Week 28 — A Crime Boss (Warlord?) Deliverer

Judges

Week 28 — A Crime Boss (Warlord?) Deliverer

  1. A rough

  2. Jephthah’s rise to power.

  3. The pen before the sword.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah. (Jdg 11:29a)

  1. A _________________ vow.

30 Jephthah had made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you indeed give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whoever or whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet [קָרָא (ca-ra)] me when I return in peace from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer it up as a whole burnt offering [עֹלָה (ō-lah)].” (Jdg 11:30–31) 
Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship. (Ro 12:1)
32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 And he struck them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel-keramim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel. (Jdg 11:32–33)
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.” (Jdg 11:34–35)
You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. (Le 18:21)
Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. (Le 20:2)
There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering (Dt 18:10)

The _____________ Law explicitly forbids offering children as sacrifices, including burnt offerings, and treats such acts as _____________, ________________, and a _____________________ of the Lord’s name.

34 They did not destroy the peoples, as the Lord commanded them, 35 but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. 36 They served their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons; 38 they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. (Ps 106:34–38)
4 or if anyone utters with his lips a rash oath to do evil or to do good, any sort of rash oath that people swear, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it, and he realizes his guilt in any of these; 5 when he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed, 6 he shall bring to the Lord as his compensation for the sin that he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin. (Le 5:4–6)
36 And she said to him, “My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.” (Jdg 11:36)
37 So she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: leave me alone two months, that I may go up and down on the mountains and weep for my virginity, I and my companions.” (Jdg 11:37)
38 Her father said, “Go,” and he sent her away for two months. She and her friends went and wept over her virginity there on the mountains. 39a When the two months came to an end, she returned to her father, and he carried out the vow that he had made regarding her. She never was intimate with a man. (Jdg 11:38–39a)
39b This became a custom in Israel: 40 From year to year the daughters of Israel go out to hold a memorial service for the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days each year. (Jdg 11:39–40)

  1. War ___________ Israelites.

1 Faith is being sure about what we hope for, being convinced about things we do not see. 2 For by this faith the ancients were commended in Scripture. (Heb 11:1–2)
32 And what more should I say? There would not be enough time for me to continue to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 By faith they conquered kingdoms, carried out justice, obtained things that were promised, shut the mouths of lions, (Heb 11:32–33)

So can we say:

  • Judges 11:29: the Spirit ___________________ Jephthah for _____________________

  • Hebrews 11:32–33: confirmation that Jephthah ___________ through ___________

Therefore, Jephthah had _____________ faith which was _______________ by the Holy Spirit.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)

Points to Ponder

  1. What is one thing that stood out for you from this week’s message?
  2. Jephthah acts after the Spirit of the LORD comes upon him (Judges 11:29). How do we explain a Spirit-empowered believer making such a catastrophic decision?
  3. Evaluate Jephthah’s vow theologically: what false assumptions about God are embedded in it?
  4. Jephthah believes, “I cannot take back my vow.” Compare this with Leviticus 5:4–6. What does this reveal about his theology?
  5. How does cultural influence (Canaanite practices, pagan vow systems) distort Jephthah’s thinking?
  6. The sermon notes our tendency toward self-righteousness. How does the reaction “There’s no way Jephthah is in heaven” expose our own hearts?
  7. Hebrews 11 includes Jephthah. What does this teach about saving faith?
  8. In what ways do modern Christians “make vows” similar to Jephthah (even if less extreme)?
  9. How does the Gospel specifically answer the problem revealed in Jephthah’s vow?

Read: Matthew 18