Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Jephthah of Gilead was a mighty man of valor, but the son of a prostitute. He was scorned for it. Kicked out of his community because his brothers didn’t want to share the inheritance. They ran him out. Off he went to Tob. And the people that gathered around him were other outcasts. But they were the dregs of society and that must have chaffed him. He was a godly man.

Time passed. Then the Ammonites started a war with Israel. The elders came to Jephthah (who must have had a pretty good reputation) and asked him to come back and lead them. Naturally, he was a little resentful. Kick him out but NOW they wanted him back? He made them swear that he would be their leader if the Lord gave them the victory. They agreed, so he went back.

The Ammonites wanted ‘their’ territory back. But Jephthah schooled them on land ownership. First off, it had been three hundred years since it was taken away from them. Now they wanted it back? Second, it was the Amorites who took their land. Not the Israelites. Third, when the Israelites took the land from the Amorites it was NOT because they wanted it. The Amorites had been the aggressors. So had the Moabites. Israel had defended themselves and won, so they took that territory. The Israelites had NEVER done the Ammonites wrong. Not once. And again, they hadn’t tried to take it back for three hundred years. It was the Israelites territory by legal means. It was also God-given land, which superseded everything else. No matter how you sliced it, the land was legally the Israelites. But the Ammonite king wouldn’t listen.

The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. He went through the land. Through Gilead and Manasseh, through Mizpah, and then on into the Ammorites. As he went he made a vow. “And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, and he said, “If indeed you will give the Ammonites into my hand, whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will be Yahweh’s, and I will offer it as a burnt offering.” (Judges 11:30-31). This is a mistranslation. In Hebrew it actually reads “If indeed you will give the Ammonites into my hand, whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the Ammonites, will be Yahweh’s, or I will offer it up (for) a burnt-offering.” So this VERY foolish not-at-all-led-by-the-Spirit vow was (1) that whatever person met him should be the Lord’s or be dedicated to His service, and (2) that whatever beast met him, if clean, would be offered up for a burnt-offering to the Lord. The “and/or” language is identical in Exodus 21:17 (confirmed by Matthew 15:4). A child could not be put to death without legal procedure and agreement by the court (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). Killing children was an abomination. And an active participant in idol worshipping abominable practices would not be listed among the giants of trusting in God (which Jephthah is in Hebrews 11:32-34) – although God is a MERCIFUL God and NONE of us get what we deserve, so any true repentance would be accepted (I still don’t think he did it, though, BECAUSE he was godly).

Also, if you look at the rules of vows in Leviticus, a foolish vow regarding a person could be honourably nullified by redeeming the person with coin – a VERY small price to pay when a life was on the line. Rabbinical tradition (Radak) on the plain meaning of these verses (right to the end of the chapter) agree. This was a service oath (people) OR a burnt offering oath (clean, acceptable animal). It was a stupid thing to do. He didn’t NEED a vow to get a victory. God didn’t require that. Didn’t request that. Didn’t particularly want that. He was GOING to give the victory period. His Spirit had come on Jephthah already. This was in the bag.

So Jephthah went and crossed over to where the Ammonites were and the Lord gave them into his hands. He struck them down from twenty cities. The defeat was ‘very severe’. When Jephthah went to his house, his ONLY daughter came out. And he was VERY upset. She had done NOTHING wrong, but his hopes for a legitimate family carrying his name were over (remember he was illegitimate). She was VERY upset. She was never going to get to marry. Never going to have children – a HUGE mark against her in ancient society. In fact, she wanted to mourn for two months with her friends, that’s how upset she was. She was pious, you see. So was her father. Breaking the vow seemed dishonourable, no matter how foolish or rash. And she was an obedient child. She wept for her life, that she has not and will not know a man. She will be virgin forever, serving in the temple with the other women dedicated to service (Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 22:2) – all of whom were widows and older women. They did as he had vowed to do. This is the plain meaning of the Hebrew verses, and I think the correct interpretation here. It’s in accord with God’s character and what He finds acceptable. It is foolish, but not unlawful. There was extreme grief, but honour in keeping a vow to God. That’s why the women of Israel celebrated her every year. Jephthah was obedient even in his own ignorance. He trusted fully in God and could not conceive of NOT keeping a vow. Perhaps this absolute determination to walk through with it is one of the reasons why he is included with Abraham, David, and Enoch as great men of Trust in God (Hebrews 11:32-34).

