Our reading this afternoon will come from the Book of Judges,
the 11th chapter and there will read the first two verses to
introduce our study. And again, the scriptures will
be up here on the screen and there from the new King James
version Judges chapter 11 verses 1 and 2.
There we read. Now, jeptha the Gilead, I was a
mighty man of Valor, but he was the son of a harlot and Gilead
begat jeptha Gilead, is wife bore Sons.
And when his wife Sons grew up, they drove Jep the out and said
to him, you shall have no inheritance in our father's
house for you are the son of another woman.
Perhaps there's been an occasion where you've been reading
through your Old Testament and you've come across this
midsection of the Book of Judges and you've read about this man
jeptha, and some of the decisions that he made and maybe
you've been uncertain as to exactly what happens in this
story. Want to spend a little time this
afternoon talking about this judge, who the Bible calls a
mighty man of Valor. After the death of the
deliverer, Moses god ordained, Joshua son of nun as Israel's
leader. Joshua was primarily a military
commander. He first demonstrated his
prowess for General Ling and exodus 17 when he led Israel's
fighting man against an attack from the amalekites.
Joshua's rain as Israel's leader proved to be one of the
highlights in the history of this new nation.
Other than an embarrassing defeat at AI, which was the
result of sin in the camp. The Hebrews charged through the
land of Canaan, conquering, and settling.
The scripture even says that Israel, served the Lord, all the
days of Joshua and all the days of the elders, who outlived
Joshua who had known all the works of the Lord which he had
done for Israel. Joshua 24:31 even.
Joshua had led the Israelites to Great victories and Canaan there
remain. Many parts of the land, which
were still inhabited by various Heathen, non-hebrew groups.
The first chapter of Judges records, where some of these
areas were located, where the conquest had not really been
complete. And since there was no central
power or United Army as there was under Joshua, each
individual tribe was responsible for subduing.
Their Amy's and fully conquering their territory.
However, what generally transpired was the heathens
would be left alone and eventually Israel would enter
into idolatry now. This may seem pretty difficult
to believe considering the Israelites had seen God perform.
Such wondrous and marvelous works on their behalf but I
think it's probably a lot more simple than maybe we give it
credit for imagine that you are an Israelite living on your new
piece of Land. And you're a farmer and
everything you have is right there on your farm and whatever
you grow. That's what you live on.
If you can't grow it, you don't have it.
If you have a bad year, there's no Walmart to go to, to find
relief. That's all you have.
That's your livelihood. And let's say, one particular
year, you had a terrible year on the farm.
I mean you had no rain you had all kinds of locusts and bugs
and your best animals broke their legs, and you just had a
miserable. Horrible miserable year on the
farm and just up the road maybe a mile or so was some Canaanite
who lived up there and his farm seemed to flourish all the rain
skipped you but they showered him.
The bugs skipped in and showered, you and his animals
were healthy and thriving and productive.
And so, you look up at your neighbor and you say, what am I
doing wrong? And what is he doing, right?
Well, maybe I need to Worshiping the gods, he worships.
Maybe I need to be serving the idols he serves, and that's
exactly what they would do. After a time of idolatry, God
would send a punishment upon the people.
Usually, this came in the formula, he then Army that
raided Israel for their food stores and livestock, or maybe
even sometimes a heathen Army would come and retake the land
that the Israelites had already conquered.
And so after this, What happened?
The Israelites would repent and they would pray for God to
deliver them and then God would raise up a judge.
The judge was not a king he or she.
As in the case of Deborah was usually a military leader who
would gather some troops together and drive out the
opposing people. Some of the judges helped in
settling disputes but generally a judge was a fighter and very
little is known about most of the judges especially about
their upbringing. And history before they became a
judge. But there is one judge about
what you great deal is known. And his name is jephthah.
The background to the narrative is told at the end of Judges
chapter 10, Israel has sinned against God.
And as a punishment, God allowed the Israelites to be oppressed
by the Heathen ammonites. The Israelites were suffering
badly, and their suffering brought them to their senses.
And so, they decided to return to God, we read in Judges
chapter 10, beginning in verse 15 and the children of Israel
said to the Lord, we have sinned do to us.
Whatever seems best to you only Deliver us this day.
We pray. So they put away the foreign
Gods from among them and serve the Lord.
And his soul could no longer endure.
