Judg 11:4 | KingComments | STEP | The opening verses of this chapter form a kind of parenthesis. They tell us something about Jephthah. connects to the last of the previous chapter ( ). After the preparatory actions, the battle starts. The Ammonites go to war against Israel. The elders of Gilead face a big problem and that is that there is still no one who can lead them in the fight against the Ammonites. They see only one possibility left and that is to ask Jephthah. Forced by circumstances, they are willing to accept the man they hated and rejected because of his despised origin, now as their leader because of his qualities. So it is also with faith in the Lord Jesus as the only Savior. Only when a person no longer sees any outcome in his distress does he resort to Him. Need leads someone to call upon Him. Before answering their request, Jephthah reminds them of how unjustly he had been treated by them. It looks a bit like what Joseph does with his brothers. The brothers sold him to Egypt. God controls everything in such a way that Joseph becomes viceroy there. When the brothers, forced by hunger, come to Joseph later, Joseph deals hard with them. He wants to make the brothers understand that they have done wrong, so that they will confess it and he can forgive them (Genesis 42-45). Yet there is a difference between Jephthah and Joseph. Joseph accepted everything from the hand of God, but with Jephthah this does not seem to be the case. He accuses them of having treated him badly. All these years he has not forgotten what they have done to him and blames them for it. We too can sometimes find it difficult to forgive and forget a bad treatment we have experienced. It comes up again, sometimes years later, under certain circumstances. An example. Someone is told that he is no longer needed for certain services. It can be anything, but let’s suppose it is a sexton service in the church. Another one applies to take over. The sexton may feel put aside. When an appeal is made to him again later, it is difficult not to think back to what happened in the past. Another example is that we are passed over for a certain service, even though we think we have quite some capacities for that service. However, another is preferred. If, for example, that other person moves and we are asked to replace the first choice, the thought may easily arise that we will not let them play with us and that they will also now have to look for someone else. Being second choice is often difficult to accept.

‏ Judges 11:4

Jephthah Is Asked to Be Chief

The opening verses of this chapter form a kind of parenthesis. They tell us something about Jephthah. Jdg 11:4 connects to the last of the previous chapter (Jdg 10:17-18). After the preparatory actions, the battle starts. The Ammonites go to war against Israel. The elders of Gilead face a big problem and that is that there is still no one who can lead them in the fight against the Ammonites. They see only one possibility left and that is to ask Jephthah.

Forced by circumstances, they are willing to accept the man they hated and rejected because of his despised origin, now as their leader because of his qualities. So it is also with faith in the Lord Jesus as the only Savior. Only when a person no longer sees any outcome in his distress does he resort to Him. Need leads someone to call upon Him.

Before answering their request, Jephthah reminds them of how unjustly he had been treated by them. It looks a bit like what Joseph does with his brothers. The brothers sold him to Egypt. God controls everything in such a way that Joseph becomes viceroy there. When the brothers, forced by hunger, come to Joseph later, Joseph deals hard with them. He wants to make the brothers understand that they have done wrong, so that they will confess it and he can forgive them (Genesis 42-45).

Yet there is a difference between Jephthah and Joseph. Joseph accepted everything from the hand of God, but with Jephthah this does not seem to be the case. He accuses them of having treated him badly. All these years he has not forgotten what they have done to him and blames them for it.

We too can sometimes find it difficult to forgive and forget a bad treatment we have experienced. It comes up again, sometimes years later, under certain circumstances. An example. Someone is told that he is no longer needed for certain services. It can be anything, but let’s suppose it is a sexton service in the church. Another one applies to take over. The sexton may feel put aside. When an appeal is made to him again later, it is difficult not to think back to what happened in the past.

Another example is that we are passed over for a certain service, even though we think we have quite some capacities for that service. However, another is preferred. If, for example, that other person moves and we are asked to replace the first choice, the thought may easily arise that we will not let them play with us and that they will also now have to look for someone else. Being second choice is often difficult to accept.