Sometimes we fail because of who we follow
Judges 10: 6 Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook Yahweh and did not serve Him. 7 So the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.
10 And the sons of Israel cried out to Yahweh, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.” 11 Then Yahweh said to the sons of Israel, “Did I not save you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? 12 Also the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you. And you cried out to Me, and I saved you from their hand. 13 Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer save you. 14 Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” 15 Then the sons of Israel said to Yahweh, “We have sinned, so You, do to us whatever seems good in Your eyes; only please deliver us this day.” 16 So they removed the foreign gods from among them and served Yahweh; and [e]He could bear the trouble of Israel no longer.
We started last week by looking at failure through following bad leadership; and we were looking at three kinds of leaders; self-promoting leaders, leaders of the moment, and seriously flawed leaders. Abimelech was a self-promoting leader, so the lesson last week was to look over those that you consider following spiritually, and consider what they say, who they are, and what they do.
This week, I am going to try and put the sermon into a positive light, even though the passage basically presents negatives. The positive light is built around a new title; How to become the leader God smiles on.
There are all kinds of leaders in Scripture; self-promoting, God-called, God led, good examples, humble, virtuous, corrupt, violent and sometimes foul. But from all of them we can learn lessons. We can learn what to do, and what not to do.
And we’ve all had both kinds in our lives haven’t we? I’m sure, if we wanted to take the time today, we could sit around and talk about the lessons we’ve learned from leaders, good and bad. Some of us have had parents who were our good examples for parenting, for marriage, for work, and faith, and life. Others of us have had the opposite.
But life’s lessons are like eating fresh caught fish. You dig around on your plate to find the meat, but when you encounter a bone, you push it to the side. Ultimately, the choice is ours as to whether we will learn from both the good and bad, and choose to follow the good example, or the bad example.
So, today, we return to Scripture to consider the judges who led Israel. So, get out your fork, and prepare to separate meat from bone.
Prayer
What did we learn last week? We learned to avoid certain leaders; power-hungry, sex-obsessed, violent leaders. And we learned that instead we should look for servant-hearted, self-denying, gentile leaders.
Well, this week, we want to make it personal “How to become a leader that God Smiles on.” Here are the points; Begin with genuine repentance, eat the meat from your past don’t just gnaw on the bones, be content with the lot God gave you, lean on God rather than trying to use God, know and stand on God’s Word, learn the difference between your dumb ideas and God’s wisdom, be gracious and forgiving when possible.
I. Abimelech: self-promoting leaders
II. Tola, Jair, Izban, Elon, and Abdon: leaders of the moment
Setting
Other judges
I had originally planned on spending a little time on the two judges before, Tola, and Jair, and the three judges after Jephthah; Izban, Elon, and Abdon. But time constraints are not going to allow it.
Suffice it to say that they were just leaders of the moment. The best of them were individuals we know little about, the worst had similar qualities to bad leaders; polygamous and power hungry. But that brings us to Jephthah. I summarized Jephthah as an example of a “seriously flawed leader.” Our first point in “How to be a leader that God smiles on” is
Begin with genuine repentance
But before we get to our first point in becoming a good and Godly leader, let’s look at the setting for this story.
III. Jephthah: Seriously flawed leaders
A. The Setting
1. Failure again
The setting is that Israel walked back into idolatry; the worship of other gods.
Judges 10: 6 Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship him.
Now the first thing I noticed about this was the sheer quantity of idolatrous gods they start following this time. We have the Baals, the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines.
It sounds like they have decided to follow them all this time. I did a little research to determine which gods we are talking about here.
Israel turned from the Lord to a wide range of foreign gods, including Baal and Ashtoreth, worshiped by the Canaanites; Hadad, worshiped by the Arameans (Syrians); Astarte, worshiped by the Sidonians (Phoenicians); Chemosh, worshiped by the Moabites; Molech, worshiped by the Ammonites; and Dagon, worshiped by the Philistines. This shows that Israel had adopted the gods of nearly every surrounding people group, embracing a broad and corrupt mixture of pagan worship.
