Judges Series #17
Life Cycles
“God Empowers the Rejected”
Review
After a period of victory championed by Moses’ successor Joshua, the Israelites settled in the land promised to Abraham hundreds of years before. One lesson seemed abundantly clear.
Blessing follows obedience.Trouble follows disobedience.After the death of Joshua, the people rapidly slid back into their old ways.
In spite of stern warning by Joshua in his farewell address, the Israelites ignored the principles God gave them leading to peace and prosperity and did what they felt was right.This tragic book ends with tis statement.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25
Idolatry, immorality and anarchy characterized this dark chapter in Israel’s history.
They rejected the teachings of their founders.
They no longer passed on the stories of God’s amazing loving acts for His chosen people.
They became enmeshed with the pagan nations that God commanded them to destroy.
They purposely ignored God while picking up the dreadful beliefs and practices of those nations and worshiped multiple deities.
They arrogantly did their own thing.
Every man did that what was right in their own eyes.
They lapsed into idolatry, immorality and anarchy.
This third generation of people following the glorious deliverance from Egyptian slavery lapses into a period of only sporadic service to God spanning nearly three centuries (299 years) of mostly self-absorbed pursue of their own ways.
The author skillfully weaves three main “take away” messages through the book.
Sin continually causes bondage and enslavement.
God mercifully grants deliverance from slavery.
God powerfully enlists the unlikely to precipitate the unimaginable.
Or
God powerfully enlists the improbable to facilitate the impossible.
These three messages emerge most prominently in a cycle of 7 historical snapshots organized around five stages. Since we haven’t reviewed those stages in a while, let’s go over them again.
Sin-Slavery-Supplication-Salvation-Service
Each cycle highlights a particular unlikely instrument of deliverance. It seems in order to emphasize the increasing depravity of the period, the author also points out the increasing lack of character in the instruments of deliverance. Each cycle also highlights a particular kind of person God chose to use.
I. Cycle Identified 1-2
II. Cycle Illustrated (Seven examples) 3-16
A. Othniel 3:1-16 -- God empowers the faithful
B. Ehud 3:17-30 -- God empowers the weak
C. Shamgar 3:31 -- God empowers with whatever is available.
D. Deborah 4 -- God empowers the disenfranchised
E. Gideon 5-8 – God empowers the fearful
After Gideon, a civil war broke out when one of Gideon’s seventy sons from multiple wives took control.
Now Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem to his mother’s relatives and said to them and to the whole clan of his mother’s family,
“Say in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, that all seventy of the sons of Jerubbaal rule over you, or that one rule over you?’ Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.” And his mother’s relatives spoke all these words on his behalf in the ears of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined to follow Abimelech, for they said, “He is our brother.” And they gave him seventy pieces of silver out of the house of Baal-berith with which Abimelech hired worthless and reckless fellows, who followed him. And he went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers the sons of Jerubbaal, seventy men, on one stone. But Jotham the youngest son of Jerubbaal was left, for he hid himself. And all the leaders of Shechem came together, and all Beth-millo, and they went and made Abimelech king, by the oak of the pillar at Shechem. Judges 9:1-6
Following the civil war, the text briefly mentions two judges not included in the seven cycles.
After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, and he lived at Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. And he judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried at Shamir. After him arose Jair the Gileadite, who judged Israel twenty-two years. And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead. And Jair died and was buried in Kamon. Judges 10:1-5
The writer of Hebrews catalogs a number of individuals who exhibited a faith worthy of mention. These stood as witness to the faithfulness of a powerful God in the face of a devastating circumstance. These individuals also stand as witnesses to the reward that comes through trusting God fully. Gideon as well as the next two judges somehow found their way onto the list of the faithful.
F. Jephthah 10-11
1. Sin
It appears that Israel’s 45 years of relative peace and prosperity under Tola and Jair failed to inspire faith in Yahweh’s blessing and protection. They instead reverted once again to the more sensual allurement of the foreign gods. The attributed their success to those gods.
