“Well, how much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah and David and Samuel and all the other prophets” (Hebrews 11:32).
As we move towards the end of our little journey through the Bible’s Faith Hall Of Fame, it’s time to stop and look at the final three all-stars listed for us in Hebrews 11. The first of our last three hall-of-famers is a man named Jephthah and you can find the details of his story in Judges chapter 11.
Now Jephthah … -wait … what’s that you say? You say that you’ve never heard of Jephthah before? Well then, please allow The Doctor to introduce you to this little-known member of the Hebrews Hall of Fame.
Here’s Jephthah’s introduction as found in the Biblical book of Judges, chapter 11, verses 1 and 2…
“Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. ‘You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,’ they said, ‘because you are the son of another woman'” (NIV).
How’s that for an introduction to a hero of the faith? A man who was born out of wedlock, the son of a prostitute and rejected by his family. Not a very promising start, is it? But let’s continue…
“So Jephthah fled from his father’s home and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had quite a band of malcontents as his followers, living off the land as bandits. It was about this time that the Ammonites began their war against Israel.
“The leaders of Gilead sent for Jephthah, begging him to come and lead their army against the Ammonites. But Jephthah said to them, ‘Why do you come to me when you hate me and have driven me out of my father’s house? Why come now when you’re in trouble?’
“‘Because we need you,” they replied. ‘If you will be our commander-in-chief against the Ammonites, we will make you the king of Gilead.’
“‘Sure!’ Jephthah exclaimed. ‘Do you expect me to believe that?’ ‘We swear it,’ they replied. ‘We promise with a solemn oath'” (Judges 11:3-10).
Now if you read a little further, you’ll find that Jephthah first tried to talk things over with the Ammonites (see Judges 11:12-28). Unfortunately for them, the Ammonites weren’t very interested in talking and at that point, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he started what would eventually become a successful military operation against them (Judges 11:32). So far, so good right? Unfortunately, Jephthah made a very foolish decision that we read about in Judges 11:30-31…
“Meanwhile Jephthah had vowed to the Lord that if God would help Israel conquer the Ammonites, then when he returned home in peace, the first person coming out of his house to meet him would be sacrificed as a burnt offering to the Lord!”
This was a terrible mistake on Jephthah’s part. Here’s what happened…
“When Jephthah returned home his daughter– his only child– ran out to meet him, playing on a tambourine and dancing for joy” (Judges 11:34).
What a horrible tragedy. This should have been a joyous occasion but Jephthah’s foolish vow turned it into one of incredible sorrow. So after a short time to mourn her fate, Judges 11:39 tells us that Jephthah’s daughter “…returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed” (NIV). If only Jephthah had not taken this foolish vow then this awful situation could have been totally avoided. Perhaps this is why Proverbs 20:25 tells us that “It is foolish and rash to make a promise to the Lord before counting the cost.”
Unfortunately, many people today continue to follow Jephthah’s bad example and swear vows and oaths of their own. For example, how often have you heard people say things like this…
- “So help me God…”
- “If s/he does that, I swear, I’m going to…”
- “As God is my witness…”
People often don’t give very much thought to saying things like this but the truth is that these oaths (and others like them) go totally against a serious warning that Jesus once made- check it out…
“But I say: Don’t make any vows! And even to say ‘By heavens!’ is a sacred vow to God, for the heavens are God’s throne. And if you say ‘By the earth!’ it is a sacred vow, for the earth is his footstool. And don’t swear ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the capital of the great King. Don’t even swear ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Say just a simple ‘Yes, I will’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong” (Matthew 5:34-37).
Remember that any time you say things like, “I swear…” or “So help me God…” you are making a vow which is something that the Bible specifically tells you not to do. So instead of swearing vows and taking oaths, it’s better to do the smart thing and follow this bit of good advice that’s found in James 5:12…
“But most of all, my brothers and sisters, never take an oath, by heaven or earth or anything else. Just say a simple yes or no so that you will not sin and be condemned for it” (NLT).
