“Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah. He crossed
Gilead and Manasseh, passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from there he
advanced against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord: ‘If you
give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to
meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I
will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.’” — Judges 11:29-31
The sermon this Sunday was on Judges 11 – The story of Jephthah
(Jeff – tha). The chapter does not end well.
“Whatever” that came our of the house was his only child – a daughter –
whom Jephthah killed and burned as a sacrifice to fulfill his vow. A couple
points I want to make here.
First – It got me to thinking about the similarities between
Abraham and Jephthah. With Abraham – God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a
test of Abraham’s faith – a test to see if God was indeed first in Abraham’s
heart. Abraham had made the decision to obey God, even if he did not understand
how God would fulfill his promise in Isaac. God’s command was fulfilled in
Abraham’s heart in that he sacrificed his love for his son in favor of his love
for God. God’s greatest commandment. The physical sacrifice was not
necessary.
God did not ask that of Jephthah. In fact, it was Jephthah
that brought it up after “the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah”. Jephthah made a deal with God that God never
agreed to. God was not testing his faith – but Jephthah revealed his lack of
faith. And he suffered great personal
loss even though he was victorious in battle.
Have you ever made a deal with God? Most if not all of us
have at one time or another. If you are a Christian, the Spirit of the Lord has
already come upon you – the Spirit dwells in you. The Spirit enables you to
live your new life. But have you wanted something so badly that you made
promises to God in the hopes that things will go your way.
Well, my second point is this – God does not make deals to
encourage us to trust or obey or love Him.
Deals we try to make with God are made in the natural – out of fear and
doubt. They are one-sided. Faith is
based upon what we hope for and do not see. (Hebrews 11:1) It is not faith if our
actions are based upon a deal we try to make with God.
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, ‘King
Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If
we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us
from it, and he will deliver us[a] from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he
does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods
or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” – Daniel 3:17-18
Facing certain death (I would say that is pretty extreme) Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego had the opportunity to try to make a deal with God, but their
faith in God was enough for them – even if things didn’t go their way. The world is constantly asking us to
compromise our faith for a natural benefit – maybe acceptance or tolerance – but
it is really a challenge for us to put God second and the world first. It is a temptation that we must stand
against. The thing is, if our faith is
weak, we will likely cave in and submit to what the world wants. To our shame and the delight of the world.
As a final encouragement, I will close with an old friend –
Proverbs 3:5-7
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on
your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your
paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”
– Proverbs 3:5-7
Soli Deo Gloria
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