Pondering Hebrews 11:32 "Jephthah"
Intro
Everybody has heroes! Some have comic book heroes like Batman or Superman. Some have sports heroes like Don Bradman or Margaret Court. Others have political heroes like David Ben Gurion or Martin Luther King. In the New Testament times, someone wrote a list of his heroes, the Heroes of the Faith.
As we read through this chapter, we see some familiar figures from the Tanach, but we also see some odd fellows on the list. There is Abraham and Moses, who get their fair share of verses, but David is only mentioned in passing. Even Rahab, the harlot, gets more space, hmm. I wonder if the list of heroes of the faith had been compiled by you and me, who we would put in and also, what we would say about them?
In light of that, I have selected one odd fellow, Jephthah, and will look closely at the background in Judges. Over the next few months, we will do some online sermons on this book, located on our YouTube channel https://tinyurl.com/BC-Video.
So who is Jephthah and why is he in this list of the heroes of the faith?
Hebrews 11:32–33 (NASB)
- 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
Jephthah, who by faith performed acts of righteousness.
Jephthah was one of the judges in the Old Testament period of the Judges (Judges 11-12). During this period of time, we see the nation of Israel in moral decline, though there is a Godly remnant, for at that time we also have Boaz and Ruth.
Judges 11:1–3 (PC translation)
- 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife 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.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and needy men gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him.
Here was a man who was denied his inheritance and had to flee from his family. He settles not far from Gilead (see map at the end), in the Land of Tob. Most translations will say that vain men gathered around him, but the word vain can also mean empty. These men are more likely to have been like him in that they were also poor and without property.
There was a war with one of the neighboring nations, Ammon.
Judges 11:29a (NASB)
29 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.
So Jephthah, who is one of the judges, takes on the battle.
Judges 11:30–31 (NASB)
30 Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 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.”
The Lord was upon him, and the Lord knew the vow Jephthah would make, that what or whom so ever comes from his home would become an עוֹלָֽה (olah) a burnt offering.
If an animal had come out, let’s say a dog or a cat, it could not have been offered. Only a kosher/clean animal could have become a burnt offering. A dog might have been substituted for a sheep, but they could not have been offered to the Lord.
Jephthah is a faithful man. He is called a mighty warrior. The Hebrew phrase גִּבּ֣וֹר חַ֔יִל (gibor cha’yil) (verse 1) is also used of Boaz (Ruth 2:1) and David (1 Samuel 16:18). He made a vow “before the LORD” (verse 11), and before going into battle he reminded the pagan king of Ammon (verses 14-26) that the LORD had promised and fulfilled His promise to Israel regarding the Land.
So we must remember that when he made the vow he is a believer, a member of the faithful remnant, like Boaz.
Judges 11:34-36 (NASB)
- 34 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. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my 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.” 36 So she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord; do to me as you have said, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.”
And so when Jephthah comes home, his daughter comes out. He informs her of the vow, and she says ok do to me as you have promised the LORD. Based on this some have thought that she became a willing sacrifice and was killed. A number of sermons claim that he did sacrifice his daughter. But child sacrifice was not practiced in Israel until the time of bad king Ahab (c. 871–852 BCE), and the even worse king, Manasseh (c. 687–643 BCE), who both worshiped other gods. There is however no evidence that this was practiced during the time of Israel of the Judges (c. 1375 - 1075 BCE).
Human sacrifice was prohibited in the Torah (the Mosaic Law) (Leviticus 18:21, 20:2‐5 & Deuteronomy 12:31 & 18:10). Child sacrifice was the practice of the Ammonites who seemed to have worshiped Chemosh, the god of Moab, as well as their own god, Molech (sometimes called Milcom (1 Kings 11). Jephthah would have been familiar with their abominable practices of human sacrifice, but he also knew the Law of Moses, for when he negotiated with the Ammonites, he recalled the promises contained in God’s Word and he relied upon them.
Judges 11:37–40 (NASB)
- 37 She said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.” 38 Then he said, “Go.” So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39 At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, 40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.
Here we have the daughter asking permission to delay the vow and mourn her virginity. What an example to us. In Psalm 15:4 God honours the person who so fears and reverences Him that he “swears to his own hurt and does not change.” His or her steadfast love for the Lord becomes clear.
Don’t get me wrong. Can Holy Spirit-filled believers make foolish vows, yes! Should they fulfill their foolish vows, No! Would God have accepted a human sacrifice? The answer is NO! She mourns, not her death but her (perpetual) virginity, because she could never marry. Why could she not marry? She was to be given over to serve full‐time in the Tabernacle (Exodus 38:8 & 1 Samuel 2:22). In light of that, note verse 39 “and she had no relations with a man.” If she had died it may have mentioned that she was a virgin, but it goes further and says that she no sexual relations ever. She became a living sacrifice.
Jephthah is mentioned another two times in Scripture. In 1 Samuel 12:11 Samuel, in his final speech, mentions Jephthah. He lists him among the leaders who, like himself, acted as God’s agents to deliver Israel from her enemies. And here in our passage, Hebrews 11:32, he is listed amongst the heroes of the faith. If he had committed the abominable sacrifice he would not have been commended by Samuel, nor been listed here.
When we examine the time line, we note that Jephthah’s daughter was serving in the Tabernacle when Hannah brought Samuel. Being a faithful woman she may well have nurtured him and been a spiritual mother for him.
So why is Jephthah in the heroes of the faith?
Our lives, like that Jephthah, may be small and insignificant; however, we can and should be encouraged by Jephthah’s life. In it we see the principle of Romans 8:28 “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.” In the story the real hero is God Himself, He is magnified, His grace and His salvation. I am looking forwards to meeting these two heroes of the faith, Jephthah and his daughter, one day.
Blessings in Messiah Yeshua
Paul
|
