Judges 11
McGeeCHAPTER 11THEME: Jephthah, the ninth judge, and his rash vow
Judges 11:1
The first thing that I would call to your attention is that he is an outstanding leader, but he has this black mark against him: he is illegitimate, the son of a harlot.
Judges 11:2
Pro_2:16 speaks of “the strange woman” whom the son should beware because harlots were strangersthat is, foreigners. Josephus tells us that Gilead’s wife was a Gentile. Jewish writings have called her an Ishmaelite. So Jephthah was the son of a common heathen prostitute. Illegitimacy is a stigma that brands a person from birth, regardless of who he is. This man Jephthah was exiled. He was excommunicated and ostracized. According to Deu_23:2, the Law of Moses would also bar him from the congregation of the Lord. Being an illegitimate child is a handicap, to be sure, but many men have overcome it. There are kings, emperors, generals, poets, and popes who have been illegitimate children. William the Conqueror, for example, signed his name “William the Bastard,” for that is what he was. That is what Jephthah was also, and he overcame this handicap, as we shall see.
Judges 11:3
Jephthah had become a leader of a band of desperados. Here is this man with three hurdles to surmount before he can become a leader for his country: he is the son of a harlot; he has been exiled by his brethren; and he is the leader of a despised, rejected group. He is not a very likely man to be used; but, you see, God uses men like this. God moves in mysterious ways, and He chooses men that are despised in this world. God also humbles those whom He intends to use. He humbled Joseph, He humbled Moses, and He humbled David.
Our Lord humbled Himself. He is “despised and rejected of men.” He is the “Stone which the builders rejected,” but which was made the head of the corner. His enemies said, “We will not have this Man reign over us.” Yet God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name that is above every name. There are those today, friend, who claim to be sons of God, but they are not. They are illegitimate in that they have not been born again. You can only become a legitimate son of God by trusting the Lord Jesus Christ. Jephthah had been an exile, but now he is exalted.
Judges 11:4
The elders of Gilead have made Jephthah a pretty good proposition.
Judges 11:9
Jephthah makes things difficult for the elders of Gilead, but they have to swallow their pride and accept his terms. It was humiliating for the nation to appeal to this man whom they had exiled. And he makes it very clear that if he is going to be the judge and deliver them, then he is going to rule over them. Then he takes charge of things.
Judges 11:11
If you read the verses that follow this portion of Scripture, you will find an extended section where Jephthah outlines the way that the Ammonites came into the land. He makes it clear that the land really belonged to the Israelites who gained the land in a legitimate way. The Ammonites were, of course, attempting not only to drive the Israelites off the land, but were also trying to exterminate them. The same thing is happening in the land of Israel today. Especially since 1948 when Israel once again became a nation, the enemy has been trying to remove them from the land, exterminate them, actually drive them into the sea. I will not go over this section, but it will pay you to read it for the simple reason that Jephthah outlines a very sensible basis for Israel’s occupation of the land. They had a legitimate claim to it.
Judges 11:28
The king of Ammon totally rejects the paper that Jephthah apparently had sent to him. He said he would not accept what had been said. So Jephthah leads his army against the Ammonites. But when he passes through the land and gets a look at the enemy, he becomes a little fearful. Now he does something that under normal circumstances he probably would not have done. Remember that this man had spent years in exile and then suddenly he is exalted to the highest position in the land.
He is made a judge. The natural reaction of a man who is suddenly elevated is excitement. In his excitement he makes a rash promise. Also remember that Jephthah did not have the light that we have today. He was one-half pagan with a heathen background. He did know God but not very well.
God did not require him to make a vow.
Judges 11:30
His cause was just, and God had given Jephthah every assurance that he would be victorious. This man did not need to make a rash vow like this, because God had not put the victory on that basis. It was the hand of God that had elevated him to this high position. He should have recognized that, since God had brought him that far, He would see him through. In verse Jdg_11:29 of this chapter we were told that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. He did not need to add anything to that. Can you imagine saying, “Whatever comes out to meet me I will deliver it to the Lord?” After all, suppose it had been a friend or a neighbor. He would have no right to dedicate or offer that individual to the Lord.
