2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Lord is taking me to stories about people who don’t get as much attention as others do and blessing me with them. I hope you will feel this way too, as I write about Jephthah (whose story is found in JG [Judges] 10: 6-12: 7, which I hope you will read) today. The commonwealth period of Israel’s history (about 1210-1030 BC) when it was led by judges was characterized by unruliness and increasing unfaithfulness by many. The first generation that entered the Promised Land led by Joshua was very faithful. But, with each succeeding generation, the level of disobedience to God increased. Jephthah was far from perfect, but he had moments of great courage of faith. His reactions to his situation, willingness to take leadership responsibility, and overall faithfulness to God make his story worth our time.
In our time there is very little stigma exerted on an illegitimate child. However, that was not so in Jephthah’s time. It wouldn’t have occurred to people that a child born out of wedlock didn’t choose his situation; they would have treated him with a lack of compassion and fairness. JG 11: 1-3, “Jephthah, a brave soldier from Gilead, was the son of a prostitute. His father Gilead had other sons by his wife, and when they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home. They told him, ‘You will not inherit anything from our father; you are the son of another woman.’ Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. There he attracted a group of worthless men, and they went around with him.”
It helps to remember that God directed which land of the former Canaan was to be occupied by each of the twelve tribes. Before the conquest of Canaan, the Amorites (not to be confused with the Ammonites) under King Sihon occupied the area east of the Jordan River that later became Gilead. Because of its numbers, the tribe of Manasseh was given two territories, one west of the Jordan River, north of the territories occupied by the tribes of Benjamin and Ephraim and one east of the Jordan off the northeast corner of Sea of Cinnezreth ( later called Galilee). The area known as Gilead was directly east of the Jordan across from the western sector of Manasseh and just south of Manasseh’s eastern sector. The area occupied by Ammon had its borders along Gilead’s east side. Moab was along the southern borders of Gilead and Ammon, and Edom was south of Moab. The exact location of Tob is not clear, but it might have been in what is Syria today or at the southeastern corner of the Sea of Cinnezreth (Galilee) in the territory occupied by Bashan (north of Gilead). Bashan was ruled by King Og, who was eventually conquered. Gilead itself was occupied by the tribe of Gad. Because the Ephraimites (the tribe of Ephraim) figures into events in Japhthah’s life, I will add that it’s territory was west of the Jordan just south of western Manasseh and north of Benjamin. It is a mountainous area. Philistia occupied the territory which is now the southwestern part of Israel along the Mediterranean Sea.
JG 10: 6-10, “Once again the Israelites sinned against the Lord by worshipping the Baals and Astartes, as well as the gods of Syria, of Sidon, of Moab, of Ammon, and of Philistia. They abandoned the Lord and stopped worshipping Him. So the Lord became angry with the Israelites, and let the Philistines and the Ammonites conquer them. For eighteen years they oppressed and persecuted all the Israelites who lived in Amorite country east of the Jordan River in Gilead. The Ammonites even crossed the Jordan to fight the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned against You, for we left You, our God, and worshipped the Baals.’ ” What is significant here is the acknowledgment of their sin by the Israelites. It is the first step that God requires of anyone who sins toward receiving forgiveness, a principle that still stands today. Then, the next step was taken, as we see in JG 10: 16. “So they got rid of their foreign gods and worshipped the Lord; and He became troubled over Israel’s distress.” Remember JAS 2: 17, “Faith without action is dead?” This NT principle is nothing new. It applied in Jephthah’s time, and it still applies today. JG 10: 16 reveals a wonderful attribute of God’s, His compassion.
These were times of flux. The Ammonites prepared for battle and camped in Gilead. The Israelites came together, and they camped in Mizpah in Gilead. They had a decision to make: who was going to lead their army against the Ammonites? This was the situation when Jephthah is introduced in the Scriptures cited above. The foibles of these Israelites are exposed when they appeal to Jephthah, then living outside Gilead in Tob, to return to Gilead and lead them [JG 11: 4-8]. It is clear that his ability to lead was recognized by them. Jephthah’s answer to the leaders of Gilead was revealed in the presence of the Lord. JG 11: 9-11, “Jephthah said to them, ‘If you take me back home to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives me victory, then I will be your ruler.’ They replied, ‘We agree. The Lord is our witness.’ So Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead, and the people made him their ruler and leader...”
There is more to this story, which I will take up in tomorrow’s message. The lessons in what we have seen so far should cause us to examine our attitudes toward others and ask ourselves if we are always fair or if we harbor certain kinds of subtle prejudice against them because of their situations. We can glean from this story the compassion our Father in heaven has for us from the example of His reaction to the Israelites being willing first to acknowledge their sin and then to take action to stop the idol worship in which they were engaging. How willing are we to take these two steps toward God’s forgiveness when we sin? Do we take the time to recognize the talents of others around us? These are all questions this story leads me to ponder. Please join me in this prayer:
PRAYER: O Lord, You ask us to study these events that happened so long ago and people like Jephthah who are not so famous, because You know there are lessons for us that apply today in them. It is not always easy to understand the changing geography of a region. But, when we take the time to look at it carefully and see the reasons for all the changes that occur, You allow us to have a better understanding of human nature itself and how You deal with it. We are so blessed by the compassion and patience You have in teaching Your children how to come closer to You. Your love for us is shown so brilliantly when we think about the efforts You have made to teach Your children what we must know to come to salvation and go through sanctification throughout the long course of mankind’s disobedient history. We pray that You will continue to grant us the hunger to learn from the stories of the Scriptures what Your will is for us. We acknowledge that we must take the two steps of confessing our sin and turning away from it and dedicate ourselves to doing this. Dear Lord, to You belongs the adoration, glory, worship, loyalty, honor, praise, obedience, and trust. That is what we pledge to You. In Christ’s name, amen.
There is never a day in our lives that the Lord doesn’t love us. His patience and compassion are unlimited when we try to conform to the model set for us by His Son. He forgives us when we repent and turn from our sin, because we are His children, and He is our loving Abba. The troubles of our lives can be viewed as opportunities given to us for personal and spiritual growth when we work through them looking to and following God’s leadership. God gives us the blessing of seeing Him through His work done through others around us. God loves you, and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Today and Always,
Lynn