-four states, Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.  Jephthah then asked the king of the Amorites if their god gave them a land to possess, would they not possess it.  Jephthah then said this is what Israel had done.  Matthew Henry says that what God gives us to possess we have a responsibility to possess.  Verse twenty-five asks, And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,  Jephthah then asks if the king now is any better than Balak was when he fought against Israel.  Balak had acknowledged that he had lost the land to Israel and did not attempt to reclaim it.  Verse twenty-six adds, While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?  Jephthah then said that Israel had possessed the land for three hundred years and asked why the Amorites had not attempted to reclaim it during all that time.  If we have been a follower of Christ for a long time, then we should be able to say to the people and things of this world that there is no reason for them to even attempt to reclaim us now.  Of course, this should be true no matter how long we have followed Christ.  Verse twenty-seven declares, Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.  Jephthah said that he had not sinned against the people of Ammon, and that they should let the LORD judge between them.  This is what we will ultimately all do.  Verse twenty-eight states, Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.  The king of the Amorites would not listen to what Jephthah had to say, and we should not be surprised of the people of the world today do not listen to us when we tell that God has blessed us in a particular way.  What God gives us, others may feel that they should have, and we can only hope that they listen to us when we tell them that God is the reason we have whatever it is that they feel should be theirs.  It would be nice if people felt the need for salvation as much as they sometimes feel the need for our possessions.  Verse twenty-nine declares, Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.  Jephthah was moved by the Spirit of God to go to battle against the Amorites.  He had tried to reason with them, and did not just go against them by his own decision, but was led by God's Spirit, just as we must be today.  Verse thirty adds,  And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,  Then verse thirty-one continues, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.  Jephthah makes a vow to God, that if God brings him back successful from battle, that the first thing coming out of the door of his house would be given to God as a burnt offering.  Verse thirty-two states, So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.  Jephthah was successful in his battle with Ammon because God gave him the victory.  If we truly go into battle with the world today under God's leadership and power, we can be certain of success, even if it doesn't look like it immediately.  Through our faith in Christ, the victory is ours.  Verse thirty-three concludes, And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.  Jephthah and his forces fought the Amorites in twenty cities, and defeated them completely.  We today can likewise defeat all the forces that come against us if we are followers of Christ and are acting under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Judges 11:1 says, Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.  We are told of a man named Jephthah, who was a son of Gilead, and was known as a man of great valor, but he was the son of a harlot.  His mother was evidently not even a concubine, which would have made him acceptable.  Still, a child should not be judged by the sins of his or her parents.  Verse two states, And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman.  When Gilead's sons by his wife grew up, they threw Jephthah out of the household and told him he would not inherit any of their father's estate.  They had done nothing more to inherit their father's estate than had Jephthah.  No matter what our status is in the world, we have done nothing more than anyone else to deserve to inherit everlasting life.  We all inherit it by accepting the gift of the Heavenly Father, salvation through Jesus Christ.  Verse three says, Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.  Matthew Henry says that these vain men were men that had lost their inheritance or had squandered it in some way, but that they were making their way honestly.  Verse four states, And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel.  In time, the people of Ammon made war against Israel.  There always seemed to be an enemy ready to challenge Israel, just as there will always be enemies ready to challenge us today as the followers of Christ.  We will never have to go out looking for enemies, because they will find us.  Verse five declares, And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob:  When the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead sent for Jephthah, who was living in the land of Tob.  Remember, Jephthah was know as a man of great valor, and now the people Israel needed him.  We may be rejected by the world as followers of Christ, but we must still remain people of great valor for the Lord, and even if they never realize it, the people of the world need us.  Verse six adds, And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.  The elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to come be their captain.  Suddenly, they were not concerned about who his mother was.  Verse seven asks, And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father’s house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?  Jephthah asked a legitimate question, and that was if they were not the ones who had driven him out of his father's house, so why were they now coming to him in their time of distress?  We might be able to ask the same question of those who reject us as Christian until they need something from us, but I don't believe this is what God expects from us.  Verse eight states, And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.  The elders said that they turned to him because they needed him, and that they would make him the head of the people of Gilead.  I have to wonder how his half brothers felt about this.  Verse nine says, And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?  Jephthah asked if he returned, and the Lord delivered them from the Ammonites, would they make him the ruler of Gilead.  He did not say if he delivered them, but if God did.  No matter how great we may be in the eyes of the world, any victory that we achieve will be by the grace and power of God.  Verse ten declares, And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.  The elders of Gilead called on the LORD to be their witness that they would make Jephthah their ruler.  If we make a promise based on our relationship with God, and any  time we make a promise as a follower of Christ we do so, then we better be prepared to follow through on it.  Verse eleven states, Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.  The elders of Gilead made Jephthah their ruler, and he uttered his words to God.  Jephthah might have been looked down on by people until he was needed, but he evidently kept his relationship with God.  This is the only relationship that we should be concerned with today.

