Judges 11:1-40
The judges are among the most fascinating characters in the Bible. They were at one and the same time great warriors and weak men. They put on display the human potential both for great feats and for failures and falls. They encourage us that if God could use them, then He is able to use us as well.
In Judges 11:1-40 the author of the book paints for us five scenes from the life of Jephthah.
REJECTED BY SOCIETY
In the first scene we see Jephthah as a man rejected by society — the son of a prostitute, suffering because of his origins (vv. 1-3).
1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him. (Judges 11:1-3)
Jephthah was an illegitimate son, and because his brothers regarded him as a rival for their father’s inheritance, they drove him out of his father’s house. Yet, regardless of his past, God nevertheless chose to use Jephthah in a remarkable way — to make him a judge in Israel and a hero of the faith.
In one of his “Demonstrations,” where he speaks about persecution, Aphrahat, one of the later Eastern church fathers, draws an interesting parallel between Jephthah and Jesus:
“12. Jephthah also was persecuted, as Jesus was persecuted. Jephthah, his brothers drove him out of the house of his father; and Jesus, His brothers drove out, exalted and crucified. Jephthah, though he was persecuted, rose up as leader of his people; Jesus, though He was persecuted, rose again and became King of the nations. Jephthah made a vow and offered his firstborn daughter as a sacrifice; and Jesus was offered up as a sacrifice by the Father for all the Gentiles.” (Aphrahat, Demonstration 21, 12 — Of Persecution)
The first thing we can learn from Jephthah is to forget our past and not to allow our origins to govern our future. In Philippians 3:12-14 the apostle Paul says:
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)
Jephthah is proof that even with a punctured ball God can still score a goal. If God could use him, then He can use you too!
LEADER
Jephthah’s past did not keep him from becoming a good leader of his people. The elders, the influential men of his tribe, recognized his potential, and when hard times came upon them, they invited him to become their “commander” — their military and political leader (vv. 4-6).
4 Some time later, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, 5 the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.” (Judges 11:4-6)
Jephthah reminded them of how they had treated him, but in the end he accepted their offer. And so he became a judge over Israel (vv. 7-11).
7 Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?” 8 The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be head over all of us who live in Gilead.” 9 Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me — will I really be your head?” 10 The elders of Gilead replied, “The Lord is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah. (Judges 11:7-11)
DIPLOMAT
In the next scene we see Jephthah as a diplomat. He writes a letter to the king of the Ammonites. That king, however, pays no attention to his diplomatic message (vv. 12-28).
12 Then Jephthah sent messengers to the Ammonite king with the question: “What do you have against me that you have attacked my country?” 13 The king of the Ammonites answered Jephthah’s messengers, “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.” 14 Jephthah sent back messengers to the Ammonite king, 15 saying: “This is what Jephthah says: Israel did not take the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites. 16 But when they came up out of Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and on to Kadesh. 17 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 at Kadesh. 18 Next 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 the Arnon was its border. 19 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.’ 20 Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his troops and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. 21 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, 22 capturing all of it from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the desert to the Jordan. 23 Now since the Lord, the God of Israel, has driven the Amorites out before his people Israel, what right have you to take it over? 24 Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess. 25 Are you any better than Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever quarrel with Israel or fight with them? 26 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? 27 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.” (Judges 11:12-27)
Notice that in this last verse Jephthah, though he himself is a judge, turns to “the Lord, the Judge” — asking Him to judge between the Israelites and the Ammonites. This shows his faith in God.
28 The king of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him. (Judges 11:28)
WARRIOR
We have seen Jephthah as a man rejected by society, and yet a leader and a diplomat. In the next scene Jephthah is portrayed as a warrior anointed by God (vv. 29-33).
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 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.” 32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the Lord gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. (Judges 11:29-33)
Here we see that Jephthah made a vow before the Lord: “Lord, if You give me the victory, the first thing that comes out of my house to meet me I will offer to You as a burnt offering.” In other words: “If You do something for me, then I too will do something for You.”
The people the Bible tells us about were people like us, even though they lived in another age. They too had needs; they too fell into complicated, difficult situations that were humanly unsolvable. They too grew discouraged, just as we do — they stumbled, they blundered, they sinned. But in the end God helped them, because they did things that drew His attention. How did they draw it? By their faith, by their zeal, by their good deeds and acts of mercy, by their fasting, but also by their vows. Psalm 76:11 says:
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared. (Psalm 76:11)
For the Israelites a vow was something ordinary. Just like sacrifices, tithes, and offerings to God, so also vows were a normal part of their lives. Classic examples of people who made vows before God are Jacob (Genesis 28:20-22), Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11), and in the New Testament even the apostle Paul himself (Acts 18:18). What is a vow, in fact? A vow is a special promise made by a person before God, a promise like an oath, by which he says that if the Lord does what he asks, then he will do something for the Lord. The shortest explanation of what a vow is we find in Numbers 30:2 — a vow is a binding of your soul with an obligation; that is, you bind yourself before God with a certain promise which you must fulfill. A vow contains the words: “If You do such and such, then I will do such and such.”
