(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Judges 11:4–11, “And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 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: And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. 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? 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. 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? And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. 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.”
Gilead was on the eastern bank of the Jordan River and to the south of the region known as “The Golan Heights” today. The Ammonites lived in the neighbouring region to the east of Gilead. The Ammonites looked to their west and saw that Gilead was a very rich area next to them. The decided to come and take the rich lands away from their neighbours and force the Israelis living in that area to work for them so that they could live easier lives. The leader of Gilead knew that Jephthah was their best soldier so they decided to ask him to come back and lead their armies against Ammon. Jephthah was living to the northeast of Ammon so they went there to find Jephthah. The found him and asked him to return to help them. Jephthah was still hurting from being rejected by his family so he asked for some guarantees before he was willing to return from his exile. The people promised Jephthah that he would be their leader and no one would say anything against him. They accepted his terms even though they had previously rejected him and forced him out of their territory. Even though it was his own family who had forced him out, the rest of the people in Gilead had done nothing to protect him so they, too, were party to this cruel phase in Jephthah’s life.
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