The story of Jephthah, found in the Book of Judges (chapters 11 and 12), offers a powerful example of pragmatism in leadership. Jephthah was a mighty warrior from Gilead, the son of Gilead, and a prostitute. His half-brothers, ashamed of his illegitimate birth, drove him away. Jephthah fled to the land of Tob, where he gathered a group of outcasts and became their leader.
When the Ammonites waged war against Israel, the elders of Gilead sought Jephthah’s help. Initially, he reminded them of how they had rejected him, but ultimately, he agreed to lead them on the condition that, should he succeed, he would become their leader. The elders accepted his terms, and Jephthah led Israel to victory over the Ammonites.
Jephthah’s story illustrates a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. Although Israel had previously rejected him, when their situation became dire, they put aside their pride and grievances, realizing they needed his leadership. Jephthah, the “stone the builders rejected,” became the cornerstone of Israel’s victory.
Moral: Transcending Petty Grievances for the Greater Good
Jephthah’s story teaches us to look beyond petty grievances and focus on the greater good. Sometimes, we allow personal biases or past conflicts to cloud our judgement, preventing us from recognizing the help we need.
This lesson is echoed in the biblical story where Jesus heals a blind man by spitting on the ground, making mud, and applying it to the man’s eyes. Initially, I was puzzled by this method, believing Jesus could have spoken the healing into existence. Over time, my understanding grew. If you’ve ever experienced blindness, you would welcome any form of healing, even if it involved someone spitting in your eyes to restore your sight. When the Pharisees questioned the man about Jesus’ sinfulness, he responded, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!” The man’s focus was not on the manner of his healing. The fact that he had received his healing was more important to him than the rumours and disputes surrounding Jesus.
This concept also applies to a figure in my country, Ghana—Hon. Kennedy Agyapong, a member of parliament. Many criticisms levelled at him ignore the bigger picture, focusing on his contentious temperament and combative style. Even so, I believe his combative style is what we need as a country. We have already had the diplomatic, good-looking, gentle, eloquent, and King Saul-like leader many times, and they have never worked. Why do we think we can continue to make the same choices and get a different result? Maybe we have not gotten to the utmost critical moment where the Israelites got to yet for us to look for our Jephthah or our David.
In any case, it’s not as though characters like Jephthah and David were perfect. Take David, for example, a man considered the greatest king in Israel’s history. As the second king of Israel and a man described as “after God’s own heart,” David is admired for his faith and leadership. However, he also committed notable sins and made serious mistakes.
David had an adulterous affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. To conceal his sin, he orchestrated Uriah’s death by placing him on the frontlines of battle. Furthermore, David’s failure to discipline his children led to significant family turmoil. For instance, his daughter Tamar was raped by her half-brother Amnon, which led to Amnon’s murder by Tamar’s brother Absalom. Absalom later rebelled against David, a conflict that stemmed from David’s inability to manage his family dynamics effectively.
Jephthah, a judge of Israel remembered for his military success, also had a questionable past and associations. Before becoming a judge, he was connected with a group of “worthless men” (Judges 11:3), which reflects a potentially rough and unscrupulous background.
Therefore, just as the blind man and the Israelites did, we too need to transcend our minor grievances and focus on what truly matters: addressing the root causes of our problems. If we had reached the depths of desperation for change, as the blind man or the people of Israel did, we would care more about who can deliver us from our challenges than trivial distractions.
