Jephthah, the Unwanted but Needed Man

 

Daily Reading:  Judges 11:1 – 40

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

                            Romans 14:12

            We live in a world that is broken by sin’s curse. Every life is touched by its unseen hand. Tragedy and heartache are common occurrences that affect every life and every home. We have all been victimized by the tentacles of sin, but that does not mean we have to allow victimization to define us!

Jephthah was born to a prostitute. His stepbrothers threw him out when they were old enough. Their reasoning was absolute selfishness. They simply wanted to keep him away from their inheritance. For unknown reasons, possibly embarrassment, Jephthah’s father did not even defend his son of a prostitute. Jephthah was forced to live in the land of Tob.

Despite his broken childhood and being forced to leave, Jephthah still thinks of that place as, “home” (Judges 11:9).  While away from home, he becomes a mighty man of valor whom God uses to set Israel free from the rule of the Ammonites and then ultimately, he becomes judge over Israel for six years.  

We all have experiences in our lives that we could use as excuses to do nothing. Jephthah chose to be used of God despite his circumstances.  In fact, the argument could be made that those very experiences are what God used in Jephthah’s life to prepare him as the mighty man of valor and judge over Israel.

1.   What experiences and circumstances in your life has God used to prepare you for                          the work He has for you today?

2.   Considering the truth of II Corinthians 1:4, are you willing to share your experiences                          with others who need comforted because they are now where you once were?