And it really shows how far they have spiraled downward. I don’t think this means that every person followed every one of these gods. For times in the concluding chapters of the book of Judges we have a statement like this;
Judges 17:6 — “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Everybody was just doing their own thing. There was no national identity around Yahweh their God. There was no sense that they had a special calling; The national motto was, “You do you, boo.”
Personally, I think that’s where we are in our country today.
2. Delivered to oppressors again
7 So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites. 8 They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for eighteen years they did the same to all the Israelites who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of the Amorites in Gilead. 9 The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim. Israel was greatly oppressed,
Now, there are a couple of notes here. First, I noticed that this time they don’t have one oppressor, they have two;
The Philistines lived along the southwestern coastal plain of Israel, in cities like Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, and Gath. From there, they would push eastward inland, moving up through the Shephelah (low hill country) into the territory of Judah, Dan, and Ephraim.
The Ammonites lived east of the Jordan River, in what is today modern Jordan, with their capital at Rabbah (later Philadelphia, now Amman). Their attacks first targeted the Israelites living in Gilead, which was already on the eastern side of the Jordan.
They are getting attacked from East and West at the same time. The second thing I noticed was that part of the gods they had begun to worship were the gods of these two peoples; the Philistines and the Ammonites. A lot of good it did them. Again, this shows how low they have gone. God sold them to two powers this time, not just one.
3. Cry out to God again
10 so they cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”
This is a familiar pattern. But something unfamiliar happens next. They cry out, “We have sinned.” Save us Lord.
4. God says “no.”
11 The Lord said to the Israelites, “When the Egyptians, Amorites, Ammonites, Philistines, 12 Sidonians, Amalekites, and Maonites[c] oppressed you, and you cried out to me, did I not deliver you from them? 13 But you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.”
Whoa. God said no. The bank of Yahweh is closed. I’m done saving you. You keep going back to the lovers who beat you. Let them save you. This is as harsh a statement as any we have heard from God in Scripture thus far.
And I think that in this moment we ought to pause. There’s an unlisted lesson here. What is the lesson? That God knows the difference between sorry for what I’ve done, and sorry I got caught. He knows the difference between genuine repentance which is a heartfelt desire to change and be a different person, and false repentance which is a cry to God to get me out of the mess I’ve made so I can go back to the sins that got me in the mess to begin with.
God says “no.”
5. Genuine repentance
But, even as the number of gods that they are worshipping is unprecedented, and even as God saying “no” is unprecedented, so is the following verses.
15 But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as you see fit; only rescue us today!” 16 So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, and he became weary of Israel’s misery.
Do you know what they did? They genuinely repented. If you are going to have God smile on you, you begin with genuine repentance. What do I mean that it is genuine repentance? Genuine repentance has these three elements; An admission of sin, “We have sinned.” a submission to consequences “Deal with us as you see fit.” and evidence of real change. “they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord.”
Isn’t that true from what you know about people and about yourself. We’ve all known people who did us wrong. We’ve had circumstances where they got caught. They told us they are sorry. But we knew it wasn’t genuine repentance because it was missing something. They wouldn’t admit they were wrong, they were more worried about the effect and consequences for themselves than about the offense, or we saw no evidence that they were changing or willing to change their behavior.
We’ve all seen it in others, and if we are honest, sometimes we’ve seen in it ourselves, especially reagarding our relationship with God. It’s so easy to say, “I’m sorry” to God and expect that nothing bad will come of our behavior. It’s harder to pray a prayer like this;
Lord, I come before You humbly and honestly. I confess that I have sinned against You. I have not walked in Your ways, and I have chosen my own path instead of Yours. I do not excuse it, and I do not shift the blame. I acknowledge that what I have done is wrong in Your sight.
Lord, I also submit myself to You completely. You are just and righteous in all that You do. However You choose to deal with me, I accept it. Whether You bring discipline, correction, or consequences, I trust that You are right. I place myself fully in Your hands.
