Israel’s next judge was a man called Jephthah. He was a mighty warrior. The name Jephthah means “He opens.”
ABUSED AS A CHILD
Jephthah was a son of Gilead. His mother was a prostitute. When Gilead’s sons by his legal wife grew up, they drove Jephthah away saying; “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family because you are the son of another woman.”
It might be fair to assume that Jephthah suffered child abuse from his original family. Jephthah left the home of his brothers and settled in the land of Tob.
LIFE IN TOB
In Tob (between Ammon and Syria, northeast of Gilead) Jephthah lived among a group of wild companions. They lived sort of a “Robinhood” type of existence.
These groups of unruly men followed Jephthah like gang members. They were known in the land. You might even describe them as gorilla-fighters, or terrorist living in that region.
TROUBLES BACK IN GILEAD
The day came when the Ammonites fought against Israel.
When deciding what they needed to do, the elders of Gilead remembered that Jephthah was a mighty warrior. Though they did not like him; they needed him. Traveling to the land of Tob, a group of the elders of Gilead sought after Jephthah. The elders asked Jephthah to be the commander of their military as they fought the Ammonites.
Jephthah reminded them of how they had been hateful to him and drove him away from his father’s house. He accused them of only seeking him out because they were in trouble. When he mentioned this fact the Israelites enticed him to be forgiving of their past actions. They promised they would make him head over all who lived in Gilead after he was victorious.
REVERSING HIS PAST REPUTATION
I’m sure the wounds of his childhood and the disgrace of getting kicked out of his own home had affected Jephthah deeply. Now he had a chance to prove himself worthy.
Jephthah favored this reversal in his life, but he was still unsure about taking the offer. Should he trust these same men who had not wanted him around before?
Had they really changed? It was hard for Jephthah to trust them again.
He asked if he went back with them to help fight against the Ammonites if he would REALLY be their leader after the victory of battle. The elders of Gilead swore by the name of the LORD that they would keep their promise and follow him as their leader.
THE FAITH OF JEPHTHAH
Though Jephthah was known as a rough, hard and unrefined warrior, he had a sincere and strong loyalty to God. Knowing and believing that God would give Israel the battle, Jephthah went back to Gilead and took vows before the LORD IN Mizpah.
During this time Jephthah made a formal, public covenant with the men from Gilead.
SEEKING PEACE BEFORE WAR
Jephthah began to gather and prepare his army. At first Jephthah initiated peace talks with the Ammonites rather than immediately proposing war.
He tried to reason with the Ammonite King by sending him a message and asking him what he had against Israel.
The King of the Ammonites answered Jephthah by saying; “When Israel came up out of Egypt, they took away my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, all the way to the Jordan. Now give it back peaceably.”
I can see a parallel in this story to modern times because this was just as Hamas claims that Israel has taken land from the Palestinians of today. In both cases the claims were false.
THREE REASONS TO END THE FIGHTING
In the case of Jephthah and the Ammonites the claim was false because of three valid points which were quickly confirmed to the Ammonite King by Jephthah:
- Israel had not attacked any territory held by Ammon or Moab when God’s people had approached the Promised Land in the days of Moses. The Ammonites had lost the land to the Ammorites. Israel had taken the land from the Ammorites.
- God had given Israel their land. Even the pagans recognized that another territory should not claim land that someone’s god had given to them.
- If Ammon actually had a legitimate claim to the land; they would have taken it years ago instead of waiting out 300 years of occupation. It had been 300 years since Israel had defeated Sihon and captured Hesbon in 1406 B.C.
JEPHTHAH’S REPLY
Knowing that this claim of the Ammonite King was not true Jephthah sent a message back to him saying; “Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. When they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. Then Israel sent messengers to the King of Edom saying, ‘Give us permission to go through your country,’ but the king of Edom would not listen.
They sent also to the king of Moab, and he refused. So Israel stayed in Kadesh. The next day they traveled through the wilderness, skirted the lands of Edom and Moab, passed along the eastern side of the country of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon. They did not enter the territory of Moab for Arnon was its border.”
DEFEATING THE AMORITES
“Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’
Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel.
Then the LORD, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and his whole army into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country, capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan.”
WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE?
