Jephthah: Living by Choosing

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Acts 2:29-41

Big Idea: You can waste your life by making lame excuses or shape your life by making appropriate choices.

INTRODUCTION

Recap Heroes of Faith Series

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In his book The Walking Drum, author Louis L?Amour makes this assertion:

“Up to a point a man?s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him. Then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, ?This I am today; that I will be tomorrow.??

In other words you can waste your life by making lame excuses or shape your life by making appropriate choices. God wants you to live a victorious life. He created you with destiny and purpose in mind. You have the power to be what you?ve always dreamed. This is the character of a person living a life of faith in God. When you have the kind of faith that these men and women have in Hebrews 11 you stop making lame excuses and start making appropriate choices.

Today we?re looking at the story of a man who was able to overcome tremendous odds and be used by God to shape the history of a nation. His name was Jephthah. He?s one of those little known characters from the book of Judges in the Old Testament. With God on his side Jephthah was able to save Israel and subdue an invading kingdom. He became a hero among his people, but you never would have guessed that would be his destiny at the beginning of the story! Notice how Judges 11 begins?

Judges 11:1-3 (NIV)

1 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a group of adventurers gathered around him and followed him.

Jephthah began life with several strikes against him. He was the illegitimate son of a prostitute. In those days in Israel your pedigree was important. People?s perceptions of you were determined by who your parents were. Jephthah?s father was a leader named Gilead from the tribe of Manasseh. His ancestry was esteemed except for his mother. Prostitutes were regarded with contempt. Jephthah, because of the woman who gave him birth, would have shared in her shame.

This is evident in what happened. Jephthah?s half-brothers, the legitimate ones, ran him out of town so that he could never collect a dime of their father?s inheritance. This act was perpetrated with the approval of the entire community, as we?ll see shortly.

Jephthah was victimized by his circumstances and by the people in his life. As a young man he allowed his past to shape how he lived. He relocated to the land of Tob and formed a gang. The translation I used paints Jephthah?s followers in a better light than they deserve. Other versions describe them as “worthless men? or “outlaws? Criminals attached themselves to Jephthah. He led the gang because he was the strongest and the smartest.

Jephthah allowed himself to be a victim. He decided that he was worthless and, thus began living a worthless life with worthless companions. Early on he must have felt that there was nothing he could do to change his lot in life, so he opted for crime and obviously felt justified. Jephthah, like so many people today, felt that his life had already been determined and believed himself to be powerless to escape.

In his book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes about the three excuses people often make to avoid taking responsibility for their life situation.

3 Degrees Of Determinism

1. Genetic – “My grandparents did it to me.?

Here we blame everything on DNA. We use everything from nationality to hair-color to race to metabolism as an excuse for our failures.

2. Psychic – “My parents did it to me.?

This is the view that we?re screwed up because our parents did a lousy job raising us. They were either too strict or too permissive. They either smothered us or gave us no time at all. They praised us too little or too much. Then we go to a therapist and they affirm us an agree that it?s all our parents fault.

3. Environmental – “Someone or something did it to me.?

This category is increasingly popular today. Even juries and judges are starting to buy into environmental determinism as a legitimate defense.

In 1997 Dale L. Larson?s $41,000 trial-court award was upheld by a Wisconsin appeals court in October, which agreed with the trial court that the Indianhead golf course in Wausau was 51 percent responsible for Larson?s needing nine root canals and 23 dental crowns. Larson tripped on his golf spikes and fell hard on his face on a brick path outside the clubhouse, and he argued that he wouldn?t have fallen if it had been a smooth concrete sidewalk rather than a brick path. The trial court had found that only 49 percent of the accident was due to Larson?s having consumed 13 drinks that evening, which left him with a blood-alcohol level of 0.28 90 minutes after the fall.

In January of 1996, Lori Collison, 30, charged with robbing three stores in Toronto, Ontario, in 1994, was found not criminally responsible because of mental disorder. According to psychiatrist Hy Bloom, Collison thought she was making a screen test at the time and was playing the role of a person robbing the three stores.