And Lord, I ask You to change me. I do not want to continue in these same sins. Help me to turn away from them. Give me the strength to remove from my life the things that lead me away from You. Help me to pursue what is right, to obey Your Word, and to worship You alone with a sincere heart.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. I turn from my sin, and I turn toward You.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Genuine repentance is our first point. The second is eat the meat from your past don’t just gnaw on the bones.
6. The oppressor comes
17 The Ammonites were called together, and they camped in Gilead. So, the Israelites assembled and camped at Mizpah.
So, Israel has repented. But these two oppressors are still oppressing. Israel has surrendered themselves to God’s discipline, but they have asked God to save them from the oppressors. It is a similar circumstance to another Bible story. Remember the story where King David sinned by taking a census of the people so he could know his military might?
But after it was done, David realized his sin and prayed that God would take away his iniquity. Well, the prophet Gad came to David with a message from God. God would bring punishment in one of three forms; either 7 years of famine, 3 months fleeing before his enemies, or 3 days of pestilence from God. Remember what David said?
2 Samuel 24:14 “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Yahweh, for His compassions are abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
He was saying, “I’d rather fall into God’s hands than the hands of men.” That’s what the nation of Israel had said. “Lord, do to us whatever you will, but save us from the enemy”
So, the Ammonites have descended on the land again with their armies. And Israel, without an answer from God, has gathered their armies at Mizpah. But note, they really don’t know what to do. In the past, when God delivered them, God’s Spirit would come on a person, who would then call the people up, and lead them into battle.
But here, nobody is stepping up. God’s Spirit isn’t raising anyone. So, the leaders of Gilead get together.
B. The seriously flawed deliverer
1. Not called by God
18 The rulers[d] of Gilead said to one another, “Which man will begin the fight against the Ammonites? He will be the leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
They have no one. And notice that they don’t go to God and ask, “who should lead?” They ask each other. And the person who comes to mind is Jephthah.
2. Valient warrior
11 Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior,
Apparently, he had proven to be a courageous and skillful fighter in previous conflicts. But then his resume gets thinner.
3. Son of a prostitute
but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
This is not a great qualification for leadership. Now he couldn’t help that. But what it meant was that his home life was far less than ideal. His father had visited a prostitute, and he was the result. And apparently, he was raised with the rest of the family until the father died because of the next verses.
4. Driven out by family
2 Gilead’s wife bore him sons, and when they grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You will have no inheritance in our father’s family, because you are the son of another woman.”
Now, he is likely an adult at this time. He leaves his father’s family and flees Gilead to the northeast land of Tob. It is a frontier area that is closer to the land dominated by the Ammonites.
So, what is the point we are to understand out of all of that. Jephthah had a checkered background. His home was built on “family values.” We don’t know if he had any relationship with his prostitute mother. His father had been unfaithful. His brothers threw him out of the house. He had to leave home because of the family drama. So, what’s the point in terms of God smiling on him?
At some point, all of us must make a decision. We are handed a plate of fresh cooked fish. Fresh cooked fish is a mix of good and bad. We’ve all got good and bad in our upbringing. We’ve all had things that were handed to us that are out of our control. But if you are handed a plate a fish, you take your fork, and pull out the meat to eat. You don’t sit there and gnaw on the bones. Or complain all day about the bones.
But that’s exactly what many do. They take their seedy past, or the bad parenting that they received, and they either repeat the same patterns themselves, or they make it their complaining mantra; “My life would have been so much better, if only...”
That’s not how you receive the smile of God. Eat the meat. Take what was good, and apply it to your life, throw the bones away. Well, what did Jephthah do?
5. Mercenary lifestyle
3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Then some worthless men joined Jephthah and went on raids with him.
Was this a good choice on the part of Jephthah, or a bad one? It’s hard to say definitively. Could he have chosen a better place to live than the land of Tob? Tob was probably shaped by the same kind of mixed pagan environment found in the surrounding regions, especially the worship patterns connected to the Ammonites and other neighboring peoples, rather than by faithful worship of the Lord. At the very least, it appears to have been a place where a rejected man like Jephthah could gather “worthless fellows.”
