The Curious Case of Jephthah
Wednesday, March 12
The Curious Case of Jephthah
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 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.
Are you getting a bit of déjà vu when reading this opening description of Jephthah, friend? Jephthah looks like Abimelech 2.0, doesn’t he? The similarities are almost eerie. Both men had a powerful tribal leader as a father and an illegitimate concubine as a mother, and both lived at odds with their brothers, and both collected worthless characters in society as their companions. Yet, despite these similarities, it’s the stark differences that matter most. The fact is, Jephthah could so easily have followed Abimelech’s lead here. He had every reason to fume over his banishment and take revenge on his brothers, but to his great credit, he demonstrates true manliness by snuffing out that fire of resentment before it starts.
By the way, don’t read this scene as a picture of Jephthah running scared from his brothers because he’s outnumbered. The author clearly describes him as a mighty warrior, so prominent in fact that these very brothers will later come groveling at his feet, begging for help in battle. I believe Jephthah can crush these guys in a fight—and they know it—because he’s the best fighter in the commonwealth by a country mile. Yet, instead of throwing punches, instead of throwing a tirade, instead of grabbing the nearest ox goad and doing an impression of Shamgar on these backstabbers, he walks away. Now, I bet that all sorts of people collect around him after this—the good guys as well as the worthless ones—because unlike Abimelech, he doesn’t have to lure mercenaries with promises of power and fame. He has the magnetism of a strong character, which goes a lot further.
Friend, when you think of Jephthah, picture first the paradox of a mighty shepherd standing calmly in the presence of wolves. He’s a man built to fight goliaths, but he’s unwilling to cast the first stone.