The Judge's Daughter

You know, daughters are not mentioned very often in the Bible. They're not. Know any famous daughters?

Well, Ruth, she's famous because she's what?

A daughter-in-law. Just think about those daughters. She's a daughter. You know another one? Dinah. That's right. How about one more?

Tamar, Hannah. Yes, but I want to talk about one today. The title of my sermon that you mentioned is The Judge's Daughter. We only have one judge's daughter. That's an incredible story. That I'd like to look at today. There are some lessons for us.

But I bring this subject to you because of some doctrinal clarity. Let's put it that way. I wouldn't say it's a doctrinal sermon, but I would like to look at it because even our doctrinal committee, the United Church of God, is working on a paper on Jepta, being there's been many questions. If you go to commentaries, you will find two sides of the story. I thought we would look at it today because to me it's a very interesting subject, but it was very interesting times. The incredible story of the judge's daughter makes it incredible because of Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 32 and 33 actually tells us that is a faith chapter. And it tells us that this character, this judge, this man of God named Jepta is in the faith chapter with all the other heroes of Scripture. All the other men and women who are included in Hebrews 11. Many of you have read that, so I won't go through chapter 11 verse 32 and 33 because he's thrown in with Samson and various men there. But Jepta's life was lived just about a hundred to two hundred, 150 years before Saul came on the place, the first king of Israel. He was one of the last of the judges. And to me, his story is one of, why, God, did you put that in there? If it's as bad as it looks, why did you put it in there? If it is as good as we might think it will be, why isn't it more clear? I think God gave it to us for us to use our heads and to think and to read Scripture. So let's go, if you will, go with me today. To Judges chapter 11.

For us to understand things that God teaches us, we use Scripture. We use Revelation. We use logic. So I'd like you to use today, a little logic, because I think that's what God requires us as we journey through different parts of the Bible. I'll be using, he used a new living translation. I'll be using the new King James. I just want you to see this, hear this, and read also from yours, because I think you'll find this interesting. Here we find this man, chapter 11, verse 1, said, Now, Jephthah the Gileadite from Gilead. Where's that? Well, it's on the other side of the Jordan River, and it's kind of sandwiched in between Ammon and Moab, and it's barely in the picture of the Promised Land. I can give you a picture, but if you looked at the Promised Land, it's right over here. So they were always up for attack after they came in. As you know, the judges were set up after Joshua came in. And here is this, here is the story of a monocyte, because Manasseh was actually divided into two in the Promised Land. This was, they were the, oh, the outskirts of the people. There were some very rough country, but there was very beautiful country. So such a contrast. So you could come from a very prosperous area with green grass and sheep and everything you could want to grow to all of a sudden just desert, mountains, and caves. So this was where our main speaker today, we're talking about, Jeff Dezfrom, said, Now, Jeff Dez from the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor. What does it say here? A great warrior. That's the very first words we read about this individual. So what are we to take from that? That he was one bad individual. That he was a fighter. You wouldn't want to mess with him.

And that he was a conquering hero. Now, let's go on. Verse one. But he was the son of a harlot. Harlot. Prostitute. And Gilead begot chapter. Wait a minute. The area begot him? No. The man Gilead.

The man Gilead, who the area, who the city, this region was named after, he was not some little bitty, oh, nondescript guy. He was from the tribe of Manasseh.

And he was someone who, let's just say he didn't always walk the walk, obviously. Because, it says in verse two, Gilead's wife bore sons. Well, that's good. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, you shall have no inheritance in your father's house, for you are the son of another woman. I'm sure they didn't put it as kind as that, as you can imagine. They were driving him out. Get out! We don't want you. We don't want you taking any inheritance. And so, the historians was believed that he was as young as 17 or 18, because by the age of 20, you would have already been part of the inheritance, lined up, set aside as you were counted a man. So, historians believe he was somewhere about 16, 17, 18 at the most. Driven out from his home, from the only family he really knew.

This was before he became what? The great warrior. Was this the catalyst for that fame that he would become? Let's read on. Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tobes. Tobes. Tobes is actually another word for, in Hebrew, it's known as good.

When God looked at that, you would see, he would describe something Hebrew as Tobes.

