A Costly Victory - Part 2

What an amazing promise, right?

Come to Jesus and rest in Him.

! Have you felt that at all this week?

! Have you felt settled?

! Have you felt at rest?

Have you felt the sense of God's got this?

I can trust Him.

Or are you like I tend to be?

Where I want to be in a place of rest,

but I keep finding myself in a place of striving,

in a place of pursuing,

in a place of working things out,

trying to make things happen,

and not a place of rest.

God wants, He invites us to that.

We can find that in His Son, Jesus Christ.

It's not that the troubles go away.

It's not that the pressures are lifted.

It's that Jesus strengthens us to be able to move forward.

He gives us that settled confidence that we can trust Him.

That's where the rest comes.

Not in removing the problems,

but in presenting the solution in Christ.

And what a joy that is that we can find rest in Him.

It's what we have found as we've been working our way through the book of Judges.

And I would encourage you to please turn there.

In the book of Judges, if you're using the Pew Bible,

we're on page 211.

Judges chapter 10, 11, and 12 is where we're going to be this morning,

Judges 10 · chapter mention

kind of working our way through this book

and reminding ourselves what it's supposed to look like

when we follow the instructions that God has laid before us.

It looks like rest.

And that's what the people experienced,

at least through the first four Judges.

God brought rest to the land.

It says the land had rest.

The land had rest.

The land had rest.

Four times the land had rest.

From this point on, there is no rest in the land.

Partly because the people had abandoned the standard.

The moral depravity of the nation had collapsed.

And what we saw last week, we're going to turn to briefly again today.

The accusation of God against the people,

their apostasy, their rebellion.

And God says, I'm not going to drive the people out anymore.

I'm just not going to do it.

Because whatever token confession and repentance,

whatever token revival there seems to be,

I know the true heart of this.

I know the reality of what's true in your heart and life.

And that's kind of what we have been tracing

as we've been walking through this book.

And we'll get there in just a moment.

But what I've just really appreciated through this study

is seeing the faithfulness of the Lord.

It's called the study of faithfulness and failure.

That in spite of our unfaithfulness,

in spite of our failures,

God remains faithful.

Wow.

Marvel at the faithfulness of God.

The only way to really marvel at the faithfulness of God

is to have a very clear picture of what we deserve.

What we deserve.

And we're seeing that front and center

in our study through the judges.

We're seeing what we deserve.

How our rebellion pushes us away from God

and how that moral ruin leads to disaster

within our families and in our communities

and in the nation itself

and the outward opposition that's experienced.

And that's what God warned the people about.

He wanted them to enjoy rest.

But it only comes one way.

It only comes as we anchor faith in God Himself

and we walk by His standard.

I'm going to have the privilege here

in just a little under a month

to be able to teach the entire Old Testament

to a group of students,

pastors and Christian leaders in Central Asia.

I'm going to be traveling with Daniel Cain.

We heard about the Tri-M ministry,

mobile modular ministry,

and I'll have a chance to do that

in just a few weeks from now.

And I would just, will you pray for me?

Trying to get my arms around the Old Testament

and like, what does Leviticus have to offer?

You know, I can talk about sacrifices,

but I mean, how does Leviticus encourage

a group of pastors?

And let me tell you, we know it does

because we know that all Scripture

is given by inspiration of God.

It's profitable for doctrine, reproof,

correction, instruction, and righteousness.

It is profitable for us.

So help, please pray that God helps me

to get my arms around the Old Testament

and to be able to present it in a way

that is not just informative,

not just instructive, but is inspiring.

That they're inspired by the wonder

of God's initiative among His people,

drawing people to Himself,

making a people that's fit for God.

What an opportunity that is.

And pray for my family,

as I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks

and pray for Pastor David,

who will be preaching in my place.

It's a collaborative effort,

and I am grateful for your help with that.

And then at the end of this year,

in December, I'm going to be teaching again

next time in Central America.

So first in Central Asia,

now in Central America.

And that assignment is the New Testament.

So I thought it was just going to be one book.

It turns out to be the entire New Testament,

except for the Gospels.

And I, you know,

what a great opportunity.

You'll see the whole framework,

the whole storyline of the Scripture.

And it's the same, by the way.

