Jesus said in Luke 17:1 “It is impossible for causes for stumbling not to come, but woe to him through whom they come!” and here in Judges, we first have the rejection of Jephthah by his own people because in Judges 11:1 “he was the son of a prostitute”. But the nature of his birth was not his choice and God uses him to deliver Israel. Then there is the declaration of war against Israel in Judges 11:13 And the king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel took my land from the Arnon up to the Jabbok and the Jordan when they came up from Egypt; so then, restore it peacefully.” but this wasn’t his land and Jephthah explains four reasons why he is in error saying in Judges 11:27 I have not sinned against you; but you are the one who is doing wrong by making war against me. Let Yahweh judge today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.” and there are times when we must stand our ground and trust God as our deliverer. Finally, God answers the cry of a woman that is barren and gives her a son, Samson he will be named, and a Nazirite from birth, born into a time and place where little is known or understood about God’s ways. Yet God, as he has through generations, raises up a deliverer to break the yoke of injustice.
You Will Not Inherit the House of Our Father
Judges 11:1–10
Israel has turned their hearts to the Lord by removing “the foreign gods form their midst” in Judges 10:16 but the Ammonites have “camped in Gilead. And the Israelites gathered and camped at Mizpah” in Judges 10:17. Israel did not have a leader but there was one man that was capable in
Judges 11:1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior; he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
However, Jephthah was an outcast because in
Judges 11:2 Gilead’s wife also bore for him sons; and the sons of his wife grew up and drove Jephthah away, and they said to him, “You will not inherit the house of our father because you are the son of another woman.”
so Jephthah lived far East, at the border or just beyond the land of Gilead and Manasseh in
Judges 11:3 So Jephthah fled from the presence of his brothers, and he lived in the land of Tob. And outlaws gathered around Jephthah and went with him.
Now, the Ammonites declare war on Israel so in
Judges 11:5 When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob.
but Jephthah challenges their request and rightly so, in
Judges 11:7 Jephthah said to the elders, “Did you not shun me and drive me out from the house of my father? Why do you come to me now when you have trouble?”
and Jephthah secures a pledge from them that he will be their leader because they have shunned him in the past and if he is to risk his life, he wants a guarantee for the future in
Judges 11:9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me back to fight against the Ammonites, and Yahweh gives them over to me, will I be your head?”
What is Between You and Me
Judges 11:11–28
Jephthah seals his position as the commander with pledges before the Lord in
Judges 11:11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before Yahweh at Mizpah.
and is now empowered to speak for Gilead and, since for Israel, there is no cause for war with the Ammonites, Jephthah’s first official act is to ask the Ammonites why they have declared war in
Judges 11:12 And Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What is between you and me that you have come to me to make war against my land?”
Though Jephthah is described as a mighty warrior, it is also clear that he is a man that prefers peace. Jephthah begins with diplomacy to avoid war if possible and “in pursuing such a course he was acting as became a leader in Israel (De 20:10–18)”.1
The answer that comes back is in
Judges 11:13 And the king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “Because Israel took my land from the Arnon up to the Jabbok and the Jordan when they came up from Egypt; so then, restore it peacefully.”
but this land was not taken from the Ammonites and Jephthah begins to recount the details of Israel’s march from Egypt and their considerate requests to pass through Edom and Moab and then the land of the Amorites. Israels requests were denied by all, but the Amorites took up arms against Israel in
Judges 11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to cross through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people and then encamped at Jahaz; and he made war with Israel.
- It was “Yahweh, the God of Israel” that gave the victory in
Judges 11:21 And Yahweh, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them; and Israel occupied all the land of the Amorites inhabiting that land.
and it was god that drove out the Amorites in
Judges 11:23 So then Yahweh, the God of Israel, has driven out the Amorites from before his people Israel, and you want to possess it?
- You possess what your god gave you and we’ll possess what our God gave us in Judges 11:24.
- The “king of Moab” never made war against Israel in Judges 11:25.
- And, for three hundred years Israel lived here in Judges 11:26.
So, Jephthah has exposed the hidden motives of the king of the Ammonites, he just wants the land and the power over Israel so he can exact tribute. Jephthah finishes with a charge against this king “you are the one who is doing wrong by making war” in
Judges 11:27 I have not sinned against you; but you are the one who is doing wrong by making war against me. Let Yahweh judge today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”
Jephthah Made a Vow to Yahweh
Judges 11:29–40
I Called You, But You Did Not Deliver Me
Judges 12:1–7
He Judged Israel
A Nazirite of God From Birth
Judges 13:1–8
Israel repeats this pattern of turning from God and serving other gods in
Judges 13:1 And again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.
but God intervenes to raise up a deliverer for them. And to do this, he chooses a women that is “infertile” and an angel appears to her bringing this message in
Judges 13:3–5 And an angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and he said to her, “Behold, you are infertile and have not borne children, but you will conceive and bear a son. 4 So then, be careful and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and bear a son. No razor will touch his head, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from birth. And it is he who will begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
This is in a time when Israel was far from the Lord. There is no mention of a priest or a prophet and when this man Manoah hears the report from his wife, he doesn’t know what to do so he prays in
Judges 13:8 Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh and said, “Excuse me, my Lord, please let the man of God whom you sent again come to us and teach us what we should do concerning the boy who will be born.”
by is approach, we might understand that Manoah is somewhat superstitious about god and spirits and the intent of this being toward them, but he did understand this was a powerful being.
Study Verses
- Judges 11:1–10 You Will Not Inherit the House of Our Father
- Judges 11:11–28 What is Between You and Me
- Judges 13:1–8 A Nazirite of God From Birth
Today’s Reading
- Judges 11:1-40
- Judges 12:1-15
- Judges 13:1-8
References
- 1. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 166). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.