Patrick L. Bark, 59, pleaded guilty in September of 1996 in Kansas City, Mo., to selling more than 1,300 guns illegally over a two-year period, including many to juveniles and felons. Said Bark at his sentencing, “I blame half of it on the (government) for letting me go as long as they did. How was I to know (the guns) would be used in (crimes)?”

(News of the Weird)

Here?s the truth about determinism: “It?s a lie.? You can be influenced by things outside of yourself, but you?re life is not determined by them. It?s like sailing on the ocean. There are outside forces that affect you like wind, waves and currents. Ultimately, however, your hand is on the rudder of the boat. You may have to compensate for outside forces, but by steering the rudder (i.e. making choices) you affect the boats direction.

That?s how human beings are distinct from the animal world. Animals can only react. They function by either instinct or training. We?re different.

Between stimulus and response, human beings have the freedom to choose.

The determining factor of your life is you – your choices, your responses, your actions.

Everything was about to change for Jephthah. Events conspired to bring him to a choice about the direction of his life:

Judges 11:4-11 (NIV)

4 Some time later, when the Ammonites made war on Israel, 5 the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.” 7 Jephthah said to them, “Didn’t you hate me and drive me from my father’s house? Why do you come to me now, when you’re in trouble?” 8 The elders of Gilead said to him, “Nevertheless, we are turning to you now; come with us to fight the Ammonites, and you will be our head over all who live in Gilead.” 9 Jephthah answered, “Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the LORD gives them to me–will I really be your head?” 10 The elders of Gilead replied, “The LORD is our witness; we will certainly do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.

Apparently, Jephthah and his gang gained some notoriety. Their fearless exploits were legendary in Gilead. They were the ancient equivalent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the Jesse James Gang, the Hole in the Wall Gang, and Billy the Kid. Life as an exile in Tob developed Jephthah as a fighter and a leader.

The Ammonites began invading Israel and so now Israel needed a commander. The leaders of Gilead named Jephthah and sent out a search committee to bring him home.

Jephthah had a choice here. He could keep living as a perpetual victim and continue his life of crime or he could lead his people in a righteous cause. Frankly, the life of an outlaw would have been easier, at least in the short-term. Jephthah, jettisoned his past and chose to move forward into God?s greater plan for his life.

We all have this ability. We have the ability to respond appropriately. In doing so we choose our destinies.

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true:

“One?s philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.? (Little House on the Freeway, Tim Kimmel, p. 143)

Here?s the lesson that we learn from Jephthah?

Because you have the ability to choose your response you have the power to fulfill God?s program for your life! (or reject it)

You can delete all the junk that people and circumstances have dumped into your computer. They only have power over you if you give it to them.

Now the story of Jephthah takes a turn for the strange. He made the right choice in becoming the leader of Gilead. He responded correctly. But soon afterward he lapsed back into reactive choices.

Judges 11:29-31 (NIV)

29 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah. He crossed Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he advanced against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

This vow was totally unnecessary. God was on Jephthah?s side. He wanted to rescue Israel from the Ammonites as much as Jephthah.

What?s going on here? Jephthah was trying to control God. He slipped back into a victim mentality. His error provides us with another principle:

Responsible people focus on things within their realm of influence.

Jephthah was doing fine until he made this stupid vow. He was initially making decision on factors within his realm of influence. He didn?t know his Bible well enough to understand that you can?t manipulate God.

Here?s how you can tell whether you?re primarily a responsible person or a reactive person. Responsible people change what is within their ability to change. Reactive people turn their time and energy and thoughts to things beyond their control. This typically takes the form of worry or meditating on what might be. We see it also in blaming. Those who specialize in blaming other people are merely dodging responsibility for their own lives.

