Judges 11:8
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 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.
The elders of Gilead turned back to Jephthah in their distress and asked him to go with them, to fight against the Ammonites, and to become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. Their appeal made him both military leader and civil ruler, called to deliver them in battle and to govern them afterward. He was raised up as Israel's deliverer at the time when the people had put away their idols and returned to serving the Lord. That repentance and reformation opened the way for God to provide rescue through him. He then fought the Ammonites and broke their power, ending their dominance over Israel. That victory came after Israel had suffered under Ammonite oppression for eighteen years.