Faith and courage are both tested by circumstances. One often jumps to conclusions when one tries to judge the actions of another. Proverbs 14:29, 30 says, “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly. A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottennes to the bones.”

A leader was in demand, (Judg 11:1-29, 32-33). Now we are introduced to Jephthah יפתח Yiphtach pronounced yif-tawkh whose name means “he opens”, the Gileadite, (a branch of the tribe of Manasseh), the man God chose to lead Israel to victory.

What kind of man was he? The unwanted brother (vv 1-3). Jephthah wasn’t to blame for his birth. His father, Gilead, had only one wife, but he consorted with a concubine and fathered a son. At least Gilead acknowledged the boy and took him into his home, but his other sons didn’t accept this “son of a strange woman.” When Gilead died and the inheritance was to be divided, the legitimate sons drove Jephthah away. Little did they realize they were rejecting a future judge of Israel.

Jephthah left his father’s territory and went north to the land of Tob, (the name means “good”), which was near Syria; and there he became captain of a band of “adventurers” (v 3). The ‘Hebrew word means “to make empty” and refers to idle people looking for something to do. (See 9:4, the “vain and light persons” who followed Abimelech. Here the word means “to be reckless.”) Jephthah was already known as “a mighty man of valor” (v 1). Thus he had no trouble forming a band of brigands.

The unopposed leader (vv 4-11). Jephthah’s brothers didn’t want him, (Similar to Yosef’s brothers), but the elders of Israel needed him and sent deputation eighty miles to the land of Tob to ask him to take charge. Jephthah reply sounds a good deal like what the Lord had said to the people when the turned to Him for help (10:13-14). Apparently the Jewish leaders had cooperated with Gilead’s sons in expelling the unwanted brother from the land, but Jephthah listened to them and made sure their offer was valid. He was willing to lead them against the enemy if the elders would name him ruler of Gilead.
You can’t help but appreciate the way Jephthah emphasized the Lord in all his negotiations with the leaders of Israel. It was the Lord who would give the victory (11:9), not Jephthah; and the agreement between him and the elders must be ratified before the Lord at Mizpah (v 11; see 1 Sam 11:15). Jephthah didn’t see the challenge as a political opportunity for himself but as an occasion ‘for trusting the Lord and serving Him‘. In addition, the writer of Hebrews makes it clear Jephthah was a man of faith, not an opportunist (Heb. 11:32).

One can’t help but wonder how his brothers felt when the man they renounced returned home as the captain of the army and the leader of the land. More than one “underdog” in Scriptupe had the same experience. Yosef, was rejected by his brothers and later became a saving leader. It also took King David seven years to gain the full support of twelve tribes of Israel. For that matter, Yeshua was rejected by some people, and still is, but that doesn’t mean that prophecy won’t be fulfilled.

The unsuccessful diplomat (vv 12-28). Before declaring war, Jephthah tried peaceful negotiations with the Amnonites, but the negotiations failed. Neverrtheless, this section does tell us two things about Jephthah: (1) He knew the Scriptures and the history of his people, and (2) he was not a hothead who was looking for a fight. Being a military man himself, Jephthah knew that a war could result in thousands of Jewish men being killed and he wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

The King of Ammon (father of Jerahmeel, worshipped Molech, god of the Ammonites), declared that he and his men were only reclaiming land that the Jews, under the leadership of Moshe, had stolen from them. If Israel would restore that land, he would call off his troops. But Jephthah presented four compelling arguments that should have convinced the Ammonites that they were wrong.

1. He presented the facts of history (vv 14-22).
2. His argument was that the Lord had given Israel the land (vv 23-24)
3. Jephthah’s argument was that Israel had lived on the land for centuries (vv 25-26).

“Three hundred years” is a round figure, but it comes close to the total number of years given in the Book of Judges for the periods of oppression and of peace. Israel had dwelt in the Transjordan area for three centuries, and that was reason enough to claim title to the land as their own. Why was the King of Ammon making his claims now? During those three centuries, the people of Ammon didn’t try to reclaim their territory. In fact, back in the days of Moses, even the King of Moab hadn’t tried to get his land back! If the Ammonites had a legitimate claim to the territory, they should have said something centuries ago!

