You Really Need a King: Jephthah- An Unexpected Leader
(Judges 10:6- 12:15)
10/16/16
Israel fell into the sin cycle again and they had to be broken before they repented of their sins. In God’s grace, the Lord again selected an unexpected person to lead His people out of bondage. As Jephthah made himself available for God’s service by using diplomacy and warfare, God gave him victory. Through this process, he made some wise choices as well as foolish choices that had major ramifications.
INTRODUCTION:
There was a young man, who was super shy. His self esteem was so low that he hardly talked to anyone. He usually responded to questions by just saying, “Yes” or “No.” It was like pulling teeth to get him to express his feelings. He was the most unlikely candidate to be a leader, much less to be one of the key leaders that started the high school fellowship in my home church. That young man is standing in front of you today.
God through his grace selects unexpected people to lead His people. Many times, He uses the weak to confuse the strong. We have seen several example of this as we studied the Book of Judges. There was Ehud, who was a left hander. There was Shamgar, who was a farmer. There was Barak, who had low self-esteem. There was Gideon, who was afraid of the enemy as he threshed wheat in the basement. Today, we will be introduced to another unexpected person that God selected to lead the children of Israel. Before I introduce him, I want to give you the context of our Scripture reading.
A. A Nation in Decay (10:1-18)
For 45 years, the people of Israel enjoyed peace and security under the leadership of Judge Tola and Judge Jair. We know little about these two judges, but they led the people to follow the Lord. Unfortunately, the nation went into decay again after the death of Jair. They got back into the Sin cycle, where they returned to idolatry. (Judges 10:6-7) “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites.” They turned away from God and worshipped other idols. Therefore, God had to judge them. God disciplined them by raising up the Ammonites to crush them.
After 18 years of oppression, the Israelites cried out to the Lord confessing that they had sinned against the Lord because they forsook God and served idols. When we are suffering, it is much easier to cry out to the Lord for deliverance. However, when we’re comfortable with life, we tend to forget God and assume that we can sin and get away with it.
When the Israelites first cried out to the Lord for deliverance, God did not respond positively. Instead, God rebuked them for forgetting all that He had done for them in the past. He challenged them to cry out to their idols that they had been serving. The Israelites responded quickly by truly repenting: by not only confessing their sin, but taking some action that show there is a turning around of what they believe. In verse 15-16, it says, “But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord.” The Hebrew people were saying to God, do as you please. We really need you.
APPLICATION: It is not enough to say that you are sorry, but true repentance involves humility and change of behavior. If you really mean it, then it should affect our actions. Sometimes, we are too proud to confess our wrong. God would then have to break us, then we would humble ourselves by confessing and repenting. Don’t wait because it will be more painful down the road.
B. A Leader in Demand (11:1-29, 32-33)
The Israelites were willing to turn against the Ammonites, but they could not find anyone to lead them. We enter the second section of this sermon: A leader in demand.
1. The Unwanted brother (11:1-3)
Here is where Jephthah comes into the scene. Jephthah was described as the unwanted brother. Let us read 11:1-2, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” In verse 2, we see that he was driven away because the family did not want him to get any of the inheritance because he was an illegitimate son. After Jephthah was kicked out, he lived in the land of Tob, where a band of misfits joined him.
2. The Unopposed Leader (11:4-11)
The Ammonites began their war against Israel. They looked all over to find a commander to lead them. They could not find anyone, but heard of Jephthah being a mighty warrior. As a result, they went to Jephthah asking him to lead their army. Since there was no leader around, Jephthah was seen as an unopposed leader.
APPLICATION: There is an important lesson that we can learn from here. When there is a lack of spiritual leaders, it is a sign that the country or the church is weak spiritually. A healthy organization is always developing new leaders.
Jephthah was skeptical of the Gilead elders wanting him to be their leader because they hated him and treated him as an outcast. He is probably thinking, “What is the catch? This does not make any sense.” In Judges 11:7-9, it says “But Jephthah said to them, “Aren’t you the ones who hated me and drove me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now when you’re in trouble? The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead. Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me- will I really be your head?” Jephthah was not looking for power, but as an opportunity to trust the Lord and serve Him. He was acknowledging that it was the Lord that was going to give him victory and not because of himself. The elders reaffirmed Jephthah that he would be their leader before God as witness.
[After Jephthah accepted the responsibility to lead, he made a wise decision. He sought to be a diplomat first before choosing to fight. He sent messengers to the Ammonite king to dialogue with him to see if they could resolve the issue. There might have been a misunderstanding that could be clarified. ]
APPLICATION: Sometime, we make certain assumptions when we hear something second hand. If it is disturbing us, it is best to talk to the original source to make sure what we hear is correct. I recall a time I heard a negative remark about another person. I made a conclusion and told another person. It circled back to the original person. This person confronted me asking why I did not approach her to double check if it was true. She was absolutely correct. I had to apologize. When we hear something disagreeing to us, go to the original source to make sure it is correct, like Jephthah.