It also says that they went on raids with him. Now this could mean more than one thing. Raids could be a good thing. For example, David did something similar when he was hiding in the wilderness from King Saul. A band of men gathered to him, and he “raided” Israel’s enemies.
But since the men Jephthah gathered are called “worthless” men, it is also possible that they were little more than road bandits. It is even possible that they robbed Israelites.
But all we can say definitively is that he is in an area and a position where he can be easily influenced by evil and ungodly people. So, what happens next. What happens next leaves us with the next lesson on how to have God smile on you.
be content with the lot God gave you
6. Called by men
4 Some time later, the Ammonites fought against Israel.
We are back to that moment in the story where Israel is faced with a force of Ammonites invading, they gather to war, but they have no leader.
5 When the Ammonites made war with Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 They said to him, “Come, be our commander, and let’s fight the Ammonites.”
They think of Jephthah. Probably because he had a former reputation as a valiant warrior in battle. Also, I think they are aware of where he is and what he has been doing since he left home. They had to have some idea where he was, or else they couldn’t have sent him a message. And I think that his time spent “raiding” would have been known as well. That’s part of the reason they want him. He’s a mercenary.
7 Jephthah replied to the elders of Gilead, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me out of my father’s family? Why then have you come to me now when you’re in trouble?” 8 They answered Jephthah, “That’s true. But now we turn to you. Come with us, fight the Ammonites, and you will become leader of all the inhabitants of Gilead.”
They basically make him an offer. If you will help us win this military victory, you may return as our leader.
I think there is a lesson here. be content with the lot God gave you
Why are they offering him this position after the war is over? It is not because they now see a statesman in him. It’s not that they recognize him to be governor material. They are just using that position as an inducement for him to lead the army against Ammon. And Jephthah should have recognized that this was just a temptation to become powerful. Epistle to the Romans 12😊 “For I say… to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”Proverbs 30:21-23 Legacy Standard Bible
21 Under three things the earth quakes, And under four, it cannot bear up: 22 Under a slave when he becomes king, And a wicked fool when he is satisfied with food, 23 Under [a]an unloved woman when she gets a husband, And a servant-girl when she supplants her mistress.
This was a temptation to power. And we, when we are offered leadership, or have the opportunity to step into those places, I think we need to take the advice of Scripture concerning a different temptation.
Proverbs 23 When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Understand well [a]what is before you, 2 So you should put a knife to your throat If you are a man of appetite. 3 Do not desire his delicacies, For it is bread of falsehood.
Learn contentment at whatever level you find yourself, then if God elevates you, be warned of the temptation of power.
7. Power-hungry
9 So Jephthah said to them, “If you are bringing me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me, I will be your leader.”
This is better understood as a question, if I do this, “will I be your leader?”
10 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord is our witness if we don’t do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander,
8. He dictated to God
We’ve been talking about how much of a flawed leader Jephthah is. Some of it was out of his control. But now he begins making decisions for himself. And his actions point to a man who is seriously flawed.
We just saw how he took the bait regarding becoming the leader of Gilead. And this says a lot about his relationship to God as well. He doesn’t consult with God. What we find is that he dictates to God.
11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead. The people made him their leader and commander, and Jephthah repeated all his terms in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.
What is happening here is likely Jephthah’s proclaiming the terms of their agreement out loud, to God, in their presence, as a way of binding them to their words.
This is not Jephthah going to God in prayer asking for guidance. It is Jephthah saying, “God, you heard what they said, now you hold them to it. And if they break their word, get ‘em.”
There’s a lesson here as well. lean on God rather than trying to use God.
The only impression we get of Jephthah is that in his personal walk, he views God as a tool to accomplish what he wants. He wants to be elevated in power, and he calls on God to validate the terms of the agreement he struck. Later we find him trying to manipulate God again.
But that is not something God smiles on.
Isaiah 1:13–15 “Bring no more vain offerings… I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly… even though you make many prayers, I will not listen.”
