Jephthah: a Conflicted Man of Valor

Jephthah: a Conflicted Man of Valor
Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but
he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
Gilead's wife bore sons; and when his wife's sons grew up,
they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You shall have
no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son
of another woman." Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and
dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together
with Jephthah and went out raiding with him.

It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made
war against Israel. And ... the elders of Gilead went to
get Jephthah from the land of Tob. Then they said to
Jephthah, "Come and be our commander, that we may fight
against the people of Ammon."

So Jephthah 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 are in distress?" (Judges 11:1-7, NKJV)

Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the
people made him head and commander over them ... (Judges
11:11, NKJV)

So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight
against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hands.
And he defeated them from Aroer as far as Minnith —
twenty cities — and to Abel Keramim, with a very
great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued
before the children of Israel. (Judges 11:32-33, NKJV)

And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the
Gileadite died and was buried among the cities of Gilead.
(Judges 12:7, NKJV)

Jephthah was a warrior, and the son of one of his father's
concubines. Because he was also the firstborn son of
Gilead, he had some claim to the inheritance of Gilead, at
least until his half brothers drove him away. So Jephthah
went to live on the border between Israel, and Syria near
Damascus, on the outskirts of the territory of Gilead, and
began raiding among the towns, cities and territories of
the enemies of Israel. Even though it was beneath him to
either beg or seek charity, Jephthah had no trouble
pillaging the defenseless, and began leading a band of
marauders to terrorize the countryside.

Some time later, the Ammonites (the descendants of Lot's
youngest daughter) decided to invade Israel. Since
Jephthah had developed a reputation as the leader of a
military style band of marauders, the elders of the
province of Gilead sought him out to be the leader of their
army. Jephthah wasn't exactly impressed by the elders
seeking him out in their hour of need, especially after
driving them away a few years earlier. So Jephthah struck a
deal with the elders that would make him their leader if he
defeated the Ammonites.

Jephthah wisely began his confrontation with the Ammonites
by resorting to diplomacy. He recounted the history of the
encounters between Israel and the other nations of the area
when Israel entered and conquered the land of Canaan.
However the king of Ammon wasn't about to acquiesce so
easily. So Jephthah made a hasty and ill-conceived vow to
the Lord, in return for victory over the Ammonites.
Ammonites were defeated, at the cost Jephthah's daughter
life of perpetual virginity, and quite possibly her life as
well.

So what lessons can we glean from Jephthah about the nature
of faith? First, the Lord is no respecter of social status,
he equally considers the faith of both the King and the
vagabond. Second, the Lord hears those who sincerely call
out to him in faith. Third, the Lord is not impressed by
hastily-made, and ill-conceiver and poorly-considered vows
for the sake of manipulation, which frequently result in
painful losses for both the one who proclaiming the vow,
and those close to him/her.

----------------------------------------------------
Jon Straumfjord is the author of numerous articles about
the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is
also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com ,
and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."

Samson: the Wayward Nazirite

Samson: the Wayward Nazirite
... Manoah's ... wife was barren and had no children. And
the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to
her, "... you shall conceive and bear a son. ... be careful
not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything
unclean. For ... you shall conceive and bear a son. And no
razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a
Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to
deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." (Judges
13:2-5, NKJV)

So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and
offered it upon the rock to the LORD.... as the flame went
up toward heaven from the altar — the Angel of the
LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and
his wife saw this, they fell on their faces to the ground.
(Judges 13:19-20, NKJV)

So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the
child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the
LORD began to move upon him ... (Judges 13:24-25, NKJV)

So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great
strength lies, and with what you may be bound to afflict
you." (Judges 16:6, NKJV)

Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and
brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with bronze
fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison. However,
the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been
shaven. (Judges 16:21-22, NKJV)

... they called for Samson from the prison, and he
performed for them....

Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, "O Lord GOD,
remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once,
O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the
Philistines for my two eyes!" And Samson took hold of the
two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he
braced himself against them, one on his right and the other
on his left. ... he pushed with all his might, and the
temple fell on ... all the people who were in it. So the
dead that he killed at his death were more than he had
killed in his life. (Judges 16:25, 28-30, NKJV)

Samson's conception and birth was a result of divine
intervention on behalf of his godly parents. He was to be
a Nazirite (Numbers 6:1-21) from his birth, to refrain from
cutting his hair, from consuming alcoholic beverages, and
eating any ceremonially unclean foods. The Nazirite was to
refrain from consuming anything made from grapes, whether
wine, the juice, the grapes themselves, the seeds, or even
the skin of the grapes, or any other part of anything that
could possibly be obtained from a grape vine. He was also
to keep away from all dead bodies, even those of his
closest relatives. Every Nazirite was to constantly
maintain the highest degree of holiness before men and God.
However, probably the only one of these requirements that
Samson regularly observed was refraining from cutting his
hair, at least until it was involuntarily cut by the
Philistines after Delilah's betrayal. Certainly it would be
difficult to consider him a Nazirite, or even a genuine man
of faith, at least until the last few minutes of his life.

Samson had always known that the Lord was his true source
of strength, and was well aware of the Lord's requirements
on his life, even though he regularly failed to meet those
requirements. After a long life of prideful living, and
the physical and emotional humiliation he had suffered at
the hands of his enemies, Samson was finally willing to
humble himself and cry out to the Lord for help.

Since he was not living during the dispensation of grace,
he felt no compulsion to either seek or extend mercy to
others; his only desire was for revenge. Since Samson was
now moving in humility and faith, the Lord granted his
request and empowered him to take the lives of his enemies,
at the cost of his own life.

So what can Samson teach us about faith? The Lord will
gladly respond to a sincere and humble expression of faith,
even if it represents the final words of one who has lived
a life of continual conscious rebellion. Yes, the Lord
will hear every sincere cry of faith, no matter what kind
of person the individual was previously.

----------------------------------------------------
Jon Straumfjord is the author of numerous articles about
the Seven Spirits of God and the God of the Bible. He is
also the creator of the website http://www.7-spirits.com ,
and is the author of the book "The Seven Spirits of God."