Because the God of the Old Testament

that makes a people for Himself

is the same God of the New Testament

who, guess what,

makes a people for Himself.

He will build His church, right?

And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

It is God's work.

And so we trust in God's strategy

to do God's work.

And when we do,

we can count on God's favor.

And not that everything goes well.

Not that our life is perfect,

but that we can trust God

to work even the hard things out

for our good and for His glory.

That's the joy.

What a joy I will get to have

because of your willingness to let me go

and to let me be part of this

and the investment that will happen

in two different parts of the hemisphere

because of the faithful ministry

that you are having here at Maranatha

and I get to be part of.

We also, at the end of the service,

will have another baptism

and just another visible picture

of how God is bringing people into His family.

And they are coming to Christ

and we get to demonstrate this visible picture

of what it means to be part of Christ.

In Christ, kind of this baptizing them

into the Lord Jesus.

They are there,

but this is kind of the visible portrayal

of what God has already accomplished for them.

So we get to do that

at the end of this service today.

Well, we're continuing our study

through the book of Judges

and I want to just put this graphic

back up on the screen for you.

You have this on your outlines.

We covered most of this

last time we were together,

but I just want to,

for those of you who were not here

or for the rest of you

that kind of need a reminder,

here's what we talked about.

There were three patterns

that we developed

or that we saw kind of

are working simultaneously

in the book of Judges.

The first, you see that kind of

that downward slope

and that's meant to indicate

this moral decline

that's taking place among the people.

It's summarized for us

in Judges 2, verse 19,

Judges 2:19

where it says,

whenever the judge died,

they turned back

and were more corrupt

than their fathers,

going after other gods,

serving them

and bowing down to them.

They did not stop

any of their practices

or their stubborn ways.

And this is the testimony.

This is the cadence

of these individuals,

the moral collapse

that's happening among the people.

That second pattern

is that God,

He's been raising up judges.

He's been raising up deliverers.

And you kind of see

on the top left,

I guess this is your left, right?

The top left of that chart,

you see the point

of God raising up those deliverers.

We find in chapter 3, verse 9,

the Lord raised up a deliverer

for the people.

In chapter 3, verse 15,

the Lord raised up

for them a deliverer,

Ehud, the son of Gerah.

In chapter 4, verses 6 and 7,

Deborah is speaking to Barak.

She says,

Has not the Lord God of Israel

commanded you,

Go! Gather your men!

And I will draw out Sisera,

and I will give him

into your hands,

says the Lord.

Then God shows up

to Gideon in chapter 6.

The Lord appeared to Gideon

and said to him,

The Lord is with you,

mighty man of valor.

Go in this might of yours

and save Israel

from the hand of Midian.

Do I not send you?

I will be with you.

God raising up deliverers.

And the third pattern

is the pattern

of this conflict

that's getting closer

and closer to Israel.

It starts far away.

It starts in Mesopotamia,

700 miles away from Israel.

And it gets progressively closer

as the Moabites

are neighbors in Ehud.

Then it makes its way

into Israel

as the Canaanites

are now going to be

opposed by Barak.

And then it kind of

crosses the boundary

as it were

as now it's part of the family.

The Midianites

who are actually

sons of Abraham

are now bringing the conflict

right home to Israel.

And then from Gideon on out

there is this internal conflict,

this internal struggle.

Now the nations,

now Israel is fighting itself.

It's tribal warfare

that's taking place.

We noticed

last time we were together

the trajectory

where God-appointed deliverers

have now become

self-appointed saviors.

That God raised up deliverers

at the beginning of this book.

And now after Gideon,

we find this new pattern

of the judges

are raising up themselves.

We see that in chapter 10,

verse 1.

We see that

after Abimelech

there arose to save Israel

Tola,

the son of Puah.

And we notice

in chapter 10,

verse 3,

after him arose

Jer,

the Gileadite,

who served Israel.

And we notice

in chapter 12,

we notice the same pattern.

12, verse 8,

after him,

Ibsen of Bethlehem

judged Israel.

And on and on it goes.

Now self-appointed saviors

have taken place.

And God is nowhere

a part of the picture.

They assume the role

of leadership.

They're their own

self-appointed savior,

as it were.

And kind of coupled

with all of this,

we recognize this pattern

that's also beginning

to emerge.