Jephthah’s vow, however, was foolish — spoken hastily and unwisely, uttered in ignorance. For Jephthah did not know what the first thing would be that would come out of his house to meet him after his victory. It was hardly likely that one of his sheep or goats would come out to greet him. And if his dog had come out first — would he have offered a dog as a sacrifice to God? That would have been detestable to Him.
FATHER
In the next scene a tragic turn takes place. For the first “thing” that comes out to meet Jephthah turns out to be his own only daughter. Would Jephthah fulfill his vow even in this case (vv. 34-35)?
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. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.” (Judges 11:34-35)
How did his daughter receive her father’s vow? The honor toward her father and the deep spiritual understanding that Jephthah’s daughter shows are remarkable (vv. 36-40).
36 “My father,” she 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. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” 38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition 40 that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. (Judges 11:36-40)
What actually happened? There are two interpretations. One is that Jephthah literally fulfilled his vow and offered his daughter as a sacrifice before God. The church fathers Origen, John Chrysostom, Theodoret, Jerome, Augustine, and others held this view. If she had not been offered as a burnt offering before the Lord, the daughters of Israel would hardly have gone out every year, four days a year, to “mourn” her. Only the dead are mourned, are they not?
The other view belongs to those interpreters who, because Jephthah’s daughter mourns her “virginity,” hold that Jephthah simply condemned his daughter to remain unmarried for the rest of her life and to become one of the virgins who served at the tabernacle. In that case the “burnt offering” would not be literal, but spiritual — not the shedding of blood, but virginity offered as a gift to the Lord.
We cannot be one hundred percent certain what exactly happened, but one thing is entirely clear: in one way or another, Jephthah fulfilled his vow, for verse 39 says that “he did to her as he had vowed.” Whatever took place, it was exceedingly hard for Jephthah, because in either case he was left without grandchildren and without descendants after him — his line came to an end.
BE A PERSON OF YOUR WORD!
Yes, Jephthah’s vow was hasty and foolish, but if we can learn one good thing from Jephthah, it is to keep our promises and to hold to our word, even when it is to our own harm. In Psalm 15 David answers the question of who will dwell on God’s holy mountain. In answer he lists several virtues. And among those who will live in God’s presence is the one who fears the Lord and demonstrates that fear by being someone who “keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind” (Psalm 15:4). The fact that Jephthah fulfilled his vow and did not go back on it, even though its fulfillment was the experience of a personal tragedy, made Jephthah a hero of the faith (Hebrews 11:32).
As Christians, we are to be people who hold to their word. Our “yes” must be “yes,” and our “no” must be “no.” In James 5:12 the apostle instructs us that the only thing coming out of our mouth should be the truth.
12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. (James 5:12)
There are two extremes in understanding this verse. One is that, because it says “do not swear,” we as Christians must not take a military oath. But if we look at the spirit of this verse, we will see that it is not about a military oath of loyalty to one’s homeland, but about the fact that there should be no need to prop up our words with an oath in order for them to carry weight and for people to trust us. The other extreme is for someone to take literally the words “all you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” Such a person would use no words at all except “Yes” and “No.” But that is tragicomic. For the apostle does not want us to use only the words “Yes” and “No,” but that when we use the word “yes,” it would mean “yes” and not “no” — that is, that we would not go back on our words, but would be faithful and consistent in our speech and our conduct.
Our character, our faithfulness, and our honesty — the fact that we hold to our word — truly do matter, especially in the world of lies and compromises in which we live. Solomon said that “a good name is more desirable than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1), because “a good name is better than fine perfume” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). And someone else has said: “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. But when honor is lost, then everything is lost.”
THE ROSE
While I was preparing for this sermon, I found on the internet the following example, which I consider exceptionally fitting.
Lieutenant John Blanchard took part in the Second World War. Before he was sent to the front, he was in a library in Florida, in the United States. He took a book from the library and began to read it.
He truly liked the book, but what he liked even more were the notes written in a beautiful feminine hand in the margins of the pages. They reflected a perceptive mind and a rich soul. The more he read them, the more he realized how many things, thoughts, and views he shared with the book’s previous owner. He could not believe how deep her insights were and to what degree he agreed with so much of what she said.
Looking at the back of the book one day, John saw that the name and address of the woman who had donated the book to the library were written there. Her name was Miss Hollis Maynell. Later Lieutenant John Blanchard wrote to her, and through their correspondence they struck up a friendship.
