Jephthah
was a man of unfortunate life circumstances. Born the son of a harlot he was
considered an outsider by the community even though his father Gilead the son
of Machir was the founder of the Gileadites and was the grandson of Manasseh.
Nonetheless Jephthah’s father instead of covering up his liaison will bring
Jephthah into his home and raise him as his own son. Which speaks to his
integrity and love for Jephthah. In time Gilead’s wife also bore him sons but
Jephthah being the son of a “strange women” never held their favor. And when
Gilead dies Jephthah’s brothers along with the community elders unceremoniously
disinherit him and drive him away even though Jephthah is the first-born son
and rightful heir (Judges 11:2, 7). In other words Jephthah’s genealogy
should’ve put him in line to inherit his father’s position as tribal head of
the Gileadites. But having no means of appeal Jephthah to save his life flees
to the land of Tob. (Now Japheth’s being disinherited and driven away reminds
of the Lord Jesus’ parable to Israel’s elders when in it Jesus says to them
that they too seek to kill the rightful heir and steal his inheritance for
themselves). Now Tob was a land whose name meant bountiful but in reality was a
frontier town beyond the eastern boundaries of Gilead before the Syrian Desert.
Once there the disenfranchised Jephthah will assemble a “band of raiders” (What
the New King James Version calls worthless men); and will go out raiding the
surrounding region. Now unlike Abimelech Gideon’s illegitimate son who likewise
assembled men to himself and then murdered all but one of Gideon’s legitimate
sons in a power grab. Jephthah’s return will not come by his own designs. But
by the Sovereign hand of God when in a move of desperation the elders of Gilead
because of a looming Ammonite invasion seek out Jephthah whose reputation, as a
man of valor had become well known throughout the territory. Ironically then it
will be the same elders that drove Jephthah away that will now seek his help in
their time of need. On this point the Believers Bible Commentary notes: “In
some ways Jephthah reminds us of the Lord Jesus: There was a shadow over his
birth and he was rejected by his brethren. When they got into bondage they
remembered him and called upon him as their savior; and in agreeing to help the
Gileadites, Jephthah agreed to be their savior but insisted on being their lord
as well.”[i]
Thus
Jephthah’s initial reply to them when they seek him in the land of Tob, “Did you not hate me, and
expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in
distress?” Judges 11:7 Reveals the less then cordial
manner in which he was exiled.
Yet
Jephthah’s further reply “if you take me home to fight against the
Ammonites and the Lord delivers them to me will I be your head?”
Reveals that Jephthah believed Gilead was his home and they were his brethren
though initially he doubts their sincerity when they seek him out to help them.
And it’s easy to see why. It’s hard to trust people who are so unscrupulous.
Yet they’re acting no differently towards Jephthah then they acted towards the
Lord God of Israel when they first sought Him out in their distress (See Judges
10:10-14).
Nonetheless
Jephthah was no saint (nor were the people he will rescue). Jephthah like us all
was a sinful man who like us all needed to repent of his own sins and
that he will do at Mizpah where with Gilead’s elders and all the people
assembled Jephthah will repeat his words before the Lord God of Israel (Judges
11:10-11). Meaning he will enter into a solemn covenant with God, in essence it
is there where Jephthah experiences conversion. Now the name Mizpah is also important
for it means watchtower, and it implies God’s watching over the affairs of the
nation or an individual. Therefore it will be there that Jephthah defines
himself as a man of God (not just by the great deliverance that God
later works through him on the battlefield, 1 Sam. 12:11) but right there when
Jephthah is reconciled back to his brethren and places his and the peoples fate
in the Lord’s hand. Therefore it will be God who will lead His beleaguered
people on to victory over the encroaching Ammonites. Still that God would
anoint with His Spirit a man utterly disqualified according to some people’s
interpretations of the Law (Deut. 23:1-3) speaks volumes of God’s redemptive
prowess even in the Old Covenant era. Therefore God does not disqualify anyone
from Himself based on their lives circumstances. Individuals are often born
into circumstances that they cannot change and frequently do things in their
lives they cannot undo. That is why we all need a Savior and not merely Law.
Jephthah’s story then reminds us all that no one is excluded from the heavenly
congregation who likewise repents and puts their faith in God.
Jephthah’s
first move then will be to dispatch envoys to the Ammonite king to inquire as
to why the aggression. The Ammonite kings response though is short and
unapologetic. And with that Jephthah redispatches them to make his case clear
and indisputable (Judges 11:14-28), and seeing that God honors Jephthah’s
diplomacy efforts and anoints him with the Holy Spirit for battle. With that
Jephthah moves his forces decisively towards the Ammonites.
Now
Jephthah will make a vow before going into battle that if the Lord will grant
him victory over Ammonites he will offer Him whoever comes out of his house
first as a burnt offering. Meaning their life would be non-redeemable, and
would have to be wholly sacrificed to the Lord. Similarly on the battlefields
of life men and women often utter their own solemn promises to the Lord before
facing their own battles. What sets Jephthah apart will not be that he avoids
this, but that he will keep his word even if it costs him whom he loves
most; his only child. In so doing Scripture will record Jephthah’s name
amongst the great men of the era: Gideon, Barak, Samson, David and Samuel not
for his skill on the battlefield but rather for his faithfulness to God.
Jephthah then upon his victorious arrival home and seeing his daughter coming
out of his house rejoicing is devastated. Yet it is his daughter who will
affirm the solemn oath of her father and encourage him to keep his vow to the
Lord. She only requests a few months to mourn her virginity with her friends
on the mountains of Gilead, which Jephthah will grant her and upon her return
they will mutually fulfill his vow to the Lord. Jephthah’s daughter will not
marry and Scripture records that Jephthah himself will have no other children;
Jephthah’s name and legacy will be left in the Lord’s care.
Thus in a strange twist of irony
two illegitimate children (Jephthah and his daughter) will show themselves
faithful to the Lord God of Israel by keeping their word to the Lord amidst a generation that frequently would
not. Jephthah then stands for us all as a lesson that anyone regardless of
their background or past lives can likewise hold high esteem in the eyes of
Lord who measures all people not by their pedigree or by their mistakes rather
by their commitment and faith to Him (1 Sam. 12:11; Heb. 11:32-40).
Scripture Quotations:
The Holy Bible,
New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.Additional Resources Cited
[i]MacDonald,
W., & Farstad, A. 1997, c1995. Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New
Testaments . Thomas Nelson: Nashville
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