Subject: Here Comes the Judge – Dealing with Rejection
Text: Judges 11:1-11
Introduction: The story of Jephthah is one of the most interesting in the Old Testament. It is really told from Judges 10:6 - 12:7. And I believe this story has a definite message for all of us today, but especially, those who believe and know they have been call to a higher purpose in life. The one prayer request I hear most often is, "pray that I will be all that God has called me to be."
Sometimes we are placed in a position in life where we know that God has something special planned for our lives, but no one seems to appreciate it but you. In life at one time or another, we suffer some form of rejection. Whether it was not being picked for the kickball game by the kids in the neighborhood, not making the football team, or the cheerleading squad, not going to the prom with the person you knew you wanted, or getting into the college you wanted, not getting the job you hoped for, not marrying the person you thought you would, not qualifying a credit card or loan, or having a marriage that you poured every fiber of your being into being destroyed by a moment of lust, by a person you thought was a gift from God.
In some form or fashion, we all have experienced rejection and felt the effects that it brings with it and will continue to feel them for many years to come. African Americans still feel the effects of being rejected as equal human beings and the results of slavery, Jewish Americans still feel the effects of an attempt to eliminate a race of people by what is called the Holocaust, everyone has felt rejection and suffered from the results of it. Rejection is a part of life that affects each of us at some point and it’s not limited to only one instance. In the body of Christ, it is almost impossible to calculate the damage wrought by rejection in the church. Whether it is real or imaginary, the effect is the same. Why do people get rejected? What is the cause of rejection?
1. The Cause of Rejection - Men will reject you because you are different.
First, Jephthah was an outsider and because he was different. His father was a Jewish and his name was Gilead. His unnamed mother was a prostitute. His daddy was sowing his wild oats and Jephthah was the unplanned, unwanted, and unloved crop. Jephthah was a treated like human trash.
Second, Jephthah was an outcast. Once people are placed in that different category, it’s easy to discard them as having no value. When Jephthah was old enough to fend for himself, his (30) half-brothers drove him away because they had no intentions of sharing any of their inheritance with him. In those times the eldest son inherited a double portion, the rest was divided equally between all the brothers. These brothers made sure their portions would be as large as possible by casting Jephthah out.
Third, Jephthah became an outlaw. No surprises here, lost men do lost things. Jephthah – unloved and angry, became a streetwise kid with a flair for attracting others to him. Jephthah became the leader of a gang of outcasts. He became the first “Robin Hood” except he stole from the rich and kept it for himself and his friends. When people are treated like outsider, they will begin to feel like an outcast. When they feel like outcast, they will usually become outlaws. When people are treated like outsiders in the Church, they leave the church and many times instead of building up the reputation of the church, they destroy the reputation of the church.
2. The Purpose of Rejection – How does Satan use rejection? Judges 11:1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
Satan recognizes hidden potential. He uses rejection to rob us of our full potential. God saw Jephthah was a mighty man of Valor. One of Satan’s goal is to blind us from seeing our true potential. Satan recognizes the true power of our gift. His goal is to cause you to draw back or withhold your gift. Satan recognizes our importance to God in the preservation of others. The name Jephthah means breakthrough or opener. If Jephthah had been allowed to remain in Gilead and use his gift, not only would he have experienced personal breakthrough, but those around him would benefited from his gift. Our full potential can be reached only as we use our gift for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
3. The Pain of Rejection: Separation - God has created us for relationships. Our heart longs for a place to belong, a place to be valued and a place to be accepted. Our Lead character, Jephthah who name means opener or break through, the son of Gilead by a (innkeeper) harlot, a hired prostitute. He grew up in his father’s house. As a child he grew up in Gilead’s house, just as Ishmael grew up in the house of Abraham. Later when Gilead's wife bear him other children, things changed. Jephthah had probably help to raise his young brothers, teaching them to hunt and fish, to read and write and the like. After his father died, and his brothers were grown up, they thrust Jephthah out of their father's house and denied him his portion of his inheritance because he was the son a strange (another race) woman. The elders of the land gave their consent and agreed that Jephthah should be thrusted out of the land. Jephthah finds himself in a strange land doing strange things. His plight was like that of David when he became a leader of a band of outlaws. He knows in his heart there is a seed of greatest. He cannot explain it, nor does he understand it all, yet he feels he was created for more. He becomes the leader of those who were discontented, unemployed, poor, underclass and he was known as the son of a harlot.
