Study of the Book of Judges -Jdg 11:1-22 Jephthah … Was the Son of an Harlot

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Jdg 11:1-22 Jephthah … Was the Son of an Harlot

[Study Aired June 7, 2021]

Jdg 11:1  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 
Jdg 11:2  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. 
Jdg 11:3  Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. 
Jdg 11:4  And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 
Jdg 11:5  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: 
Jdg 11:6  And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 
Jdg 11:7  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? 
Jdg 11:8  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. 
Jdg 11:9  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? 
Jdg 11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 
Jdg 11:11  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. 
Jdg 11:12  And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? 
Jdg 11:13  And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 
Jdg 11:14  And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: 
Jdg 11:15  And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: 
Jdg 11:16  But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; 
Jdg 11:17  Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh. 
Jdg 11:18  Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. 
Jdg 11:19  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. 
Jdg 11:20  But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 
Jdg 11:21  And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 
Jdg 11:22  And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 

Chapter 10 of Judges is about the judgment of God in our lives as we go astray and worship another Jesus as reflected in the Israelites worshiping seven different gods – Baalim, Ashtaroth, gods of Syria, Zidon, Moab, Ammon and Philistines. The number seven signifies completeness, so what this means is that these gods represent everything which engages our worship instead of our Lord Jesus.

God comes to judge us using His four sore judgments, which in this case is the use of the sword. God therefore gave the Israelites over to be oppressed by the Philistines and the Ammonites.

Eze 14:21  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

Eze 38:21  And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.

The combination of the Philistines and the Ammonites oppressing Israel means that God gives our flesh (Ammonites) over to worship another Jesus. We therefore changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped the creature more than the creator when we were in the churches of this world (Babylon).

Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

In our oppression, we come to our wits’ end, and we cry to the Lord for help, and He comes to our aid to start the process of deliverance.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Our review of the first part of Judges Chapter 11 today deals with the deliverance by the Lord through a man named Jephthah.

Jdg 11:1  Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. 
Jdg 11:2  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.

The name Jephthah means “He will Open” according to Strong. The question is what will our Lord open?  Our Lord Jesus is giving us the key to the house of David or the key to the kingdom of heaven, which is the opening of our hearts and minds to the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. Jephthah, therefore, represents the elect.

Isa 22:22  And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.

What is also striking here is that Jephthah was the son of a harlot, and as a result, his brothers thrust him out from their father’s house with the reason that he was not part of his father’s inheritance. We need to note that even though we are the elect, we were not qualified to reign with Christ when we started our journey because we were sons and daughters of a harlot or the strange woman, which is the existing church system of the world.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4  And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5  And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Paul explains our situation as follows:

Eph 2:11  Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
Eph 2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:19  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
Eph 2:20  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Jdg 11:3  Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. 

The fleeing of Jephthah is our exit from the Babylonian system.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
Rev 18:5  For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

When we leave Babylon, we end up with the New Jerusalem that God has prepared for us which in this context is called by the Lord as “vain men”. Our name is because of the following:

1Co 1:26  For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
1Co 1:27  But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
1Co 1:28  And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
1Co 1:29  That no flesh should glory in his presence.

These vain men are the same as David’s men who were with him when he fled from King Saul, who also represents Babylon.

1Sa 22:2  And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

The elect are therefore a bunch of people characterized by the following:

As indicated, we the “vain men”, are the New Jerusalem, the Assembly of God’s first born.

Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Jdg 11:4  And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 

As we said earlier, the Ammonites represent our flesh and when Christ comes to deliver us in our sinful situation, He comes with judgment. We come to realize that even though we want to offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God, we are not able to do so as we see our old man controlling us. The war between the Ammonites and Israelites therefore typifies our war with the flesh. Jesus told us about this war as follows:

Mat 10:34  Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.

I am come to set a man at variance against his father, etc. means that Christ’s coming to us is initiated by a war within us against our flesh (father, mother, etc.).

Jdg 11:5  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: 
Jdg 11:6  And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon.
Jdg 11:7  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? 
Jdg 11:8  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. 

We cannot be called overcomers if we do not wage and win this war with the flesh. It is only when we overcome or reign over the beast within that we can reign over the earth with Christ outwardly.

