The Ephraimites express their qualms to Jephthah about not being called upon to help him in battle. Jephthah doesn’t try to reach a settlement. A harsh argument ensues and escalates into armed conflict. The Gileadites patrol the passages along the Jordan River and cruelly kill every Ephraimite they encounter. The quarrel between the Gileadites and the Ephraimites escalates into a full-blown civil war. Two tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh) aggressively fight each other because of their honor and pride. This unnecessary conflict only leads to mutual weakness. It will be generations before the two tribes recover their previous glory.
“and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand” (Judges 12:6)
Restraint is the time taken after an impulse to restrict negative thoughts and behaviors.
