Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. (Judges 11:1-2).

After the genuine repentance at the end of chapter 10 the Israelites find themselves without a leader to confront the Ammonites who are threatening them. So we are introduced to Jephthah Who seems to fit the bill perfectly as he’s: ‘a mighty warrior’ (v1). However, he’s also an outcast, the son of prostitute, who, although he’s been raised with his father’s legitimate sons has been rejected by them, and is living as an outcast. Having gather some rather dubious people around him, he’s basically getting by the best he can by attracting similar kinds of people to him.

But the case, for the elders of Gilead, is ‘hero needed, who you going to call?’ So, Jephthah, with his combat and leadership abilities and his not so ‘merry men,’ seems to fit the bill perfectly. But, not surprisingly, Jephthah’s response is less than enthusiastic, and in verse 7 we read: ‘But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” The elders of Gilead’s response, could be paraphrased as “let’s let bygones be bygones, we really need you, so if you lead us in battle Ammonites you can be our next Judge as a perk for getting rid of them.” This makes Jephthah look a bit more kindly on what’s being offered, but the he’s still a bit suspicious (notably he invokes the Lord here) until he is reassured by the elders, and he becomes their leader (vs8-11).

It might surprise us that after hanging out with a bunch of Renegades, Jephthah pursues the diplomatic approach. However, he doesn’t get a diplomatic reply, as the king of the Ammonites accuses Israel of stealing their land after coming out of Egypt. Jephthah’s answer to this is interesting. Firstly, he gives a quick history lesson giving the correct account. He basically says that there were various people that Israel was told by the Lord not to attack. So they tried to travel round them. However, various pagan kings had decided to pick a fight with Israel, and in the end, Israel had prevailed. But in these verses (vs14-23) he also points out their theology is wrong, as it was the Lord who gave them: ‘Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. So Israel took possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.’ (v21-22). The point Jephthah is making is that Israel prevailed because the Lord was with them when the Ammonites and others had insisted on picking a fight! Jephthah concludes that it is actually they who have wronged Israel because they have invaded territory which the Lord enabled Israel to take from them due to their aggression, not Israel’s (v23).

Yet, despite pointing out that they are the aggressors, Jephthah continues with what is a diplomatic tone. He points out they can’t win this by quoting past examples and pointing out that for 300 years Israel has occupied the land, so why this aggression now? He concludes by pointing out that if any wrong has been done it is due to their aggression, not Israel’s and once again invokes the Lord as judge in this matter (vs 25-27). However, the king of the Ammonites is in no mood to listen Jephthah’s reasoned approach (v28).

We see much to commend Jephthah in this passage. He may have been a great warrior, but he adopts an attitude that tries to build bridges with people who have clearly wronged Israel. He invokes the Lord positively throughout his attempted negotiation. But is there is a hint of weakness in his theology?

The phrase in the first part of verse 24: “Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess?” has divided theologians. Some say that Jephthah is just acting like the psalmist in Psalm 95 verse 3 where he writes: ‘For the LORD is a great God, and a great king above all gods.’ They would argue that the psalmist does not actually believe there are other gods but he’s just using this as an example of God’s greatness, and they’d be right. Yet it’s interesting to note the Jephthah refers to their god by name, and we will see, as we continue in his story, that he later invokes the Lord in a careless way without  due thought or consideration. In the end, Jephthah could be seen as a warning to make sure that our faith is robust in every area and that we continue to workout our: ‘salvation with fear and trembling’ (Philippines 2:12).