Rejected Warrior

Do we understand the God we are serving?  Do we serve God the way we work for our boss?  Do we serve God the same commitment we have towards our spouse?  Do we serve God the same way we revere our distant earthly father?  There is a father in the Bible that puzzles me even though I have read his story quite a few times.  One has to question what kind of God he thought he was serving because he makes a foolish mistake and it is a mistake that many fathers do as well as mothers.

His story can be found in Judges 11 and 12, but his mistake can be found in 11. Click to read.

Jephthah was a mighty man and was known for being a very powerful warrior for his time.  Before he was seen as a warrior, he was only seen as the son of a prostitute.  It appeared that his father had sex with a prostitute and brought Jephthah home to be raised by his wife.  When Jephthah’s grew up, his half-brothers drove out Jephthah and told him he would not have any part of their father’s inheritance.  He ran from his brothers and found a place to live and train.  This place of exile was the location he found the warrior in himself.  Not too long after, enemies came into the land and started to devour the land, so the Israelites turned to the outcast, Jephthah.  They asked if he could be their leader and after much talk and groveling on the parts of the brothers, Jephthah agreed to lead them and fight for them.

Big Mouth

He defeated the Amorites mercilessly and was successful in keeping the Israelites safe but here is where the foolishness comes in.  Jephthah wanted to obliterate the Ammonites so bad that he made a vow to God.  Look what he said in 11:30-31

 30 And Jephthah made a promise to the Lord and said, “If you give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whatever[a] comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it[b] up for a burnt offering.”   

Did you read that correctly?  This judge, this leader of the chosen people, promised that if God would give him the victory, whatever comes out of the doors of his HOUSE he would BURN for God???  Now from my knowledge, dogs were not accustomed to living in the houses at that time, goats, sheep, cows—all the things that were typically used in burnt offerings—lived on the land in the field, not in someone’s home.  So one has to question what was he expecting to “come out and meet him?”

This is where we all get ourselves in trouble.  When we want something from God, so we spew out these vows that we don’t have any idea what it will honestly cost us.  We want God to fulfill his part but we are not ready to fulfill ours.  The other truth is that we do not fear God, we don’t reverence him enough.  Look at Ecclesiastes 5: 

Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.
Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear.
God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.

3 Overwork makes for restless sleep.
Overtalk shows you up as a fool. (MSG)

When we are in a bind we say things like:

“God if you get me out of this one then…”, Or, “ God if this person comes to church with me then I’ll…”, also, “If you heal me then I promise I’ll never…”  This list goes on and on.  We make vows to God that sound good till you see what it’s going to cost you.  Sadly, we break our word cause the cost is more than you can pay.  

Jephthah would learn this the hard way.  God did his part and delivered the Ammonites into the Israelites hands; they were victorious, and it was time to go home in peace.  

Vs. 34 of Judges 11 says

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah. And behold, his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and with dances. She was his only child; besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And as soon as he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.”

To everyone’s surprise–including Jephthah– his pride and joy, his only daughter came out to greet him.  You see, this did not make sense, what else was he expecting to come out the door but a human?  Our God detests human sacrifice so this vow was not a reflection of what God wanted, but it was a reflection of his lack of relationship with God.  If he indeed knew the God he served, he would know that God would never require or want that.  Now his young, unmarried daughter was going to sacrificed for no reason.  

Jephthah made a mistake in thinking that God was like the pagan gods of his enemies was demanding, unmerciful and lacked compassion. He went ahead and burnt his daughter in a sacrifice even though God did not require it.  

I Don’t Want That Kind of Love

Deut 12:4 God asks that we are to never serve him as the pagans worship their god.  What does that mean? It’s like a woman who was in an abusive relationship relating to her new loving husband as she did to her abuser.  She did things out of fear that he would hit her, or take something away from her or put her down.  His foolishness cost his daughter her life, and she was all he had.   She doesn’t do things for her new husband out of love but out of fear.  When she makes a mistake, she tries to make things better not because she is sorry but because she dreads the consequence.  So God says to us, do not treat me like those other abusive gods.  

This is why if you have a distorted view of your earthly father then you will see God with the same attributes.  If your father abused you, lacked empathy, talked down to you or abandoned you,  you will come to church and do things with your earthly father’s image in the background.    

Also, ask yourself, has your father made foolish mistakes that you ultimately had to pay for?  Are there things that you had to endure because your father didn’t understand the weight of his decision? Can you recover from it?  Absolutely.  I am living proof that even if your parents made the worst mistakes, God could reverse it.  It will not be easy but all God needs is your willingness to undo whatever it takes.  Maybe you are the father making the mistakes.  Jephthah was not purposely trying to harm his daughter; he was just more driven to win that he didn’t realize he was losing.  It is crucial for you to stop and think about the consequences of your success.  

Weekly Challenge:

Do you love God but don’t know how to serve him the way he wants? Take some time this week and look at what areas of your relationship with God need to be fixed or could improve.  Is it possible the some of the areas that you are struggling with is due to your negative experiences with a father figure? Ask for forgiveness and seek to get answers on some things you have to change so that you are not serving God in a way he doesn’t desire.

Also, read Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and admit any habits you have of vowing or promising things you are unable to deliver.

We would also encourage you to purchase the book, “Be a Better Dad Today”, by Gregory Slayton.  There are so many things we don’t know.  It is a very enlightening book.  Just go to our homepage and click the link to go directly to purchase the book.

If you need additional help, email us at thruthewinters@gmail.com or start a conversation below.  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @throughthewinters