“Now since the LORD, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right do you have to take it over?
Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you?”
(Jephthah either didn’t know that the god of the Ammonites was named Milkom instead of Chemosh, or perhaps he could have been making this error on purpose in order to downplay the power of the god of the Ammonites as a ploy to antagonize the king he was speaking to. Either way, we know that he referred to the wrong pagan god when he spoke to him.)
Jephthah continued to speak:
“Likewise, whatever the LORD our God has given us, we will possess. Are you better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? For three hundred years Israel occupied Heshbon, Aroer, the surrounding settlements and all the towns along the Arnon. Why didn’t you retake them during that time?” “
“I have not wronged you, but you are doing me wrong by waging war against me. Let the LORD, the Judge, decide the dispute this day between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
LET THE LORD DECIDE
The Ammonite king received Jephthah’s message, but ignored it completely.
So God led Jephthah to cross Gilead and Manasseh, passing through Mizpah of Gilead and from there advancing against the Ammonites.
THE VOW OF JEPHTHAH
Before beginning to conquer the Ammonites; Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
He vowed, “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
Many have considered that this was a terrible mistake on Jephthah’s part. Instead of waiting on God’s instructions; Jephthah made a plan for himself and then asked God to bless it.
MAKING VOWS BEFORE GOD
God likes to make the plans concerning His people. (He sees better than we do.) He uses faithful men to follow and carry out His plans; not to make decisions which He can bless for them.
Jephthah’s understanding was backwards and worldly.
Some say that by doing this the way he did that Jephthah was mixing religion with politics and God’s will with man’s will. That is a very bad mix.
Only God could truly tell all the intentions of Jephthah’s heart though. It is clear that Jephthah’s commitment to God was strong, but his understanding of God’s ways were weak. A wise man will be committed to God AND the prayerful study of Torah for confirmation.
We do know that Jephthah paid a heavy price for winning the battle God had already given to him even before he decided to made this foolish vow.
A VICTORY FOR ISRAEL
After making that vow; Jephthah went out to fight the Ammonites.
The LORD gave him the victory.
Jephthah and his men devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim.
So it was that Israel had victory over the Ammonites.
This ended the 18 years of terror in which Ammon had oppressed them.
RETURNING TO MIZPAH
Jephthah then returned home to Mizpah.
His only child, a beautiful daughter came out to greet him. She came out his door dancing to the sound of timbrels in celebration of his victory. This was a customary way for the women of the land to greet returning warriors after a great victory.
It is plain however that Jephthah never expected this greeting from his precious young daughter.
Upon seeing her with the loving and thoughtful greeting she used to welcome him back home, Jephthah remembered the words of his vow. They must have broken his heart. He tore his clothes and cried.
LACK OF SCRIPTURAL WISDOM
Again, we sadly see how knowing the scriptures could have helped Jephthah not only to be a better leader of Israel, but to make much wiser decisions concerning his daughter.
Jephthah’s obedience was amazing. This is mentioned later in the book of Hebrews. It wasn’t obedience that was lacking. Jephthah needed widsom and discernment.
He felt he had to keep his vow.
Apparently Jephthah was totally unaware of the provision God had given Israel in Leviticus 27:1-8 that lets a man who has made an unwise vow redeem his mistake.
NOT REALIZING GOD’S REDEMPTION
Legally, Jephthah could have redeemed his daughter’s life by paying the redemption price in silver to the temple.
Some like to believe that this DID happen and Jephtahah’s daughter was only required to be confined to living the rest of her life as a temple servant instead of being offered as a human sacrifice.
HONORING THE FOOLISH VOW
Most schoolers believe that Jephthah felt he had to honor his vow, no matter what. He felt he must do this in order to keep his good name and standing before God and the nation.
When his daughter saw the painful look in her father’s eyes she was confused. After all she had given her best performance, similar to the dance of Miriam after the victorious defeat of Pharaoh’s army when the people of Israel had crossed the Red Sea. She thought she would find her father elated and happy with her actions.
So Jephtahah explained to her that he had made a vow to the LORD that he could not break.
DO TO ME AS YOU HAVE PROMISED
The brave daughter replied, “You have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.