It is Tobes for a man, too, with his wife. So, he went to this beautiful land, which from Gilead, Jabesh, which they think was about 15, 20 miles away. You may say, well, that's not very far. Well, it is if you're walking and quite a distance. So, he was going to make his own life. And then it said, And worthless men banded together with Jephthah, and went out raiding with him. What does this one say? Worthless rebels. It's interesting that in a Jewish version of this telling, I like how it was put. And Jephthah went out and joined adventurous men.

So, different slight of opinion here, view of opinion here. And it came to pass after a time, and they thought somewhere between 10 to 12 years. So, here he was 28 to 30 years old. That the people of Ammon made war against Israel. What were they saying? We want to land back! And we're going to take it. And you're not equipped to handle us. You're not ready for war because you're on the other side of the Jordan. It's not, you're on our side. You, the other tribes would have to come across the Jordan to help you. And so, we can just continue to attack and attack and attack. And then we can run back into our territory. Or we can go to our brother Moab's territory.

The tribe of Manasseh was in trouble.

And so it came to pass when the people of Ammon made war against Israel that the elders of Gilead went up to Jephthah from the land of Tobin. Why? Then they said to Jephthah, Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon. So, how many men did Jephthah have with him? Was it a whole band? Well, do you remember another man who had a band of men that he was driven also out of his land? King David! Absolutely! Would you want to mess with those 32 men? He had 400, but he had 32 that were called mighty men. I don't think most people would if you read the story about God's mighty men. And so here, Jephthah had these rebels who, according to historical sources, I can't quote anything from the Bible, but I read as much as I could about it. They were more like raiders. And they lived in the caves. They also had places in Tobah where they had people who knew them, but all their booty that they would collect, everything that they would rob or conquer, they used in so many of the caves and people were afraid to go in their caves because these men would slaughter you.

But the one thing they found interesting about some of the history is that they didn't attack women and children, and they didn't attack innocent farmers. They attacked men who had swords, who had weapons. And one of the reasons they put this out is, if you can understand Jephthah being a mighty warrior, they wanted to give people a fighting chance. What did they tell you? They were scared of no one, and they were willing to do anything and everything. So why would the whole, I mean think about it, the whole half the tribe of Manasseh being there, thousands and thousands of men, not just say, well let's go, let's go fight him. They were scared.

They were scared. They were fighters, but they knew who was, and they said, let's go get him. So that to me is what makes the story interesting. Then they said to Jephthah, come and be our commander. We may fight against the people of Ammon, since Jephthah already did. He fought people of Moab, Ammon. It didn't matter. He'd fight you in the highlands, he'd fight you in the lowlands, he'd fight anybody, he'd fight anywhere. I guess he was Muhammad Ali before his day. I'm the greatest of all time. So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, did you not hate me and expel me from my father's house?

I think there was a little gloating here. I think there was a little bit, uh-huh. Why? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress? Was Jephthah and Tobin in distress? No. Not at all. They weren't, because Ammon knew not to mess with them. And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, this, that is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon and be our, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.

So hear this child out of wedlock, disgraced, ran, run out of town. Now, a little over a decade later, come on, we need you. We look up to you. My how things change. So, verse 9, so Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, if you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head? It's kind of put in a better way than probably he would have said it, because he's a very determined man, because he said, I will be your ruler, your head. And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, the Lord will be a witness between us if we do not do according to your words.

Then Jephthah went to the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them, and Jephthah spoke all these words before the Lord at Mispa, which was a major religious point there in the area. But look at it, it said God. He took it before God. And you're going to see in this story, you don't see much about the people of Manasseh being godly people. As a matter of fact, you see basically the opposite. Everybody did what was right in their own eyes, and these people had turned.

So did God raise up? You look at the previous chapters and you see that God did raise up these judges, these mighty men, to save his people and also to kick them out of their complacency when it came to their worshiping their God.

So with that, I don't want to read chapters, I mean verses 12 through 28, but I'd just like to tell you the story because it shows the integrity in those verses. You can read that later. I suggest you read the whole 11th to 12th chapter. It's just an incredible story of this man and his family. But Jepter didn't just want to go make war. He was a warrior. He's a warring guy, but he was now put over in the entire entire area, and basically the whole tribe of Manasseh in this area.