4. The Dangers of Rejection – Rejection has some dangerous pitfalls. Isolation (1) We often build walls around us trying to protect ourselves from feeling such pain ever again (2) Anger - We get angry with those who rejected us, and we even get angry with God. The reason we get angry with God is because we feel that he has rejected us when he does not operate within our expectations of him (3) Rebellion - We begin to rebel against leadership, their Laws and their God. (4) Disgruntle – constantly complaining. (5) Discouragement (6) Doubt and fear. We become doubtful when we feel that we will never get out of this situation. We spend our time fortifying our protective walls.
5. The Blessings of Rejection – In rejection we find a place called Tob. The word Tob means good or goodness. It seems ironic that good can be found in the place of rejection and isolation. Yet when we lose our creature comforts, (1) we discover who we really are. (2) We discover who God is for ourselves (3) We learn to perfect our skills. Although you may learn to fight at home, you learn to lead in Tob. (4) In Tob, you find temporary acceptance, a place of value and a place to belong.
6. The Remedy for Rejection: Road to Acceptance - This story takes a sharp turn toward God. The land of Gilead was attacked by Ammon and the best fighter in the clan was needed and named – you guessed it – It was Jephthah. Jephthah made a living of raiding the villages of Ammon. You can’t make people accept you or like you…But God
(1) Don’t give up before you find your place. “There is a bright side somewhere!” God knows how to create a
slot that only you can fill. There is a place where you fit! Your gift will make room for you and bring before
great men.
(2) Don’t allow desperation to stop your negotiation. Make a demand and set some boundaries! They want a captain; Jephthah wanted a Governorship. They wanted Jephthah to make a temporary visit, Jephthah wanted a home. When God opens the door, don’t settle for anything less than God’s best!
(3) Don’t forget to pray. Jephthah uttered his words before the Lord. You see, promote does not come from men, It come from the Lord. God may use men in the process but Keep looking to the Lord and He will open a way. Men are good, but they are fickle. Put your trust in God.
Jephthah's plight parallels the plight of many minorities in America today. Everyone seems to keep statistic on them and never allow to forget that the odds are against them. Some are called "an endangered species", the invisible men, and the scourge of America. There are statistics on the number in prison, the number in College, the number who abandoned their families, the number murdered, the number on drugs, the number with A.I.D.S. and the list go on.
Jephthah's was in a position of failure, hopelessness, he lacked self-esteem, he had little self-worth. Sometimes, people can be down so long that they may lose sight on who they really are and what they can accomplish. Some feel like their day will never going to come because:
1. They were not the first choice and may see many chosen before you who are less qualified.
2. They may see people who you have blessed, become our enemy and try to curse you.
3. They may feel overlooked and left out so long that you feel forgotten and forsaken.
4. They find themselves in a strange place surrounded by strange people doing strange things. Example (The prodigal in a far country) (David among the Philistines of Gath) (Jephthah in Tob)
The good news is God will bring you home again, your day will come even If God must:
1. God can create a problem and give you the only solution.
2. God can cause your chief enemy to realize your value.
3. God knows how to reach way down and pick you up.
Psalms 40:2-AV “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and] established my goings.”
Jephthah was not alone in being thrust out. Joseph, Moses, David and others;
Joseph was sold by brethren, imprisoned by his owner.
Moses was rejected by his brethren, pursued by Pharaoh
David was rejected by the King he served and was denied the throne 20 years.
But if God could bring Joseph from the prison to the palace; If God could bring Moses from Midian to the Promised Land; If God could bring David from the Cave of Adullam to the throne in Hebron; If God could bring Jephthah from being a gangster in the land of Tob to being a Governor in Gilead, your day will come..
Although Jephthah had many disadvantages son of a harlot, a vagabond, no inheritance, his dreams had been suppressed for years, yet he had some qualities that caused him to excel:
(1) He was a God-fearing man with a high sense of Justice and fair play.
(2) He was a man of his word.
(3) He realized that he had great potential and potential for greatness.
(4) He recognized Gilead’s problem as a golden opportunity; others only saw the problem.
(5) He recognized the need and the time for a change: He had been misbehaving, though he could not change the past, he could create a new future.
Jesus is the best example we have for avoiding the pitfalls of rejection. Isaiah 53:3 says “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Jesus came bringing salvation and everlasting life to a lost world despite. Being rejected. Yet we crucify him when we do not except him into our lives, we reject him when we do not keep his commandments, yet he still loves us and deals mercifully with us, in spite of how often we reject him. He never fell into a pitfall of rejection; although, he was and still is rejected more than anyone. He still calls out whosoever will let him come….Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give rest!