These amazing words from the innocent young virgin reminded me of the words of the fiat of Mary which would be given as her answer to God many years into the future of the times of this story.
Have you ever known such pure innocence?
A LAST REQUEST FROM AN INNOCENT DAUGHTER
The daughter continued to speak:
“But grant me this one request; give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.”
Jephthah granted her request.
After two months the daughter returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed.
THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING TORAH
Jephthah’s final outcome was just the opposite of what happened with Abraham and the intended sacrifice of Isaac. The main difference I can see in the actions of both faithful men is that Abraham was following God’s request, not making his own plan and asking God to join him in it.
Also Abraham was a student of the scriptures. He studied at Shem’s school and was firmly committed to strictly following his religious education in carrying out God’s will.
Apparently Jephthah had never considered studying the scriptures. Perhaps he had no mentor in his childhood to teach him the importance of doing so. He didn’t seem convinced that knowing Torah could be of great value to a national leader.
GREAT MISTAKE OF A NATIONAL LEADER
Had Jephthah thought the study of God’s Torah important enough to keep it central in his life, he would have realized that God NEVER requires human sacrifice.
The need for sacrifice was covered once for all through a part of God Himself in the form of the Godhead we call Jesus. No flesh from mankind would ever be holy enough to cover the sins of humanity. God has never desired it. Only Jesus was qualified.
Jephthah was following the ways of men from the pagan culture he had grown up in instead of considering God’s ways when he made this vow.
In the end of it all, the man who had tried to manipulate God into guaranteeing his peace was doomed by losing one that he greatly loved and cherished.
The last of the heritage of his lineage was wiped out by his own foolish words.
WHAT ABOUT US?
Are the coming generations of America not similar in their fate to the daughter of Jephthah?
Have we not tried to manipulate God into preserving our nation by promising away the future of our next generations as we have continued with the sins and atrocities of abortion, immorality, idolatry, disobedience and hate?
Could we, like Jephthah be trading the ease of the present for the loss of the future?
CAN WE CHANGE THE ENDING?
Jephthah’s daughter symbolized the righteous traits of Jesus.
She will forever stand as a reminder of how the innocent of our culture are sacrifices at the altar of man’s plans every day that we continue to exist.
Will it never end?
Could it ever end?
Are our prayers in vain and contradictory to our actions?
God will NOT be manipulated.
A strong lesson here is to never make a vow (either to God or to your neighbor) without thoroughly considering the full consequences.
Most people feel that Jephthah’s daughter became an innocent and unnecessary sacrifice. She also symbolizes the sacrifices of the millions of Jews that have been made by cultures of hate over the centuries of history.
NEGLECT OF GOD’S LAW ALWAYS HURTS A CULTURE
Long neglect of the Mosaic laws had left Israel in ignorance.
They had received this victory for now; but if things didn’t change in the culture of the day, what would be the fate of their future?
Perhaps Jephthah’s daughter’s fate was a strong message for them to wake up and turn. When a society allows abuse of their women for cultural rituals and practices we always see a historical decline into moral confusion and social chaos. The end results of abortion, though it seems to be a temporary solution to some, is actually abuse toward our women.
You will not be hearing this on the local news. They will not report the tears of regret and the heartache that some women suffer out of ignorance and cultural abuse because of being persuaded to kneel at the altar of abortion. Our forgiving God knows their hearts and forgives those who repent and turn, but our culture could have simply told them the truth to start with.
WHEN WILL WE CHANGE?
When will we see this?
Which tragedy was worse; the tragic story of Jephthah’s daughter or the tragic story of the lies to the women of the American culture?
This tragic story began a new tradition among the young women of Israel. From that day forward they began to go out annually for four days to commemorate the fate that befell the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
They did not want to forget.
I probably should end this story here; but in the deep recesses of my heart I sense that there are even more prophetic reasons for this sad story. I think God wants us to learn more from it. Perhaps it carries even more significance for our own times than we have discussed today.
This feeling haunts my spirit; so I will pray over this and ask God to reveal more if He wishes for us to know it. Should that happen; we will discuss this story more in next week’s lesson.
Until then, remember to study to show yourself approved; a workman who neededth not to be ashamed.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.