Remember that Gideon

had 70 sons.

And that same pattern

of empire building

is showing up

in these new judges

as well.

where Jer,

in Judges chapter 10,

Judges 10:4

verse 4,

he has 30 sons

who rode 30 donkeys.

They had 30 cities.

This empire building,

this gaining influence,

this wanting to have

prominence in the land.

Ibsen,

when we go to chapter 12,

verse 9,

it says,

he had 30 sons

and 30 daughters

he gave in marriage

outside his clan.

30 daughters he brought

in from outside

for his sons.

So we've got a total

of 60 individuals

who've all been brought

in to help

empire build

for this judge

who wants to gain

prominence.

Then Abdon,

in chapter 12,

verse 14,

he had 40 sons

and 30 grandsons

who rode 70 donkeys.

That word,

the number 70

should sound

really familiar.

They might not have

been formally kings,

but they are acting

like kings.

We're meant to see

this pattern

both before Jephthah

and after Jephthah

to kind of provide

this sandwich for us,

these bookends

that help to frame

and understand

the life of Jephthah

himself.

How are we to

understand his life?

How are we to understand

his leadership?

Well, he's encapsulated

within this empire

building strategy

of the judges

and he serves

as kind of

this pattern

for us

to help us

interpret

what we see.

Last week,

we also saw

that the people

have confused

godly sorrow

with worldly sorrow.

These cycles

of rebellion

that have taken place

and they have become,

the people have become

more concerned

with removing

consequences

than they have

with being

consecrated.

They've been

more concerned

with getting rid

of their problems

instead of

being truly pure.

They're more

fascinated

with fixating

on their situation

than they were

with being

sanctified.

They want to

remove

the challenges.

They want to

resist

the problems.

They want to

move past

all the difficulties

that they're experiencing.

Whatever they can do

to remove

those consequences

to move on

with their life

to have some level

of comfort again.

We noted

the cycles

of rebellion

that marked

this people

in chapter 10

verses 6-16.

We saw

these six

cycles of rebellion

that kind of

culminate

in chapter 10

in this final

seventh

confrontation

of the Lord

against His people

in chapter 10

verse 6.

It says,

the people of Israel

again did what was

evil in the sight

of the Lord.

They served

the Baals

and the Ashtra,

the gods of Syria,

the gods of Sidon,

the gods of Moab,

the gods of the Ammonites,

and the gods

of the Philistines.

And they forsook

the Lord

and did not

serve Him.

At this point

the pattern

has become

tragically clear.

And what was

true of the

people of the nation

at the beginning

abandoning themselves

to the foreign gods

which are listed

the Baals

and the Ashtra

there are only two

that are present

up until

this point

in chapter 10

and now we have

the full list

of all the deities

of the nations

that have

polluted the people.

Seven deities

that are listed

here.

It's meant

to show

the totality

of the moral

collapse

that has taken

place among

His people.

In chapter 10

we will see

the last

cry

of the people

to the Lord.

In chapter 10

we will see

the last time

the people

will confess

their sin.

We're going to see

in chapter 10

the last time

sin will be

confronted

by God.

And while

the response

in chapter 10

seems sincere

it might seem

somewhat encouraging

God knows

the heart.

Look there

in chapter 10

verse 10

it says

and the people

of Israel

cried out

to the Lord

saying

we have

sinned

against you

because we

have forsaken

our God

and have served

the Baals

but God

knows

their true

heart.

Verse 13

you have

forsaken

me

and you

have served

other gods

therefore

I will

save you

no more.

Now

that might

be a little

confusing

because we're

going to see

in Jephthah's

story

that God

delivers

the people

from the

oppression

of the

Ammonites.

We're going

to see

in Samson's

story

that God

uses

Samson

to help

drive out

a portion

of the

Philistines

so in

that sense

God is

saving the

people

but what

kind of

salvation

is God

talking about?

I will

save you

no more?

What kind

of salvation

are we

talking about?

Well God

is not going

to save

them from

themselves.

Remember

the warning

going all

the way

back to

the earlier

parts of

this book

and the

warning

was this

the nations

will become

a snare

to you

they're going

to trip

you up

and Canaan

is going

to enter

the land

and that's

exactly

what we've

seen.

