Letter to the Hebrews Volume 148

 Overcoming Faith Part 6 (Jephthah)

Hebrews 11:32-34 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the Prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. KJV Note: MKJV=Modern King James Version

The writer of Hebrews next list six (6) men and also the Prophets whom the Lord God/Elohim/Jehovah/Adonai/Jesus Christ used in very miraculous ways to accomplish His will on the earth for the profit, protection, and preservation of children of Israel on the earth as per His promise to Abraham (then Abram) way back when He first called Him to leave his home country and sojourn to a land that He (God) would shew unto him (Genesis 12:1-3). Each of these men were born many years after Abraham's earthly life was over, however, each one of them were descendants of Abraham. Just as the writer of Hebrews declares, as it is written, "And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the Prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." (Hebrews 11:32-34) (KJV), it would take up very much time to document all that the Scriptures have so documented for us concerning the exercising of extremely great overcoming faith by all of them. However, I will shine some light on each of these six (6) men as well as some of the Prophets that the writer of Hebrews highlights for us here in this part of his list of the heroes of the faith.

The fourth (4) man listed for us here by the writer of Hebrews was a man named Jephthah. This man Jephthah was brought into the earth realm by a mother who was a harlot and a father named Gilead, as it is written here, "Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman." (Judges 11:1-2) (KJV). Surprisingly to Jephthah the very people (his blood brothers and all the people of the land Gilead) that had exiled him from there, now came to him in the land of Tob where he had settled with a very interesting proposition, as it is written here, "And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 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? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh." (Judges 11:4-11) (KJV). So, Jephthah prepared the people of Israel in Gilead to fight against the enemies of the Lord God. Jephthah being filled with the Holy Spirit then spoke these words to the Lord God as he prepared Israel for war, "Then the Spirit of Jehovah came on Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead passed over to the sons of Ammon. And Jephthah vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, then it shall be that whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, surely it shall belong to Jehovah, or I will offer it up instead of a burnt offering." (Judges 11:29-31) (MKJV). Jephthah had just made a vow unto Adonai/the Lord God that he believed was right to do. Jephthah had also made a vow to the Lord God that he was not fearful of doing, probably because he had returned home many times from being away for long or short periods of time and most likely was first greeted by one of his many animals, so it was fitting to Jephthah to make such a vow. Most likely his daughter (his only child, along with his wife) when they would here him arrive remained inside the house until he came in to greet her, therefore, Jephthah could never imagine such a scenario where his wife or daughter would come outside to greet him. The Lord Jesus Christ granted victory to Jephthah as he "escaped the edge of the sword" (Hebrews 11:34) and the Hebrew people of Gilead over Ammon, however, Jephthah was then confronted with a great dilemma when he arrived home, as it is written here, "And Jephthah passed over to the sons of Ammon to fight against them. And Jehovah delivered them into his hand. And he struck them from Aroer even until you come to Minnith, twenty cities, and to the meadow of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. So were the sons of Ammon subdued before the sons of Israel. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh to his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances. And she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. And it happened when he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me. For I have opened my mouth to Jehovah, and I cannot go back. And she said to him, My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to that which has come out of your mouth, because Jehovah has taken vengeance for you upon your enemies, even of the sons of Ammon. And she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone two months, so that I may go up and down upon the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months. And she went with her companions and wept for her virginity upon the mountains. And it happened at the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her his vow which he had vowed. And she knew no man. And it is a custom in Israel, that the daughters of Israel went yearly to tell again of the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year." (Judges 11:32-40) (MKJV). Whether or not Jephthah actually carried out his vow to God and sacrificed the physical life of his daughter remains a debate among many Christian Scholars. The one argument is made to what Jehovah did when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac and was stopped by the Angel of the Lord, however, the comparison is not adequate because the multiplying of the entire Hebrew people hinged on Isaac being born, even though Elohim could have allowed Isaac's sacrifice and given Abraham another son to multiply the Hebrew people. Jephthah was completely different from Abraham in that he was a descendant of Abraham many generations into God's promise and also his only seed was a daughter. I truly believe that our Lord Jesus Christ made a way for Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter (his only daughter) to Him by her remaining a virgin for her entire life serving Him as her vocation (A Nun perhaps) only and never being given to any man by her father Jephthah to marry.