But soon he was sent to the front to fight for his country. They kept writing to each other, and after about a year they began to realize that they were falling in love with someone they had never met, someone they had not even seen. Then John Blanchard did what any young man would do. He wrote Hollis Maynell a letter in which he said: “You know, why don’t you send me a photograph of yourself, so that I can see what this Miss Maynell looks like, the one I have been corresponding with for such a long time?” In her reply to this letter Hollis Maynell told him: “If you really love me, then my appearance, and how I look, should not really matter to you.”
They kept writing and fell more and more in love with each other. The war came to an end. Blanchard returned to the States, and they set a place and time for their first meeting. At Grand Central Station in Manhattan, at seven o’clock. He was to stand there dressed in his military uniform, and he was to hold in his hand a book — the very book that meant so much to their relationship. “You will know me,” she wrote to him, “by the red rose I will wear on my lapel.”
The station clock struck seven, and the lieutenant’s heart pounded in anticipation of the woman whose heart he loved but whose face he had never seen. The train arrived, and as people began to get off and head toward the station exit, his gaze suddenly fell upon a beautiful young woman. Blond, blue-eyed, slender, she was dressed in a green outfit and was walking straight toward him. His heart began to beat even faster. Their eyes met. They began to smile at each other, but when she came within about three meters of him, he suddenly noticed that there was no red rose on her lapel. As she passed by him, she said to him with a smile: “Going my way, soldier?”
Describing what he experienced in that moment, John Blanchard says: “Everything in me wanted to follow her. I was drawn to her, and I began to think, ‘This would be wonderful!’ But then I remembered the promise I had made to Miss Hollis Maynell. I knew that even if my relationship with Miss Maynell should lead to nothing, it would certainly be one founded on devotion and friendship. So I stayed where I was. I went on watching the people getting off the train and leaving the station. After about two minutes I saw a woman who was about fifteen years older than me. She was not especially attractive. She kept walking toward me. I noticed that on her lapel there was a red rose. I came up to her, held out my hand, and said, ‘You must be Miss Hollis Maynell. I am Lieutenant John Blanchard. May I take your luggage?’”
The woman looked at him and said: “Young man, I’m not quite sure I understand what’s going on, but that woman in the green dress told me that if you spoke to me and said something, she would be waiting for you in the restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test.”
John Blanchard passed the test of honesty — would you pass it? Honesty consists in doing what you said you would do, in keeping your promises.
WEIGH YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY!
One last thing, but not least in importance, that we can learn from Jephthah is to be very careful before we vow anything before God, because God takes a vow exceedingly seriously. In Ecclesiastes 5:2 we read:
2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)
A vow must be made with spiritual caution. Do not vow something for which you have neither the strength nor the ability to carry it out. For example, if you make a vow of celibacy, would you have the strength to keep it? Proverbs 20:25 says:
25 It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows. (Proverbs 20:25)
If you vow something before God, you absolutely must fulfill it — it is better not to vow than to vow and fail to fulfill. In Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 we read:
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6)
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM ON JEPHTHAH
In one of his homilies, in which he speaks against oaths, mentioning Jephthah, John Chrysostom says:
“For he too, when he promised that whatever met him first on his return from victorious battle he would sacrifice, fell into the snare of child-murder; for his daughter met him first, and he sacrificed her, and God did not forbid it. And I know, indeed, that many of the unbelievers accuse us of the cruelty and inhumanity of this sacrifice; but I would say that the permission of this sacrifice in this case was a striking instance of providence and forbearance, and that in His care for our race He did not prevent this sacrifice. For if, after that vow and promise, He had forbidden the sacrifice, many would have become imitators of Jephthah in the expectation that God would not accept their vows, and this would have increased the number of such vows; whereas now they would know that, by acting in the same way, they too would fall into the snare of child-murder. But now, through the suffering that came from this vow being literally fulfilled, He put a check on all such cases in the future. And to show that this is truly so, after Jephthah’s daughter was slain, so that this calamity might be remembered forever and her fate not be given over to oblivion, it became a law among the Jews that the virgins should gather at the same season and mourn for four days the sacrifice that had taken place; so that by their weeping the memory of it might be renewed, that all people might become wiser in the future; and that they might learn that it was not according to God’s will that this was done, for if it had been, He would not have allowed the virgins to wail and weep for her. And that what I have said rests not on conjecture, this event demonstrates; for after this sacrifice no one ever vowed such a vow to God.” (The Homilies on the Statues to the People of Antioch, Homily 14:7)
In other words, according to John Chrysostom, God allowed this vow to be literally fulfilled so that it might serve as a “warning in our ear” — something startling and shocking that reminds us to be exceedingly careful with our words and our promises, especially before God.
Let us not speak senselessly like Jephthah, but let us be faithful like him!