We’ve been discussing how God is a master at taking flawed human beings and using them to achieve His purposes.
Last time we talked about Samson who had a penchant for partying and whore mongering.
Another great example is Jephthah, another wild and wacky character who also makes an appearance in the Book of Judges.
Let’s just say his life didn’t exactly start off on a positive note.
Because to put it bluntly, he was the son of a prostitute.
His reputation was so terrible he was booted out of his own home territory.
Yet, in spite of that, since he was such a capable warrior who possessed such strong leadership skills, the tribe that kicked him out begged him to come back once they were attacked from an outside enemy force.
Jephthah accepted the challenge to fight off the oppressor.
But he made a big mistake when he vowed to God he’d sacrifice the first thing that walked out of his home’s doorway to greet him when he returned home from a victorious battle.
He assumed it would be a farm animal that would rush out to welcome him.
But instead, to his horror, it was his daughter who ran out to greet him when he returned home.
I know there are a lot of folks who say Jephthah didn’t really kill and sacrifice his daughter.
But sorry homies, the plain wording of the Scriptures says he did.
The Bible clearly tells us Jephthah’s daughter even went away for a few weeks to mourn her fate because she knew she would never be able to get married and start a family.
In fact, a tradition was established in dedication to what happened to Jephthah’s daughter.
This is even spoken about in the Scriptures.
Onward.
We’re about to embark on an exciting journey containing 7 stories of Israel being delivered by a different judge each time.
And in each tale, we’re going to be shown the dark side of human nature.
Nothing will be censored.
This is actually a good thing because it’s sure-fire evidence the Bible is true.
Unlike other forms of ancient literature where only the good character traits of heroes are portrayed, the Bible doesn’t sugarcoat anything.
Even the sins and failings of the great Biblical heroes are put on display for all to see.
You may be wondering, well darn, is there anything positive in the Book of Judges?
Actually, there is.
While it’s true that Judges is a pessimistic portrayal of Israel’s descent into idolatry, there is one positive thing.
During this time, Israel was successful at keeping their God-ordained tribal structure together.
And for the most part, the tribes operated in harmony with each other with very little internal conflict.
It was only when Israel was attacked by an outside enemy that things fell into utter chaos.
Sometimes to the point of violent conflict breaking out between the 2 tribes.
However, these inter-tribal wars usually weren’t so serious.
Things never reached the point where one tribe tried to completely exterminate another tribe.
At the end of the day, God’s promise to Abraham had been fulfilled.
The tribes of Israel (technically 9 1/2 tribes) had successfully entered the Promised Land, subdued it and were now dwelling in their land inheritance.
Leave a Reply