Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but
he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
Gilead's wife bore sons; and when his wife's sons grew up,
they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You shall have
no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son
of another woman." Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and
dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together
with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.
It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made
war against Israel. And ... the elders of Gilead went to
get Jephthah from the land of Tob. Then they said to
Jephthah, "Come and be our commander, that we may fight
against the people of Ammon."
So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead,"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 11:1-7, NKJV)
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the
people made him head and commander over them ... (Judges
11:11, NKJV)
So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight
against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith —
twenty cities — and to Abel Keramim, with a very
great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued
before the children of Israel. (Judges 11:32-33, NKJV)
And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the
Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.
(Judges 12:7, NKJV)
Jephthah was a warrior, and the son of one of his father's
concubines. Because he was also the firstborn son of
Gilead, he had some claim to the inheritance of Gilead, at
least until his half brothers drove him away. So Jephthah
went to live on the border between Israel, and Syria near
Damascus, on the outskirts of the territory of Gilead, and
began raiding among the towns, cities and territories of
the enemies of Israel. Even though it was beneath him to
either beg or seek charity, Jephthah had no trouble
pillaging the defenseless, and began leading a band of
marauders to terrorize the countryside.
Some time later, the Ammonites (the descendants of Lot's
youngest daughter) decided to invade Israel. Since
Jephthah had developed a reputation as the leader of a
military style band of marauders, the elders of the
province of Gilead sought him out to be the leader of their
army. Jephthah wasn't exactly impressed by the elders
seeking him out in their hour of need, especially after
driving them away a few years earlier. So Jephthah struck a
deal with the elders that would make him their leader if he
defeated the Ammonites.
Jephthah wisely began his confrontation with the Ammonites
by resorting to diplomacy. He recounted the history of the
encounters between Israel and the other nations of the area
when Israel entered and conquered the land of Canaan.
However the king of Ammon wasn't about to acquiesce so
easily. So Jephthah made a hasty and ill-conceived vow to
the Lord, in return for victory over the Ammonites.
Ammonites were defeated, at the cost Jephthah's daughter
life of perpetual virginity, and quite possibly her life as
well.
So what lessons can we glean from Jephthah about the nature
of faith? First, the Lord is no respecter of social status,
he equally considers the faith of both the King and the
vagabond. Second, the Lord hears those who sincerely call
out to him in faith. Third, the Lord is not impressed by
hastily-made, and ill-conceiver and poorly-considered vows
for the sake of manipulation, which frequently result in
painful losses for both the one who proclaiming the vow,
and those close to him/her.
----------------------------------------------------
Jon Straumfjord is the author of numerous articles about
the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is
also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com ,
and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."
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