Judges 11:23-28 - The king of Ammon paid no attention

11:23,24

As well as Israel taking the land from the Amorites, it was the Lord who gave the land to Israel. The Ammonites had no proper claim on the land. Jephthah then likens the case to the Ammonite’s god, Chemosh, giving them land. The latter is purely hypothetical as Chemosh was nothing but an idol (and the recipient of child sacrifices!). 

11:25

Why is Balak introduced here? Well, Balak (Num 22-24) tried to defeat Israel by getting Balaam to curse Israel, but this ploy failed utterly with Balaam doing nothing but bless Israel. This makes Jephthah’s question asking if Balak ever had a quarrel with Israel rather strange, for it seems that he certainly did contend with Israel, unsuccessful as it was. Though there was no actual war.

11:26-28

Jephthah now points out that Israel has actually been occupying the territory for about three hundred years, without problem from Ammon. So why is it now a problem? Jephthah contends that he has not wronged Ammon and submits the matter to God for judgement. The king of Ammon, however, was not for considering any argument and ignored the message. Similarly, in the ongoing Middle East conflict, I think it is fair to say that the Palestinians have never engaged in serious negotiations. They have had five opportunities to accept a “two state” solution, but have rejected them all. This is not to say that Israel is perfect, but the notion of many that if only Israel was nicer towards the Palestinians everything would be OK is arrant nonsense.