Judges 11:¹² Then Jephthah (leader of the army of Israel) sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What is there between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” ¹³ The king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel, on coming from Egypt, took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” ¹⁴ Once again Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites ¹⁵ and said to him: “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, ¹⁶ but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh… ¹⁹ Israel then sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, ‘Let us pass through your land to our country.’ ²⁰ But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel. ²¹ Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them.”

It’s interesting how we have two different interpretations of the same historical event. When Israel fled Egypt on their way to the Promised Land they had to pass through the land of the Amorites. Moses asked if Israel could pass in peace, but King Sihon of the Amorites said no. Yet, instead of going around the Amorites, God directed Israel to attack and take the lands by force, which they did.

The king of the Ammonites had one version of history (Israel stole their land) while Jephthah of Israel had another (The Ammonites brought it on themselves).

Two groups of people interpreted the same historical events very differently. This happens all the time in our day. I’m convinced that all current news outlets are essentially “spin”. It’s bias. It’s picking and choosing what information to accept or reject, what to highlight and what to ignore, in order to shape a narrative to fit our agenda. I honestly find myself wondering what to believe much of the time.

Lord give us ears to cut through the noise and hear your truth. Amen.