Judges 10:17-11:40- Jephthah Delivers Israel From The Ammonites

Our text is Judges 10:17-11:40. We will read the text as we work our way through it. Judges 10:17-18 says, “Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said one to another, ‘Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites? He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.’”

In Judges 10 Israel finally truly repented. We read this in 10:15-16, “And the people of Israel said to the LORD, ‘We have sinned; do to us whatever seems good to you. Only please deliver us this day.’ So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD”.

For eighteen years, until Israel repented their enemies oppressed them. Note: Consider the conditions under which they began to turn from their idolatry and serve the LORD. The enemy was oppressing them so we would understand if Israel put all their energy into getting ready for battle. Instead, we see that repentance had changed Israel’s priorities. There priority was not finding a general to lead them; instead, they got rid of their idols and served the LORD. Let us consider the important role of true repentance as we consider our 2026 resolutions.

Because they did this, we might think that by the time they did prepare for battle it would be too little to late to have any hope of a victory; however, because Israel repented the LORD had become impatient with their misery and He would deliver them.

The enemy that had gathered must have been a terrifying sight. Israel’s enemies had been battle hardened and made strong through many years of conflict with Israel. In addition to this, in Judges 10:17-18 we are NOT told that the people knew that the LORD had become impatient. (16) As they repented, adopted new godly priorities, and faced this enemy they would have to proceed in faith.

When Israel arrives at the battlefield and see the enemy they ask, “Who is the man who will begin to fight against the Ammonites?” (18) Perhaps they waited for a man among them to step forward, but no one did. An incentive was given for the man who would do this, “He shall be head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” Still no man who was willing to fill this role. (1 Samuel 17:25)

• Was this because these men were scared and lacked faith?

• Or had true repentance worked genuine wisdom into the hearts of Israel? Better to not come forward if you are not called by God to do so; instead, it is wise to pray and look for the man that God has called for that role. As Israel does this this remember Jephthah.

Our first description of Jephthah is given in Judges 11:1-3, “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.”

 Verse 1 tells us that Jephthah ‘was a mighty warrior’. Question(s):

• Is this a description of what God saw in him? (Gideon in Judges 6:12)

• Or is this a description of what the men of Gilead thought of Jephthan?

• Or both?

If the men of Gilead knew that Jephthah was a ‘mighty warrior’, I wonder how Jephthah got this reputation? Looking back we can see that Jephthah may have had some experience in battle when his tribe had been attacked on the west side of the Jordan over these past 18 years. Surly, this environment provided many opportunities to become a ‘mighty warrior’ by contending with the Ammonites.

Second, or we can look ahead to Judges 11:1-3 and see a pathway through which Jephthah became a ‘mighty warrior’. For example, when Gilead’s sons grew up they drove Jephthah away. (2) We’re told that he fled from his brothers. (3)

While in exile some things happened that shaped Jephthah. For example, Jephthah goes to Tob where worthless fellows come around him and he leads them out on their campaigns (against the Ammonites?). Perhaps these things made Jephthah into a ‘mighty warrior’?

God would use all of this for His purposes. In Judges 11:29 we are told that the Holy Spirit came upon Jephthah to empower him for this particular calling. Before this, Jephthah appears to be unaware of having received the Holy Spirit for this purpose and in 11:30 he will make a foolish vow. Question: How often do we fail to know that the Spirit is with us?

In Judges 11:4-11 we read these words, “After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 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?” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.”

The words, “After a time”, points us back to where we left off in Judges 10:17-18. Before the Ammonites declared war on Israel Jephthah’s brothers thought that he was their biggest threat to their inheritance. Now, however, the Ammonites were a bigger threat. Therefore, the elders of Gilead went to recruit Jephthah to lead them.

When they did this, Jephthah confronted them, saying, “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?” Jephthah feels the same way that God did when the people asked for help. When Israel forsook the LORD they did a hateful thing to the LORD. In the end, Jephthah agrees to go with them because he will rule over them. God, however, responds out of pity for His people.

This brings us to Judges 11:12-28. This vow that Jephthah makes usually captures all of our attention, However, I have come to believe that this passage is the most important section in Judges 11. I say this because as I looked at the structure of Judges 11 it appeared to have a chiastic structure. A chiasm is a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order. A chiasm produces a pyramid with the most significant thought at the top. I see this chiasm in the following way:

• vv.1-3 are mirrored in vv.34-39. These verses pertain to Jephthah’s home life.

