2570 AM (1190 BCE) – JEPHTHAH
It was a dark and stormy night deep in the land of Tob. A young prostitute screamed in agony, and in but a few moments, the wails of the new mother gave way to the wails of her newborn. She named him Jephthah, son of Gilead. Gilead, a mostly honorable man—except that he slept with prostitutes—allowed the prostitute to raise their son in his household with his other legitimate sons. It would not be an easy childhood, as he was constantly rebuked for his bastard status.
Jephthah studied war along with his brothers, as all Hebrew children did in preparation for the future. For many reasons, and in many ways, Jephthah excelled at the art of war, as he often had to defend himself against constant attacks from the older boys in his community.
His many brothers never came to his aid.
As time progressed and Jephthah and his brothers grew up, their father Gilead began to fall ill. The many brothers of Jephthah basically gave him an ultimatum of either leaving or joining their father in the ground when he goes. Jephthah needed no second invitation to leave and could tell when he was very much—very, very—unwanted.
Jephthah and his mother went back to the land of Tob. Those in the circles that Jephthah’s prostitute mother ran with were more than happy to accept such a strong man back in their ranks. I certainly cannot mention the nefarious exploits of that group, if only for my own safety. Let’s just say, it wasn’t on the up-and-up. But Jephthah was finally embraced as a brother and treated with the respect his training and prowess deserved.
While Jephthah was settling nicely in Tob, the Israelites did not follow in the ways of Adonai. They worshiped the many false gods of the various lands and did evil in the eyes of Adonai.
They did everything from serving the Baals and the Ashtoreths, along with the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites acted as a bigger prostitute to the foreign gods than Jephthah’s mother ever did with the men of Tob.
The hubris of the Israelites pointing their fingers at him and his mother!
So, Adonai sold the land of Israel into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites. The Philistines crushed and oppressed them along the east side of the Jordan in Gilead. The Ammonites crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim.
Finally, in great distress, Israel cried out to Adonai, “We have sinned against You, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”
Then with animosity and no small amount of disdain, Adonai replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to Me for help, I saved you from their hands. But then you forsook Me and served other gods, so go cry out to the gods you have chosen and let them save you!”
As Adonai continued to allow the surrounding armies to take potshots at Israel, the Israelites said to Adonai, “We have been focused on self, and we have done great evil. Do with us whatever You will, but rescue us! Please, oh Adonai!”
The Israelites got rid of their foreign gods, and they started to, once again, serve Adonai alone. And Adonai could no longer bear Israel’s misery.
Finally, Adonai spoke to them, “Since you are so fond of prostituting yourself, it will be by the hand of the son of a prostitute that you will be delivered. Go and send the sons of Gilead to Tob and find Jephthah. Have them ask if he will lead your army and deliver you from your enemies. If he will, I will.”
The sons of Gilead were sent to the land of Tob and were forced to humbly request their brother, Jephthah, to be their commander. The size of Jephthah overshadowed his brothers. His contempt could be seen in every lean muscle visible in his shoulders and arms, legs and neck, and even along his jawline. Jephthah was a monster of a man.
Jephthah replied to their pitiful, weak request, “You, who hate me so much that you drove me from my father’s house, you come to me now in this absurd plea? I mean, really? Now that you are in trouble, you come begging for help? How pathetic! Who do you think I am?”
His oldest brother stepped forward, “We were wrong. We were spiteful. We hated you with a baseless hatred. It was a symptom of the very thing that was wrong with many of the Israelites. We sought self over truth, and we hated Adonai. But you—you have always loved Adonai. Even when we made you a criminal and a pariah, you never turned your back on Adonai. We have turned away from the false gods to follow Adonai—both the Gileads and all of Israel. And we need you. Adonai will only deliver us through your hands.”
Jephthah sighed deeply. He was faithful to Adonai, and he always would be. He looked at each of his brothers one at a time. Beads of sweat dripped down their faces.
“Fine,” Jephthah finally said, “but nothing is for free. If Adonai gives us this victory, I will give Him the first animal that comes out of the front of my house.”
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To say that Jephthah waylaid the armies oppressing Israel cannot even begin to describe the power and passion with which Jephthah fought. Not since, perhaps, Joshua, had a man of such military prowess defended the land so thoroughly.
And like every great story, it must end with a tragedy. As Jephthah arrived home, his one and only daughter came out where a goat or a sheep should have greeted him.
“My daughter!” Jephthah said, tears immediately streaming. “You have crushed my soul!”
“Father, what have you done?” his daughter replied.
“I have dedicated the first animal to come out of my house as a sacrifice to Adonai, because He has delivered Israel from their enemies through my hands.”
“You must do what you have sworn. But do me a favor,” she pleaded in sincerity, “Allow me to go into the hills with my friends and mourn my virginity—that I will never be able to fulfill Adonai’s greatest commandment: to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it.”
“Yes, of course,” Jephthah wept.
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After two months, Jephthah packed up his daughter, and they began the long journey to the Tabernacle in Judah. Any sacrifice to Adonai must be done at the Tabernacle. Jephthah was in no hurry. He took a full week to be with his daughter, as it would be the last week that he would see her.
As the mighty Jephthah and his daughter arrived, tears streamed down his face. His daughter spoke words of comfort, “It’s ok. I do not fear death.”
Jephthah touched her face and then went to get a Kohen. They spoke. Jephthah described all that had happened, and the Kohen shook his head violently. Finally, the Kohen said words to Jephthah and both men nodded. Then Jephthah motioned for his daughter to come over to them.
As she approached, Jephthah finally spoke, “You are a virgin, and you will die a virgin. But you will not die today. Adonai does not accept human sacrifice—that is an abomination. However, you now belong to the Kohen, and you will serve in the Tabernacle, as a virgin, for the remainder of your life. I love you with my whole heart. Make me proud, and serve Adonai with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”
Used with permission by the author. Find the author’s complete works online: Complete Works of Mack Samuels
