We shall today pick up on our devotional study series through the Book of Judges. We shall examine the passage of Judges 11:1-33 that is dedicated to a Bible character called Jephthah. As noted in our previous series, we should bear in mind one overarching theological principle that relates to the period of the judges - that Israel was under moral apostasy. The society was spiritually fallen.
In Judges 11:1, we are introduced to Jephthah who is described as "a mighty man of valor" and "the son of a harlot". He was the son of Gilead by a strange woman - a prostitute.
Some scholars have argued that the name "Gilead" as applied in this passage could not specifically describe a Jewish family since it was a clan name. They claim that the name was suggestive of the implications of the obscurity associated with Jephthah's parentage. They argue that Jephthah's paternity was impossible to determine and that he could have been sired by any Gileadite male. The passage context however suggests that his father and family could be identified. It is therefore safe to assume that Jephthah's father bore the name Gilead.
The writer of the Book of Judges reports that the sons of Gilead's lawful wife bid their time until they were grown and at that point they resolved to chase away Jephthah. They ganged up and kicked him out of the family and in so doing, they denied him their father's inheritance.
Jephthah took refuge in the land of Tob. Little is known about this region in Scripture. It is mentioned four times in the Old Testament Scriptures (Judges 11:3, 5; 2 Samuel 10:6, 8). The mention of Ish-Tob (Hebrew for "men of Tob") in connection with an Ammonite battle conscription suggests that it was an established territory during the days of the judges and was possibly a section of the wider Assyrian kingdom. Bible scholars say that it was located south east of the Sea of Galilee. This confirms that it was part of Gentile territory.
Jephthah never fought back. He chose to move on with his life as he sought refuge in the land of Tob. Perhaps his half brothers outnumbered him militarily.
Having been dispossessed of legitimate means of living, Jephthah gathered for himself a raiding band consisting of outlaws, here described as "worthless men" (Judges 11:3, NKJV). His ungodly activities are consistent with the moral decline in Israel during the period of the judges (see Judges 17:6, 18:1, 21:25).
After the lapse of time, perhaps after a number of years, the people of Ammon made war against Israel. Ammonites are descendants of Ben Ammi, the second son of Lot by incest (Genesis 19:30-38). They were idolators and were completely separated from God's covenant people (Ezekiel 25:1-7).
It is instructive that the people of Israel sought Jephthah at this point. The man who had been estranged from them was now the man of the moment. None of his brothers could match the skill and abilities that Israel sought in a leader at this time of crisis except Jephthah! Besides, Jephthah was possibly more familiar with the Ammonite warfare at this point, given his experience in the Gentile territory!
This reminds us of the circumstances of desperation that drove the sons of Jacob to seek grain in Egypt during a period of famine. God took them through a humiliating experience. They were utterly shocked when they discovered that their brother whom they had sold to slave traders and lied to their father about it was now the second in command in Egypt. The man they rejected was now their ruler!
Jephthah's reaction in Judges 11:7 is instructive of the broken relationship between the two sides. He asks "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?”
The elders of Israel must have been utterly ashamed at this point. Nonetheless, they took a vow in making Jephthah head over them if he successfully leads them to war. This confirmed his elevation to the position of military leader and judge in Israel after Tola and Jair, respectively (see Judges 10:1-5). This move undoubtedly reinstated Jephthah's status as a legitimate son of Gilead and restored his family inheritance. The account on his death and burial in the cities of Gilead after his six year reign attests to this fact (see Judges 12:7).
Judges 11:11 indicates that the people of Israel crowned Jephthah as head and commander over them. The mention of Mizpah suggests that he possibly gathered a solemn assembly of God's people at Mizpah in order to seek divine intervention on the crisis and to reaffirm their covenant relationship with God in the same manner that Samuel would later do (see 1 Samuel, 7:7-17). This demonstrates that the people were in a desperate situation.
In Judges 11:12-28, the writer records the exchange between Jephthah and the king of Ammon. Jephthah underscores the historical legitimacy behind Israel's claim to the territory under dispute which is described in Judges 11:22 as "the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan."
Judges 11:28-29 describes Jephthah's battle advance as he heads to Ammon to take on the enemies of Israel. He was possibly consolidating the battle conscription through the cities or regions mentioned.
