Heroes of Faith Part 15 - Jephthah

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While there are many sad and tragic stories in the Bible, there aren’t many that are as gut-wrenching as Jephthah’s. Amidst his obedience as a warrior who trusted God’s judgement, he delivered victories none more profound than the one against the Ammonites where he made a vow that would forever change his life, a vow that would backfire so tragically because his one and only little daughter had to die as a result (Judges 11-12).

Jephthah may not be as well-known as someone like Samson or Gideon but his story is compelling in showing his determination in overcoming rejection right from the beginning when his own mother was a prostitute. At a young age, he was driven out of his home by his brothers as they harangued over a family inheritance. He fled his home in Gilead and settled in Tob where he met a number of powerful warriors who all decided to band together and formed a group around him.

Although the Bible wasn’t exactly explicit or specific, the decision of the warriors to be led by Jephthah would have been because he was proven material when it came to leadership qualities as well as being powerful, tactical and brilliant. Around him, chances of victories are a far better prospect.

With war looming large by the Ammonites, the elders of Gilead rushed to meet Jephthah with the hope of enticing him to lead their Israelite army against them. Which he did but not before he tried to settle a disagreement with the king of Ammon. It seemed that the king wanted to seize some disputed land, which Jephthah said wasn’t his to grab. He explained that the land had come into the possession of Israel and that Ammon had no legal rights to it. To which the king chose to ignore and in so doing, everything was pointing to an unavoidable war.

In preparing to go to battle, Jephthah vowed before God that if the Ammonites fall, he would make burnt offerings of the first thing that he saw come out of his home upon returning from the war. For those curious about such a vow, it was customary back then for Jews to keep animals stabled within the ground floor enclosure of the house while the family lived above. Jephthah’s gesture was based on the assumption that an animal would walk out from the house for him to make a burnt offering of.

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And even though he was known to be a brilliant strategist and proven leader, he was, foremost, someone who trusted in God. But nothing prepared us to expect him to make one fatal mistake. With the Spirit of the Lord having descended upon Jephthah, he led the Israelites to rout twenty Ammonite townships and in a mood for revelry, he returned home to Mizpah only to see, to his shock and horror, that the first thing to come out of his house was not an animal he could use as a burnt offering but his young daughter, his one and only child.

With a heart completely broken, Jephthah kept his vow according to the Bible. However Scripture has no real details as to whether he sacrificed his daughter or he consecrated her to God as a perpetual virgin, meaning that he would have ended up without a genealogical legacy, which was a disgrace during those times but that wasn’t all.

The tribe of Ephraim had complained to Jephthah that they were not consulted much less asked to join them in the battle against the Ammonites. The complaint had turned nasty and in the end, there was yet another battle to wage; this time against his fellow Israelites, the Ephraimites, whom Jephthah and his Gileadites struck first. All in all, 42,000 Ephraimites perished in yet another tragic event.

Jephthah went on to rule Israel as a judge for six further years thereafter before he died and was buried in Gilead. It’s hard to say how his own people would see him but God had chosen to honour him with a place in the Hall of Faith just as he honoured the Lord in all ways he could.

Achievements

Despite being rejected by his own brothers, he went on to lead the Gileadites to route the Ammonites in a battle that he tried hard to avoid only for the king of Ammon to ignore. He ruled Israel as a judge and trusted God with his life. Justifiably God honoured his efforts in Hebrews 11.

Personal Strengths

Without a doubt Jephthah was renowned as a mighty warrior and a brilliant battle tactician. Unlike others, he gave peace a chance by attempting to avert bloodshed through negotiations. It was only after that had failed, that he took up arms and defeated the Ammonites. The Gileadites saw him as a natural leader and one who trusted God, whom he called upon for strength and wisdom in battle.

Personal Weaknesses

Jephthah was irrational and rash, and paid a very heavy price for not thinking before he acted. His vow ended up turning against him even in sight of victory in battle and he lost his daughter as a result. Perhaps in sorrow (nobody could tell), Jephthah abandoned negotiations and struck the Ephraimites first, killing 42,000; a result that might have had been preventable. 

Lessons in Life

Jephthah inspires us to realise that even the worst of rejections is not the end of the world. He proved that he could pick up the pieces, move up and rebuild his life, which he did with humility and trust in God. He did not let his pride get in his way, preferring to let God lead instead. However rashness paid a tragic price as Jephthah was too quick to pronounce a vow that he would end up regretting bitterly. As Samuel, the last to be judge, said later, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Sam 15:22)

Hometown

Gilead, a little north of the Dead Sea in Israel

Family Tree

Gilead (father); mother was an unnamed prostitute; he had brothers but we don’t know their names

Occupation

Warrior, army commander, judge

Biblical References

Judges 11:1-12:7; 1 Samuel 12:11; Hebrews 11:32

Key Verses

Judges 11:32-33 > “Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith as far as Abel Keramin. Thus Israel subdued Ammon.”

Judge 11:30-31 > “And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: ‘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.”

Judges 11:34 > “When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter.”

Judges 12:5-6 > “The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, ‘Let me cross over,’ the men of Gilead asked him, ‘Are you an Ephraimite?’ If he replied, ‘No,’ they said, ‘All right, say ‘Shibboleth’.’ If he said ‘Sibboleth,’ because he could not pronounce the word correctly, they seized him and killed him at the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites were killed at that time.”

Next Up 

Heroes of Faith Part 16 - David; February 6 2015