The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/judges/11.htm

What a story we have in this study of the Book of Judges.

There was a Gilead named Jephthah who was the son of a harlot, and in this case, we should take the word “harlot” to be a prostitute. Remember in the story of Rahab of Jericho, sometimes a “harlot” could also mean an innkeeper, but in this case, I interpret scripture as meaning Jephthah was without mother because he was fathered with a prostitute. Jephthah’s father married though and had sons who when they were grown, kicked Jephthah out of the household because he had a different mother than them.

Let’s stop and see what problems we have so far. We have Jephthah’s father who committed adultery with a prostitute, we have a prostitute that apparently gave up her son, and we have half-brothers who are not very brotherly, and disowned a part of their family. And this is just the beginning.

So Jephthah left and joined with a band of criminals, and together they raided towns, one can only assume for the bounty; they were thieves. And no, it wasn’t right for Jephthah to take on this lifestyle, but I’m pretty sure he wasn’t very sociable. His own mother didn’t want him, then his own half-brothers didn’t want him, and whatever inheritance he was going to get from his true father, was now taken away. I can see where he would be dejected, angry at least.

In the last chapter we talked about how the people of Ammon were camped against Gilead and Gilead had grouped together preparing to fight against Ammon. But they apparently did not have a leader who was a warrior, nor did they pray to God for deliverance from the people of Ammon. Instead, they took measures in their own hands, and sent for Japhthah, knowing he was a hard man.

Of course, Japhthah scoffed. I’m paraphrasing, but his response was, “You kicked me out because I was the son of a harlot, but now in time of need, you want me back?” But Japhthah agreed providing Gilead made him the ruler, and they agreed.

So Japhthah returned to lead the army of Gilead, and despite him having a hard life and being a criminal, he stopped to pray to God to ask that God be on their side in battle.

And God agreed.

No matter how bad of a person you are, no matter how much you sin, you can always turn to God. And for those who still believe God is an angry, wrathful, tyrant, this story shows the love and mercy of God. He had mercy on Japhthah, and He even had mercy on the people of Gilead who had turned from Him.

And, no matter how bad of a person you are, you can always be called by God to serve Him. God’s Will will be done, and if it wasn’t His will that Japhthah lead the people, He would not have guaranteed His help.

And Japhthah and the army began to approach Ammon, and Japhthah again prayed, giving a vow to God that if God allowed him victory over the people of Ammon, the first thing he saw upon returning home, he would give to the Lord and offer it up as a burnt offering. He fully expected to see a bull or ram.

And God was true to His promise (He always is), and Japhthah and the army was successful in defeating the people of Ammon. And when Japhthah returned home victorious, his daughter, his only child, came out of the house doing a victory dance for her father.

And Japhthah was devastated.

And he told his daughter about his vow to the Lord. Now scripture doesn’t say how old Japhthah’s daughter was, I expect she was in her late teens or perhaps early twenties, but you would expect someone of that age to rebel against her father’s vow, to cry, to run away, to not want to face death. But instead, his daughter was very likely closer to God than I can every dream of, because she assured her father that he could not break the vow he made to God, and that he was going to have to carry out the act that he promised.

Remember when Abraham was taking Isaac to the mountain top to sacrifice him, and Isaac was old enough that he could have fought Abraham, but he didn’t? What faith the youth in those times had, willing to give their own life for their father’s salvation.

But Japhthah’s daughter had one request, that she and her friends be allowed two months in the mountains to mourn her virginity, in other words, to mourn that she was have to die not knowing a man. And Japhthah agreed, and after two months, she returned home, and he carried out his vow.

The faith in this story is so thick you can’t cut it with a knife!

The Jewish people are steeped in history. They have holidays throughout the year to celebrate and recognize their heritage. These aren’t carnivals or festivals, they are religious ceremonies to acknowledge God and what he has done for them. That said, the women of Israel still reserve four days each year to honor the daughter of Japhthah.

And here is just one other story, mostly ignored, about a great woman of faith who love God and loved her earthly father so much, she gave her own life for it.

You can rest assured, the daughter of Japhthah will be one of those resurrected to join Jesus and accompany Him back to Heaven.