Truth, History and the LORD Will Prevail

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version of this teaching is at: https://youtu.be/te4VpwzJr54

The scripture reading is Judges 11:1-33

Our reading this week contains one of the most unique stories to be found in scripture. In it we see the fall and rise of a man by the name of Jephthah. Jephthah was the son of Gilead and was born of a harlot, and although know as a man of valor, was ostracized by his half brothers and outcast from the family.

Judges 11:1-2 NKJV 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2 Gilead's wife bore sons; and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman."

Jephthah took up residence in another part of the country and gained the reputation of being a great warrior. We also see that he became a man with both diplomatic and social skills.  As we explore the story of Jephthah, we will see how this story from the time of the judges has some important lessons for the modern state of Israel today. The story of Jephthah also illustrates the power and majesty of the God of Israel in protecting and providing for His people both then and now.

In the book of Judges, we read about the sorry state of the Children of Israel.  They engage in the worship practices of their neighbors and we are repeatedly told that the Children of Israel “did what was right in their own minds.”  Their practices did not, however endear them to their neighbors, and they suffered continual oppression by them.

Jephthah had fled to a place called Tob.  The word tob means good. Tob is either a description of the place Jephthah fled to or perhaps its actual name. But here in tob, Jephthah teamed up with a ruthless bunch of men and staged raiding parties.

Judges 11:3 NKJV 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

After a time, the Children of Israel were again being threatened, this time by the Ammonites, a people who lived East of the Jordan between the Arnon and Jabbok rivers. Apparently not having any great military leader among them, the elders of Gilead turned to their once rejected brother Jephthah for help dealing with the Ammonites.

Judges 11:4-6 NKJV 4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon."

Because of his mother being a harlot, they had rejected Jephthah and sent him into exile.  Now they are in trouble. Now they want his help! How would Jephthah respond to their request? 

While in his forced exile, Jephthah had become well known.  In the first verse of our reading he is described as a “mighty man of valor.” There are many places in the scriptures where this phrase, or something similar to it is used. It is from the Hebrew, gibbowr chayil. The English word “valor” does not do it justice. Gibbowr chayil indicates someone who is shrewd and cunning. Someone not only courageous, as the word valor would indicate, but would also imply one of strength to carryout and act on that courage.  Such a person would be one to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

As we read on, we find Jephthah’s skills extend well beyond the battlefield into the area on international politics and the art of negotiation and diplomacy.

Judges 11:7-10 NKJV 7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?" 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the LORD delivers them to me, shall I be your head?" 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The LORD will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words."

I guess they were desperate! The elders of Gilead just gave away the proverbial farm! Jephthah was soundly rejected by his brothers as well as all the Giliadites. He owed them nothing. They, however, owed him everything and he took full advantage of the situation. This was a perfect opportunity to extract from the leaders of Gilead everything he wanted. In verse six, the elders offered Jephthah the position of “commander.” The word commander is the Hebrew word kawtseem, #7101 in the Strong’s concordance. It is a military term literally meaning commander or leader. But for Jephthah it wasn’t enough.  He requested that should he be successful in battle against the Ammonites, that he be named the head of all the Gileadites. Verse ten indicates that they took an oath or made a covenant to this effect. Jephthah not only used his political craftiness to return to his homeland, but also used it to become its supreme leader!

This political craftiness would very soon be put to use again against the Ammonites.

Judges 11:11-12 NKJV 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah. 12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying, "What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my land?"

Jephthah’s first approach is of a diplomatic nature. But the first thing we learn from verse eleven is that Jephthah makes his acceptance speech before the LORD.  He gave allegiance to God, putting his efforts in the proper order.

Jephthah could have simply taken his new-found army directly into battle against the Ammonites, but he chose a diplomatic approach first. One of the things to notice about this is that he is essentially on a fact-finding mission. Rather than opening with an accusation, Jephthah questions the Ammonite leader about his motivations. This again shows his skillful talent for communication.

Jephthah put his questions to the Ammonite king in personal terms.  He stated that their aggression was not against the people of Gilead, but their act of war was against him and “his” land. Jephthah’s reputation certainly would have preceded him. He may have even lead raids against Ammonite villages in the past. They could have ignored him, but because of his reputation of strength, they had to give an answer.

Judges 11:13 NKJV 13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah, "Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those lands peaceably."

I don’t know about you but this sounds just like a land-for-peace proposal to me! Just as with the issues that the modern State of Israel is dealing with regarding the Palestinians who feel that Israel is occupying land that rightfully belongs to them, so too were that Ammonites claiming that the Israelites were occupying land which belonged to them!

Jephthah cuts through all their twisting of history and half-truths with the skillful use of real, verifiable history. His answer to the Ammonite king can be broken down to four areas: Geography, history, theology and the reality on the ground. Jephthah’s answer as recorded in judges is a bit long but it is vitally important. His answer to the Ammonite king begins in verse fourteen.

Judges 11:14-18 NKJV 14 So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, 15 and said to him, "Thus says Jephthah: 'Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon; 16 'for when Israel came up from Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. 17 'Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please let me pass through your land." But the king of Edom would not heed. And in like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained in Kadesh. 18 'And they went along through the wilderness and bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab.