Judges 10:10 says, And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.  Once again, the people of Israel called out to God.  They confessed their sin of having deserted God and serving Baalim.  This only happened when things got bad for them.  If we are a Christian and turn away from God's guidance, things will get bad for us, spiritually if not materially, and we must confess our sins and ask God to forgive us once more if we do.  Verse eleven states, And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines?  God asked the people of Israel if He had delivered them many times before when they had been defeated by other nations.  The answer was yes.  God has  already delivered us from all our enemies if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, so if we fall back under the power of sin, this is a question that He will ask us today.  Verse twelve adds, The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand.  God reminded the people of Israel of other times that they cried out to Him and He delivered them.  Verse thirteen declares, Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more.  God told the people of Israel that since He had delivered them so many times and they had continually forsaken Him that he was not going to deliver them again.  This would be a very sad place to be.  As followers of Christ, we will never be in a place where God will not forgive our sins, but we might reach a point where He removes His protective hand from our lives if we continue to allow sin to come back into our lives.  Verse fourteen adds, Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.  God told them to call to the gods that they had worshipped in the good times and let them deliver them in the time of tribulation.  It is often easy to ignore God when things are going well in life and allow other things to become more important than Him, but these things will never be able to deliver us when tribulation comes.  Verse fifteen declares, And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.  The people told God once again that they had sinned, and told Him to do whatever He wanted to do to them, but to deliver them that day.  They were basically saying to God get us out of our current situation and You can do whatever You want to do to us after that.  Of course, God could have done whatever He wanted to do to them anyway.  They really had no bargaining power, and neither do we.  They had to rely on God's mercy and grace, as does everyone.  Verse sixteen adds, And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.  The people of Israel put away the strange god's and began to serve the only true God, and God was grieved by their suffering.  They didn't wait for God to change their situation before they started to serve Him again, and neither can we afford to.  When we know we have sinned before God, we must repent and return to Him, whether things change physically or materially for us or not.  Verse seventeen states, Then the children of Ammon were gathered together, and encamped in Gilead. And the children of Israel assembled themselves together, and encamped in Mizpeh.  Then verse eighteen adds, And the people and princes of Gilead said one to another, What man is he that will begin to fight against the children of Ammon? he shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.  The Ammonites and the people of Gilead were facing each other, and the people of Gilead said that whoever would lead them in a fight against the Ammonites would be their ruler.  The people were ready to fight after returning to God.

Judges 10:1 says, And after Abimelech there arose to defend Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in mount Ephraim.  After Abimelech died, there was another ruler named Tola who arose to defend Israel.  We are told very little about him, except that he was of the tribe of Issachar, or the people of Israel during this time  Verse two adds, And he judged Israel twenty and three years, and died, and was buried in Shamir.  Tola ruled for twenty-three years, and he died.  Verse three states, And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and two years.  The next judge, or ruler, of Israel was Jair, a Gileadite, who ruled for twenty- two years.  Again, we are told little of what was happening in Israel during his rule.  Verse four adds, And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had thirty cities, which are called Havothjair unto this day, which are in the land of Gilead.  We are told that Jair had thirty sons who traveled on donkey colts and they were the judges of thirty cities that they under their fathers rule.  Verse five concludes, And Jair died, and was buried in Camon.  Evidently, during these forty-five years that Tola and Jair ruled, Israel was at peace and these two rulers served with the best interest of Israel at heart and followed God's guidance.  Though it doesn't specifically say so, I believe we can assume this because nothing bad was said about the people at this time.  The times when God's people are following Him faithfully may not be noted in history for any particularly significant facts, but it will be a time of peace and security for them.  Verse six declares, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him.  After the death of Jair, we are told about the people of Israel.  They did evil again in the sight of God.  The pattern begins to repeat itself once again.   God's chosen people began to serve false gods once more.  We, as followers of Christ, God's people today, must never allow ourselves to put anything, any other god, between God and us.  Verse seven proclaims, And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.  God was angry with Israel, as He had a right to be.  He allowed them to be defeated by the Philistines.  Verse eight says, And that year they vexed and oppressed the children of Israel: eighteen years, all the children of Israel that were on the other side Jordan in the land of the Amorites, which is in Gilead.  The people of Israel on the one side of the Jordan were under the rule of the Philistines for eighteen years.  Verse nine adds, Moreover the children of Ammon passed over Jordan to fight also against Judah, and against Benjamin, and against the house of Ephraim; so that Israel was sore distressed.  The people of Israel on the other side of the Jordan were at battle with the Ammonites at the same time.  Though divided by the Jordan, all of God's people had turned away from Him and all suffered because of it.  No matter where we live in the world today, if we are God's people through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord, we cannot afford to turn away from Him.  We must always keep God first, or we will suffer spiritually, if not physically.