The misery of Israel, then the people of Ammon gathered
together and encamped in Gilead and the children of Israel
assembled together in a captain mizpah.
And the people, the leaders of Gilead said to one.
Another who is A man who will begin the fight against the
people of Ammon? He shall be head over all the
inhabitants of Gilead. The Israelites needed a leader.
This is a pretty famous scene that's found several times in
the Old Testament. You have one Army, camped along
one Ridge, and maybe there's a valley in the middle and another
Army, camped along another Ridge and there's taunting going back
and forth. This is reminiscent of day.
David and Goliath on the Israelites, and the Philistines.
And the Israelites are looking around for somebody who can
start the fight, somebody who is capable and qualified to lead
them into battle, against those, who would oppose them.
Now, immediately after this, we're introduced to jeptha and
were told that jephthah is a mighty man of Valor, but jeptha
was not initially considered for the job because of his
background. You see his father was Gilead,
Region is called Gilead. So his father is likely the
ancient patriarch of this region, but his mother was a
harlot. His mother was a harlot.
And so jeptha was rejected, he was rejected by his own family,
his stepmother and half Brothers looked down on him and treated
him, cruelly even telling him. You shall have no inheritance in
our father's house for your the son of another woman, judges 11
and verse To. And so Jep, the was GIF driven
away from his father's house and from his homeland.
And what difficulty, this would have been for Jeff.
The, as a young man to be cast out, and cast aside by her own
family to be left, to be have to survive on your own without help
or a Jep the suffered, he had a difficult childhood, he had a
difficult time as a young man. He surely felt worthless about
himself, but what's so wonderful and amazing about about the
scripture. Is that these are the exact type
of people that God picks up and uses in his surface of the
people that are no one would think twice about the people
that no one would take a Second Glance to even look upon.
These are the people that God uses to accomplish incredible
things. And so we read in judges 11
beginning in verse 6, that they said to jeptha, The come and be
our commander that we may fight against the people of Ammon.
So Jep the said to the Elders of Gilead, did you not hate me and
expel me from my father's house. Why have you come to me now when
you're in distress and the Elders of Gilead said to Jeff,
the this is why we've turned again to you now that you may go
with us and fight against the people of Ammon and be our head
over all All the inhabitants of Gilead, you may come from
difficult and painful circumstances, a, you may have
had a difficult childhood. You may have faced obstacles and
heartaches that no one should have to face in life.
And if that's you, then you're like jeptha, who had to endure
things because of who he was from birth, not because of what
he did in life, Jeff does life teaches us that the The outcast
of this world can rise above their circumstances to do.
Great works for the Lord and so Jeff, the takes this charge and
it begins by negotiating. A plea deal with the ammonites
The Plea, concludes, and judges 11 27 and 28.
When Jeff. The says, therefore I'm not
sinned against you. He is negotiating with the king
of the ammonites, I'm not sinned against you, but you wrong Me by
finding a It's me. I love this part.
May the Lord, the judge render judgment this day, between the
children of Israel and the people of Ammon.
However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words
with jeptha sent him. I love this part because Jeff
the realizes that this isn't about him.
This isn't about him. This isn't even about Israel.
He says this is about the Lord and the Lord has given judgment
and will give it again. May the Lord, the judge render
judgment concerning this matter. And so Jeff the weights, he puts
this in the hands of the Lord and it's not until verse 29,
when the spirit of the Lord comes upon him.
By the way, there are 12 judges in the Book of Judges and only
four of them are ever said, to have the spirit of the Lord Came
Upon them, the spirit of the Lord Came Upon jeptha.
You pass through Gilead and Manasseh and passed through
mizpah of Gilead and from mizpah of Gilead.
He Advanced toward the people of Ammon jeptha in these verses
shows a wonderful quality of waiting.
With patients on the Lord waiting with patients on the
Lord as the psalmist says, to rest in the Lord and wait
patiently for him. This wasn't about Jeptha wasn't
about Israel. It was about the Lord.
Now we come to a problem. Now we come to a crisis and now
we come to the greatest mistake jeptha ever made when he entered
hastily into a vow. And we read about this in Judges
chapter 11 and verses 30 and 31 and Jeff the made a vow to the
Lord and said If you will indeed deliver, the people of Ammon
into my hands, then it will be that whatever comes out of the
doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the
people of Ammon shall surely be the Lord's and I will offer it
up as a burnt offering jephthah's vow will be the focus
of the remainder of our sermon tonight because it's been used
by Skeptics and critics of the Bible as cannon fodder.