Now the Ephraimites were jealous. They wanted to know why THEY weren’t called to fight? Jephthah said he had called them (not specifically shown, but he did go through a lot of territory to get to the bad guys, so it is very possible that’s when he did it). They hadn’t come, so he did it himself. In other words, they were jealous of the spoils of war and had come for a piece of them. They fought over it and Ephraim was thrashed. Forty-two thousand of them died. A hard price over some petty riches. A good lesson for everyone to have things, but not to covet things.

All told, Jephthah ruled the Gileadites for six years and was buried in his home territory, not in exile. Next was Ibzan. He had thirty sons and thirty daughters. He found the girls husbands outside the clan and the boys wives from outside the clan. He judged for seven years. He had to have done things right in some way, because there was no apostasy and the land had peace. Next was Elon the Zebulanite. He judged for ten years. No problems. No major conflicts. He was buried in his tribal territory. After him was Abdon, son of Hillel. He had forty sons, and thirty grandsons with seventy donkeys among them – remember donkeys were marks of peace, prosperity, and kingliness. Again, no major issues. He judged eight years and was buried. That’s a total of thirty-one years of peace and prosperity since Israel turned back to God.

“And again, the Israelites did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh gave them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.” (Judges 13:1)

They turned away from God again. Got oppressed for forty years. Again. It’s easy to judge these people. Why would they fall away again and again and again? Isn’t it clear that following God is the best way? The peaceful way? Well, believers in Jesus have a new spirit that does not include sin (2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Timothy 1:7). That spirit CANNOT lead us to sin (1 John 3:9). Which means any time we sin (and we DO miss it and sin), we have done it ON PURPOSE by CHOICE and in 100% REBELLION forsaking GOD. Just like the Israelites. If you feel the spirit of judgment come on you reading Jewish history in the Word (or elsewhere), go to a mirror. Take a good long look. And repent.

There was a man from Dan. Good opening. He lived in Zorah and his name was Manoah (it means rest). His wife was infertile and they had no children. One day, an Angel of the Lord appeared to her. Although the way he refers to himself DOES seem like he is a pre-incarnate Jesus, this angel specifically says that if they offer a sacrifice, to only give it to the Lord and not him – angels don’t accept sacrifices or worship. Jesus would and had (Judges 6:17-23; Joshua 5:13-15 – 6:2). He looked like a man, but we know from the Word that’s possible (Hebrews 13:2). The angel shows up and tells her she’s going to have a boy (God needed her trust in Him stirred up). The boy would be a Nazirite from birth so she couldn’t have any wine, strong drink, or anything unclean. No razor would touch the boy’s head. And the angel prophesied the boy would BEGIN to save Israel from the Philistines (Isaiah 46:10). Angel left.

He husband didn’t believe it. He didn’t think she was lying, he simply didn’t believe it. A lot of REALLY? SERIOUSLY? YOU KIDDING ME? stuff. He prayed to the Lord and asked that the man come back. The angel did. Manoah declared his hope for the words coming true. Then he asked, “What will be the boy’s way of life and his work?” The angel said “Exactly how I said to the woman.” Let that be a lesson to all husbands. Manoah asked permission to prepare food for the angel. The angel insisted if they would make an offering that they make it to the Lord. The husband insisted. The angel said make it and put it over there. So they did. They put a prepared young goat and a grain offering on a rock and offered them to the Lord. When the flames rose to consume the goat and grain, the angel rode the flames back into heaven.

Manoah suddenly very much believed. And assumed they were going to die because they had seen an angel. His wife calmed him. If they were going to die, it would have been done already. Plus, there would have been no need to prophesy. He saw the logic of that.

She got pregnant. She gave birth. They called him Samson (little sun). He grew up and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit began to move on him.

Summary

Key Players: God, Jephthah, Jephthah’s daughter, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Manoah, Manoah’s Wife

Key Themes: Territorial Rights, Foolish Vows, Jealousy, Obedience, Subservience, Believing Your Wife, Nazirite Vows

Key Verse(s): Judges 11:1-6, 30-32, 39; 12:1, 7; 13:1-5, 13-14, 24-25