The Ammonite king had invoked a distorted view of history and Jephthah was setting the record straight. First Fruits of Zion in their work, Torah Club Volume 3, The Haftarah explains the geography and path which the Israelites took to the Promised land at the end of their forty years in the wilderness.

“(A) map of the region will show us Kadesh-Barnea, the Israelite starting point in their final trek to Canaan is Southwest of the Dead Sea. From there, the Holy One led them to pass through the land of the Edomites who occupied the territory from the south and east of the Dead Sea to the Zered River… The Moabites were situated on the east bank of the Dead Sea between the Zerod and Arnon Rivers.”[i]

When we carefully examine the Biblical narrative, comparing it with maps of the area, we see that the Israelites never entered the territory held by the Ammonites at that time. The Israelites turned to the west and passed through the land of the Amorites. Now here in our Haftarah reading, the Ammonites are claiming that this territory belonged to them as well. Jephthah explains this to the Ammonite king is his lengthy response.

Judges 11:19-22 NKJV 19 'Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and Israel said to him, "Please let us pass through your land into our place." 20 'But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 21 'And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them. Thus Israel gained possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22 'They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

In the associated Torah portion for this week, Numbers chapter twenty one, specifically contains the record of these original events. Jephthah rightly argues against the claims of the Ammonite king by citing actual recorded history.

Jephthah explains that the Israelites took no land from the Ammonites and never set foot in their territory. It was the Amorites who waged war on Israel and were soundly defeated! Because of this defeat, The Israelites had a legitimate claim to the land formerly occupied by the Amorites.  History is on the side of Jephthah and he confronts the Ammonite king with this truth.

Judges 11:23-25 NKJV 23 'And now the LORD God of Israel has dispossessed the Amorites from before His people Israel; should you then possess it? 24 'Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. 25 'And now, are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive against Israel? Did he ever fight against them?

Jephthah turned to a theological argument against the Ammonites. Jephthah makes the point that it was the God of Israel who delivered the Amorites to them in the battle.  It was the LORD God of Israel who gave the Israelites the former Amorite land. In verse twenty four, Jephthah turns to sarcasm to make his point and to illustrate that the Ammonite king’s argument is not with the Israelites but is with God Himself!  I really don’t believe that Jephthah was in any way suggesting that the god of the Ammonites was an equal to the Lord God of Israel!  Jephthah’s argument rests on the superiority of the God of Israel.

Jephthah had made his arguments from a geographic, historic and theological point and, then, he turned to the reality on the ground.

Judges 11:26-27 NKJV 26 'While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time? 27 'Therefore I have not sinned against you, but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the LORD, the Judge, render judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.'"

In other words, if the Ammonite king believed this land, in reality belonged to the Ammonites, then why did he wait three hundred years to make the claim? This new claim by the Ammonites was not based on any historical right! Israel had occupied this land since the original conquest and was essentially unchallenged for three hundred years!

In his lengthy answer to the Ammonite king, Jephthah shows his skills as a master diplomat.  He understands the truth of history and uses it to his advantage. He provides the four reasons why the Ammonite claim to the land is illegitimate and unjustified.  He pointed out that the Israelites never traveled on Ammonite land, using geographic and historical records to prove it. Then he tells the Ammonite king that it is all in God’s hands anyway. The LORD God gave the Amorite territory to the Children of Israel, something that the Ammonite god could not do! And he makes the Ammonite king face the reality that the Israelites have lived on the land for three hundred years unchecked. No one has questioned the ownership of this land until now. But we see that Jephthah’s attempts at diplomacy are to no avail.

Judges 11:28 NKJV 28 However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which Jephthah sent him.

It is apparent that the Ammonite king had no interest in history or the truth and was bent on war from the beginning.  Does that sound familiar in relation to Israel and the Palestinians today?

The Ammonites were not interested in debating the matter with the Israelites.  They had no interest in taking into account any geographic, historic, theological, or natural claims to the land.  Like the Palestinians of today, their intention from the beginning was to oust Israel from the land and claim it as their own. Our Haftarah ends with a victory for Israel.

Judges 11:29-32 NKJV 29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 "then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." 32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

In this Haftarah we see a picture and an incredible relevance to the reality on the ground in the modern state of Israel today.  The enemies of God have not found anything new.  The Land of Israel is in God’s hands. The LORD God will give it to whom He wills, and take it away from whom He wills. As we have read so often in the scriptures, the Land of Israel is to be occupied by the people of Israel as an everlasting inheritance. As with the story of Jephthah in our Haftarah, in the end all the enemies of God’s people will be defeated in their attempts to take possession of the inheritance of the People of God.  God is the one who will give His people the ultimate victory.

Study Questions:

1. Discuss the connection of this teaching to the Torah Portion Chukat Numbers 19:2-22:1.

2. What are some of the parallels between the story of Jephthah and the story of Joseph?

3. How is Jephthah a shadow of the Messiah?

4. The remainder of Judges 11, not covered in our Haftarah reading, is about the disposition of Jephthah’s daughter because of the vow he took in verses 30-31. What is the vow Jephthah took and wow is this a fulfillment of that vow?

5. Discuss the parallels between the situation in Israel during Jephthah’s time and that of today with the current Palestinian-Israeli issues.

6. What new insight did you gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

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[i] FFOZ Torah Club Vol. 3 The Haftarah, p607