Lessons from an unusual hero - 1
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot.. Judges 11:1
The book of Judges contains an unusual story of a man named Jephthah who became the judge of Israel. Jephthah certainly is not a household name. He is not universally known as Abraham or Moses. Yet, Scripture lists him among the great faith heroes. What I particularly find striking though is the way he is introduced to us. Judges 11 starts with, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor,” and very hurriedly and quite abruptly adds, “but he was the son of a harlot.” This term of honor, “mighty man of valor” attributed to men like Gideon, and David in the Bible was applied to men who were courageous, bold, unafraid of consequences. Men who could be counted on to stand their ground, who would return victorious or return dead from battle. Jephthah was a mighty man of valor, but he had one thing that was against him – he was the son of a harlot. It was not his fault that he was a son of a harlot, yet it was something that overshadowed his life and haunted him, and caused him to be derided by his step-brothers. In man’s eyes, he was a illegitimate child, a product of lust and fornication. An unplanned, unwanted child. Had he been conceived in the 21st century, he might have been silently put away thru the evil of abortion. A cause of perhaps regret and shame to his father, evidently a man of quite renown.
I think this abrupt announcement of “man of valor” juxtaposed with “son of a harlot” in the story is deliberate. In one sentence, the scripture shows Jephthah – in God’s eyes and in man’s eyes. A description of heaven, and a description of the world for the same man. God saw him as a mighty man of valor someday to be the judge of Israel, man saw him as the illegitimate son, to be ousted from the inheritance.
Here is an important principle of life: There will sometimes be consequences for things that are not your fault. Certain disadvantages you could not control that attach themselves to you. Circumstances that you may call unfair, and you will have a choice - You can live in God’s image of you or in man’s image of you. You can live in cynicism of life with the disadvantage, or look for that advantage that God may have granted you. You can find fault “with the world”, complain about the unfairness of life, be bitter, and let it consume your life or seek out what God thinks of you.
But there is something else I also find very striking – it is the order in which the descriptions are introduced. I do not think that it is a coincidence. It speaks of him first as a “mighty man of valor”, and then “a son of a harlot”. I believe in most conversations we hear it in exactly reverse terms. We often read of stories which start out with all the disadvantages a person had, and then how they rose above them. And we often state it as if it was the most unusual thing. I suspect we think too much of our own strengths. The Bible deliberately reverses this order. He was first “a mighty man of valor”, then incidentally, he was also a son of a harlot. The advantage God had conferred upon him was more significant than the disadvantage man had imposed on him! It really is what God thinks of us that matters more! The people who rise above their disadvantages are those who are keenly aware of this. They have not only rested in the sovereignty of God, but are certain of God’s goodness. And they simply look for what God has given them.
One of the most inspiring stories is the story of Fanny Crosby, the beloved hymn writer. At six weeks old she lost her eyesight, due to the negligence of an ill-educated doctor. But what is most inspiring is that this handicap never became her life. Fanny, as she grew harbored no trace of resentment against the doctor. "Blindness," she wrote in later life, "can not keep the sunlight of hope from the trustful soul.” One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour!"
It is the fashion of the day to blame someone for your problem, to cry justice, and fairness, and wear bitterness as a badge of honor. But it will only keep you from fulfilling your destiny. Perhaps you may be discriminated because of your race. Perhaps it is a physical handicap. Perhaps there is a description that has attached itself to you, or someone’s mistake has caused you to live with that consequence. May I point to the Jephthah and his like, and say that there is a description that the Lord has of you. Rest in the surety of the resurrection that points to His sovereignty, and the nail prints that point to His goodness, and seek out that description that God has for you!
Danesh Manik
The book of Judges contains an unusual story of a man named Jephthah who became the judge of Israel. Jephthah certainly is not a household name. He is not universally known as Abraham or Moses. Yet, Scripture lists him among the great faith heroes. What I particularly find striking though is the way he is introduced to us. Judges 11 starts with, “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor,” and very hurriedly and quite abruptly adds, “but he was the son of a harlot.” This term of honor, “mighty man of valor” attributed to men like Gideon, and David in the Bible was applied to men who were courageous, bold, unafraid of consequences. Men who could be counted on to stand their ground, who would return victorious or return dead from battle. Jephthah was a mighty man of valor, but he had one thing that was against him – he was the son of a harlot. It was not his fault that he was a son of a harlot, yet it was something that overshadowed his life and haunted him, and caused him to be derided by his step-brothers. In man’s eyes, he was a illegitimate child, a product of lust and fornication. An unplanned, unwanted child. Had he been conceived in the 21st century, he might have been silently put away thru the evil of abortion. A cause of perhaps regret and shame to his father, evidently a man of quite renown.
I think this abrupt announcement of “man of valor” juxtaposed with “son of a harlot” in the story is deliberate. In one sentence, the scripture shows Jephthah – in God’s eyes and in man’s eyes. A description of heaven, and a description of the world for the same man. God saw him as a mighty man of valor someday to be the judge of Israel, man saw him as the illegitimate son, to be ousted from the inheritance.
Here is an important principle of life: There will sometimes be consequences for things that are not your fault. Certain disadvantages you could not control that attach themselves to you. Circumstances that you may call unfair, and you will have a choice - You can live in God’s image of you or in man’s image of you. You can live in cynicism of life with the disadvantage, or look for that advantage that God may have granted you. You can find fault “with the world”, complain about the unfairness of life, be bitter, and let it consume your life or seek out what God thinks of you.
But there is something else I also find very striking – it is the order in which the descriptions are introduced. I do not think that it is a coincidence. It speaks of him first as a “mighty man of valor”, and then “a son of a harlot”. I believe in most conversations we hear it in exactly reverse terms. We often read of stories which start out with all the disadvantages a person had, and then how they rose above them. And we often state it as if it was the most unusual thing. I suspect we think too much of our own strengths. The Bible deliberately reverses this order. He was first “a mighty man of valor”, then incidentally, he was also a son of a harlot. The advantage God had conferred upon him was more significant than the disadvantage man had imposed on him! It really is what God thinks of us that matters more! The people who rise above their disadvantages are those who are keenly aware of this. They have not only rested in the sovereignty of God, but are certain of God’s goodness. And they simply look for what God has given them.
One of the most inspiring stories is the story of Fanny Crosby, the beloved hymn writer. At six weeks old she lost her eyesight, due to the negligence of an ill-educated doctor. But what is most inspiring is that this handicap never became her life. Fanny, as she grew harbored no trace of resentment against the doctor. "Blindness," she wrote in later life, "can not keep the sunlight of hope from the trustful soul.” One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Saviour!"
It is the fashion of the day to blame someone for your problem, to cry justice, and fairness, and wear bitterness as a badge of honor. But it will only keep you from fulfilling your destiny. Perhaps you may be discriminated because of your race. Perhaps it is a physical handicap. Perhaps there is a description that has attached itself to you, or someone’s mistake has caused you to live with that consequence. May I point to the Jephthah and his like, and say that there is a description that the Lord has of you. Rest in the surety of the resurrection that points to His sovereignty, and the nail prints that point to His goodness, and seek out that description that God has for you!
Danesh Manik
posted by Danesh Manik | 11:03 AM
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