Judges 11:22-28. Part of Jephthah's speech to the king of the Ammonites who was making war against Israel because Israel occupied what the Ammonites saw as their land. Jephthah reminds the king that, back in Moses' time, all the Jews wanted to do was pass through the land in question but the leader at that time, Sihon, did not trust the Jews and would not let them pass, so God made it known that the Jews had to fight. They did, and they won, "And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites." So if God dispossessed the Amorites so long ago and gave their land to the Jews, "who are you to take possession of them?" Jephthah says the king should be happy with what his own God, Chemosh, has given him and stop challenging the work of the Israelite God. None of his predecessors ever challenged Israel in this land, nor should he. The Jews and Jephthah have done no wrong to this king nor to the Ammonites, and it is wrong of the king to make war against them. But the king did not listen to these words.

I especially like that Jephthah tells the Ammonite king to be happy with what his own god has given him. This is a bit of psychology, whether Jephthah knows it or not. If Chemosh, the Ammonite god, was a real god, he would be blessing his people the same way that the true God has blessed his people, the Israelites. Clearly, the Ammonites are not so blessed by their god - so they feel they have to make war with the Israelites to get back what they see as theirs. But it is not theirs anymore, the true God has decided that.

Jephthah pointing out the difference between the two peoples shows that one God is true and the other is not. It should cause the king to pause and consider if he is worshiping the true God (he doesn't and he is not:).

Psychologically, we do this all the time. We see others blessings and think it is not fair and we should have those things. But all blessings are from God, who loves each of us. God gives us each what he wants us to have and he gives others what he wants them to have. We must be grateful for the gifts and the challenges that God gives us, because we know that they are meant to get us closer to him and bring us to our final destination. Those who do not feel this closeness to God or gratitude for all of his gifts might not be fully appreciating the true God - they might be worshiping other things like power, status, money, and these "gods" leave them empty, of course. When they see others' fullness, they often act with jealousy and make war upon them, but really they should heed Jephthah here and look to the god they are worshiping. If that god is not satisfying them, maybe it's time to switch to the one true God.