Judges 11:30-31 conveys Jephthah's vow to God. He undertook to sacrifice anything that comes out of the doors of his house as a burnt offering if God shall grant him victory against the Ammonites. This text is a prelude to a theological controversy relating to the interpretation of the succeeding passage of Judges 11:34-40 which we shall examine under our next study.
To the glory of God, Jephthah resoundingly defeated the Ammonites in battle. The victory proclamation is relayed in Judges 11:33 as thus: "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."
MORAL LESSONS
1). God is not a respecter of persons. Jephthah was a mighty man of valor, a mighty warrior in Israel yet he had a disgraceful tag; a social disadvantage as a son of a harlot. Worse even, he was rejected and disowned by the very people whose identity he treasured - his family!
Thankfully, his stigmatization and expulsion by his family did not amount to God's rejection of him. There are great people today that grew up from humble or difficult family or societal backgrounds yet God graciously used them to lead nations and societies. Do not give up on God under your circumstances of disadvantage.
2). Our true heritage in God cannot be snatched from us. We learn from this passage that God restored the dignity of Jephthah after he was fraudulently dispossessed by his evil half brothers. He finally ruled over them in the end!
3). We should not judge people by their circumstances of disadvantage. God can radically transform their future at His appointed time. He lifted Joseph from prison to the palace; Daniel from the lion's den to the royal corridors of power and Esther from orphan to queen. God alone holds the closing chapter of a person's biography.
Psalm 75:6-7 says "For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
7 But God is the Judge:
He puts down one,
And exalts another."
King David, himself a person of family disadvantage, proclaims: "I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread" (Psalm 37:25).
4). Our family, relatives, neighbours, employers or even society may deprive us of what is legitimately due to us because of some social disadvantaged or stigma tag in our lives but God will never forsake us. He preserves and honors those who faithfully observe their covenant relationship with Him. Some people have lost jobs and business opportunities because of their ethnicity, gender, age or social class tags but God came in for them later in their lives.
5). We should seek the Lord at all times, not just during our moments of distress. Keeping a covenant relationship with God is the ideal. Nevertheless, turning to God is the godly thing that we can do when confronted with the burdens of life. This is what Jephthah and the elders of Israel did and God gave them victory. Israel was at one of its lowest moral ebbs during the period of the judges but God graciously preserved them for His divine purposes. There is no society that is beyond redemption.
6). Victory belongs to God. No matter how much arsenal, skill or resources may be at our disposal, we shall never succeed in life without the hand of God. The fact that the Spirit of God came upon Jephthah is evidence of God's divine approval and empowerment. He overcame because God was with him.
Elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that God strengthened Jehoshaphat during the period of siege over Jerusalem, saying, "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s" (2 Chronicles 20:15).
Where is your trust? (Read Psalm 20:7-8; 121).
7). Vengeance belongs to God. Jephthah did not revenge against his brothers when he finally took over Israel's leadership. He could have completely wiped them out in revenge but he chose to treat bygones as bygones and opted for reconciliation even as God lifted him up and honored him. We should not carry bitterness against our offenders for years on end. Let us lift our pains and afflictions to God and leave them to him. The Bible says "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord" (Romans 12:19).
CONCLUSION
Have you ever been dispossessed, prejudiced or abused in life? No matter what tag or stigma society has assigned you, never give up on God. Every person, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender or social class is important before the eyes of God. Never despise the skills and opportunities that God has placed at your disposal. God can use you for his glory in His own ways. Only be courageous and submit to Him and do not carry bitterness against your persecutors. Leave the pains and afflictions of the past to the Lord and serve Him with commitment. He will come for you at His appointed time and restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten (Joel 2:25).
Finally, and in context of the redemption works of Christ, we can proclaim that there is no greater bondage, alienation and abuse that one can suffer than being under Satan's control. We should turn to Christ for the redemption and restoration of our lives from sinful disobedience.
Similarly, there is no greater restoration that one can receive in this world than the forgiveness and cleansing of sin and reconciliation with God. Jesus suffered shame and affliction in order to restore our relationship with God that was broken in Adam.
God is faithful to preserve His people in all circumstances, pleasant or unpleasant. This promise was true concerning Jephthah. It is true concerning His dealing with us in this life and in the life to come. The Bible proclaims in Romans 8:37-39:
"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Keep it Christ!
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2023
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