And he didn't just go, let's go kill people. No. He sent a letter or sent someone to messengers, to the king of Ammon, and said, well, wait. I've been brought into this picture. I'd like to broker some peace. Who does that? God is a man led by God who did not just take people lightly, but if there's a way of peace, they're going to make peace. It reminds me of Joshua walking out on the plains to this individual, asking, who are you? Are you for us or against us? And he found out that the man told him, I was commander of the armies of the living God, as he was meeting the incarnate Christ.

It's too bad that Ammon didn't decide to take Jepter up on his explanation of, no matter what Jepter you would think, lived out being more like a barbarian. You might even picture Conan the barbarian. And he actually knew the history of the tribes as they left Egypt and came into the Promised Land.

And he goes on to describe how God wanted to take his people around, didn't want to fight with Moab, the Ammonites, didn't want to do any of that, but just let us skirt around as we come into the Promised Land. We won't disturb, we won't use your water, we won't do any of this.

Kings wouldn't have anything, wouldn't hear of it.

And God damn said, okay, if you're not going to do it, then I'll let my people go in. And Joshua went in and slaughtered so many of those kings like Sion and the various ones on. And he explained this that we weren't going to, Manasseh was not going to take your land, but you guys brought, you started this. And now God has given it to us, and God gave it, and God is going to take it back from you. But you have a chance to walk away, and they wouldn't do it.

As verse 28 says, however, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words that Jepthah sent him.

So then let's go to, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story. Verse 29, and let's look at these verses. Verse 29 of Judges 11. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jepthah. Seen that before?

Did Jepthah have God's Spirit? It was with him. That's why it describes this. It wasn't in him yet. It was with him, as it was with many others. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jepthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mispa of Gilead, and from Mispa of Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. So, was he explaining? He's marching these troops all the way through, so everybody knew. This wasn't just like, okay, let's meet over here, and then we'll go over there. He was letting everybody know, we're going to war, and when I go to war, and when God goes to war, he doesn't play. And so, we, with God on our side, we will win. We are going over. And so, basically, it's like marching through all the areas to show our strength, show who we are. Verse 30, I will offer it up as a burnt offering.

This is where it comes in to play. So, let's read the story, and then let's go back and look at it, because many people have been confused, many theologians, because really, this was a man of God, intelligent man of God. What did he think was coming out of his door? A little lamb. We have lambs hanging in our houses. Did we have, did he have servants? Did he have this? What? So, let's go and see. So, Jepthah advanced towards the people of Ammon to fight against them, and the Lord delivered them into his hands. According to history, it was a slaughter.

The battle started with Jepthah leading at the very front with his sword, and just started slicing and dicing, and all the men followed him, and the actual men of Ammon started running, and many were slaughtered. Many were slaughtered as they were trying to run. They were so scared. They'd never seen an army fight like this. Well, God was with them. He said he was. Let's go down then to verse 28. And he defeated them from Aor as far as Minath, twenty cities, and to Abel, Carimim, with a very great slaughter. So, he didn't just stop. Okay, we're having this battle. He said, if I'm going to fight, I'm going to fight, and I'm not going to stop until you're all slaughtered. So, he went to, he started fighting, defeated these, and he went and followed them through twenty different cities, these people running.

Can remind me of a boy in high school that I had, didn't say much. Short, stocky guy. Not much, but everybody in my high school and my wife found it hard to believe. Tennessee, you had to fight. High school, sorry, it was part of growing up. I don't know. Most of you men can tell the same thing. You're going to fight, you know, from being picked on as your freshman to the sophomore to junior to you had to fight. If you didn't, guess who's going to be beat up every day. And I remember this one guy. Finally, his name was Johnny, and Johnny just told the guy who was picking on him, a year older, okay, we'll fight. But one of us was going to die here today. He said, and I'm going to eat your face. I'm going to scratch your eyes out. He said, I'm going to break every finger. I'm going to do every damage until you or one are dead. You or me are dead because that's the only way I fight. You know, the guy didn't want to fight after that. And I kind of understood the reason now because I got to know Johnny, and he was from, grew up in an abusive family. His stepfather beat him up quite a bit when he was very young. He was used to fighting. This, see, I only tell that story because this is who Jephta was, and this is who God was using, a man who was used to fighting because God didn't want, okay, now they give up, okay, let's all go back to our places again until it happens again. No, bullies don't stop till they are taken down, and Ammon was this. Ammonites were this, were these people.

