This is a part of a sermon series on the book of Judges. You can watch more here.
It’s possible you could feel like studying through Judges right now could feel like a disconnect. Right? Right now, our country is still recovering from the election results, right?
Some of us are excited, some of us are discouraged, so that we could be a part of us that wants to spend the morning talking about differing political perspectives, so that our time together could just be recreating the shows / podcasts we are watching and listening throughout the week. Right?
Sometimes people will ask me, “How come you’re not talking about immigration, environment, racism, economy, abortion, and other events in the news?” It’s not that our faith in Jesus doesn’t speak into those areas, but if we’re not careful our faith in Jesus could just become another voice clapping into the noise of our day but we the church, those who are followers of Jesus are set apart. Amen?
We are a people who are in this world but not of this world. We are involved but not consumed. The Apostle Peters describes us as strangers in a strange land. The Apostle Paul describes us as heavenly citizens, so that we are going to constantly feel this pull, in the world, not of the world, in the world, not of the world, in our day as a follower of Jesus.
It’s possible that some of us are trying to get away from that pull or subdue that pull but, listen to me, it’s a package deal as a follower of Jesus. The pull to want to jettison all the political rhetoric, stick our heads in the ground and wait for heaven is a strong pull for some of us in the room.
The pull to want to rant and rave about every biblical value that isn’t being represented in our country today is a strong pull for some of us in the room, right? Keep in mind, this is Republican and Democrat, grace and truth, feeling this pull to rant and rave about which ever part of the Bible that is being overlooked, so that we are left in this place of tension as a follower of Jesus. Amen?
The opportunity we have this morning as the gathered followers of Jesus is to look to God’s Word and see God’s Word speak into our world today, so that we might find clarity on how to navigate the challenges of our day. Amen?
There are times on a Sunday morning we will speak to specific events in our day but the majority of the time we are the church who desperately need God’s Word so that we might know God’s character so that we will find clarity on how to navigate the challenges of our day for His glory. Let’s look at Judges 10, verses 1-5:
Judges 10:1-5, “Now after Abimelech died, Tola the son of Puah, the son of Dodo, a man of Issachar, arose to save Israel; and he lived in Shamir in the hill country of Ephraim. 2 He judged Israel twenty-three years. Then he died and was buried in Shamir. 3 After him, Jair the Gileadite arose and judged Israel twenty-two years. 4 He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities in the land of Gilead that are called Havvoth-jair to this day. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Kamon.”
Okay! If you are new this morning then you need to know Judges isn’t about judicial leaders but military leaders, so that throughout the book of Judges we see a cycle being repeated over and over.
Israel sins, Israel is judged, Israel cries out in repentance, so that the Lord raises up a deliverer and for a period of time there is peace in the land. We’ve seen this cycle with Othniel, Ehud, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, Abimelech and in verses 1-5 we see two examples; Tola and Jair. You with me? (Dodo is fun, Issachar is a tribe.)
In verses 1-5 we see a period of peace in Israel. We see prosperity. The reference to 30 sons, 30 donkeys and 30 cities is a reference to blessing, so that there are generations that are born and live their whole lives in peace and prosperity but, look at the next verse. Look at verses 6-7:
Judges 10:6-7, “6 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, served the Baals and the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the sons of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines; thus they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. 7 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the sons of Ammon.”
Another cycle starts again. Israel is supposed to be serving the Lord. Israel has been set apart for the Lord. Israel has been called by God to remove the foreign gods from the land, don’t marry, don’t mingle but instead over and over it’s as though Israel will serve any other made up god besides the Lord. (Exod 22:20; Deut 7:1–7; 20:17).
It’s possible you might look at verses 6-7 and think, “Well, that’s what people did in the ancient world before we were educated” but please know all of humanity has been created to worship something or someone.
It doesn’t matter if you grew up going to church in north Austin or if you see yourself as a religious person. All of humanity is created to worship God and when we turn from worshipping the God of Scripture we don’t turn to something neutral.
We might worship ourselves, we might worship our career but we are all worshipping something. And we know what we worship because when those things are going great, we feel great, and when those things are threatened we are scared, so that God’s Word is giving us clarity into our affections.
God’s Word calls us to be in the world (Work jobs, start a marriage, build a life) and while we are in the world we are going to be influenced by the world. The reason we are here this morning is to admit, “My heart and mind is constantly being wooed to worship the things of this world” and we need God’s Word, we need one another, we need the Spirit of God to move in us, expose our hearts and our minds, so that we turn back to Him and worship Him. Amen?
