Pastor Allan Kircher
Shell Point Baptist Church
October 6th, 2013
Judges 11:1-11
THE REJECT WHO BECAME THE RULER
Intro: Judges can be very depressing
• Chronicles/years/Israel between/Joshua/Saul first king
• Book is a scene of lawlessness.
• Describe the cycle.
Spiritual climate during those days is summed/Judges 21:25 ,“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”
Discouraging about this book? Ample evidence we humans don’t learn our lessons well.
Left to ourselves, we get ourselves in trouble time and again.
• Positive side/book/fact/God never completely forsook His people.
• They failed Him/He chastised them/always took them back
• Let’s me know He will never forsake us.
• The church/purchased/blood/His Darling Son
• He will ever stand by us, Heb. 13:5.
Times /Judges/dark/dismal days for Israel, a few lives stand out as bright lights against the darkness.
• One/lights/man before us in our text today.
• Introduced to a man named Jephthah.
What the word of God teaches us about this man should serve as an encouragement to every person in this room.
• Walked through some hard places in his life
• He overcame all/obstacles/life and he accomplished great things for the Lord.
• Man rejected by his family, outcast by society
• written off by everyone who should have cared about him
• In the end Jephthah became the leader of his people.
Jephthah is not an altogether good example.
• Chosen to lead/people by the people/not by God.
• Jephthah/mixture/spiritual/fleshly.
• life is confusing at best.
• not the Lord’s choice/Judge
• Lord allowed Jephthah to lead the people to victory for His Own purposes.
• God had a plan.using Jephthah; don’t know all/details/plan!
Let’s get to know Jephthah and learn the lessons his life reveals. I want to preach about The Reject Who Became The Ruler.
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I. v. 1-3 AN APPALLING REJECTION
A. v. 1 Jephthah’s Character
• First revelation/Jephthah “a mighty warrior”.
• “mighty warrior” means/marked by “great bravery”.
• A very courageous and powerful man.
Kind of man:
• Who did what needed/done/every situation he faced in life.
• Who refused to back down
• You would like to have at your back in a battle.
• Others would look to for leadership.
He was a strong, able and efficient man.
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B. v. 1 Jephthah’s Challenge
• Next truth “he was the son of a harlot”.
• His father’s named was “Gilead”.
• Gilead/man who frequented prostitutes.
• One became pregnant and bore him a son named Jephthah.
• Major strike against Jephthah/marked him/illegitimate son of Gilead.
Like everyone in this room, Jephthah had marks in the plus column and marks in the minus column.
• Areas/life/extraordinary while other areas/problematic.
• We are all in the same boat.
• Most of us do not trumpet our abilities
• Yet we go to great lengths to conceal our problems.
• Reminds us that we are human
• No matter how far up the ladder of holiness we climb, we will still be sinners, we will still desperately need a Savior
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C. v. 2 Jephthah’s Conflict
• Jephthah’s father also had children with his wife.
• When these legitimate children reached maturity
• they all turned/Jephthah/forced him out/family home
Apparently, their father is dead and they refused to share their inheritance with Jephthah.
• Most likely they were motivated by greed.
• With Jephthah out of the way, there/more money go around
• Jephthah’s presence/family/constant reminder/father’s infidelity.
• They probably hated Jephthah all their lives.
• May have even envied him since he was a strong/efficient man.
• Probably everything they were not/they turned on him.
• They hated him because he represented everything they could never be.
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Jephthah paid a price for the sins of his father.
• Father/philanderer who brought/illegitimate child into/world.
• child lived/stigma of his father’s sins his whole life.
• His life/scarred/actions of his father/his half-brothers
• He did not stoop to the same level of evil he saw in them.
• Jephthah broke the cycle of sin in his family
• Became a better man than the others in his family.
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We need to stop here/learn a valuable lesson. Exodus 34:7…
• Doesn’t mean God will punish you/what your parents did.
• Does mean what your parents did/often bear fruit/your life.
Children often develop attitudes/similar parents.
• Develop ways of living like their parents.
• They have prejudices;
• Likes/dislikes were built into them by their parents.
• The fact is, a lot of what we do is generational.
• We carry/influence/family with us/all days we live.
If/mother was hateful, good chance you might have/tendency
• If/father/drunk, you/prone to problems in that area.
Grew up hearing criticism and negativity
• good chance of becoming a negative person too.
Grew up in an abusive home
• you might have that kind of mindset as well.
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However, someone has to break the cycle!
Just because/parents did certain things to you or around you it does not mean those things have to be a part of your life today.
• You have the opportunity to change.
• There is power, grace/help/Person/Holy Spirit/Word of God.
• He will work to change us into His image.
• I don’t know if that speaks to any of your hearts today,
• Let’s break/cycle/sin in our families/set our children free.
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Others have suffered this kind of familial rejection.
• David experienced it.
• Samuel anointing at Jesse’s house
• Your earthly family may turn against you,
• Your Heavenly Father will never turn you away!
• Your true brothers/sisters will never fail to love you, forgive you and stand by you. That is the nature of our new family!
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D. v. 3 Jephthah’s Companions
• When Jephthah left home/place called “Tob”.
• Tob located east/Jordan River/country of Syria.
• We are told “adventurers” gathered themselves around him.
• Idle men looking for something to fill their time.
• We do not know why flocked to Jephthah/maybe saw/leader.
• Saw someone who could help them find a purpose in life.
Whatever their reason/Bible tells us they “went out with him.”
• Jephthah became/ragtag leader/this band.misfits.outcasts.
• Probably served/informal police force that protected the Hebrews from the attacks of their enemies.
• But was able to mold these misfits/effective fighting force.