Canaan

has gotten

into the

people

has gotten

into their

theology

has gotten

into their

practices

has gotten

into their

thinking

has now

corrupted

their behavior

and so Canaan

has gotten

into them

there is no

driving them

out at this

point because

they are totally

immersed in the

culture of the

people.

There's no

deliverance to be

had until

unless the

people themselves

will give

themselves over

the Lord

and will repent

and be consecrated

in the way

that God really

wants.

Not just to put

off certain

foreign practices

but be totally

cleansed as a

people.

So the people

will not be

delivered from

the greatest

oppression

the oppression

of the

corruption

within them.

See God

has given

them over

to their

cravings

and that's

what we'll

continue to

see as we

move our

way through

that the

people are

set on

desire

their flesh

is driving

them

and that's

exactly by the

way what we

see in the

book of

Romans

where God

has made

himself very

clear to

the nations

to us

through his

revelation of

his word but

also through

the revelation

of himself

in creation

so that we

are left

without an

excuse but

what do we

do even

though we

know who

God is?

Well God

demonstrates a

three pronged

progression that

takes place in

the life

of culture

who set

themselves

against God

just like we

find in the

book of

Judges.

Romans 1

24 is the

first step

it says

God gave

them up

in the

lusts of

their hearts

to impurity

to the

dishonoring of

their bodies

among themselves.

Then it

moves on to

verse 26

so then God

gives them

up.

Chapter 1

verse 26

God gave

them up to

dishonorable

passions

for their

women exchanged

natural relations

for those

that are

contrary to

nature

and the

men likewise

gave up

natural relations

with women

and were

consumed with

passions for

one another.

It's now

embedded in

culture.

It's now

changing their

natural desires.

Natural things

aren't natural

anymore.

And you might

feel like that

is the last

step but it

goes one

step further

in verse 28

and 29.

So God

gives them

up to a

debased

mind to

do what

ought not

to be

done.

They are

full of

envy,

murder,

strife,

deceit,

maliciousness,

they are

gossips,

slanderers,

haters of

God,

insolent,

haughty,

boastful,

inventors of

evil,

disobedient to

parents,

foolish,

faithless,

heartless,

ruthless.

That's the

end of

moral decay.

Does that

sound familiar

to the

culture that

we're living

in?

Reveling,

glorying,

magnifying,

celebrating,

baseness,

ruthlessness,

independence,

resistance of

authority,

wanting to

build our

own comforts

and materialism

and consumerism

and all of

these manner

of things that

are so embedded

in our culture

and they

seem so

normal to

us because

it's what

we see

every single

day of

our life.

This is the

end of the

slide.

Disobedient

to parents,

what should

be so

natural

becomes

resistance,

ruthlessness.

That's what

we're going to

see in the

story of

Jephthah,

this coming

through.

And the

way that

we magnify

and celebrate

brutality in

this day,

the gladiator

games have

come close,

haven't they?

We celebrate

all manner

of brutality.

We're going

to see this

first turn in

chapter 12.

I want to

show you

kind of the

end of the

story so we

can kind of

use this as a

signpost to

help us

recognize what's

taking place

earlier in the

story.

This is how

it all plays

out in

Jephthah's

life in

Judges

Judges 12:1–7

chapter 12

verses 1 to

7.

We're going

to see

Jephthah's

true heart

is revealed.

His true

heart is

revealed.

It's what's

coming through.

You see,

to kind of

catch you up

to this

story,

we're going

to come

back to

it,

but bear

with me.

So God

has allowed

Jephthah to

be a

deliverer of

sorts,

this kind

of self-appointed

deliverer,

and God

mercifully uses

him to drive

out the

Ammonites and

to help

rescue the

nation.

That is

God's

mercy.

And the

Ephraimites

are not

happy about

it.

They were

afraid to

enter the

battle

themselves,

but once

the battle

has been

won,

and once

Jephthah is

being celebrated

by the

nation,

and the

Ephraimites

had no part

in it,

now they're

a little

upset.

So we

find in

chapter 12

verses 1

and 4

this.

The men

of Ephraim

were called

to arms.

Why?

Well,

they crossed

over to

Zaphon and

said to

Jephthah,

why did

you cross

over to

fight against

the Ammonites

and did

not call

us to

go with

you?

