Judges 11:1-40

Israel faced the invasion of the Amorites with much fear, but this was really the hand of God bringing them to Israel in order to free Israel from the oppression that they faced.  Israel had repented of the idolatry that had brought on this domination in the first place so God began to liberate them.  We do not normally think of an army invading Israel as God’s plan for liberation, but that is exactly what it was.  Israel may have been content to simply pay tribute and be oppressed for many years, but when they cried out to God and put away their idols; God responded by bringing the army of the Amorites against Israel in war so that Israel could be set free.  The path to freedom is usually always through conflict and battle.  We must begin to view the difficulties in our lives as God’s means of bringing us freedom from the sin that constantly oppresses us.

JEPHTHAH BECOMES AN UNLIKELY VICTOR: Jephthah was driven from his own home by his brothers because he was the son of a prostitute and not the son of his father’s wife.  He was rejected by his family because of his father’s sin and not his own.  This must have been the source of great pain and bitterness in his heart.  When the Amorites attach Israel, the people call on Jephthah to be their leader and he consents to do so on the condition that if the Lord gave him the victory he would be restored to a position of honor in the family as the leader of the people.  This condition was agreed upon and Jephthah went to work to try to negotiate with the Amorites by reminding them of what God had done in the past due to their refusal to allow Israel passage in the land.  Jephthah does not make concessions as a leader but demonstrates God’s provision in the past due to the Amorites pride and failure to fear the Lord.  The peaceful negotiations fail and God gives Jephthah, the son of a prostitute, a victory and makes him the leader of the nation.  God is very good at using the most unlikely people to do His work.  He is even willing to use people like you and me.

JEPHTHAH MAKES AN UNWISE VOW:  Before Jephthah goes to war he makes a vow to the Lord that he will offer a burnt sacrifice of the first thing that walks out to meet him if he is victorious.  This was an unwise and unnecessary vow.  I don’t think that God is pleased when we make conditional vows and he was foolish to make this vow that involved that over which he had no control.  I am sure he thought that there would be an animal that would be outside when he returned home.  Instead, it was his only child, a virgin daughter who came out the meet him.  If Jephthah had felt the need to make a vow to the Lord, he should have specified that he would offer the livestock that he felt necessary but he should have specified his vow.  I also do not believe that he should have followed through with his vow.  The Scriptures do not condemn nor do they condone the fact that he followed through and offered his daughter as a sacrifice, but the Scriptures prohibit the offering of one’s children as a burnt offering to the Lord.  I believe Jephthah should have confessed his sin and made an offering of lambs as God required which would have been an illustration of substitution.  The daughter willingly becomes the sacrifice, and the truth is that all of us should be burnt sacrifices but we have been blessed with a perfect Substitute in the person and work of Christ on our behalf.