The consequences of Jephthah?s vow play out in a terrible way:

Judges 11:32-39 (NIV)

32 Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. 33 He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. 34 When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.” 36 “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. 37 But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” 38 “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. 39 After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite custom

We?re not really sure what Jephthah had in mind with his vow. Maybe he expected an animal to run out first. In those days, people often kept their meager livestock in the house. Certainly he wasn?t expecting his only child ? his daughter to run out and meet him! Her greeting quickly turned Jephthah?s celebration into a catastrophe

At this point in the story, there is reason to both commend Jephthah and censure him as well. We can commend him because he did not back down from his vow. He could have made excuses. He could have looked up to heaven and said, “But I didn?t mean my daughter. ? He didn?t. Jephthah remained true to his word despite the cost. And this was a costly lesson. He was going to lose his daughter and the possibility of heirs. The line of Jephthah would end with him. Again, it was a big deal in ancient times.

Though it was a foolish and unnecessary vow we can commend Jephthah for being responsible for his words.

Responsible people are guided by their values and principles, not feelings or circumstances.

Reactive people are carried by the currents of outside forces. They typically don?t keep their word when it becomes inconvenient or difficult to do so.

Jephthah could be commended for his responsibility. However he must be censured for what he did to his daughter. Although he was guided by values and principles, they weren?t godly values and principles. His vow was exceedingly ungodly. The sacrifice of human beings is forbidden by God.

“You must not do this to the LORD your God. These nations have committed many detestable acts that the LORD hates, all in the name of their gods. They have even burned their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.?? Deuteronomy 12:31 (NLT)

Had Jephthah only known God?s word he would never have committed this act. In fact, there is an escape clause for such a vow. In Leviticus 27, verses 1 though 8, God reveals how to redeem people. Jephthah could have paid ten pieces of silver and spared her life, while at the same time remaining true to his word.

It?s great to be responsible and live by principles and values, just make sure that they?re informed by God?s word.

CONCLUSION

Let?s take some principle?s from Jephthah?s life and apply them to our own. How can we make the transition from a reactive life to a responsible life?

1. Stop trying to prove that your life is not your fault.

Author Wayne Dyer says: “All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty of something by blaming him, but you won?t succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.? (Wayne W. Dyer, “Your Erroneous Zones?)

2. Admit that what you are today is because of the choices you made yesterday.

Own your life for what it is. If other people aren?t responsible for you, then who is? You are. You?ve made the bed that you?re sleeping in for better or worse.

Let me add that this is exactly what God requires of us to enter into his kingdom. If we want forgiveness, a relationship with him and eternal life we?ve got some admitting to do. You must admit that you?ve sinned and choose Jesus. Note how it happened after one of Peter?s sermons.

Acts 2:37-38 (NIV)

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To repent is to turn away. You can?t turn away from sin unless you first admit that you?ve committed it.

Quit blaming circumstances and other people and admit that who you are today is because of the choices you made yesterday. This is the only way to become a responsible person.

3. Make promises and keep them

Don?t make foolish and uninformed vows like Jephthah. Let your promises be few, but keep the one?s you?ve made. If you?re married, stay true till death do you part. Remember when you pledged that kind of faithfulness. If you promise to be somewhere and do something at a certain time, show up and fulfill your promise even if it become inconvenient or, horror or horrors, you don?t feel like it. If you?re a member of this church, follow through with your covenant promises even if you?re scared or uncomfortable.

This is the path to growth. You become even more responsible by keeping your promises despite circumstances and feelings.

4. Discover God?s goals for you and make yourself available to Him in order to achieve them.

God has a purpose and a plan for every single one of you. Yet sometimes we?re so mired down by our environment and the things that have happened to us that we?re oblivious to the goals He has for us!

Ephesians 4:11-16 (NIV)

11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

God has a plan and a purpose for your life but he requires your efforts. You can waste your life by making lame excuses or shape your life by making appropriate choices. Do you choose what God would have in your life? Do you choose His goals for your life? Do you choose to contribute to the Biblical Community that Paul wrote about by utilizing the giftings God has given you?

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