We will

burn your

house over

your head

with fire.

And

Jephthah said

to them,

I and my

people have

a great

dispute with

the Ammonites.

And when I

called you,

you did not

save me from

their hand.

And when I

saw that you

would not

save me,

I took my

life in my

hands and

crossed over

against the

Ammonites,

and the Lord

gave them

into my

hand.

Why then

have you

come up to

me to

fight against

me?

Then Jephthah

gathered all

the men of

Gilead and

fought with

Ephraim.

And the men

of Gilead

struck Ephraim

because they

said,

you are

fugitives

of Ephraim,

you Gileadites,

in the midst

of Ephraim

of Manasseh.

Okay,

now,

I know this

is really

unfamiliar.

Let me

help us

get into

this just

for a

moment.

We're

going to

find in

our story

in chapter

11 that

Jephthah is

driven out

of his

home,

he's driven

out of his

tribe,

he's driven

away from

Israel,

he has to

go live

in a

distant

land,

okay,

because of

some family

tension that's

taking place,

he's welcomed

back.

So,

he's a

fugitive,

as it were,

he's a

refugee,

as it were,

who's been

pushed out

of his

own tribe,

and that's

how the

Ephraimites

are weaponizing

this conflict

against Jephthah.

You're a

fugitive of

Ephraim,

Jephthah.

You're worthless.

You are

homeless.

You bring

nothing to

the table.

And of

course,

that amplified

Jephthah's

heart and

becomes the

very motivation

that Jephthah

is this

personal

vendetta,

he's going

after the

Ephraimites.

You are

fugitives of

Ephraim,

this name

calling.

And Jephthah

wants to

demonstrate who's

really in

charge.

So we get

to verse 5

of chapter 12.

The Gileonites

captured the

fords of the

Jordan against

the Ephraimites.

And when any

of the fugitives

of Ephraim said,

let me go over,

the men of

Gilead said,

are you an

Ephraimite?

When he said

no,

they said to

him,

then say

Shibboleth.

And he said

Sibboleth,

for he could

not pronounce

it right.

Then they

seized him

and slaughtered

him at the

fords of

Jordan.

At the time

42,000 of

the Ephraimites

fell.

Jephthah

judged Israel

six years.

Then Jephthah,

the Gileadite,

died and was

buried in his

city in Gilead.

You see the

brutality?

You see the

vendela?

It's all about

name calling.

And Jephthah,

instead of helping

to tamp down

the conflict,

elevates the

conflict and he's

like, okay,

you're going to

call me a

fugitive?

I'm going to

make you a

fugitive.

He separates

the army.

He scatters

them.

And in the

midst of him

conquering the

people, he

sets up this

little test.

Because the

Ephraimites

could not say

Shibboleth,

they said

Sibboleth.

And so what

does he do?

He slaughters

42,000 of his

own people,

the Ephraimites.

All because of

name calling.

This is the

heart.

This is the

Romans' one

heart, I might

say, of

Jephthah coming

through.

It's reached its

climax.

It's come right

out into the

open.

It's as clear

as can be.

And so this is

how we're meant

to interpret the

scene that we see

in Judges

Judges 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

When we come to

the story of

Jephthah in

Judges chapter

Judges 11 · chapter mention

11, we need to

see it in the

framework of

his life, the

true nature of

Jephthah coming

through.

Jephthah is

showing this

heart of murder

and strife and

brutality and

maliciousness that

all calls back to

Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Every single one

of those terms

being used there

to describe the

baseness of

humanity following

after their own

desires, doing

what's right in

our own eyes

rather than

following God's

compass.

And throughout

the entirety of

the course of

events of

Jephthah's life,

what stands

through it all

is that God

is silent.

Not once in

the narrative of

Judges, Judges

11 or Judges

12, will God

ever speak.

The silence is

deafening.

It helps us to

know that God

is present.

He has an

opinion, but

he's silent.

So now we

turn to Judges

Judges 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

I need to work

through this

quickly for us.

But I want you

to see that

Jephthah is a

product of his

own culture.

He's a product

of his culture.

This didn't

happen out of

the blue.

This happened

through conditioning.

This happened

because God had

warned the people

that the nations

would be a snare.