Judges 11:34
Jephthah made a vow to God, and he feels that he cannot retract it. The question is: did he offer his daughter in sacrifice? Let us look at this situation closely for a moment. The Scripture is silent concerning Jephthah’s vow. It does not say whether he was right or wrong. Scripture never finds fault with him. In fact, Heb_11:32 says, “And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.” As you see, Jephthah is mentioned with a very fine group of men. God’s commandment is “Thou shalt not kill” (Exo_20:13). God also gave rather specific instructions about offering children. We read in Deu_12:31: “Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.” God says, “I won’t ask you to do that, and you are not to do that, because it is pagan and heathen.” God did not permit Abraham to offer Isaac. We need to recognize that fact. The whole point with Abraham and Isaac was how far Abraham was willing to go with God. As it turned out, he was willing to go all the way with God.
Abraham lifted that knife and, as far as he was concerned, Isaac was a dead boy. But as far as God was concerned, He would not let Abraham kill his son. The construction used in the language in verse Jdg_11:31 determines, I feel, the interpretation. Notice what Jephthah says, “…whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” I am going to change the reading of the last phrase just a little. It can read, “or I will offer up a burnt offering.” Now Jephthah said he would do one of two things: he would offer a burnt offering or he would offer a gift to the Lord. Did he offer his daughter as a burnt offering? I do not think that he did. What is meant is that he set her apart to perpetual virginity. So here is Jephthahhe is illegitimate himself and he has only one daughter. He wants her to marry so he can have grandchildren. But his daughter is the one who comes forth through the doors to greet him, and he offers her up to the Lord. That means that she will never marry. You say to me, “Can you be sure of that?” Well, listen to what the girl says.
Judges 11:36
Notice that his daughter was obedient. She said that she would do whatever he had promised the Lord.
Judges 11:37
She did not understand his promise to be a burnt offering or sacrifice, but that she is not going to marry. Those are her intentions, and she is to bewail the fact of her virginity. She will not be presented as a bride to some man. Her life is to be dedicated to the Lord.
Judges 11:38
This passage tells us that Jephthah’s daughter did not get married. Instead she dedicated her life to the Lord. The word lament in verse Jdg_11:40 means “to celebrate.” Every year for four days Jephthah’s daughter was remembered in a special way. She was totally dedicated to the Lord and His service. There is no indication that she was made a human sacrifice. People have argued about this story for years.
I am asked that question as much as any other question: “Did Jephthah offer up his daughter in sacrifice?” No, he did not, but that is not the point. God would not have permitted him to offer his daughter in a burnt sacrifice. The significant factor is that Jephthah kept his vow. His vow was something sacred. He did not trifle with it. It was a rash statement, to be sure, but it was not an idle boast.
It was not a hollow promise. The Word of God has some severe and sharp things to say relative to making a vow. Notice what the Book of Ecclesiastes has to say about vows. “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay” (Ecc_5:2, Ecc_5:4-5). My friend, you will do well to promise God only what you think you can execute.
I am afraid that there are many Christians who go through a little ceremony. Perhaps they go down to an altar after a service, and by lighting a candle they dedicate themselves to God. Some folk dedicate and dedicate themselves until it actually smells to high heaven! God says, “Don’t be rash with your mouth.” He says that you are a fool if you make a vow to Him carelessly. You might think that over, Christian friend, in the next dedication service you attend. Don’t rush down to the altar and offer God everything if you don’t mean what you are saying.
Jephthah was an illegitimate child. His mother was a harlot. He had a sweet, lovely daughter, and he wanted her to marry and have children. He unwittingly dedicated her to the Lord, but he kept his vow. Christians today are notorious at making vows and breaking them. I noted this when I first began to move in Christian circles. As a young Christian, I went to a young people’s conference and watched eighteen young people go forward and dedicate themselves to the Lord for full-time Christian service. I wouldn’t go forward because I did not know whether I could make good my promise. May I say that out of all those who dedicated themselves to the Lord’s service that night, not one of them entered full-time service! Have you made a vow to God?
If you have, He wants you to keep it. “It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2Ti_2:11-13). Oh, He keeps His Word. Let us keep our word. “But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil” (2Th_3:3). My, how wonderful He is, and how foolish we are today! Jephthah should be a lesson to us today.