Title: Jephthah (Judges 11:1-3)
Content Jephthah is the illegitimate son. He was kicked out of his home and became a bandit to make a living. At that time, Israel was suffering greatly because of Ammon.
“After a while the children of Ammon were about to attack Israel.
Then the elders of Gilead went to the land of Tob to bring Jephthah, and said to Jephthah,
We are going to fight the children of Ammon. Come and be our captain. Jephthah.
And he said to the elders of Gilead, ye have hated me, and chased me from my father
Why did you come to me now that you are in trouble?
The elders of Reat answered Jephthah, Now we have come to you with us.
to go to war with the children of Ammon, so that we, all the inhabitants of Gilead,
Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Take me home,
When I return to fight the Ammonites, if the Lord gives them to me,
If so, will I really be your head? The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah that the LORD
You are a witness between the two, and we will surely do as you say. I wore this
They went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and governor over them.
At Mizpah, she spoke all her words before the Lord (Judges 11:4-11).
Here, in the conversation between the inhabitants of Gilead and the elders who are now taking Jephthah, a title that confuses us is the name of Jehovah. Because the name of Jehovah appears frequently in their conversations, we think of them as trustworthy, but the opposite is true.
What kind of person is Jephthah, a bastard and a bandit? In the Bible, the bastard is a problematic character to appear as a legitimate person. When Ammon invaded Israel, what they found was Jephthah, the bastard and bandit, which clearly shows the spiritual level of Israel. Even if you did not seek God due to difficulties, it would be understandable if you went to another god, the Transcendental One. But the religious leaders were just people who went looking for gunman bandits. But the story they exchanged is, “The Lord is our witness.” If God were watching this scene, he would probably say, “I am playing.” Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, 'What have you to do with me, that you have come to me against my land?'
“And he made a vow to the Lord, saying, If the Lord will deliver the children of Ammon into my hand,
When I return in peace from the children of Ammon, whoever comes out of the door of my house
whoever receives it, I will offer it to the LORD, and I will offer him as a burnt offering.
Ra (Judges 11:30-31)”
This is a word that shows how ignorant Jephthah is. It is said that Israel entered the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, and did not serve God, but took possession of such ignorant bandits. God who used Jephthah, by the way, to use such a person is to use Jephthah on the same principle that you can do it even with Deborah when you attack Ammon. ‘I can pursue Ammon even with the bastard and the thug. Rather than being your God, I would rather be the God of Jephthah,' is God's word. Rather than calling Jephthah a judge and using it to save Israel, God used it to show his wrath against the people of Israel. Chapter 12 shows it well.
“The men of Ephraim gathered together and went to the north and said to Jephthah, ‘You fight the children of Ammon.
Why didn't you call us to go with you when we crossed over?
The fire shall surely consume you and your house with fire. Jephthah said to them, Me and my
When the people quarreled greatly with the children of Ammon, I called you, and you said to me,
Seeing that I do not save you, because I did not save from the hand, my life
Without looking back, he crossed over and struck the children of Ammon, and the LORD gave them my hand.
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but do you want to come up to me today and fight with me?
Then Jephthah gathered the Gileadites and fought against Ephraim, and the Gileadites
They struck down Laim and destroyed it, for those who fled from Ephraim, Ephraim and Manasseh
The men of Gilead seized the Jordan Narutuk before the Ephraimites.
The one who guards and flees the Ephraimite says, Please let me cross over.
ask him if you are from Ephraim, and if he says no, he
The Ephraimite was not able to speak correctly by saying, "Shipboleth."
And if you say “Chomboleth,” the Gileadites immediately seized him and killed him in the Jordan River.
Then there were forty-two thousand dead of the Ephraimites (Judges 12:1-6).
There are words that cannot be pronounced depending on the province. The Ephraimites could not pronounce the Zipbolet. Jephthah killed forty thousand Ephraimites who could not pronounce Zipbolet. Is God taking Jephthah up against Ammon or against the unbelief of Israel?
God's point of view is far deeper than to trace Jephthah's victory only as a victory. Because it lacks only one element. The person who is used as Jephthah must know the reason for his use. Believers are always Jephthah in some way. For, “Behold, brethren, your calling, there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble” Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1. Do not confuse common sense with faith. Don't be fooled by the mistakes the church has made. Don't forget that you have work to do. People who should live in Canaan should know that the people who are used when they reject the fact that they live in Canaan are not people who have to settle down, but the trumpet that wakes up dead souls. We must create a society and a life in which the nation becomes strong and God's rulership spreads throughout every nook and cranny.
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