Judges 11:1-40
Q.1. How did Jephthah respond to his rejection by the Gileadites? What offer did the elders make to him? Had Jephthah turned against God on account of his mistreatment? – (Jdgs.11:1-11)
Gilead was a man from the tribe of Manasseh, who settled east of the Jordan River (Num.26:29). He fathered a number of sons, including a son to a harlot. This son’s name was Jephthah (Jdgs.11:1). There was family strife, and the brothers of Jephthah drove him out saying – … You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman (Jdgs.11:2). He fled to the land of Tob, a place which would provide twelve thousand men, in a confederacy with the Ammonites and Arameans against Israel years later (c.f. 2 Sam.10:6). Jephthah soon gained a following from a bunch of troublemakers (Jdgs.11:3). By a strange turn of events the elders of Gilead, recognising his fighting prowess, invited him to give them protection from the Ammonites (Jdgs.11:1, 4-6). Jephthah reminded them of their rejection of him earlier. However, they insisted, and offered him the governorship of Gilead (Jdgs.11:8-10). Subsequently – … the people made him head and chief over them … (Jdgs.11:11). In spite of his previous ill-treatment, Jephthah had maintained his trust in God. His response showed that he relied on God for victory – … If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up to me … (Jdgs.11:9).
Q.2. What arguments did Jephthah present to the Ammonites? How well was he acquainted with Israel’s history? What do we learn about the way he left the outcome to God? – Jdgs.11:12-28)
Upon becoming their head, Jephthah immediately sent messengers to the king of Ammon, demanding an explanation – … What is between you and me, that you have come to me to fight against my land? (Jdgs.11:12). The king replied – … Because Israel took away my land when they came up from Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan; therefore, return them peaceably now (Jdgs.11:13). However, Jephthah was much more than a valiant warrior. He was intimately acquainted with the history of Israel, as recorded in the Scriptures. He reminded the king that Israel did not take away the land of Moab, Ammon, or Edom (Jdgs.11:14-16). In fact, Israel had respectfully asked for permission to pass through their lands, but all had refused their pleas. They had done the same with the Amorites who did not trust Israel and tried to destroy them (Jdgs.11:17-20). Jephthah reminded him – The Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites … from the wilderness as far as the Jordan (Jdgs.11:21-22). He then claimed boldly – Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord our God has driven out before us, we will possess it (Jdgs.11:24). He further argued – While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? (Jdgs.11:26). He then charged the king – … you are doing me wrong by making war against me; may the Lord, the Judge, judge today between the sons of Israel and the sons of Ammon (Jdgs.11:27). Fully trusting in the sovereign purposes of God, Jephthah left the outcome to Him.
Q.3. Was Jephthah wise to make the vow he made to the Lord? How does the record account for the victory? What soured the triumph? How was the vow applied? – (Jdgs.11:29-40)
The amazing victory can be accounted for because – the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah … and the Lord gave them into his hand (Jdgs.11:29 & 32). However, he made a rash vow before the Lord – 30 … If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering (Jdgs.11:3-31). Jephthah had revealed a comprehensive knowledge of the Law of Moses. He would have been well acquainted with the laws relating to vows and the demands of a Nazarite vow (Lev.27:1-25; Num.6:11). More importantly, he would have been aware of God’s condemnation of human sacrifice (c.f. Lev.18:21; 20:2-5; Dt.12:31; 18:9-10). It is inconceivable that Jephthah would have sacrificed his daughter, and still be commended for his faith, recorded in Hebrews 11:32. Little did Jephthah imagine that his daughter would greet him – … with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter (Jdgs.11:34). Thus, the victory was bitter-sweet. Nevertheless, she willingly submitted herself to her father’s vow and – … said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord; do to me as you have said, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon (Jdgs.11:36). She fulfilled her father’s vow, and he – … did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man … (Jdgs.11:39). Gilead never forgot the beautiful spirit of Jephthah’s daughter and celebrated her sacrifice in and around Gilead (Jdgs.11:39-40). Â