A couple of these Judges barely get a mention, even though they ruled for 8-10 years. About the only thing we know of them is that they liked to have children. Maybe that’s all they were good at.
And then there’s Jephthah. In one way he was similar to Abimilech, the Judge who killed off 70 of his brothers so they couldn’t contest his crown. But that’s not what makes him similar. It’s the fact that they were both unwanted as children. Abimelech’s mom was a concubine, and didn’t live with Gideon. Jephtahah’s mother was a prostitute, so she clearly wouldn’t have been around either. People occasionally say “well they had lots of wives in the Old Testament” as a way of defending multiple wives today. But I think if you conduct a careful study of the men who had children outside of their regular marriage, you will find that it generally led to serious problems. Abraham’s dalliance with a maid created problems. Same with David, and Solomon later on in history.
Jephthah was a violent social outcast who lived as a mercenary. It seems odd to me that God would choose him as a Judge. I tend to think of the Judges as upright and godly men who were good role models. That’s not this guy. He’s the one you tell you kids not to act like. And here the people are offering him the keys to the city. Why did God do that?
Aha! Did God tell the people to send for Jephthah? I don’t see it here. That doesn’t mean that God couldn’t use Him, because this passage clearly says that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him. But I don’t think He was God’s first choice. The people of Gilead (which was a pretty big chunk of real estate….it is the land east of the Jordan river partially owned by Syria in the north and Jordan in the south. just below the Sea of Galilee) asked Jephthah to rescue them…I don’t think they prayed about it first.
You might say “well, he did a pretty good job anyway”. Let’s take a look at that. He does defeat the enemy, but he also promised to sacrifice the first think out the door of his house. What did he think was coming out? A goat? A chicken? He knew it would be a person….and God has specifically forbidden sacrifice of people, especially children. This is recorded for us to let us know that Jephthah was not a godly man, even though he was being used by God. and then there is the battle with his countrymen. 42,000 men of Ephraim were killed in a battle with his forces. Sure, they were argumentative and hard to get along with….but Gideon was able to calm them down and avoided a blood bath. In this case it seems like Jephthah wanted a battle. Losing that many of your own people in a needless battle amongst yourselves is a real tragedy.
Jephthah wasn’t a good man, but he was put in charge because he could get the job done. I doubt that he was God’s man for the job, but the people weren’t interested in godliness…they were looking for combat skills.
So here’s the lesson: When looking for church leaders, it’s okay to be concerned about job skills and qualifications, but they pale in contrast to the need for godliness. God can make up for whatever we lack in talent…but there is no making up for what we lack in our relationship with Him. The most important characteristic of any leader is a keen awareness that they are unqualified and ill equipped without the continual infilling and presence of the Holy Spirit.
Faithfully,
PR