Judges Chapter 11 – Fearless and Dream-Filled, God Can Grant You Victory!
This chapter addresses two topics. First, Jephthah, the son of a prostitute and a gang leader, became a judge in Israel. Second, Jephthah's daughter willingly offered herself to God!
This chapter tells the story of Jephthah, a judge in Israel. He was the son of a prostitute, and after being driven out, many bandits came to him for refuge. From this, we can see that Jephthah was a gang leader. How did such a man become a judge in Israel? How could God choose such a person? What qualities did Jephthah possess that made him a judge in Israel and enabled him to defeat the Ammonite army?
The situation at the time was that the Ammonite army was encamped opposite the Gileadites, intending to attack them. The Gileadites should have belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, likely the prominent families of the tribe. None of the leaders of Gilead dared to lead troops into battle. In that urgent situation, the Gileadites were very afraid and went everywhere to find someone. After searching around, they found Jephthah, the very man they had driven out because he was the son of a prostitute and could not share in their inheritance. It is strange that these leaders of Gilead were capable of driving Jephthah away but were helpless in the face of the Ammonite army! Why didn't the leaders of Gilead dare to lead troops into battle? They were afraid of death! They were all people who feared death! In contrast, Jephthah, the head of a band of bandits, a man who lived with his head always on the line, was a fearless man! This is Jephthah's first characteristic. Brothers and sisters, Jephthah was a fearless man, yet he was alive, and doing quite well! What was needed in the face of the enemy was fearlessness. Did Jephthah die in the battle against the Ammonites? No, he did not. Being fearless does not mean one will die. Those who are fearless do not die. It is those who fear death who die! In ordinary times, nothing can be seen. But when a crisis comes, when a great enemy is at hand, it becomes clear who fears death and who does not. It is the same with Christians. Faced with the attacks of the devil, those who fear death will surely be attacked by the devil. Those who are fearless, though attacked by the devil, will ultimately overcome him. When the devil attacks us, that is when we have the opportunity!
Jephthah had another characteristic. He was very familiar with the history of Israel. How do we know? Jephthah first negotiated with the Ammonites, and in his arguments, his account of Israel's history was very detailed. How did a gang leader, the head of a band of bandits, know these things? He must have been a reader of the Pentateuch. Although he had not received a good education, he understood the history he could grasp. He explained very clearly how Moses led Israel through Edom and Moab, how they later went around, how they obtained the land east of the Jordan, who that land originally belonged to, and how Israel fought and destroyed the people of that land! Strange, what would a gang leader do reading the Pentateuch? Originally, the law of Moses was kept with the priests. Later, when Israel had a king, the Lord God commanded Israel to have a copy made for the king alone. We have reason to believe that Jephthah also had a copy! Otherwise, how could he have read it? Brothers and sisters, Jephthah did not read it for fun. He had a dream in his heart. He dreamed that one day he could become a leader of Israel! He was not content to be the head of a band of bandits. He read the Pentateuch with this dream!
God cannot use those who fear death. God cannot use those who have no dreams. You must be fearless and have dreams! The people God uses are like this. If you are such a person, you will surely see the opportunities God gives you!
However, Jephthah did not have the teachings of a priest, and what he received were only superficial historical facts. His understanding of the Lord God was also limited. That is why he made a vow to God before the battle, offering a living person as a sacrifice to the Lord God. That was not what God desired. But for Jephthah, he still had many old ideas from his days as a gang leader, and he thought that was the most precious gift to offer God! What did he say? He said that when the Lord enabled him to return victorious, the first person to come out to meet him, he would offer as a burnt offering to God! Little did he know that the first to come out to meet him was his only daughter! Brothers and sisters, know what the Lord delights in! Also, know what the Lord hates! God sees people as precious, and you must not treat people as unworthy!
Jephthah's background did not affect his role as a judge in Israel. This is what God wants us to know. Our background is not a limitation to our development. As long as we have a fearless heart and a dream to do great things for God, God can grant opportunities and enable us to accomplish great things!
Now let's look at the second topic: Jephthah's daughter willingly dedicated herself to God.
When Jephthah returned victorious, the one who came out to meet him was his only daughter! This put Jephthah in a difficult position. At that time, when Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low and have afflicted me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord and cannot take back my vow." How much he regretted making such a vow! If he had known that the price of this vow would be his own daughter, he would never have made such a vow! When we study the Bible, we often focus on discussing the moral issues of this human sacrifice. Some people even focus on whether his daughter was actually offered as a burnt offering. I think no matter what your thoughts are, put them aside for a moment. When we study the Bible, we should not be historians, nor archaeologists, nor scientists. We must read out God's intentions for us! Now, look with me at Jephthah's daughter's answer. You should highlight this passage! It is Judges 11:36! "So she said to him, 'My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon.'" What a declaration! A fearless father begets a fearless daughter! If you were Jephthah's daughter, would you do this? In Bible study, some people say that if they were Jephthah's daughter, they would find a way to run away! Yes, she could have run away, and I believe Jephthah would have liked her to run away and say, "I can't find her!" That seems like a good idea. At least it would save his daughter's life. But Jephthah's daughter did not say that. She said, "Do to me according to what you have vowed." What was his daughter thinking?
Under Jephthah's teaching, Jephthah was a man of honor and integrity. What he said, he fulfilled. His daughter received it in the same way and believed that what was said should be fulfilled! But this is only one aspect of the matter. I think Jephthah's daughter should have had the opportunity to be educated and to read the Pentateuch. Her view of life and death was different from that of ordinary people! How did Jephthah's daughter view life and death? To be able to make such a move, I have reason to summarize her thoughts as follows. Because if you are familiar with the Pentateuch, you will have such a summary. She believed that everyone must die. Some die painfully from cancer, some are killed by cars, some are drowned, some are crushed in earthquakes, there are all kinds of deaths! What is important is to be able to die for God! To have the opportunity to be offered to God is an extremely beautiful thing! That is not a sad thing, that is an incomparably good thing! Why run away? Isn't it infinitely glorious to be offered to God in this way?
But it is easy to think this way in your mind, but it is not easy to face it in reality! She still mourned for two months! In fact, Jesus also mourned in this way when he was on the cross!
Speaking of this, we will think of Isaac. When Abraham offered Isaac, there was no struggle or crying. Instead, there was complete obedience. Wonderful! Brothers and sisters, we should all offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God! A person who has not seen through the matter of life and death cannot live well. Those who have seen through the matter of life and death will surely live a beautiful life! That is a life with the hope of eternal life! Not afraid of death, not afraid of battle!
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