What a beginning to Jephthah's story! In the first few verses we are told that he
is an illegitimate son of Gilead and a prostitute and that when he went to Tob
he was surrounded by worthless fellows who went out with him. Sounds just like the background we would want
in a man of God doesn’t it? We don't get
any details about why the men of Gilead chose to go and get him to fight
against the Ammonites but he agrees to do so under the condition that if he is
successful he will not only be their military leader but also their leader in
peace. What in the world possessed
Jephthah to make such a vow as this? What
does it mean that he kept his vow? There
are two views, one that he sacrificed her life to keep the vow and the other
that she was devoted to the Lord's service and was a perpetual virgin. I believe the second view is most likely as
it would have been an ungodly thing to sacrifice the life of another, vow or
no.
There are echoes of Jonah in this story. All who are in the boat are afraid and yet
Jesus, like Jonah, sleeps in the midst of this storm. He becomes that which brings peace but,
unlike Jonah, Jesus is on a mission to a pagan land, not running from that
land. He has compassion on the man in
the tombs who is demon-possessed and is going to heal him as a sign to the
people of this land. When they awaken
Jesus it is with a question that is far bigger than they can possibly imagine, "Teacher,
do you not care that we are perishing?"
The true answer is that the entire reason He has come among them is
because He cares that they and we are perishing. His voice is the voice that created all
things and which caused the sea to know and obey its boundaries and here it
causes obedience as well. Their faith
just got expanded in this man.
Paul speaks of the incredible persecution and suffering he
has endured in the service of Jesus. It
is unimaginable to most of us that any man would have persevered in Christian
service in the face of such misery. We
have been taught to cry persecution at the slightest opposition to our work and
we have also been taught a lie concerning the Christian life that if we face
opposition and difficulty we may have gone off the path because our lives are
to be constantly blessed. Paul says that
his background, his pedigree, is far better than his opponents' but that
doesn't make a bit of difference, his weakness is far more important than
this. God chooses whom He wills, who we
are before is of no particular interest to Him.
It is only His election that matters, we have a new destiny in Him and
our past is simply past.
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