Otter against the morality of the scriptures.
And so it deserves our attention shortly after this Val was made
Jep the advanced, his soldiers against the ammonites and was
victorious. In defeating them when he
returned home from his Conquest. His Joy, turned sour, when he
came to his house at mizpah. There was his daughter.
There was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels
and dancing. And she was his only child
besides her. He had neither son.
Nor daughter and it came to pass when he saw her that he tore his
clothes and said of last, my daughter, you have brought me
very low. You are among those who trouble
me for. I've given my word to the Lord,
and I cannot go back on it and a few verses later, the Bible
simply says, Jeff the carried out his vow with her, which he
had vowed, The question is, did jeptha offer his daughter as a
burnt sacrifice to the Lord? The accusation is.
How could someone possibly uphold the Bible as a guide for
moral living when it allows and condones Human Sacrifice child,
sacrifice at that. Therefore the The Skeptics and
critics say, the Bible must be ignored because it's an immoral
book, but we want to consider this issue tonight and there are
several things that we need to address and so we'll take them
one at a time and the first one I know will thrill your heart.
And that is that I've come all this way to talk about grammar.
Now if you don't like grammar, I'm sorry you'll have to just
bear with this. The Lord could have chosen any
way to reveal his will to us and he chose language and words and
so sometimes that means we have to talk a little about grammar.
And the first thing that we want to discuss is that the text of
the scripture itself, does not demand a sacrifice.
You'll notice that nowhere in the chapter, does it say
anything, like and Jep the offered his daughter as a burnt
offering? And Jeff, the sacrifices
daughter upon the altar no, such sentence or anything similar to
that is found anywhere in the chapter.
But also we need to pay a little attention to Jeff.
This vow itself in verse 31 Jep, the said it will be that
whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I
return in peace from the people of Ammon shall, surely be the
Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering now, Now in
the Hebrew language, you have this little letter here and this
letter is called a. Wow it's a w.
It's a w. And this little letter right
here is the common conjunction in the Hebrew language on
English we have a lot of conjunctions and but or so all
of those are conjunctions words that combine different concepts
or different actions or different ideas together but in
Hebrew. You really only have this one
conjunction, and so, if you have a fever sentence, like will take
a couple of Hebrew verbs here. This is Amar, it means he said
and this is halak and it means he walked.
Okay. So we have two actions here,
Amar and halak he said he walked.
Well if we want to combine those two together, let's say one
person is doing the saying and the walking all we would do is
to come over here right here and put this little letter right
there. That's it.
And once we've added this little letter right here, well we can
translate that as all these different possibilities, he
walked. And he said, he walked then, he
said he walked or he said but he said so he said in fact, the
wow, conjunction right here can be translated into words that
aren't even. Usually conjunctions.
In English, like the word, then to denote on going.
Action. Okay, let me give an example in
Genesis 13 and verse 9. When Abram and lot are going to
separate from one. Another Abram says, is not the
whole land before you please separate from me.
If you go to the left that I will go to the right.
Or if you go to the right, then I'll go to the left and this
word, or right here is the same exact Word as and appears that
little wild conjunction. The only way to know how to
translate this. Conjunction is the context.
That's the only way to know. So in Genesis 39, it's easy.
Abraham is giving two options. If you go this way, I'll go this
way. Or if you go this way, I'll go
this way. And that's how it's easy to know
if it's an or. But what about this one right
here? Could Jep the be saying whatever
comes out to meet me. Shall surely be the Lord's?
Or I will offer it up as a burnt offering?
That would be a perfectly acceptable translation.
In fact, Young's literal translation of the Bible gives
that exact rendering. Not that jeptha is combining the
two actions, but that he's saying, I'll do one or the other
whatever comes out to meet me, shall surely.
Surely be the Lord's or I will offer it up as a burnt offering.
That's our first point. The text does not demand a
sacrifice Jep, the could be giving two different options.
But now we go to number two, and we have to note that human
sacrifice. Is forbidden in the law of
Moses. Human Sacrifice is explicitly
condemned in the law of Moses. Look, it's three scriptures with
me, Deuteronomy 18, 9, and 10. When you come into the land
which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn
to follow the Abominations of those Nations.