Here is what Alber Barnes had to say of Jephthah, "The story of Jephtha is recorded in Judges 11. The mention of his name among those who were distinguished for faith, has given occasion to much perplexity among expositors. That a man of so harsh and severe a character, a man who sacrificed his own daughter, in consequence of a rash vow, should be numbered among those who were eminent for piety, as if he were one distinguished for piety also, has seemed to be wholly inconsistent and improper. The same remark, however, may be made respecting Jephtha which has been made of Samson and others. The Apostle does not commend all which they did. He does not deny that they were very imperfect men, nor that they did many things which cannot be approved or vindicated. He commends only one thing - their faith; and in these instances he particularly alludes, doubtless, to their remarkable valour and success in delivering their country from their foes and from the foes of God. In this it is implied that they regarded themselves as called to this work by the Lord, and as engaged in his service; and that they went forth to battle, depending on his protection and nerved by confidence in him as the God of their country. Their views of God himself might be very erroneous; their notions of religion - as was the case with Jephtha - very imperfect and obscure; many things in their lives might be wholly inconsistent with what we should now regard as demanded by religion, and still it might be true that in their efforts to deliver their country, they relied on the aid of God, and were animated to put forth extraordinary efforts, and were favoured with extraordinary success from their confidence in him. In the case of Jephtha, all that it is necessary to suppose, in order to see the force of the illustration of the apostle is, that he had strong confidence in God - the God of his nation, and that, under the influence of this, he made extraordinary efforts in repelling his foes. And this is not unnatural or improbable, even on the supposition that he was not a pious man. How many a Greek, and Roman, and Goth, and Muslim, has been animated’ to extraordinary courage in battle, by confidence in the gods which they worshipped! That Jephtha had this, no one can doubt; see Judges 11:29-32. (It is not likely that Jephtha’s faith would have found a record here, had it been of no higher kind than this. Peirce admits his unnatural crime, but supposes him to have repented. 'It must be owned,' says he, 'that if Jephtha had not repented of this very heinous wickedness, he could not have been entitled to salvation. The Apostle, therefore, who has assured us of his salvation, must undoubtedly have gone upon the supposition that Jephtha actually repented of it before he died. That he had time to repent is beyond dispute, because he lived near six years after this. For it is expressly said he judged Israel six years, Judges 12:7, and it is as certain he made this vow in the beginning of his government. What evidence the apostle had of Jephtha’s repentance I cannot say. He might know it by the help of old Jewish histories, or by inspiration.')Even in the great and improper sacrifice of his only daughter which the obvious interpretation of the record respecting him in Judges 11:39, leads us to suppose he made, he did it as an offering to the Lord, and under these mistaken views of duty, he showed by the greatest sacrifice which a man could make - that of an only child that he was disposed to do what he believed was required by religion. A full examination of the case of Jephtha, and of the question whether he really sacrificed his daughter, may be found in Warburton’s Divine Legation of Moses, book 9, notes, in Bush’s Notes on Judges 11; and in the Biblical Repository for January 1843. It is not necessary to go into the much litigated inquiry here whether he really put his daughter to death, for whether he did or not, it is equally true that he evinced strong confidence in God. If he did do it, in obedience as he supposed to duty and to the divine command, no higher instance of faith in God as having a right to dispose of all that he had, could be furnished; if he did not, his eminent valour and success in battle show that he relied for strength and victory on the arm of Yahweh. The single reason why the piety of Jephtha has ever been called in question has been the fact that he sacrificed his own daughter. If he did not do that, no one will doubt his claims to an honored rank among those who have evinced faith in God."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…