Recalled to Service

The elders of Gilead have tracked down Jephthah in his exile to request that he take the leadership of the Israelite armies in the coming battle with Ammon. The fact that the elders have swallowed their pride to seek out one whom they rejected and have made the journey to Tob in person shows that the situation is grave: They believe they must enlist Jephthah as commander. But Jephthah’s initial response to their summons is not encouraging. “ ‘Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house?’ ” he asks. “ ‘Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?’ ” He is reminding them, just as God did (Judg. 10:13–14), that he might justly reject their plea and leave them in the misery and distress they have brought upon themselves.

The elders’ answer to Jephthah’s rhetorical questions is difficult to comprehend, but an admission of wrong seems to be implied. “ ‘That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead,’ ” they say. Are they simply repeating their invitation for him to become their general? Perhaps. However, when they say “That is why we have turned again to you …” they may be referring to their earlier rejection of him. If so, they are saying, in essence: “It is because we wrongly mistreated you that we come to you now. We repent of our sin and want to make it right by tapping your God-given leadership abilities.” They also raise their offer, promising to make Jephthah not just the commander of the troops for the duration of the war but the leader of all Gilead in war and peacetime alike. They are now not just seeking his aid but promising submission to him.

Jephthah, perhaps sensing the humility in the elders’ reply, asks that they confirm what he is hearing. His own piety shows through in the wording of his question: “ ‘If … the LORD delivers [the Ammonites] to me, shall I be your head?’ ” The elders therefore confirm their promise with an oath. Jephthah then goes with them and is formally appointed as commander of the army and leader of Gilead. Then, before the battle begins, he “spoke all his words before the LORD in Mizpah,” which Matthew Henry interprets as a season of prayer in which Jephthah seeks divine confirmation of his new office and assistance in the task before him.