Amos 5:21–24 “I hate, I despise your feasts… Even though you offer me your burnt offerings… I will not accept them… But let justice roll down like waters…”
Instead of manipulating God, we should lean
on Him. Psalm 51:16-17 Legacy Standard Bible 16 For You do not delight
in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt
offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a [a]contrite
heart, O God, You will not despise.
Trust in Him with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.
We often try to manipulate God. Bend His will to our own with good behavior, religious activity, bargaining; I’ll do this if you’ll do that.
The next lesson for gaining God’s approval is to know and stand on God’s Word.
9. He did attempt to negotiate with the king of the Ammonites.
12 Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, asking, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight me in my land?” 13 The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”
Now, this has to be one of only a couple of times that we can actually commend Jephthah’s actions. He has been called by his people to lead them against the Ammonites. But the first thing he does is to send a message to their king asking him why he is come up into the land of Israel. Now, this is a different play than normal. We don’t find this, what we would call diplomacy, happening in the book of Judges before this. Now, why did he do that? Why not just attack? Well, I suspect that it was because he was acquainted with Scripture. The Ammonites were a people to whom the Israelites were related. They are descendants of Lot.
And when Israel originally was coming to the land of Canaan, they would have passed by the territory of the Ammonites. But this is what God commanded them.
Deuteronomy 2:19 “And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon… because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.”
So, he takes a diplomatic approach possibly because of his understanding of God’s Word. But the king of Ammon replies.
13 The king of the Ammonites said to Jephthah’s messengers, “When Israel came from Egypt, they seized my land from the Arnon to the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now restore it peaceably.”
If you will give us back the land you stole, we will leave you alone. Now that would be a reasonable request if it were true. But it’s not. And Jephthah knows it not, because he knows Scripture.
And this is such an important point that we stress over and over again for the life of a believer, for pleasing God; know and stand on God’s Word. And that doesn’t mean reading it once, or reading parts of it occasionally, or catching verses as part of devotionals. The only way to know the Word is to be continually in the Word. And to read it with an open heart, listening to the Spirit of God for direction.
You’ve got to read it like agents of our government are trained to spot counterfeit money. You don’t study the counterfeits, you study the real thing, and then when counterfeits come across your desk, you can spot them immediately.
That’s what Jephthah did. The king of the Ammonites said, “you all stole our land.” Do you know what Jephthah’s response was? No, we didn’t. He knew the story from Scripture.
Let me remind you of it. When the nation of Israel was approaching the Promised land of Canaan, to enter and dispossess it of its inhabitants they were to pass through the land of the Amorites. They were commanded not to fight these people because they were the descendants of Lot. So, when they got to the edge of their territory, they sent a message to their king; Sihon. They asked if they could simply pass through the land. “Don’t bother us, and we won’t bother you.” But Sihon not only wouldn’t give them permission, he went out against Israel with his army to fight them.
Well, the battle did not go his way. He was soundly defeated. And Israel took the land that they occupied. Here’s what Jephthah says to their king.
23 So now Yahweh, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel. Are you then to possess it? 24 Do you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever Yahweh our God has taken possession of before us, we will possess it.
Then Jephthah finishes his argument by saying, “And besides, that was 300 years ago. If your people were going to demand the return of their land, shouldn’t they have done it a long time ago?”
This is important. Jephthah knew Scripture. He stood on Scripture. He gave glory to God. Leaders on whom God smiles will do the same.
10. He knows Israel’s history and stands up for God.
28 But the king of the Ammonites would not listen to Jephthah’s message that he sent him.
11. God’s Spirit does come on him.
29 The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead.
Now, up until now, all we have is a man, with a seedy past, and questionable motives, taking a leadership role given him by men. But in verse 29 we are told that the Spirit of God came on him. Now we know that God intends to use Jephthah to deliver Israel.
And I think this is due in large part to Israel truly repenting before God. He was divinely disciplining them for their disobedience, but now they have come to repentance, and God gives them a deliverer. But you know, sometimes God gives people the leaders they need, but He also gives them what they deserve.