And Ammon was subdued before the children of Israel. Verse 34, When Jephta came to his house at Misbah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrel and dancing, and she was his only child. Besides her, he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass when he saw her that he tore his clothes and said, Alas, my daughter, you have brought me very low. You are among those who trouble me, for I have given my word to the Lord, and I cannot go back on it. So she said to him, My father, if you have given your word to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon. Then she said to her father, Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone for two months that I may go and wander on the mountains and bewail my virginity, my friends and I. So he said, Go! And he sent her away for two months. And she went with her friends and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. And so it was at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out his vow with her, which he had vowed. She knew no man, and it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went four days each year to lament the daughter of Jephta, the Gileadite. End of that story. So did he kill his daughter? Did he sacrifice his daughter? Did he burn her? This man of God? Because, oh, Dale, many experts disagree with you. Most theologians in one way or another disagree with you. Because they say it did. I had a professor, a doctor, who, in my theology classes, in United, argued that very point with me. He believed they did kill her. And we, half the class, was convinced that he did. Half the class, those who weren't mad at me, were convinced that he didn't. Why would you say he did not? Kill his daughter when it says burnt. Offer up as a burnt sacrifice.

That was. That is true. That is in Deuteronomy. But the key, the key, for me, and I've studied this before, is in verse 31. Okay, yes. In verse 31, it says, and. And. Which is the word what? It's vav. Vav. Can mean for the word, or, and, also. Yes. Yes. So the word actually should be, so, belong to the Lord, or I will walk together. Very good. Very good. I thought I was going to get to explain that, but I guess not. Yes. And also the word sacrifice can mean dedicate.

So, for those that believe the other way, and I'm sure, how many people we have online today? 13, 15, almost 20. There's going to be a lot of people in there that have been taught that he killed his daughter. So, for that reason, I bring this up, and I'll repeat your answer so they can hear. What evidence would you give that God did not have Jep to kill his daughter? Because what did I say at first? We can look at Scripture, which you did. You brought out vav, or wa, you find it, W-A-W, but it's pronounced vav in Hebrew. Very good. That's used in Scripture. What about logic tells us that he didn't? Anyone? Yes, sir. Yes. Very good point. Look at the Scripture. Okay, if a young girl is going to die, the last thing I'm going to be thinking about is my virginity. Oh, wow. Right? And he brings out a very good point about, wait a minute, if this was a true sacrifice, but she could go two months, why couldn't she go two years? Ah, if I'd give me two years, if this was her death. Very good point. Anyone else? It says she died of virgin, but it doesn't say when. Yes, it doesn't, but look how the story ends and bewelled her virginity on the mountains. So, and then in 39, she knew no man. That, okay, that's how you end the story. Not that she died valiantly like her father. She, no. Yeah, I hate to hate to quote Johnny Cochran, but if it doesn't fit, you must acquit.

Yes, yes, because they remembered her for what she's willing to do. So, what did she do? She didn't die, so what did she do? No, no, but she also dedicated herself to God. She would serve at the temple. They had all these, yes, like various women in the past, Anna, Anna the prophetess. Various ones there would serve their life. Yes, never got married, right? But did God ever, I mean, look through your, if you have any questions about this, especially those watching or watches later, go check Hebrews 11. I see all the greats in there. The who's who. And I didn't see God except one person that killed their own child.

Yet the Spirit was with him. Remember that? He said the Spirit was with him in 29, and then he makes the oath. So that means if he killed, then God wasn't one inspired to kill that girl. Does that sound like our God? No. Yeah, babe. Could it be like Abraham was willing to kill Isaac? Because Abraham was willing to. In his mind, he had already done that. He styled up the gospel with those wood and everything. Isaac was just good as dead, and Isaac in Abraham's mind. So in this case, Yes, because Abraham the angel had to stop Isaac from doing it. But did it happen? No! God's never... He condemned, as you guys said, He condemned killing of children, sacrifice. Besides, you're going to offer it as a burnt offering so it can be and or. Is a human a clean animal? No! Never has been, never will be. Matter of fact, there's just certain animals that you can sacrifice to God. And this isn't one of them, is it? What were you taught at ABC, Kathy? You'll remember? They still weren't complaining about me and what I brought up. But it is interesting, there is a Bible study done by Steve Myers, does a very good job of this and covers this. Yes, I mean these are the things that as biblical scholars and studyors of the Bible that we should be, these things should be what we train on, what we know. Yes, sir? Right. Yes, Jeremiah. Yeah, 19, you're right. How? So, what are we to learn from this?