The surrounding nations adopted a number of gods as their preferred focus of worship. Rather than looking to the true God, they attributed their prosperity with the worship of these gods (demons). They associated these deities with prosperity, fertility, sensual pleasure.
Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the LORD and did not serve Him. Judges 10:6
This “service” to these gods included sacrifices (including children), and consorting with temple prostitutes. The appeal of this religion centered on the promise of pleasure, prosperity and prominence. They served other gods, did not serve the Lord and indeed forsook and abandoned the LORD. Right up through Jeremiah’s day, Israel still failed learned their lesson.
Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:11-13
Similar to the exchanged Paul identified in Romans 1. Exchange the glory of the Uncreated for the glory of the created. Such a self-centered God-absent focus has not changed. The names of the gods change but the central man-centered appeal never changes.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh (pleasure) and the desires of the eyes (prosperity) and pride (prominence) is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17
2. Slavery
In this cycle the writer includes a more detailed description of Israel’s apostasy
The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon. They afflicted and crushed the sons of Israel that year; for eighteen years they afflicted all the sons of Israel who were beyond the Jordan in Gilead in the land of the Amorites. The sons of Ammon crossed the Jordan to fight also against Judah, Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was greatly distressed. Judges 10:7-9
God gets angry at the Israelite’s embracing of a list of seven gods over the one true God. Their corruption continues to increase as time goes on. God’s emotional response to evil motivates any number of actions.
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4
That initial response of tolerance and longsuffering eventually ends.
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, Romans 2:5
In the case of Israel, God allowed the surrounding nations who served the gods to whom the Israelites defected to enslave them and torment them. He used two verbs “afflict and crush”.
The Philistines occupied territory on the coast of Israel. The Ammonites occupied territory east of the Jordan River. The Jephthah cycle addresses the Ammonites and the Samson cycle addresses the Philistines. Eighteen years of distress troubled disobedient Israel from all sides.
3. Supplication
God intends bondage to lead to humility and repentance.
Then the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, "We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals." The LORD said to the sons of Israel, "Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the sons of Ammon, and the Philistines? Also when the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you, you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hands. Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods; therefore I will no longer deliver you. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your distress." The sons of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned, do to us whatever seems good to You; only please deliver us this day." So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD; and He could bear the misery of Israel no longer. Judges 10:10-16
Perhaps the length of time it took for the Israelites to cry out (18 years) illustrates the severity of their depravity. Notice how God really feels about serial sinners. He kept bailing them out, and they kept turning their backs on Him. He persistently delivered them from the same bondage from the same oppressors. How stupid to worship the gods of your conquered enemies. If their gods could save them what do you thing they will do for you. It seems that their initial confession was insincere. They cried out to God only to escape trouble.
Notice their response to God’s refusal to deliver them -- acknowledgement of sin and absolute surrender and commitment to fidelity and purging of foreign gods. They clearly followed a verbal confession with definite action. There still seemed to be a hint of manipulation involved in this confession. You might call it a foxhole confession. We will serve You if You deliver us.
Also, notice the heart of God. Out of His love for Israel, God shortened the length of discipline and initiated a deliverance sequence.
4. Salvation
Technically this salvation stage differs in that there is no divine calling. It appears that Jephthah was more an opportunist who God used and empowered in spite of his flagrant character flaws. God’s direct intervention through this cycle is glaringly absent. Jephthah’s rise to power came from human negotiations calling on God as a silent witness.
Then the Ammonites were called to arms, and they encamped in Gilead. And the people of Israel came together, and they encamped at Mizpah. Judges 10:17
They united to confront their enemies even before a leader rose. Rather than pray and call upon God, they organized a political caucus to find someone to lead the military campaign.
The people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, "Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? He shall become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." Judges 10:18
Chapter 11 records the instrument of deliverance: Jephthah. What made Jephthah an unlikely hero of faith? First, he had a questionable heritage. His mother was a prostitute, his father a pervert. Today we would call him an illegitimate child; a baby born out of wedlock. He suffered severe rejection and bitterness when his stepfamily rejected him and drove him out of the family without any means of support or heritage. He allowed bitterness to sour his soul.