It’s possible some of us are uncomfortable with the phrase in verse 7 that reads “the anger of the Lord burned against Israel.” Do you see that phrase? The language might be uncomfortable, but we need to remember the holiness of God, the glory of God that is constantly being tossed aside to worship manmade things of this world. Does that make sense?
It is the glory of God that must be bothered by Israel turning from the Lord over and over and over. He has dropped plagues on Egypt, provided manna from heaven, water from a rock, collapsed walls in Jericho, reigned down hailstones and over and over Israel says, “Eh, the Lord didn’t do what I wanted, when I wanted, the way I wanted, so I will give my affections to another.” Right?
If we were the Lord we would have jettisoned this relationship with Israel a long time ago. Right? We would have canceled them, given up, tossed them out so much faster.
So that, yes, the anger of the Lord burns against them but it isn’t to be punitive. He is going to raise up judgment or discipline, so that Israel’s heart will soften and they will turn to Him because He is the only One who is worthy.
He knows every other idol of this world will let us down. He knows that romantic relationship won’t sustain us. He knows that political candidate is not our firm foundation, therefore, He is angered, He brings discipline, not to be punitive, but to soften our hearts and draw us back to Himself…so that we might know His Word and His character and find clarity to navigate the challenges of our day. Look at verse 10:
Judges 10:10, “10 Then the sons of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You, for indeed, we have forsaken our God and served the Baals.”
In verses 10-18 we will see Israel cry out in repentance. The Lord will remind Israel of His faithfulness. Israel will turn from the idols of their day and the Lord will raise up a new deliverer named Jephthah.
I will tell you on the front end that Jephthah might be one of the most interesting, complicated, debated people in God’s’ Word, so if you’ve checked out, lean in. Look at Judges 11, verses 1-3:
Judges 11:1-3, “1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him.”
In verses 1-3 we meet Jephthah and verse 1 describes Jepthah as a “valiant warrior” which is awesome, but Jephthah is also described as a “son of a harlot” so that Judges 10 is describing the spiritual condition of Israel and Judges 11 zooms in on a specific family.
In verse 1 we see the father of Jephthah has been unfaithful to his wife, conceived a child with a prostitute that is likely a Canaanite woman, but the child is never accepted in the home, so that in verse 2 his Jephthah’s brothers drive him out of the family. Do you see that in verse 2?
Just as Israel has been unfaithful to the Lord in Judges 10, prostituting itself out to the gods of this world, in Judges 11 we see a family with a husband that is unfaithful in marriage. Listen to me, in our culture today we tell ourselves “sin isn’t real.” We can do whatever we want. We can live our own truth but sin leads to death and darkness at the macro level and we will feel that at the micro level.
When a culture turns to death and darkness, embraces death and darkness, we will see that ripple into families and individuals. We will see marriages get more complicated. We will feel friendships become more fragile. We will see careers get more difficult. It’s because life apart from the Lord gets complicated. Look at verses 4-6.
Judges 11:4-6, “4 It came about after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. 5 When the sons of Ammon fought against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob; 6 and they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our chief that we may fight against the sons of Ammon.”
Well looky there! They didn’t want Jephthah in their family but because Jephthah is a “valiant warrior” they people find themselves asking him for help. Do you see that in verse 6?
Again, we see the spiritual condition of Israel. The brothers don’t apologize. We don’t see humility. We don’t see genuine love for Jephthah.
Instead we see people using one another to survive. Again, this is the micro of the macro of Israel’s relationship with the Lord in Judges 10. When Israel is getting what they want, they love the Lord. When Israel doesn’t get what they want they turn to the idols of the world. Look at verses 7-9:
Judges 11:7-9, “7 Then Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me from my father’s house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble?” 8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go with us and fight with the sons of Ammon and become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. 9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back to fight against the sons of Ammon and the Lord gives them up to me, will I become your head?”
In verses 10-28 we see Jephthah accept the position of leadership and Jephthah begins a conversation of negotiation with the Ammonite people, but those negotiations fail, so that the Lord raises up Jephthah to deliver the people of Israel. Jump down to verses 29-32:
Judges 11:29-32, “29 Now the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, “If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
It’s at this point the Judges 11 becomes one of those most debated passages in Judges because we are going to see that it’s Jephthah’s daughter that walks out of the doors of his house. In verse 33 Jephthah is victorious in battle and then verses 34-35:
Judges 11:34-35, “34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.”