3. The Unsuccessful Diplomat (11:12-28)
The Ammonite king accused the Israelites of stealing their land and the Ammonites just wanted it back peacefully. Jephthah responded by giving the context of how the Lord gave them the land. He explained how Moses and his people asked permission to pass through the Ammonite’s land, but not only did they not permit the Israelites to cross their land, but the Ammonites fought the Hebrews. Let’s read (vv.19-21) “Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Let us pass through your country to our own place.’ Sihon, however, did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. He mustered all his men and encamped at Jahaz and fought with Israel. Then the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihon and all his men into Israel’s hands, and they defeated them. Israel took over all the land of the Amorites who lived in that country.”
The Israelites did not steal the land from the Ammorites, but captured it. It was God who gave them the victory. Let us read v.24, “Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you? Likewise, whatever the Lord our God has given us, we will possess.” Jephthah declared that the God of Israel had fulfilled His will by allowing the Israelites to capture the land. It was God who gave them the victory. We see several times in this passage that Jephthah gave credit to God for their victory.
Jephthah presented another argument that Israel had lived on the land for centuries. It had been about 300 years and the Ammonites had not made any attempt to take back this land. Therefore, it was reasonable to claim title to the land as their own. Jephthah tried to reason with the Ammonite king, but he would not listen.
APPLICATION: It is always a good idea to dialog and listen to each other when there is a conflict. Many times, it is caused by a misunderstanding. If we have a conflict with someone, please sit down and talk about it. If necessary, it might be good to have a mediator to facilitate the dialog so that the emotions can be in check.
ILLUSTRATION: I recently met with two people to mediate a disagreement that had lasted over a year. I helped them listen and dialogue with each other to understand each other’s viewpoint. As they talked, they understood more, misunderstandings were clarified, and apologies given. As a result, they were able to move forward from that disagreement.
4. The Undefeated Warrior (11:29-33)
In verse 29, it says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he led the army against the Ammonites. Jephthah did not fully trust in the Lord of grace for victory, he bargained with God by vowing that if the Lord gave him victory over the Ammonites, that he would sacrifice the first thing that came through the door when he came home after the victory. God fulfilled Jephthah’s request by giving the Ammonites into his hands as recorded in verse 32. Jephthah devastated 20 Ammonite-occupied towns in Gilead.
Although Jephthah was confronted with difficult circumstances in his birth and family, it did not handicap him. God still greatly used him. [ The joy that Jephthah had turned into despair as he returned home and met with an unexpected surprise. ]
C. A Father in Despair (11:30-31,34-40)
The vow that he made was an unwise decision that led to some dreadful consequences. Let us read vv.34-35, “When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the Lord that I cannot break.” Vows were completely voluntary, but the Lord expected the people to fulfill their commitment. This vow was really a bargain with the Lord. If God provided Jephthah victory, then he would offer up a sacrifice of whatever came out of his house when he returned home. God did give him victory and Jephthah had to keep his promise. But what was promised to the Lord?
This is a very complex situation. The more one ponders over the questions about the vow, the more perplexing his vow becomes. Scripture prohibits human sacrifices. Would God accept a vow that violates human law and divine law? There are scholars with arguments from both sides for or against Jephthah’s offering his daughter as a human sacrifice. Warren Wiersbe, a well known scholar, is convinced that Jephthah didn’t promise to offer any human sacrifice to the Lord and did not kill his own daughter. The word “and” in the phrase “and I will offer it up” (11:31) can be translated “or.” If that is the case, then the vow was twofold: Whatever met him when he returned home would be dedicated to the Lord (if a person) or sacrificed to the Lord (if an animal.) Since his daughter met him when he returned, Jephthah gave her to the Lord to serve for the rest of her life. She would remain as a virgin, where she would lose the joy of motherhood. For a woman in those days, being a mother was one of the highest purposes in life. We see that Jephthah’s daughter asked her dad if she could have two months to roam the hills and weep with her friends because she would never marry. In addition, there is nowhere that states that Jephthah killed his daughter.
Different people hold to different interpretation on this issue. The key to this section is that one needs to be careful when he makes a vow to the Lord and to keep it. One other thing impresses me from this section is the response of his daughter. V.36, “”My father,” she replied, “You have given your word to the Lord. Do to me just as you promised, now that the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.” She understood the seriousness of a vow to God. One needs to keep it even if it involves herself. She was willing to submit herself in order for her father to keep his promise.
APPLICATION: When we make a vow, may we think through all the ramifications carefully before making it. For all of us need to be promise keepers. What we promise, we must keep. If we promise to be at the soccer game to watch our child play, we must keep it. If we promise to do a task, we need to keep our promise.
D. A Ruler in Defense (12:1-15)
There is one more section on the life of Jephthah in Judges 12, where he is a ruler in defense. The Ephraimites are introduced again. Just like in Judges 8 when they complained to Gideon for not calling them to fight with him. Here again, out of their pride, they are complaining again about the same thing. They accused Jephthah not calling them to fight the Ammonites. They wanted to share the glory of the victory. The Ephraimites were so upset that they threatened to burn Jephthah’s house down. They had no respect toward the new Judge.