Jephthah

• Found: Judges 11-12v7

Jephthah Rejected (Judges 11 v 1-3)

Jephthah was the son of Gilead. He was born to a prostitute and was disliked by his half-brothers, the sons of Gilead by his wife. They threw him out of the household and Jephthah fled to the land of Tob. There he stayed for a while, gathering together a band of men who followed him as their leader.

Called to Lead (Judges 11 v 4-28)

As time went by, the Ammonites started a war against Israel. The people of the town of Gilead needed a leader, and turned to Jephthah, who expressed surprise, as they had rejected him earlier in life. The elders offered him the position of leadership over them, which Jephthah accepted, becoming their captain. He was a Godly man and made his vows in front of the Lord at Mizpeh.

Jephthah first tried the diplomatic approach. He enquired of the Ammonite king why he was warring with Israel. The king replied that Israel had taken his land long ago, and he was only claiming it back. Jephthah explained that the jews had only wanted to travel through the land, but the king's predecessor didn't trust them, and had started the battle. The Israelites had won and claimed the land as theirs.

The Ammonites refused to listen to Jephthah's reasoning, and continued the war.

An Unwise Vow (Judges 11 v 29-40)

Jephthah prepared for the battle against Ammon. The Lord was with him, but Jephthah wanted to be sure of victory. He vowed that if the Lord gave him the battle, he would sacrifice the first thing that came to meet him when he arrived back home. The Lord gave Jephthah a mighty victory over the Ammonites.

So Jephthah returned home, with his vow in mind. When he arrived home, his daughter, his only child, ran out to meet him. Jephthah was distraught, and ripped his clothes in grief. His daughter realised the seriousness of what he had done, and agreed that the vow must be carried through; but she asked for two months to go into the mountains and mourn the fact she would never marry and have children.

After that day, it became a custom for the Israelite girls to mourn for Jephthah's daughter 4 days out of every year.

Ephraim's Anger (Judges 12 v 1-7)

The people of the tribe of Ephraim were angry at Jephthah for not involving them in the battle against the Ammonites, so they gathered together an army to complain to Jephthah. Jephthah was outraged. He said the Ephraimites had refused to help when they had called; how dare they face him now? Jephthah slew the Ephraimites and took the passages of Jordan. When anyone tried to pass through the Passages, they had to say "Shibboleth". The Ephraimites couldn't pronounce the word properly, and any that were discovered were slain on the spot.

Jephthah judged Israel for 6 years, then died.

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