WEEKLY
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
An
international Sunday school lesson commentary
For
Sunday June 18, 2017
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JEPHTHAH’S
CALLING
(GOD
calls on the unlikely)
(Judges
11)
Jephthah
was the illegitimate son of a man whose legitimate family resided in Gilead. His
father conceived him through a sexual encounter with a prostitute. His many half-brothers,
by the man’s legitimate wife, grew up hating Jephthah, and eventually, they
were able to chase him off their land, vowing that he would never be allowed to
share in their father’s inheritance.
Jephthah, fearing for his life, fled from
Gilead, and settled in the land of Tob. Tob was a place located between Ammon, and
Mannasseh, and it was there that Jephthah was able to pull together, a loose band
of brigands, who would serve as his new family. The group became confident in
his leadership, and, over time, they were willing to follow him anywhere.
Jephthah and his group quickly gained a
reputation as great warriors and the stories of his exploits began to spread
back to his former home in Gilead. It was about this time that the Ammonites had
begun to wage war against Israel, and the elders of Gilead (some of them were
his half-brothers), who had all by now, caught wind of Jephthah’s notorious
reputation as a great warrior, decided to swallow their pride, and shamelessly send
word to him, begging for his help.
After some mild rebuke from Jephthah (V.7),
reminding them of how they had treated him earlier, the leaders of Gilead
humbly conceded that they needed him and would make him their new ruler, if he
would lead their army against the Ammonites (v.8). However, not trusting them, Jephthah
made them swear an oath before the LORD that they would keep their promise to
him (Vs.9-10). He then went with them to Mizpah, where they had a formal “swearing
in” ceremony for him.
Unlike Gideon before him, Jephthah was
initially called to his position by men, not GOD. However, GOD was called on to
witness this event, and HE later placed HIS HOLY SPIRIT upon Jephthah (v.29), and
the SPIRIT enabled him to be victorious in his military campaign against the
Ammonites.
However, Jephthah’s first move as Gilead’s
leader was a diplomatic one, as he immediately sent messengers to the king of
Ammon demanding to know why Israel was being attacked by them. The king
responded by accusing the Israelites of stealing their land 300 years ago, when
they first came out of Egypt, and crossed the Red Sea. He told Jephthah that he
would leave them in peace if they returned all of the land to them (even that
part that was not originally theirs). This included all of the land situated
between the Arnon, Jabbok, and Jordan rivers.
Jephthah refuted the king of Ammon’s claims,
and presented his own case as to why his accusations were unfounded, and he relied
on sacred history to back Israel’s right to ownership of the land which they
now resided on. In verses 15-22 he lays out a detailed account of how Israel
really came into possession of the land that was now in dispute, over 300 years
earlier. He then tells the king that it was the LORD GOD of Israel who took the
land from the Ammonites, the Moabites, and, the Amorites, and gave it to them.
However, Jephthah’s attempt at diplomacy
failed as the king of the Ammonites paid no attention to his message. And so
the SPIRIT of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of
Gilead and Manasseh, leading an army against the Ammonites that devastated 20
of their cities, towns, and villages.
Jephthah made an “unnecessary vow” to the
LORD (because GOD had already assured him victory), stating that, “if GOD gave
him victory over the Ammonites, that, he would, in return, dedicate the first
thing coming out of his house to greet him upon his return, to the LORD, as a
sacrificial burnt offering”.
And even though the vow that Jephthah made
to the LORD was not at all unusual, as far as Mosaic dispensation goes, it was,
as I said, unnecessary. He was legitimately seeking to bless the LORD with
thanksgiving in anticipation of HIS divinely promised victory over the
Ammonites. However, his “rash vow” would later come back to haunt him, as it
was his daughter, his only child, who was “the first to come out of his house”
(“his first born”).
GOD takes our vows to HIM, seriously, and, literally,
and so we should put more thought into it, before making a vow, and then, don’t
do it. This is eternally great advice that comes, not from me, but rather, from
JESUS CHRIST our LORD and SAVIOR (Matthew 5:33-37).
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
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