Jephthah fell in with the wrong company. The historian tells us…
So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him. Judges 11:3
“Worthless” = empty, foolish, idle, vain. The rejected often find solace with other rejected people. The same is true of the rebellious. Jephthah compensated for his rejection by becoming a tough guy. God called him a valiant warrior. With Gideon, God made a cowering farmer into a courageous warrior. Concerning Jephthah, God turned a valiant warrior into a useful deliverer. Jephthah was hungry for power over his detractors. In addition, He was most likely poor. We find an interesting similarity between Jephthah’s response to the people’s cry for his help to God’s response to the people cry for help. You rejected me and now you want me to help you? God said the same thing. God finally responded in mercy and delivered them.
Jephthah responded in greed and oppressed them.
The writer set up a contrast with the previous judge’s wealth and offspring with Jephthah who had only one daughter and limited resources. He used the opportunity and problems of Israel to gain power over the brothers who had rejected Him. Before he would fight for them, they had to promise to make him ruler over them. Not the best of motives. I view Jephthah a warrior with a “chip.” He led a contentious life. Contention seemed to follow him perhaps due to the bitterness of his early years. Jephthah received no specific call by God and apparently enjoyed no personal relationship. He is an opportunist. He was self-focused. He was impulsive and rash driven by selfish ambition.
In spite of all this, Jephthah exhibited some notable characteristics.
He was willing to fight even though technically as a mercenary.
He was a master negotiator trying to peacefully resolve the conflict with the Ammonites and later the Ephraimites.
He was an able student of history.
He was a skilled recruiter.
He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and followed God’s strategy for deliverance.
He stuck to his commitments in spite of extreme sacrifice.
It appears to me that Jephthah related with God on a bribery basis.
Then the Spirit of the LORD was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD gave them into his hand. Judges 11:29-32 (ESV)
After the victory, the first to greet him was his only daughter. Did Jephthah actually sacrifice his daughter or offer her to lifelong service in the tabernacle? Excellent arguments may be made for either outcome. The point is that Jephthah in an effort to incite God’s help (which had already been offered) made a rash commitment. He had his theology a bit mixed. God would never have required Jephthah to sacrifice his daughter in violation of the law. People who worshipped Baal practiced that kind of perverted appeasement.
Jephthah operated according his misguided conscience not God’s infallible word. God could not have accepted the sacrifice of his daughter in violation of His own and more than a pig or a neighbor’s child had that been the first thing out of the house. That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it. Regardless, Jephthah died grief-ridden without legacy or posterity. At the best, she died and old virgin. At the worst, she died a young virgin.
In spite of his flaws, Jephthah still appears in the Hebrews hall of faith. Perhaps he landed there for his trust in and obedience to the promise of God that resulted in deliverance for God’s people. There is not even a mention of a period of peace but rather civil war with Ephraim. All it says is that he judged Israel for 6 years.
Lessons drawn from the account of Jephthah
The three main points found through the book also apply here.
• Sin continually causes bondage and enslavement -- repent
• God mercifully grants deliverance from slavery – cry out to Him
• God powerfully enlists the improbable to facilitate the impossible -- surrender
• Spirit empowerment at one time does not guarantee empowerment in others.
• Don’t forget the real source of blessing in life.
• Quickly repent and cry out to God for help rather than peers.
• Choose your friends wisely
• Continually address bitterness and rejection in your life.
• Beware of unbiblical vows.
• Questionable heritage does not nullify faithful service.
Let nothing negative in your past prevent the positive in your future.
• You can only devote yourselves to one god at a time – Serve God only
Don’t attempt to ride the fence.
If God can use a Jephthah, he can use us: even more so when we completely surrender to Him.
Neither your past nor your present inadequacies prevent your future impact of the kingdom.