I want to leave because we're going to be. Okay.

I have four lessons I'd like to give with you today. Four lessons I'd like to leave with you. Because what lessons I mean, this is a, whether you're a PhD in theology or whether you're just a novice student of the Bible, this is a critical story because it either makes you doubt God or reaffirms your belief that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And so, I want to look at these four things rather quickly. Number one, lesson we learned, it doesn't matter where you come from. God can use you. It doesn't matter where you began. It doesn't matter whether your mother was a prostitute. It doesn't matter whether your father was a derelict. It doesn't matter if your background criminal, because God used some of those.

God can use you. God can use you. So what am I saying? Outcasts are welcome. Gepto was an outcast, and many of you at times in your life may have felt like an outcast, and you're wondering, what is my purpose in life? Guess what? You just found out to work for God, to be one of God's people. You may not be a judge, but some of the callings are even higher as kings, priests. Number two, lessons we learned from the story of Gepto. Vows are important to keep. Beware before making them. It tells you that time and time again. Ecclesiastes 5 verses 4 and 5 tells you that. If you make a vow, you need to keep it. You give your word, you need to keep it, because to God your word is His word, because you represent Him. When you speak, you speak as a person of God. That's what Gepto did. Gepto was going to keep his vow. Now, this is a, I doubt any of us are going to make that wide a vow, but I've heard people make vowels. I made stupid vowels when I was young. I made stupid vowels when I first came into the church, for I was baptized after I was baptized, because I didn't understand. Didn't have, I was immature, didn't have a, God, if you'll do this, I won't do they are. I'll do this. God didn't want to hear that. It was until years later, I truly understood the word, you're will be done. You're will be done. And my questions, you can answer with your will be done. Number three, a tough life can also train or prepare you for your future. A tough life, because I've heard many stories, and many of you may have not had a, hey, wasn't that smooth of a transition. Growing up was tough. Maybe you didn't get beat up once a week like my friend Johnny in high school. But God allows us to go through things. So that we won't be like the real bones. Remember the real bone? He inherited everything and what did he want? More! I want more. I want more.

Jepter fought for everything he had. God kept rewarding him. I saw this TV show.

I didn't see the show. I saw a video clip of it on YouTube. You can find it out there. And it's this young 16-year-old girl celebrating her 16th birthday. Her parents had her and everything, and they kind of blindfolded her. She had the friends over and everything. Her parents had bought her a brand new red Mustang convertible for her 16th birthday. So the cameras were there, and they walk out. She's like blindfolded. Then she looks at it and she starts crying. And they said, what's the matter? I wanted blue. No, true story. God doesn't want us wanting blue. Okay? That's part of the story. Sometimes we have to go through. I thought my parents were slave drivers. None of the kids I knew had to work as hard as I did on the farm. Guess what? Best thing ever happened to me. Best thing could have happened to me. I didn't have to wonder about where my next meal is coming from. I didn't have to do this. I knew it was work. You can either hate it or you can join the club because we all have to work. And this is the beauty of this story. So no matter where you where you're from, God can use you, and He may use you just because of what you're made of inside. Finally, number four. Faith is for all walks of life. Jephthah, who would have thought He was a man of God? But when He was sent away by His brothers and obviously His mother and His stepfather, I mean His father, stepmother, when He was sent away, do you really think, how close to God were they? We don't hear any communication between them and God, but we do from Jephthah. Faith is for all walks of life. It doesn't matter where you came from, who you are. God says, have faith in me and I will walk with you. Incredible story. God is the God of all. And maybe, maybe just maybe, like Jephthah, He's waiting for our next great adventure where He leads us, not we lead us into.