Jephthah lived in a place called Gilead. (Gilead is on the east side of the Jordan River.) He had been driven out from his family home because he was an illegitimate son of his father Gilead. Gilead's legitimate sons did not want their inheritance jeopardized by having to give an equal portion of it to Jephthah. Moreover, Jephthah's mother was a prostitute. This made Jephthah a social outcast. Gilead's sons did not want such a degrading association within their immediate family.
Jephthah had gone off and created a gang of desert pirates who raided caravans and villages. Also, they hired themselves out as mercenaries to rich men in order to make a living. As unsavory as this might be, such a profession was not entirely looked down upon in those days. Jephthah would have been viewed as a misbehaving brother more than a despicable and immoral thug. As we have seen with the earlier story in the book of Judges of the self-appointed king, Abimelech and the man who would dispose him (Gaal), the creation of these gangs of bandits was usual. They were not at all universally rejected. In fact, there was a certain kind of admiration, akin to that given to Robin Hood, was the attitude within the Middle Eastern culture.
The leading men of Gilead regarded Jephthah as a brave and cunning military leader. Thus, when the king of Ammon declared war on the territory of Gilead, these leading men realized they had no qualified field general to lead their militia. So, they sought out Jephthah. A contingent of elders from Gilead (some from Jephthah's own family) came to Jephthah and offered him the job. Obviously, there would have to be something substantial in it for Jephthah if he was going to risk his life to fight for the very people who had despised him and chased him off. The offer was the guarantee that he would become the leader over all Gilead.
The agreement was sealed with a covenant and an oath spoken at the Israeli army headquarters in Mizpah.
The king of Ammon said that he wanted the land which belonged to Ammonites returned to him. If Israel would do it peacefully, there would be no conflict. The problem is that Ammon never in history held the land they wanted Israel to give them--Gilead. When we look at a map, we see that Ammon lays to the east of the territory that Israel now held on the Jordan River's east bank. When Israel was on the Exodus journey from Egypt to Canaan, it was a powerful tribal nation called the Amorites who ruled over the land which would eventually be called Gilead. It was the Amorites who attacked Israel and were defeated. Israel recognized Ammon's territorial rights and left it alone. Ammon was located farther to the east and was not involved in the conflict between the Amorites and Israel. Apparently there were some Ammonites living in the area which is now called Gilead. The king of Ammon was now using that as an excuse to declare Israel had no right to the land they held since their Exodus from Egypt three hundred years earlier.
Bottom line: Ammon was making a bogus claim for the land of Gilead. Ammon had never in history occupied or ruled over the area of Gilead.
When Jephthah heard that this was their demand, he firmly rebuffed the king of Ammon, told him that his historical facts were in error and that he had no intention of giving his land to Ammon.
B. Victory and a vow
1. (Judges 11:29) Jephthah gathers troops and advances courageously on Ammon
Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.
Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah: The first words of verse 29 informs us that Jephthah had been chosen to lead Israel's militia. After his diplomatic confrontation with the king of Ammon, the LORD moved and anointed Jephthah as a Judge. Thus, we see the phrase, "The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah."
In Hebrew, it says, "The Ruach of YHWH hayyah Jephthah." Back in our study of Judges chapter three, we discussed this concept of the Spirit of God covering, anointing or coming upon a man. It was generally expressed using one of two Hebrew words: labesh or hayyah. These two words represent two substantially different ways in which the Spirit of the LORD acted upon a human.
Labesh means to cloth a person in the Holy Spirit (like putting on a garment). The person took on a certain amount of divine power that enabled him to do miraculous deeds or to gain superhuman strengths or insight.
Here in Judges chapter 11, we have the word hayyah. When used, it means that the LORD'S Spirit overcomes a man in such a way that the man becomes especially obedient to the LORD, or that the LORD'S will operate in the man in such a way which almost replaces the man's own will. So, Jephthah was operating very much in the LORD'S will; yet, as we will see, he will not being doing it entirely.
Here this move of the Holy Spirit upon Jephthah represents the moment in which Jephthah's status changes. He went from being a normal human leader to a divinely appointed Judge for God.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh: The first thing Jephthah did was to travel through the land of Gilead and the territory of Manasseh (the half of Manasseh which was on the east side of the Jordan River). He added to the size of the Israelite militia to prepare for the coming battle with the forces of Ammon. Once he did that, he acted in a way which has perplexed and bothered Jews and Christians for many centuries. In anticipation of going to war, Jephthah made a vow to the God of Israel; it was a very rash vow which would cause him great pain.
2. (Judges 11:30-31) Jephthah makes a rash vow
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If you will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 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 the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: This is the vow which forms one of the more infamous stories in the entire Bible. Therefore, it is usually the focus of the study of Judges chapter 11.
Jephthah believes he can seek God's favor if he vowed to the LORD a sacrifice from the first thing which walks through the doors of his house to greet him when he returns home from battle after defeating the Ammonites. One can assume Jephthah believed he needed divine intervention because this was going to be a Holy War.
3. (Judges 11:32-33) God grants Israel victory over the Ammonites
So Jephthah crossed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD gave them into his. He struck them with a very great slaughter from Aroer 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.
The LORD gave them into his hand: God won a great and important victory for Israel through Jephthah. He overcame bitterness and family rejection to meet a great need. Despite his difficult past, God still wonderfully used him.
So the sons of Ammon were subdued before the sons of Israel: This was another victory for Israel won under the leadership of a Spirit-filled Judge.
4. (Judges 11:34-35) A difficult vow to fulfill
When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, 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. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, may daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back."
Behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him: When Jephthah arrives home, his daughter comes out the door to greet him. Jephthah is devastated because he feels he can not go back on his vow to God since God had indeed given Israel victory. He feels as though he was stuck carrying out his promise to the LORD. Jephthah saw a direct connection between his vow and the complete victory of Israel over Ammon. (Whether this was a real connection or not, in his ancient oriental mind he assumed the connection was real.)
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