Hosea 4:9 “And there shall be, like people, like priest…”
The spiritual condition of the leaders mirrors the spiritual condition of the people. And this is what we discover with Jephthah in the next lesson.
If you want God to smile on you, learn the difference between your dumb ideas and God’s wisdom
12. Jephthah’s stupid vow
30 Then Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
What is this? This is probably the one thing you remember about Jephthah if you remember anything. He makes a vow to God. Again, I mentioned earlier that Jephthah tries to use God as a tool. He gives God an “if then” promise. It’s sort of like, “scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back.” Let me tell you something. God don’t need His back scratched. These kind of vows are meaningless, presumptuous, and totally misunderstand who God is. Let me tell you why.
First off, they assume that you can benefit God in some way. Jacob did this remember, “If you will get me to Laban’s house to get a wife and then back home again, I’ll build you a house of worship on this spot.” Jacob, if God wants a house of worship, He doesn’t need you to build it. And there is nothing that you can promise God, that He needs from you. “If you will get me out of this, I’ll become a preacher.”
Second, it presumes that I have the right to haggle with God. You don’t go to God and say, “If you’ll do this, I’ll do that.” Instead you say, “What would you have me do?” Once you know what He commands you to do, you do it, and leave the results to Him.
You can pray to God, you can lay your heart out, you can tell Him about your desires, but you don’t haggle with God. And this “if, then” statement was meaningless. The end of the story, the victor of the battle was already in the mind of God. You are not going to sway Him with promises.
Now, that really just begins to explain how stupid this vow was. Look at what he says,
“If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
I read a number of commentators on this passage because I wanted to be clear on what is being promised here. The obvious question is, “what did he expect to come out of the door of his house when he returned from battle?”
Well, some commentators say that maybe he expected an animal. And that is possible, based on what kind of house he lived in. Poorer people did keep domestic (sheep or goats) animals in their homes, especially during the night, to protect them from wild animals and thieves. But here’s the thing, animals don’t typically come to a person, unless they expect feeding. So, if he is coming home from battle, morning, noon, or night, the animals will likely pay him no attention, even if they are in the house.
Here’s something else that makes his expecting and animal unreasonable. He is making a vow to God, hoping to move God to win the battle for him. Would he expect God to be moved to help him if he promises to sacrifice a sheep or a goat? Lord, you help me win this battle, I’ll give you a goat.
What’s more likely, is that instead of expecting an animal to come out, he expected a person to come out. Are you saying that he was promising a human sacrifice? Yes. You see, that’s how far Israel had sunk. That’s how far the leaders Israel chose had sunk.
Jephthah did not grow up in a spiritually healthy environment, which helps explain the nature of his vow. According to Judges 11:1–3, he was the son of a prostitute, rejected by his family, and driven away from his home. He lived in the land of Tob, surrounded by “worthless men,” far removed from the structure and instruction of covenant life in Israel. This background matters because it suggests that Jephthah was largely outside consistent teaching in God’s law and was likely shaped by the pagan influences around him. At the same time, the broader spiritual condition of Israel was deeply compromised. Just prior to Jephthah’s rise, Judges 10:6 describes how the people of Israel “again did what was evil,” serving a wide range of foreign gods—the Baals, Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and the Philistines. Israel had become thoroughly syncretistic, attempting to mix the worship of the true God with surrounding pagan practices. Among these influences were religions that explicitly practiced human sacrifice. Molech, the god associated with the Ammonites—Jephthah’s immediate enemies—was worshiped through the burning of children, a practice strongly condemned in passages like Leviticus 18:21 and later abolished in reforms such as those recorded in 2 Kings 23:10. Similarly, the Moabite god Chemosh was associated with human sacrifice, as seen in 2 Kings 3:27, where the king of Moab sacrifices his own son in a desperate military situation—strikingly similar to the context of Jephthah’s vow. Even within Canaanite Baal worship, human sacrifice had become part of corrupt religious expression, as Jeremiah 19:5 describes the burning of children in fire. Taken together, Jephthah’s fractured upbringing, Israel’s widespread idolatry, and the surrounding culture’s acceptance of human sacrifice provide a sobering backdrop that helps explain how such a tragic vow could be made.
