Judges 11:7

Then we read in Judges 11:7 (NASB-95): *“Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, ‘Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?’”* (v.7). In this passage, Jephthah confronts the very people who once rejected him, exposing the irony of their desperation. By asking, “Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house?” Jephthah holds these elders accountable for previously casting him away as an outcast because of his birth circumstances. Gilead (located east of the Jordan River) plays a central backdrop here—it was Jephthah’s homeland, yet the elders who governed it had effectively disowned him.

Jephthah served as one of Israel’s judges at a time often dated to around the 12th or 11th century B.C. Israel’s tribal structure was loose and fraught with constant threats from surrounding enemy nations. Scripture remembers Jephthah’s pivotal leadership in defending Israel from the Ammonites (Judges 11) citeturn0file1. His history illustrates a repeating biblical theme: God can call the marginalized or rejected person to accomplish His purpose. This verse captures the tension between Jephthah’s rightful grievance over rejection and the elders’ sudden realization that they need his help to face a military crisis.

By poignantly asking, “So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?” Jephthah reveals the elders’ self-servient motives. Nevertheless, the broader narrative of Judges 11 shows God’s sovereign grace as He uses even these broken relationships to deliver Israel from oppression. Jephthah’s willingness to negotiate, lead, and ultimately trust God points to how the Lord’s plans override human failings for a greater redemptive outcome.

Jephthah firmly rebukes those who once drove him away, showing that God often redeems us in the places where we once were wounded.