And so as we

make our way to

this time in the

timeline of the

Judges, that's

exactly what we

see.

They have been

ensnared.

They've been

captured.

They've been

polluted.

They've been

corrupted by

culture.

And so everything

they do is kind

of embedded in

and guided by

that spirit of

the culture.

The crisis that

we see in

Judges chapter

Judges 10 · chapter mention

10 has actually

created the man.

This crisis has

created the man.

In Judges

Judges 10:9

chapter 10

verse 9 we

see the

Ammonites,

they cross the

Jordan to

fight against

Judah and

against Benjamin

and against

the house of

Ephraim so

that Israel was

severely distressed.

So this conflict

is now coming

close.

What is Israel

going to do now

that conflict has

come?

Are they going to

turn to God

like they did in

Judges chapter 1?

Judges 1 · chapter mention

Are they going to

look to God,

raise up a leader?

No.

They turn inward.

We find that in

verses 17 and

18 the Ammonites

were called to

arms and they

encamped in

Gilead.

The people of

Israel came

together and

they encamped

in Mizpah.

And the people,

the leaders of

Gilead said to

one another,

who is the man

who will begin

to fight against

the Ammonites?

He shall be head

over all the

inhabitants of

Gilead.

Rather than

look to God,

they looked

within.

They looked

to themselves.

They looked to

appoint a leader

among them.

And rather than

recognizing leadership

qualities like

we're trying to

do in this

nomination process

for deacons in

our church right

now, rather than

look for qualified

men, they're

looking for

volunteers.

And how are

they going about

it?

Do you notice

their strategy?

They're using a

certain collateral.

They're using a

certain compensation.

They're using a

certain incentive.

If you're going

to be head over

us, we will then

make you our

leader.

They're

incentivizing

headship because

that is what's

appealing to this

crowd now.

Who wants to be a

leader?

We'll make you

head.

Just help fight

our battles for

us.

And this Hebrew

word for head,

we only saw it

once before Gideon.

And then in

Gideon's story, we

see it six times.

In Abimelech's story,

we see it nine

times.

And then from this

point on, we're

going to see the

word head being

used ten times in

our text.

Because it's the

new collateral.

It's the new

compensation.

It's the new

thing that's going

to attract the

kind of leadership

that Israel is

looking for.

And being the

head is now this

compensation, this

incentive for this

self-styled

leadership.

Then we can

enter the story

of Jephthah in

Judges chapter 11

Judges 11:1–3

verses 1 to 3.

It says, now

Jephthah the

Gilead was a

mighty warrior.

Now that's a

fascinating word,

mighty warrior.

It is the exact

same two Hebrew

words that Gideon

has called the

mighty man of

valor.

The same two

Hebrew words used

of Jephthah.

And we're to be

reminded of how

God raised up that

leader.

We're to be

reminded of what

God did through

that leader.

And now Jephthah

is following a

whole new strategy.

So he was a

mighty warrior, but

he was the son of

a prostitute.

That was a

problem.

And Gilead was

the father of

Jephthah.

Gilead's wife also

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.

Then Jephthah fled

from his brothers,

lived in the land

of Tob, and

worthless fellows

collected around

Jephthah and went

out with him.

He's known as this

mighty warrior.

And because of his

father's indiscretion,

because of his

father, his

immoral practice,

the brothers of

Jephthah will then

make Jephthah a

fugitive.

They will throw

him out of the

house.

The inheritance

that would have

been his is now

abandoned.

So where does he

have to go?

He goes into this

land of Tob, which

is about a day's

journey away from

Gilead.

It's out in no

man's land, as it

were.

And that's where he

needs to now build

his own credentials,

his own reputation.

He needs to exert

himself and develop

his man of valor

reputation.

And that's what he

does.

Tob was to the

north, east of

Gilead.

He's in no man's

land.

He attracts to

himself worthless

fellows, it says.

These are outcasts,

homeless men.

Of course, it's a

reminder to the same

kind of men that

Abimelech gathered

around himself,

worthless fellows.

They seem to find a

common bond, a

common status

together.

And Jephthah has an

enterprising spirit.

He gains a

reputation.

He gathers men

around him.

He gains this

reputation, this

reputation of being

a mighty warrior.

