The Faith of Jephthah

Reformation Baptist Church

Jephthah, the son of a harlot, gets forced out of his father's house by his legitimate brothers. He provides for himself and those who gathered to him through raiding, so when the part of Israel that is east of the Jordan is threatened Israel goes to him to lead them. Not a great testimony of faith at that point, but when the Ammonites tell them to get off the land, Jephthah argues that they do not need to leave the land because God gave it to them. He recounts the history of the land and how the Ammonites never held the land. In his argument, he acknowledges the sovereignty of God and calls upon Him to judge between Israel and the Ammonites. He then vows to make a burnt offering of the first thing that leaves his house if he returns victorious, so when he does return victorious, he accepts that it was the sovereign will of God that it was his daughter that was to be the burnt offering. We see him exercise his faith even to extreme ends.