So, if you desire God to smile on you, learn the difference between dumb ideas and the wisdom of God. I said earlier that Jephthah knew Scripture. Well, he knew some of it. He apparently didn’t know
Deuteronomy 18:10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering…”
But we sometimes approach God without knowing the Word of God. We ask God to give us things we already have. We ask Him to do things motivated entirely by our selfishness. We ask for signs when He has already spoken clearly. We ask Him to bless decisions we’ve already made without seeking His will. We try to bargain with Him—offering promises, performance, or sacrifice in exchange for outcomes we want. And all the while, God is not looking for clever vows or dramatic gestures; He is looking for humble obedience, informed by His Word. When we don’t know what God has said, we can end up sincerely asking for things He has already forbidden, or missing entirely what He has already provided.
13. God used him.
Well, despite the fact that Jephthah was a seriously flawed leader, God used him anyway.
32 So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and Yahweh gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer [g]to the entrance of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel.
14. Jephthah’s stupid vow part 2
So, he wins the battle, what happened with his vow of a burnt offering?
34 Then Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35 So it happened that when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me. But I have opened my mouth to vow to Yahweh, and I cannot take it back.” 36 So she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to vow to Yahweh; do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.”
She understands what was vowed, and surrenders to it. Well look at that further in a minute.
15. Civil war and cruelty
The final thing you must do to receive God’s pleasure is be gracious and forgiving when possible.
12 Then the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they crossed [a]to Zaphon and said to Jephthah, “Why did you cross over to fight against the sons of Ammon, but did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on you.”
What is happening here is the tribe of Ephraim is just looking to pick a fight. What we find in the remainder of the book of Judges, is that the tribes of Israel begin looking at each other as enemies, as much as they look on outside peoples as enemies. You have civil strife between tribes.
Ephraim’s conflict with Jephthah was driven largely by wounded pride, jealousy, and a deep sense of tribal superiority. First, their pride was offended because they were not invited to participate in the battle against the Ammonites, as seen in Judges 12:1. As one of the most prominent tribes in Israel, Ephraim was accustomed to being included in major victories, and being left out felt like a direct insult to their status and importance. Second, this led to jealousy over recognition. Jephthah, a leader from Gilead east of the Jordan, gained honor and influence through his victory, and Ephraim resented not sharing in that credit. This reaction reflects a pattern already seen in Judges 8:1, where they similarly complained to Gideon, showing that they were more concerned with recognition than responsibility. Third, Ephraim’s response reveals a strong sense of superiority, even insulting the Gileadites as inferior or outsiders in Judges 12:4. They viewed themselves as central and others as lesser, which fueled their anger and justified, in their minds, their aggressive and divisive response.
Well, Jephthah answers them, but they don’t like his answer. And Jephthah didn’t like their attitude.
4 Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought Ephraim; and the men of Gilead struck Ephraim down because they said, “You are fugitives of Ephraim, O Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and in the midst of Manasseh.”
Here’s where our principle about leadership comes into play. This wasn’t the first time that the Ephraimites had tried to provoke a fight with a deliverer of Israel. They did the same thing with Gideon, but it ended differently.
In both situations, Ephraim approached the leader with anger, but there was a clear difference in intensity and outcome. In Gideon’s case, their attitude was an angry complaint, while in Jephthah’s case, it escalated into an angry confrontation with a violent threat. Gideon responded with humility and a soft answer, intentionally lowering himself and giving credit to Ephraim, which created a de-escalating tone and diffused the situation. In contrast, Jephthah responded defensively and confrontationally, focusing on justifying his actions and pointing out Ephraim’s failure, which only escalated the tension. As a result, Gideon’s approach led to the conflict being resolved peacefully, while Jephthah’s response contributed to the situation spiraling into a civil war.