• vv.4-11 are mirrored in vv.29-33. These verses pertain to someone desperately asking for help.

• The center of the chiasm is found in vv.12-28. In this section Jephthah lays out biblical truths on which Israel’s faith can be anchored. Jephthah confronts the Ammonites with the Word of God.

When the vow that Jephthah makes in 29-33 becomes the focal point of our attention the importance of vv. 12-28 gets overlooked. Verses 12-28 says, “Then Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, “Because Israel on coming up from Egypt took away my land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok and to the Jordan; now therefore restore it peaceably.” Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites and said to him, “Thus says Jephthah: Israel did not take away the land of Moab or the land of the Ammonites, but when they came up from Egypt, Israel went through the wilderness to the Red Sea and came to Kadesh. Israel then sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. And they sent also to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel remained at Kadesh.

Then they journeyed through the wilderness and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab and camped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab. Israel then sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon, and Israel said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land to our country,’ but Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory, so Sihon gathered all his people together and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave 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. So then the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them? Will you not possess what Chemosh your god gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. Now are you any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever contend against Israel, or did he ever go to war with them? While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, 300 years, why did you not deliver them within that time? I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” But the king of the Ammonites did not listen to the words of Jephthah that he sent to him.”

In verses 4-11 Jephthah confronted the elders who had sinned against him, here he confronts the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me, that you have come to me to fight against my land?” (12) In Judges 12 we will have another example of how Jephthah is not afraid to confront people.

The king of the Ammonites demands that Israel return the land that used to belong to them. Jephthah, however, knows Israel’s history and the Scriptures regarding these things. (Application: Our enemy tries to get us to question the inheritance that we have in Christ. Are we fighting back biblically against this or are we simply conceding our holy ground and shrinking back?)

Here Jephthah speaks about many truths that could have been the foundation of his faith during the up-coming battle. Like when he wrote, “...the Lord, the God of Israel, dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel; and are you to take possession of them?” Or when he wrote, “...all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess.” And when he wrote, “I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.” Jephthah knew how to use the word to confront the Ammonites, but he failed to know how to use them to benefit his own faith. In Judges 12 he will fail to know how to apply God’s word to advert war with his brothers- Israel.

Application: In Psalm 143:8 the psalmist says, “Make me know the way I should go…”. In Psalm 143:10 he says, “Teach me to do your will…”. The psalmist also says in verse 10, “Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Jephthah would have not have made this vow if he was devoted to the same things David was in this Psalm. Instead of being taught a new way to do God’s will, he relied on his own wisdom.

In vv. 29-33 we read, “Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.”

The Spirit of the LORD has come upon Jephthah and he knows the biblical truths; however, as he draws close to the Ammonites he fails to walk by faith. Instead, he walks by sight and then speaks according to his own wisdom, saying, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” This foolish vow was not necessary.

The LORD gave Jephthah the victory because when we are faithless, He remains faithful. (2 Tim. 2:13) We are told that the Ammonites were struck with a very great blow and were subdued before Israel. This victory would not long be celebrated because of the two things that happen next. First, is this vow that Jephthah had made. Second, is the story we will read in Judges 12.

We read of this in Judges 11:34-40, “Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” So he said, “Go.” Then he sent her away for two months, and she departed, she and her companions, and wept for her virginity on the mountains. And at the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to his vow that he had made. She had never known a man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went year by year to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.”

Jephthah proved that he knew some of the truths of God’s Word; however, he also proved that he did not know the whole counsel of the Word of God. We also see that at this time Israel did not know the Word of God either. In the Law the LORD had given a way to deal with a rash and foolish vow. If Jephthah or those around him knew this the outcome would have been different. (Leviticus 5:4-6)

Application: One of my favorite lines in the Marvel movie, Civil War, is when Falcon says, “I don’t know if you’ve been in a fight before but there is usually not this much talking.” In this story there is a lot of talking. In every paragraph someone is talking and getting into trouble. One of the lessons of this text is that when we speak it should be biblical. This story reminds us that we are to know God’s word, depend upon the Spirit of the LORD, do not depend upon our own wisdom or strength, and walk and respond in all situations by faith.