Well, how do you

get a reputation of

being a mighty

warrior?

Well, you war,

right?

You raid, you

battle, you

threaten.

Violence now

becomes your

tool to exert

yourself over

whoever is in

your way.

And that's the

reputation that

Jephthah will

then begin to

have, not only

in the land of

Tob, but also in

the expanses of

the region of

Gilead.

To the extent

that we find in

Judges chapter

Judges 11:4–6

11 verses 4 to

6, that after a

time the Ammonites

made war against

Israel, and when

the Ammonites made

war against Israel,

the elders of

Gilead, they

went to bring

Jephthah from

the land of

Tob.

And they said to

Jephthah, come

and be our

leader that we

may fight against

the Ammonites.

Now there's a

little nuance here

in the text, it's

hard to pick up on.

If you remember

going back to

chapter 10, they

promised that the

person who would

conquer for them

would be their

head, and now

they bring Jephthah

close, and they

take it a step

down, not be our

head, but why

not just be our

commander, our

leader of this

military campaign.

Now this becomes

an opportunity for

Jephthah.

Jephthah is going

to capitalize on

this opportunity to

make sure that he

gets what he has

coming to him.

He says in

verse 7,

Jephthah said to

the elders of

Gilead, did you

not hate me and

drive me out of my

father's house?

Why have you come

to me now when

you are in distress?

And now this

turn, and the

elders of Gilead

said to Jephthah,

well that's why we

have turned to you

now, that you may

go and fight with

us and be our

head.

Notice how that's

changed.

The reader has

learned this

Abimelech style

of negotiating.

And Jephthah does

what's natural for

him.

He begins to

position himself.

He's capitalizing

on the opportunity.

He's taking

advantage of the

conditions and he's

vying for power.

So Jephthah will

then negotiate

terms.

Terms of a

treaty, a pact

between he and

these elders of

Gilead.

And then what

we'll find in

verses 9 to

11 is this

pact, this

treaty that

has been

established by

Jephthah and

these human

leaders now

become kind of

a pact.

They're going to

call God down

to watch and

to ensure that

their agreement

among one

another is now

something that

God has to

codify.

Jephthah is a

man of his

culture.

Next we see

that Jephthah

seeks to secure

what God has

already promised.

This is perhaps

the most alarming

of all.

He seeks to

secure what God

has already

promised.

And I want to

move through this

quickly.

We begin to

read Jephthah's

story and what

stands out as you

read through this

is the name

Yahweh that

shows up 14

times throughout

this chapter.

14 times the

name of the

Lord is used.

Capital L,

capital O,

capital R,

capital D.

That's the name

Yahweh, the

covenant keeping

God.

And Jephthah and

the people are

free to use

this divine

name.

But don't be

mistaken.

When they speak

of the name of

the Lord, they

may invoke the

name of the

Lord, but their

worship is entirely

other than the

name of the

Lord.

Because their

hearts are so

bent, their

hearts are so

twisted away from

God.

The first three

instances that we

see of the

divine name in

verses 9 and

then 10 and

then 11 is

this pact that's

negotiated between

people and then

God has to be the

one to validate

it in their

minds.

The next couple

of times where

the name of the

Lord is used,

Jephthah is

talking and

speaking with

negotiating with

the king of

the Ammonites.

And what's

telling about his

negotiation process

is what we find

in verse 24.

Judges 11, 23 and

24.

See if you can

pick up on the

theological and

doctrinal error

in Jephthah's

mind.

He says,

speaking to the

king of the

Ammonites,

so then the

Lord, the God

of Israel

dispossessed the

Ammonites from

before his people,

Israel.

And are you to

take possession of

them?

Will you not

possess what

Chemosh, your

God, gives to

you to possess?

And although the

Lord, our God,

has dispossessed

before us, we

will possess.

Can you see the

theological trouble

in verse 24?

Can you see the

doctrinal error that

Jephthah is exposing

there?

Who does he assign

the territory of

the Ammonites?

How did they get

it?

Who gave it to

them?

In Jephthah's

discourse, the

gods of Chemosh

gave it to them.

But we know

better.

Because Yahweh,

the Lord, is the

one who is

sovereign over

nations.

He is the one

who dispossesses.

He is the one

who grants.

And so the