Rev 2:26  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
Rev 2:27  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Mat 5:5  Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Our inner victory will make us rulers of the earth for a “thousand years”. After that we shall help all humanity since Adam to also win this war within during the lake of fire age.  The Israelites beckoning Jephthah to come and be their captain so that they may fight the Ammonites is the same as saying that the elect will lead all humanity to win this war against the old man or the flesh.

Jdg 11:9  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? 
Jdg 11:10  And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 
Jdg 11:11  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. 

These verses are to assure us again that if we overcome in this life, we are destined to reign over the earth. This reign will be initiated when the kingdoms of this world becomes the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ just at the beginning of the millennial reign. This outwardly event will be heralded by the first resurrection. This resurrection is for those who did not worship the beast and his image which means those who are able to overcome the beast or the old man or the flesh within.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Jdg 11:12  And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land? 
Jdg 11:13  And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably. 

These verses are to let us know that this war against the flesh is for a lifetime.  The reason is that at every point in our walk with Christ, our flesh, if given the opportunity, will take back the areas in our lives that God has won for us. The flesh regards the new man within as a usurper and will therefore do everything possible to take back that which it has lost. The Ammonites posed a real threat to the Israelites throughout their history. They were able to take over some of the lands Israel had possessed after defeating some of the enemies in the Promised Land. For example, during the time of Jeremiah, the Ammonites were able to take back the land in Gad.

Jer 49:1 Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
Jer 49:2  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.

In our initial walk with Christ, the areas in which we had victories were quickly taken back by our old man as we went back to our vomit in Babylon when we paid heed to our leaders instead of Christ.

2Pe 2:17  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2Pe 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

Jdg 11:14  And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon: 
Jdg 11:15  And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon: 

What we are being told here is that the flesh or the old man, signified by Ammon and Moab, is meant to be taken and destroyed. The new man is not a usurper but is made to possess the land or inherit the earth which is our bodies.

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

Jdg 11:16  But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh; 
Jdg 11:17  Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh. 
Jdg 11:18  Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab. 

These verses are to remind us that when we start our journey with the Lord we are not to engage the Ammonites, the Edomites and the Moabites in battle to possess their land immediately. This was the directive our Lord Jesus gave to the Israelites when they left Egypt as follows:

Deu 2:17  That the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Deu 2:18  Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:
Deu 2:19  And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Deu 2:20  (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;

The Ammonites, the Edomites and the Moabites were all fleshly related to the Israelites. So what we are learning is that when we start our walk with Christ, He does not bring us immediately to war against all our fleshly desires. As indicated in Deuteronomy 2:20, the reason for this is that these Ammonites, Edomites and Moabites are giants in our land.  In other words, they pose a much higher level of opposition, and so our Lord takes time to train our hands to war (handling the sword or God’s words) before we can handle these opposition.

Psa 18:34  He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
Psa 18:35  Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
Psa 18:36  Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.

Later in the scriptures, our Lord told the Israelites to confront these enemies when they had possessed a significant portion of the land.

Jer 48:42  And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.
Jer 48:43  Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.

Jer 49:1  Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
Jer 49:2  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.

Jer 49:14  I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
Jer 49:15  For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
Jer 49:16  Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
Jer 49:17  Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof.

Jdg 11:19  And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. 
Jdg 11:20  But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 
Jdg 11:21  And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country. 

King Sihon’s refusal to let the Israelites pass through their land resulted in a war in which the Israelites utterly defeated the Amorites. This battle was during the wilderness experience of the Israelites. This is to show us that even during our time in Babylon, God gave us victory over some of our fleshly desires, and as a result, we took possession of parts of our bodies or land. However, our Lord always leaves much tougher opposition for us to encounter later as He did to the Israelites.

Jdg 2:21  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
Jdg 2:22  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
Jdg 2:23  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

Jdg 3:1  Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
Jdg 3:2  Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;

Jdg 11:22  And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan. 

This verse is to let us know that our victory must be thorough before we can become overcomers. In other words, we must leave nothing that breathe or offend as we continue our journey with Christ.

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
Deu 20:17  But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:
Deu 20:18  That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

Paul puts it this way:

Rom 13:14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

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