So what does Jephthah’s whole experience tell us? Well it first tells us that anyone can have a “hall of fame” type of faith, no matter what kind of family they come from or even if they don’t have a family at all. Jephthah’s example also shows us that bad choices bring bad consequences but even a foolish, ungodly decision (like the one Jephthah made) will not necessarily keep someone from entering God’s Faith Hall Of Fame.
Our next Hall Of Fame member for today is David, the former king of Israel. Although David is much better known to most people today, David was a man much like Jephthah in certain ways. For example, David faced rejection from his family (1 Samuel 17:12-29) just like Jephthah did. Like Jephthah, David also became the leader of a group of anti-establishment types (1 Samuel 22:1-2).
David (1 Samuel 18:13-14) and Jephthah were also both successful military leaders and both also had faith in God (1 Samuel 17:45-46). And both men also made at least one very unwise decision- Jephthah in making the foolish promise to God that we just read about and David in his sin with Bathsheba and his later attempts to cover it up (2 Samuel chapter 11).
Yet despite this, Acts 13:22 tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart and Hebrews 11 finds a place for him within God’s Hall of Fame. So just as we saw with the example of Jephthah, David’s experience tells us that a bad mistake is not necessarily enough to keep a Godly person from entering God’s Faith Hall Of Fame.
Finally we have the example of Samuel, a man who was dedicated to the Lord from his earliest youth (see 1 Samuel chapter one for the whole story). Samuel was a guy who fearlessly stood up for the Lord whether it was before other priests, ordinary people or even the king himself. Samuel was also a guy who had a lot of different responsibilities and at various times throughout his life he served as a spiritual advisor, political leader, traveling judge and prophet.
If you read the accounts of Samuel’s life (found mostly within the first 20 chapters of 1 Samuel), you’ll find that Samuel was a guy who led a first-class life of service before God, the kind of life that is definitely worthy of being included within the Faith Hall of Fame. However, there’s one small thing about Samuel that has always bothered The Doctor whenever he’s read it…
“In his old age, Samuel retired and appointed his sons as judges in his place. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba; but they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and were very corrupt in the administration of justice” (1 Samuel 8:1-3).
No one lead a more praiseworthy Old Testament life than Samuel but somehow, his children did not follow his good example. Now the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly why this happened but for whatever reason, Samuel was unable to pass along his love and respect for God to his sons. For a God-honoring man like Samuel, this must have been something that hurt him very deeply.
Unfortunately, there’s more to the story. You see, it was the bad conduct of Samuel’s sons that caused the leaders of Israel to ask Samuel to choose a king to lead them just like all the other nations had…
“Finally the leaders of Israel met in Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. They told him that since his retirement things hadn’t been the same, for his sons were not good men. ‘Give us a king like all the other nations have,’ they pleaded” (1 Samuel 8:4-5).
This, in turn, caused God to say this to Samuel…
“‘Do as they say,’ the Lord replied, ‘for I am the one they are rejecting, not you– they don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually forsaken me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment'” (1 Samuel 8:7-8).
God then told Samuel to warn the people about the consequences that they would suffer under a king (1 Samuel 8:9-17) but it made no difference…
“(Samuel told them) ‘You will shed bitter tears because of this king you are demanding, but the Lord will not help you.’ But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. ‘Even so, we still want a king,’ they said” (1 Samuel 8:18-19).
For Samuel, it must have been very difficult to watch the people make this choice, especially with the knowledge that his own sons helped provide the motivation for it. Like many God-honoring people today, Samuel surely found that there is no pain quite like the pain of watching people that you care for do self-destructive things despite your best efforts to prevent them.
In circumstances like this, it takes real, Biblical faith to continue in the confident expectation that God is able to bring something good out of a bad situation. Like Samuel, a person of faith knows that “…with God, everything is possible” (Matthew 19:26b).