Jephthah’s final argument was that the Ammonites were actually fighting against the Lord (vv. 27-28). Jephthah hadn’t declared war on Ammon; it was Ammon that declared war on Israel. But if God gave Israel the land, then the Ammonites were declaring war on the Lord God; and that could only mean disaster and defeat for Ammon. Jephthah had tried to reason, with the King of Ammon, but he wouldn’t listen.

The undefeated warrior (vv 29-33). Empowered by the Spirit of God (see 3:10; 6:34), Jephthah called for volunteers (12:12) and mustered his army. In order to be certain of victory, he foolishly made a bargain with God, a subject we shall take up later. The Lord gave him victory over the Ammonites, and he captured twenty of their strongholds as he pursued the fleeing enemy army. This would guarantee freedom and safety for the Jews as they traveled in the Gilead territory.

The writer of Hebrews wrote that Jephthah was a man of faith and his victory was a victory of faith (Heb 11:32). People sometimes get hung up on the issues of war, of who is right and who is not. The fact and basic principle is one of faith. Who one has faith in. Only The God Most High knows all the motives of a persons heart and only He knows the plan of outcome. It is His plan of events. The circumstances of birth or of family are not a handicap to the person who will live by faith. So then as we have read and heard numerous times, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom 10:17). And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith (1 Jn 5:4). Through the faith of Jephthah, the Ammonites didn’t threaten the Israelites for another fifty years. (1 Sam 11:1).

When The God Most High requests something of someone, it’s wise to be obedient with His strength and His courage and have perseverance.

Matt 6:33 Seek first the Kingdom of God. [In all things]

Parashah 37: Shlach L’kha (Send on your behalf) Numbers 13:1-15:41; Joshua 2:1-24; Hebrews 3:7-19

There are many ways of putting someone to death. It can come in the form of words that are spoken, to the finality of actions. Death comes in many forms. In Genesis through to Revelation, we read of spiritual death [separation] through to physical death. There are many lessons in God’s word. If one searches, many thought provoking details can be attained in “every word of God”.

Observe and highlight what God said in this reading;

God said…

• Num 13:2
• Num 14:11-12
• Num 14:20–25
• Num 14:27-35
• 15:2-16
• 15:18-31
• 15:35
• 15:38-41

When Cross References are attained, with the verses ADONAI said, there is a pattern;

• Num 13:22 with Josh 15:14 outside this reading
• Num 13:33 with Josh 11:21 outside this reading
• Num 14:24 with Josh 14:6-15 outside this reading
• Num 14:22-23 with Heb 3:18
• Num 14:29 with Heb 3:17

Hebrews 3:7-19

⁷ Therefore, as the Ruach HaKodesh says, “Today, if you hear God’s voice,
⁸ don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel on that day in the Wilderness when you put God to the test.
⁹ Yes, your fathers put me to the test; they challenged me, and they saw my work for forty years!
¹⁰ Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation — I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, they have not understood how I do things’;
¹¹ in my anger, I swore that they would not enter my rest.” [Num 14:21-23]

¹² Watch out, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize from the living God! ¹³ Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided, however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached. [a promise] 

¹⁵ Now where it says, “Today, if you hear God’s voice, don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel,”

¹⁶ who were the people who, after they heard, quarrelled so bitterly? All those whom Moshe brought out of Egypt. ¹⁷ And with whom was God disgusted for forty years? Those who sinned — yes, they fell dead in the Wilderness! [ Num 14:29] ¹⁸ And to whom was it that he swore that they would not enter his rest? Those who were disobedient. ¹⁹ So we see that they were unable to enter because of lack of trust.

Heb 3:11 anger – agitation of the soul, of a state/distance of separation, by which the union or fellowship of the two is destroyed.