Judges Part 11

XI. Judges 11. A. This chapter sets forth the judgeship of Jephthah whom God raised up in response to the call for help against Ammon by the reforming Gileadites. JDG 10:17-18. B. Because of the unusual calling of Jephthah, a bastard, and his fateful vow detailed in this chapter, it will be helpful to remember: 1. Israel was prone during this era to embracing Canaanite religions and the gods of the Canaanites were noted for demanding child sacrifice. DEU 12:30-31. 2. Israel was prone to adopt their heinous customs. PSA 106:34-38. 3. There was no shortage of disorder and ignorance in those days. JDG 21:25. C. In spite of everything, Jephthah was a noted champion of faith. HEB 11:32. 1. Jephthah was a mighty man of valour (v. 1), like Gideon. JDG 6:12. 2. Remember that the judges were saviors. NEH 9:27. 3. Jephthah was therefore an imperfect type of the man of perfect faith, the mighty Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Judge and Savior of men. JOH 8:29 c/w HEB 11:6; PSA 89:19; ISA 9:6; JOH 5:22; TIT 1:4. D. vs. 1-3. 1. Jephthah was the son of an harlot, rejected of his brethren. c/w JOH 1:11. 2. He was, by definition, a bastard (one begotten and born out of wedlock; an illegitimate or natural child). The Talmud says Jesus was so born of Miriam/Mary. 3. A bastard under Moses’ Law was unfit for entering the congregation. DEU 23:2. 4. As a reproach to Israel's religious whoredom, God would raise up a son of an harlot, a bastard, to be their judge and deliverer. a. Mind that a natural bastard does not choose to be a bastard and he cannot alter his reality. Spiritual bastardy can be altered by God. JOH 8:41-42 c/w GAL 4:4-6. b. All the children of Adam bear his image of sin though they did not choose it. ROM 5:12. c. All victims of sinning headship have one hope: Jesus Christ. ROM 5:19. d. Though born a bastard of man, if born again of God, the inheritance is sure. ROM 8:30; 1PE 1:3-5. 5. Jephthah was a disadvantaged child. But we don’t read of where he used his disadvantage as an excuse to turn criminal, do nothing with his life, or allow it to excuse or impair his service to God. c/w EXO 4:10-12; 1TI 4:12. E. vs. 4-11. 1. Under pressure from the warring Ammonites, Jephthah's brethren were forced to call upon him for deliverance. 2. Here is a case where natural Israel looked for deliverance in the countryman whom Judges 6-26-25 Page 19  they had rejected. c/w 2CO 3:15-18. 3. Let all who have suffered rejection by peers for righteousness' sake be faithful and patient. There will be vindication. ISA 66:5 c/w ISA 45:24; REV 3:9. F. vs. 12-28. 1. Jephthah attempted to pursue a diplomatic course first by reasoning with the Ammonite king. 2. A man of faith will seek peace and make inquiry before hasting to strife. PRO 25:8-9; ROM 12:18; 2TI 2:24-25. 3. A man of faith will be studied so as to silence opposition with facts, not fists. 2TI 2:15; 1PE 3:15; TIT 1:9-11. 4. A man of faith will be sure that “the LORD the Judge” can overcome in any contest with idol gods or idle doctrines. 1KI 18:21; ACT 6:9-10; 2TI 4:16-17. 5. One area where attempts at peace are unwarranted is when Satan is roaring against us with false accusations or temptations. We dare not reason with him or patch up some inglorious peace, but go to war against him in the faith. 1PE 5:8-9. G. vs. 29-40. 1. Jephthah made an unspecific and unadvised solemn vow unto God and stuck to it. 2. The Spirit of the LORD was upon him (v. 29) when he made his vow. Even inspired men of faith may speak unadvisedly with their lips. PSA 106:33; ACT 23:3-5. 3. Jephthah was victorious in battle, but then brought low by the events which followed. a. God does temper our victorious mountaintops with valleys of trials and weakness. Remember Elijah. ROM 11:2-3; 1PE 1:6. b. However, let us not attribute to God’s providential care the poorly informed decisions we make which are our own doing. PRO 19:3; EZE 18:25. c. “Perverse mankind! whose wills, created free, Charge all their woes on absolute decree; All to the dooming gods their guilt translate, And follies are miscalled the crimes of fate.” (Alexander Pope) 4. Jephthah believed that vows and oaths are solemn things. NUM 30:2; DEU 23:21-23; PSA 15:4. 5. Human sacrifice is great sin (PSA 106:37-38). Is it just to commit great sin to honor a vow? a. David wisely reneged on his oath to shed Nabal's blood. 1SAM 25:22-23. b. Herod should have reneged on his vow to Herodias' daughter. MAR 6:22-27. c. If someone has sworn to uphold the creed of some false religious system, is he therefore forbidden to come to repentance to the knowledge of the truth? d. Weightier laws must overrule when two laws come into conflict. MAT 12:3-5. e. The law even had a provision for handling rash oaths. LEV 5:4-6. f. Imprudent oaths should be confessed as sin and put under the blood. 1JO 1:9. 6. The evidence here is that Jephthah kept his vow as uttered, and his daughter complied. a. Some say that because the daughter bewailed her virginity for two months (v. 38), that she was simply made a nun, and so was devoted unto the Lord. Judges 6-26-25 Page 20  (1) If perpetual virginity was her fate, what was the point of the two months? She would have the rest of her life to bewail that. (2) Whereas one may choose celibacy in view of a more spiritual walk, no such thing is commanded. Paul spoke a private judgment (not a commandment) of a virgin’s ability to attend upon the Lord without distraction. 1CO 7:25, 32-35 c/w 1TI 4:3. b. Perhaps Jephthah misinterpreted LEV 27:29, equating those devoted by the curse of God with those devoted by men’s vows. c/w 1SAM 15:2-3. c. Perhaps Jephthah was thinking of how God intervened when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac (GEN 22:11-12), but God had not so commanded Jephthah. GEN 22:2. d. Perhaps Jephthah's decisions reflected disorderly times, Canaanitish pollutions and a lack of a full grasp of the law of God. God’s people can be destroyed by lack of knowledge. HOS 4:6. e. An improperly informed conscience can lead to extremes. JOH 16:2-3. f. Well-informed daughters of Abraham know there are limits to authority. 1PE 3:5-6. H. Thank God for His adoption, regeneration and fatherly chastenings. HEB 12:6-8. Judges 6-26-25 Page 21