In the previous article in this series, we noticed the importance of seeing Jephthah’s story against the setting of chapter 10 and suggested that the unexpected silence of God, which breaks what has become the familiar pattern of Judges, highlights for us Jephthah’s reliance on the dexterity of his speech as he negotiates with his brethren and with the king of the children of Ammon. This is not the only way in which the chapter provides an important backdrop for Jephthah’s story. One of the intriguing features of his story is the way in which Jephthah’s treatment by his brethren seems to mirror the way in which the nation has behaved towards Jehovah. In chapter 10, Jehovah was rejected by the nation until the distress of bondage caused them to repent and cry to Him. Jehovah’s initial response was not encouraging – He reminded Israel of how they had treated Him. In the face of that response, Israel renews her plea and although, as we have seen, God remains deafeningly silent in response, we know, though they do not, that their appeal has reached the heart of God, for “his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel” (Jdg 10:16).1 The similarities with Jephthah are striking: he was rejected by his family until their extremity led them to look for a deliverer. His initial response was to remind them of their rejection of him, but their renewed pleas and their promise of faithful obedience saw him acquiesce to the task of being their deliverer. These parallels are unlikely to be accidental, especially in light of Jephthah’s reference in 11:27 to “the LORD, the Judge,”2 a unique expression that identifies God as the nation’s divine deliverer.
It is one thing to identify parallels like these, but another thing to decide how we are supposed to interpret them. One possible approach would be to assume that the comparison is intended to indicate divine approval. If Jephthah is acting like God, if the actions of the earthly judge are echoing those of the heavenly Judge, then surely Jephthah’s behaviour must be seen in a positive light, and where it appears otherwise, he must be given the benefit of the doubt. While that is certainly a possible approach, it seems to overstate the similarity between Jephthah’s actions and those of Jehovah, and to miss a striking difference in the way in which the interactions of chapter 10 and 11 end. Not only is it the case, as we have seen, that chapter 10 ends in Jehovah’s silence while Jephthah’s rejection with his brethren culminates in negotiation, but it is also the case that, while Jehovah’s final response is pity for the Israelites, an unwillingness that their suffering should extend further, Jephthah’s discussion with his brethren reveals no concern for the plight of Israel, no sense of a burden to be the agent of divine deliverance, but rather an insistence on his personal position: “And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head” (11:9). It is true that Jephthah recognises that deliverance, if it comes, must come from the Lord, but his repetition of the specific terms of the offer made to him (and the fact that the word “head” occurs in 10:18; 11:8,9,11) suggests that this is an important part of the story. That this should trouble us is further underscored by the contrast with the call of Gideon. As we have already seen, the arrangement of Judges parallels the lives of Gideon and Jephthah. Both narratives culminate at the fords of Jordan, and there is an obvious and striking contrast between Gideon’s emollient speech to the recalcitrant Ephraimites and Jephthah’s harsh words. Likewise, at the start, there is a striking contrast between the two men – between Gideon’s feeling of personal unfitness and his very evident burden about the poor condition of the nation and Jephthah’s seeming lack of concern about the nation and interest in his own prominence. The differences between chapter 10 and 11 are altogether more revealing than the similarities.
All of this should not obscure another important connection between the two chapters. Although chapter 10 ends without an overt answer from God, and although, tellingly, chapter 11 contains no reference to Jephthah’s being raised up by God (cf. 2:16,18; 3:9,15; 10:1,3), it nonetheless becomes clear, as the narrative unfolds, that Jephthah is God’s answer, who does begin the work of deliverance. It is true that Jephthah is an unlikely deliverer. The lowliness of his origins, his career as a sort of brigand captain, and his fleshly motivation all make him a surprising choice as a judge, but an excellent choice to make, once again, two points that are central to the book of Judges. The first is the decline of the nation. Jephthah seems a poor choice in so many ways, but such is the condition of the nation that there is no one better qualified. This situation will become even more acute in the Samson narrative, where such is the dearth of possible leaders in the nation that God must grow a judge from scratch. But, as always in this book, human failure is matched, and overmatched, by God’s grace. God’s workings in the career of Jephthah are less overt than in many of the other narratives in the book. Were it not for 11:29 telling us that “the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah” and 11:32 telling us that “the LORD delivered them into his hands,” we might wonder whether Jephthah’s military success was due to his own skill. The narrative, however, does not allow us that option, and we are left to wonder, one more time, at the divine grace that could make such effective use of so flawed a servant.
For Jephthah is flawed; his presentation in Judges makes that clear. Jephthah is not a two-dimensional hero; but neither is he a two-dimensional villain. Like all the other judges, he is a man of like passions with us. We should be glad of this, because it means that his example has value for us. Our task is not so much to judge Jephthah as it is to learn from him.
1 “And He could bear Israel’s misery no longer” (NIV). Notice, however, the alternative rendering given by the ESV: “He became impatient over the misery of Israel,” and cf. the use of the same word in Judges 16:16 to describe Samson’s impatience at Delilah’s repeated nagging.
2 Bible quotations in this article are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