There shall not be found among found among you anyone who makes
his son or daughter pass through the fire.
Now, this phrase passed through the fire is a common Hebrew
idiom to describe Human Sacrifice child sacrifice.
It was a common practice amongst the worshippers of Molech and
God is so disgusted. By this particular sin that in
Leviticus chapter 20, he applies the death penalty to it.
When the Bible says the Lord spoke to Moses saying again, you
shall say to the children of Israel, whoever the children of
Israel or of the strangers who dwell in the in Israel, who
gives any of his descendants to Molech.
He shall surely be put to death. Death, the people of the land
shall Stone him with stones and one more scripture Deuteronomy,
12, 29 to 32 read this one. Now, when the Lord your God cuts
off from before you, the nations, would you go to
dispossess and you displace them and dwell in their land?
Take heed to yourself that you're not ensnared to follow
them after they're destroyed from before you.
And that you do not inquire after their gods.
Saying how did these nations serve their gods?
I will do. Likewise, you shall not Worship
the Lord your God in that way, for every Abomination to the
Lord, which he hates, they've done to their gods.
For they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to
their gods, whatever, I command, you be careful to observe it.
You shall not add to it nor take away from it.
This was a death-penalty offense.
You sacrifice a human being, you die.
That's what the law of Moses taught.
Does this sound like what we know about jephthah?
Did you know that jephthah's mentioned in the roll-call of
faith in Hebrews chapter 11? Right here.
Verses 3234, what more shall I say for the time would fail me
to tell of Gideon and Barack and Samson and jeptha there.
He is also of David and Samuel, and the prophets, who through
faith subdued kingdoms work righteousness obtained, promises
stopped. The mouths of lions, quenched,
the violence of fire escaped, the edge of the sword out of
weakness were made. Strong became Valiant and battle
turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
In fact, after jeptha did what he did with his daughter, the
Bible says he reigned as judge for another six years.
God blessed him for what he did. Does that sound like someone who
violated the law of Moses committing a death-penalty
offense? Okay, let's go on to number
three. Number three, the third thing we
have to talk about is the focus of the passage, the focus of the
passage. Now when Jeff the arrived home,
he met his daughter and he explained to her The Vow that he
had made. She told him that a vow, is a
sacred thing, and he has to keep his word.
He has to keep his oath to the Lord, but she made one request.
Look at a request in verses. 37. And 38, she said to her, father,
let this thing be done for me. Let me alone for two months that
I may go and wander on the mountains and be.
Well, my virginity, my friends, and I and he said go and he sent
her away for two months, and she went with her friends and
bewailed her virginity on the mountains.
Bewail my virginity. This girl doesn't have her
priorities at all in order. She is worried about her
father's about to murder her and offer her as a burnt sacrifice.
And all she can think about is her virginity.
She wants to go spend the last two months of her life, crying
about it with their friends on the mountain.
Look what happens next in verse 39?
And it was so at the end of the two months that she returned to
her father and he carried out his vow with her, which he had
vowed. She knew no, man.
Why is that explanatory Clause added to the end of verse 30?
Of course. She knew no, man, she was dead.
If the sacrifice view is true. Why did the writer?
Why did the Holy Spirit fill the need to add these four words to
the end of verse, 39 know a sacrifice doesn't make sense.
Something else is going on here. Something else is going on, one
more issue to consider. And for this, we look to the
last part of the chapter verses 39 and 40.
Thus, it became a custom in Israel, that the daughters of
Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of
jeptha the Gilead. Eat for days in the year.
Now, this is from The New American Standard Version.
If you're reading the King James or the new King James, it
doesn't say commemorate. It says lament says lament and
that's a bad translation. So bad translation, this word is
used 39 times in the Old Testament and this is the only
time it's ever translated lament in the new King James or King
James Bible. The word is tuna.
It means to rehearse or to celebrate.
And so what we have here is instead of shock and outcry and
disgust and horror that a judge a leader in Israel would kill
his daughter. In Gross violation of the law,
of Moses. Instead of outcry, there was an
annual party. There was an annual celebration.
To commemorate what occurred on this time of four Day?
Festival held every year. And so, to review the language
of the text does not demand a sacrifice, Human Sacrifice,
especially child sacrifice was explicitly condemn to the law of
Moses and jephthah's. Praised as a hero of faith in
Hebrews 11. Instead of emphasizing her
impending death, there's a focus on her virginity and there was
an annual celebration in Israel. Commemorating this girl Human
Sacrifice, doesn't fit the context.