And then Jephthah took it even further. He goes to battle against Ephraim, people of his own nation. They were trying to provoke a conflict, but he was poking the bear. This is not the quality of a Godly leader. So, he goes into battle against them and his people, the Gileadites win the day. The Ephraimites flee. Now, since they were people of his own nation, you might expect some grace and forgiveness. We beat them, there’s been enough killing today. These are our brothers. Let them go home and learn what they did wrong. No. Jephthah determines to destroy as many of the Ephraimites as he can.
5 And the Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan opposite Ephraim. And it happened when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, “Let me cross over,” the men of Gilead would say to him, “Are you an Ephraimite?”
If they are Ephraimite, he is going to kill them. But they also know that. And since they were all Israelites, there would be no ethnic characteristic, or manner of dress that would set them apart from the Gileadites. So, they have control of the means of crossing the river. Everyone who comes to the crossing, they ask, are you Ephraimite. Of course, everyone is going to say no, whether they are or not.
If he said, “No,” 6 then they would say to him, “Say now, ‘Shibboleth.’” But he said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not [c]pronounce it correctly.
The meaning of the word Shibboleth is either an ear of corn, or a flowing stream. But the meaning is not important. What’s important is that the Ephraimites, because of cultural separation, had a different dialect than the Gileadites. They were unfamiliar with the Sh sound. So, they tried to say it, but all they could manage was Sibboleth.
It would be like people from Texas trying to cross our river, and we say, “we’ll let you cross if you tell us the name of this river. They say, the Arkansas, we say, no, “it’s the Arkansas. It was a way to divide the Ephraimites from the Gileadites.
But it really shows you how little grace and forgiveness Jephthah had. You can’t say Shibboleth, you’re dead.
Then they seized him and slaughtered him at the fords of the Jordan. Thus there fell at that time 42,000 of Ephraim. The total slain in the civil conflict with Ephraim, not the battle with the Ammonites, the civil conflict between brothers was 42,000.
God smiles on those who are gracious and forgiving.
3 “[b]Blessed are the [c]poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the [d]lowly, for they shall inherit the earth. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
16. Jephthah’s dumb vow part 3
What happened to Jephthah’s daughter?
The earliest Jewish commentators say that she was offered as a human sacrifice. The Talmud (c. 200–500 AD), Flavius Josephus (c. 37–100 AD), Rashi (1040–1105 AD). It wasn’t until the 12th century A.D. that anyone even proposed the idea that instead of sacrifice, she may have been presented for lifelong tabernacle service. Where did that idea come from.
37 Then she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may [h]go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she went with her companions and wept on the mountains because of her virginity.
The highest honor afforded women was bearing children. The deepest dishonor was remaining childless. She wants to go away for two months to mourn the fact that she wouldn’t be having children because she would be a human sacrifice. There’s nothing here that indicates that she goes into tabernacle service.
39 And it happened at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she did not know a man. Thus it became a [i]custom in Israel, 40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to [j]commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Notice that there developed a local custom to go out and remember her for four days every year. If she were still alive, serving in the tabernacle, why do they go out to remember her, why don’t they just visit her? We also have no account of Jephthah visiting his daughter at the tabernacle.
7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.
Heavenly Father, we come before You with humble hearts, beginning with genuine repentance. We confess our sins openly—without excuse, without defense—and we submit ourselves to whatever You see fit, asking that You would change us and turn our hearts fully back to You. Lord, help us not to live in the past by gnawing on the bones of regret, but to take the lessons You have given us, to grow from them, and to walk forward in faith and obedience.
Teach us to be content with the place You have assigned to us, trusting that Your wisdom is greater than our desires. Guard us from trying to use You for our own purposes, and instead shape us into people who lean fully on You, who trust You, and who submit to Your will. Give us a deep hunger for Your Word, that we may know it, stand on it, and not act out of ignorance or impulse. Help us to discern the difference between our own foolish ideas and Your perfect wisdom, and give us the courage to follow what is right, even when it is difficult.
And Lord, in our relationships, make us gracious and forgiving. When we are wronged, help us to respond with humility and peace rather than pride and conflict. Let our lives reflect Your character in both truth and love. We ask all of this not because we deserve it, but because of Your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.