• Showing himself to be a leader of men.
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Couple of lessons/Jephthah’s actions that I want to mention.
1. Took a negative and turned it into a positive.
He could have taken his rejection/brothers/indication/life was over---that he would never amount to anything.
• But, he rose above/challenges/his life
• made something/himself.
• Look above the circumstances..Ps. 37:23…..
• That’s a fact jack!
2. God delights in using the unusable.
Specializes in taking those who seem to be the least of the least and making them vessels of honor for His glory!
3. Birds of a feather tend to flock together.
• People like Jephthah came to Jephthah.
• People/gravitate toward those who reflect their own hearts.
• Look at the people you talk to.
• They are often people just like you.
• Look at the people you spend your time with.
• They reveal the sort of person you are!
If someone is given over to a specific sin, they will gravitate toward others who do the same thing.
Conversely, is someone has a true heart for the things of god; they will gravitate toward others who are seeking God too.
Today would be a good time to consider the kind of people you spend time with!
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4. Rejection is hurtful, but beneficial. God uses the animosity and attacks of others to build our character and refine our lives!
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II. v. 4-8 AN ASTONISHING REQUEST
Jephthah is living his life in exile. He is something of a Robin Hood kind of figure.
• protecting the Israelites/making the best out/his situation
• They come to him with an astonishing request.
• Let’s take a moment examine that request.
A. v. 4-5 The Cause Of The Request
• The nation is under attack.
• Ammonites are trying to take over the land.
• Children/Ammon/descendants/Abraham’s nephew Lot
• incestuous relationship—Ammonites/cousins/Jews
• They were also perpetual enemies.
• So Israel is under attack and they do not have a strong leader to guide them to victory over their enemies.
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B. v. 6 The Character Of The Request – The elders of his people come to him with the request that Jephthah come back and become their “captain”.
• Word means “commander, chief, or ruler”.
• At one point they asked him to leave
• Now they come to him asking him to lead!
• What a change of mind! What a change of direction.
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This/reminder/call to service/leadership might come w/o notice.
• We are be/ready/prepared/answer His call when it comes.
• Duty/faithfully serve/Lord where we are.
• Do His will where He has placed us.
• Strive to learn all the lessons He wants to teach us.
• God’s responsibility/open/doors/ministry/opportunity.
• our responsibility to grow where we are planted,
• Trust the Lord to use us when, where and how He sees fit.
• When we serve Him faithfully today
• He will look after our tomorrow’s!
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B. v. 7-8 The Commitment Of The Request
• v 7, Jephthah recounts their past attitude towards him.
• He reminds/they were/ones who asked him to leave
• Now they want him to come back and be their ruler.
v 8, they reissue their promise/Jephthah will be their “head” if he will only come back/deliver them from their enemies.
• They want Jephthah to come back and take over!
• They want him to come back and be their boss.
• They are offering him control over their lives.
Their treatment of Jephthah/sad.
• No use for him when things were going well, but when the bottom fell out
• They ran to him for the help they needed.
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This is how many people treat the Lord.
• They refuse to be faithful. They refuse to serve Him.
• They refuse to honor His word, His will or His house.
• They treat Him like He is an unwanted intruder in their lives
They treat Him like He is the spare tire on the car of their life.
• He is to stay/trunk/keep quiet
• But He better be ready when they have a flat and pull him out!
• What a shame!
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III. v. 9-11 AN AMAZING RESPONSE
• If I were Jephthah/bunch of yahoos came to me.
• I probably would not respond like he did.
• His is an amazing response. Let’s examine it.
A. v. 9-11a Jephthah’s Acceptance
• After confirming that their offer is valid
• Jephthah consents to go/them/lead them to victory.
His treatment of them is vastly different from their treatment of him!
• They abused him/treated him like dirt, Jephthah/not bitter
• Able to get over the things they did to him.
• able to see past their mean-spirited actions
• He caught a glimpse of the hand of God at work in his life.
• Man who honored the Lord in his life.
• Might have been an exile from Israel
• he was never and exile from God.
• Unlike his relatives, he proved his commitment to the Lord by his treatment of others!
Whether we accept it or not, how we treat others is a direct reflection/place God holds in our hearts.
When we love Him as we should, we will love others as we should, Matt. 22:37-39; 1 John 3:14-16; 4:20.
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v. 11b Jephthah’s Advancement – The people honored their word and they elevated the reject and made him their ruler. He became their “head” and he became their “captain”.
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v. 11c Jephthah’s Acknowledgement – We are told that “Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.”
• That is what Jephthah is doing here.
• Calling/Lord/watch over him as he goes out to battle.
• acknowledging the Lord
• Looking to Him for the help he will need to win the victory.
• Knows any victory they might enjoy/only come from/Lord.
Do us well to remember any victories we might enjoy in this life will be our only if the Lord delights in us.
• Victory does not come from us, our efforts or our abilities.
• Victory comes from the Lord
• From a relationship centered in Him and in Him alone!
• Jephthah became a victor, but only because he was first a servant of God who looked to the Lord for the victory!
Conc: The reject became the ruler! Most of us will not become rulers in our lifetime/some lessons we can take away from this message on Jephthah.
1. We all have strengths and weaknesses, but the Lord can use us and make something special out of our lives.
2. May be a cycle of sin/our background,it can be broken today!
3. God can use you in spite of your past, your family or your failures. (Ill. A twenty dollar bill has the same value whether it is new, worn or torn. Its value never changes!)
4. Your treatment/others reveals how you really feel about God.
5. You can and should serve God faithfully today and trust Him with all your tomorrows.
If He has touched you through the story of Jephthah, you should obey His voice and do exactly what He is calling you to do!