It doesn't fit. Look at what Alfred edersheim
the noted scholar, remarked on all these grounds.
He said, on all these grounds, it's utter contrary to the whole
Old Testament, the known piety of jeptha, the blessing
following upon him, his mention in the Epistle of the Hebrews,
but especially the language of the narrative itself.
We feel bound to reject the idea of any human sacrifice.
And to that I say, Amen. So, what happened?
What happened? If she wasn't sacrificed, what
happened if we take jephthah's vowed to be whoever or whatever
comes out to meet me, shall surely be the Lord's?
Or I will offer it up as a burnt offering and he chose the first
option. He dedicated his daughter to the
Lord. How did that work?
Well, the text really just doesn't say but the text seems
to imply that in some way she was dedicated as a Perpetual
virgin in service to God. Now I don't know this to be the
case, this next thing of what I'm going to tell you so you
take it for what it is. But I have a theory.
I have a theory and accidents 39.
And again, in first Samuel to, there are two times in the Old
Testament were Mentions that women served at the door of the
Tabernacle. When the Tabernacle was being
built and X is 39, that's mentioned.
And in first Samuel to during the days of Samuel that's
mentioned, again, women served at the door of the Tabernacle.
We don't know what these women did perhaps, they greeted
worshippers who had traveled a great distance to bring their
offering to the Tabernacle, perhaps they helped us
intermediaries between the worshippers and the Reese.
Maybe they provided food and drink and they watch the feet of
the weary Travelers, whatever. They did these women served at
the Tabernacle and it seems that, that was the dedication of
their life. Maybe that's how jephthah's
daughter was dedicated to the Lord.
Perhaps, that's how she was dedicated in full-time service
to the Lord. Now some people will ask, why
was Jeff the so upset when his daughter, if he wasn't going to
kill her. Why was he so upset?
When she came out to meet him? We'll remember.
We're dealing with an ancient culture and we're dealing with
the people who lived on the continuation of the family line.
Nine children were everything to the Israelites because they that
meant that the family continued and God's blessings continued to
Future generations. And what did it say about this
girl? She was his only child besides
her, he had neither Sons nor daughters, that means that if
she didn't marry and produce children, his family line is
extinguished. His name is blotted out.
Shout from Israel, and his land is given to someone else.
And so he's upset about that. He weeps about that.
Well, in conclusion this afternoon, maybe we can make a
very quick couple of applications.
I think there are a lot of great lessons in this incident and the
first one is maybe the most obvious of all and that is The
Narrative of Jeff, the warns against the danger of making a
hasty decision. This is a problem we have today
in the world. Young people, especially our
hasty. To make life decisions.
They have repercussions for years to come.
We live in a society of great busyness where we're running
from one errand to another from work to home and back to work
again, doing all that we can and the short amount of time that we
have, sometimes we get so busy and so crazy that we make
decisions without thinking them through Jeff, the teaches us
that there are times we have to step back and think about the
consequences of our actions. But number two, and maybe most
importantly, of all the narrative, object--, the teaches
that sometimes. Our happiness.
Sometimes even a child's happiness must be set aside to
serve the Lord. Faithfulness is more important
than happiness. If Jeff does daughter, was like
any other young girl I've ever known.
She thought about her future. She thought about her future.
She thought about finding a boy that she lie.
She thought about getting married.
She thought about having children and raising the family.
She thought about her future. And she was willing to set all
of that aside. Because of a commitment, her
father made for her. Jep, the must have been some
kind of father. And his daughter must have been
some kind of girl. To say yes, Dad, I'll set it all
aside so that you can keep your word to the Lord.
Faithfulness is more important than happiness.
And sometimes there are things in life that we really want that
we have to give up to serve the Lord.
This girl was willing to do it. She said, Dad Give me two months
to be upset about it. And I'll come back and do what I
need to do. And she did.
She did and that is incredible to me.
That's incredible to me. Now, it's not just young people.
All of us from time to time are faced with decisions as to
whether we're going to choose faithfulness or happiness,
whether we're going to do what's right or what we want to do,
when we're going to serve the Lord or serve ourselves.
We face those kinds of decisions all the time.
Jeff does life teaches us that faithfulness always Trump's
happiness? We thank you for listening to
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