There’s a lot of debate around this passage. Why did Jephthah make this vow? Does Jephthah really sacrifice his daughter? This should be a moment of joy! His daughter is celebrating with tambourines and dancing, so that God’s Word is inviting us to turn off the noise of the world, lean into His Word, learn His character so that we find clarity to navigate the challenges of our day. Look at verses 36-37:
Judges 11:36-37, “36 So she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord; do to me as you have said, since the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon.” 37 She said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions.”
There are some who will read Judges 11 and conclude Jephthah made a foolish vow to the Lord and kept that vow by sacrificing his daughter, but I think the grief of the passage is that Jephthah’s daughter won’t give birth to children and Jephthah’s family line won’t continue.
This isn’t my attempt to soften God’s Word. Judges 10 talks about the blessing of having 30 children. Judges 11 speaks to the family conflict in Jephthah’s life. Judges 12 mentions the children of key people more than any other passage.
In addition, Jephthah’s daughter was his only child and God’s Word is clear that children are a blessing, so we know the news of his family line ending would have been devastating for Jephthah.
It’s possible that Jephthah sacrificed his daughter. Human sacrifice was Canaanite ritual. Israel was absolutely influenced by Canaanite beliefs, so that it’s possible Jephthah has a combined belief system of God’s Word and the Canaanites rituals.
In a similar way, we need to be thinking to ourselves, “How is this world rubbing off on me?” It’s possible for us to proclaim a sincere faith in Jesus and yet our heart and mind are aligning with the idols of this world.
It’s possible for us to profess to be committed followers of Jesus, so that if you looked at our finances, parenting, attitude of forgiveness, joy in hardship you might see faithful men and women but then somehow that same person aligns with the idols of this world around same sex relationships or justify greed or gossip, so that it’s possible Jephthah sacrificed his daughter but the passage isn’t clear and we don’t need to make the passage say something it doesn’t say, so that our application this morning is, “When we turn from the Lord life gets really complicated.”
When you read Judges 10-12 you’re supposed to feel the darkness of Israel at the macro and micro level. When you see Jephthah’s family dynamics you’re supposed to feel the pain of those relationships. When you see Jephthah make a foolish vow you’re supposed to say, “What is he doing?”
It’s because when we turn from the Lord life gets really complicated. In God’s grace, we often don’t see or feel those complications immediately. As a result, we think God doesn’t care but the Apostle Peter says, “Don’t mistake His patience for indifference.” The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
In time, those seeds of darkness and death will bring a harvest, so that relationships are complicated, families break down, emotions get confusing, insecurities increase, fear spirals, so that the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Timothy:
1 Timothy 4:16, “16 Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
Living life as a follower of Jesus in Austin, TX is complicated. The wisdom of when to speak and when to listen is difficult. The wisdom of when to be gentle and when to be bold is difficult. If I had to guess, it’s only going to get more complicated, so that the follower of Jesus is invited to turn to God’s Word.
The more we know God’s Word and God’s character the more we will find clarity on how to navigate the challenges of our day.
The influences of this world are strong. The amount of exposure to we have to this world, the ideas of this world, the influences of this world that are contrary to God’s Word is off the charts, therefore, turn to God’s Word.
Read God’s Word, learn how to study God’s Word, obey God’s Word, get with other men and women to read God’s Word, open up God’s Word at dinner, ask questions, teach God’s Word to others, talk about God’s Word, enjoy God’s Word, because it is in God’s Word we will find clarity to navigate the challenges of our day.
This is why we call our church in Austin to get into God’s Word every day. Every day we need to soak our soul in the wisdom of God’s Word. This is why we invite you to commit to our church in Austin. If it isn’t this church in Austin, find another one and commit. This is why we invite you to commit to a ministry team, so that you can take ownership in our non-denominational church in Austin.
This church isn’t my church. It is our church to be owned, prayed over, cared for, dreamed about and we need one another in this season. We need godly men and women in our life who will lovingly say, “That doesn’t sound like God’s Word, that sounds like the world.” Amen?
Wouldn’t it have been great if someone would have spoken up in Jephthah’s family and said, “This is your child, your brother.” Yeah, it didn’t start off great. Yeah, there was unfaithfulness but we serve a God who heals, redeems, forgives, therefore, stay in our family!”
Wouldn’t it have been great if someone spoke up in Jephthah’s life and said, “Don’t make that vow. That’s not a good vow!”
I know I need this in my life. I am influenced by this world. I become faint hearted. I believe things about myself and others that are inconsistent with God’s Word and I need other godly men and women who are in God’s Word who will speak into my life.
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
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