What About Jephthah (Reprised) Part I

“Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was an illegitimate son: and Gilead begat Jephthah.” Judges 11:1

Even though Jephthah was an illegitimate son, God characterized him in the Bible as a mighty man of valor and of faith (Hebrews 11:32). If you recall, the Angel of the Lord called Gideon (Judges 6:12) the same. Anyway, Gilead was his father, and as the story goes, Gilead’s sons kicked Jephthah out of his house. Why? Well, the official reason was because he wasn’t a ‘legitimate’ son, and under the law, he wouldn’t inherit a dime.  (Don’t you love it when people throw up the law when it serves their purpose but openly violate it when it doesn’t?) As for Jephthah, he took off for a city called Tob. He must have shown some leadership qualities there because it was written that some vain men were gathered up to him, which meant that they approached him. Matthew Henry, who wrote an excellent commentary on the Bible way back in 1708, characterized these vain men as those who had ‘run through their estates and had to seek for a livelihood.’  According to Henry, they did so by hunting wild beasts, and perhaps making incursions into those lands that Israel inherited but had not occupied. Anyway, Jephthah made a name for himself; so much so that when Gilead found themselves confronted by the Ammonites, the elders went to him for a leader!

Now, I don’t know about you, but this story so far rings true of many homeless and fatherless children today, especially in the urban areas. Disheartened, they run away to find another family, whatever it’s composition. Adults blame it on the street. I would say that we need to look within our homes, but I must say there are many parents today that didn’t have it any better when they were growing up. I didn’t. What did I have to draw upon to raise my children when my own father was a scoundrel? I had no discipline; no loving encouragement and guidance. What hope does any of us have? Well, thank God that He is a gracious and loving heavenly Father, who resembles no father I’ve ever known or met. I mean, He gave His Own Son so that I could be adopted into His Kingdom; where I’ll be trippin’ down those hallowed halls and drink from the everlasting fountain of His favor. You might say to yourself reading this, ‘Are you kidding me?’ And I’d answer, ‘No, He’s the real deal. The problem is that we really don’t want to humbly and sincerely confess our sin and repent, which means to turn back from the direction we’re headed and start out new. Oh, we want sin off the streets (meaning the effects of it kept away from us, like Israel wanted those Ammonites out of there), but we won’t address it in our own lives, hearts and minds.

As for Jephthah, what do you think he had to say to those elders when they approached him about becoming their leader? He said essentially the same to them that God said to them before Jephthah arrived on the scene. God said, “Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.” What did Jephthah say? (and I paraphrase) “What’s with you guys? You hated me. You had me kicked out, and now that someone is causing you grief you come to me and want me to be your leader?”

Man, isn’t that the way we are; not only with each other but with God? We don’t want any part of God until we’re faced with grief, and then we go running to Him calling out, ‘Captain? Captain? Captain of my heart? Are you there?’ Well, as it turned out, Israel confessed their sin; put away their idols, and it is said that God’s soul ‘grieved’ for the misery of Israel. Man, what a picture is that of a father’s love! I don’t know how many times I strayed; screwed up, and yes, it grieved the Spirit of my heavenly Father. Still, He left me to suffer the consequence of my sin but only to a point. Why? Because God chastens those Whom He loves, but don’t you think he doesn’t share our misery; not if we’re truly His children. If we’re truly His children, there will come a time when we will find that the sweetness of His presence and guidance far surpasses anything this world and sin has to offer.

As for God’s initial reaction to Israel when He said, ‘Go and call upon your own godless idols,’ boy did that have to be a wakeup!  I don’t know about you, but one of the worst consequences of sin is when you don’t think He’s around any longer. That’s when we get down on our knees and begin to ‘work out our salvation with fear and trepidation.’ I remember a time; I’m sure we all can, when I was separated from my mother in a store. I started looking around; my heart started beating faster and faster and then I started to cry. Oh, what a blessed relief when I saw my mom come down the aisle. How much more so when the Comforter came and filled me with His peace and sense of safety! Now, that is something that keeps us ever close to our Savior’s side; a side that was wounded for our transgressions, which we can now fill with our praises. Only the godless would say Ammon to that; the rest of us say, Amen.

Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will continue this look into Jephthah.