MPC, 27th October 2002.Judges 10-12 - "Collateral Damage"
Phil Campbell MPC, 27th October 2002.
Sometimes in life you can mix up the pricetags. Confuse the things that are really valuable… with the things that aren't.
Like Oklahoma burglar Eddie McBride; who when the police pulled him over a few weeks ago jumped into the Arkansas River. They ordered him to get out. But Eddie kept hold of his 30 kilo bag of jewellery. And kept wading further out into the river.
The police say in the end, McBride was calling for help. But it was too late. Two jumped in to rescue him; but by the time they reached him he'd drowned. With his precious duffle bag of jewellery. And the pockets of his cargo pants packed full as well.
Eddie McBride was holding on to the wrong thing. And it cost him his life.
There's a tragic kind of justice when you see that happen, isn't there.
And there's tragedy today – as we look at the ambitions of Jephthah in Judges 10 to 12. An account so sad, an account so frustrating, an account so disturbing… that I really didn't want to speak on it.
The tale of a guy who clings to all the wrong things. And ends up with everything he wants. And yet ends up with nothing. A tale that's frustrating. Because it makes almost no moral judgements. And leaves us as readers just to sit back and shake our heads. At the foolishness. Of one of the great judges of Israel.
Who grabs for the wrong thing. With tragic consequences.
Jephthah. The smooth talker. Jephthah. Full of ambition.
Who trades the future of his family for a stupid pledge. Based on a stupid ambition.
Jephthah is a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. You first meet him in chapter 11 verse 1. A mighty warrior. Whose father was Gilead. And whose mother was a call girl. The product of a fractured family. Gilead's wife also bears him sons. And when they grow up, they drive Jephthah out of town. Because they're not going to share the inheritance with their half brother.
Eerie similarities to chapter 9. Where if you look back there for a moment, you see Abimelech son of Gideon. Born to a concubine. Another son of A call girl. And the similarities don't end there. Abimelech hires a bunch of tough guys back in chapter 9 verse 4. And Verse 3 here in chapter 11, Jephthah does exactly the same. Jephthah flees from his brothers and settles in the land of Tob where a group of adventurers gather around him and follow him. Not sure why the NIV translation goes for the word adventurers. Because it's literally empty men. Trouble makers. Abimelech and his empty men in chapter 9. Who kills his 70 brothers. Jephthah and his empty men here in chapter 11. Ready for trouble. However it comes.
Now will you notice from back in verse 6 in chapter 10, we meet Jephthah at the key point in another cycle. We've seen it before. Israel rebels against God. God hands them over to their enemies. Israel cries for mercy. And God sends them a saviour.
Except as you can imagine, it's all wearing a bit thin.
Verse 6, the Israelites have been serving the Baals again. And the Ashtoreths and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites, and the gods of the Philistines. And if anyone else turned up with a god, I'd guarantee they'd be happy to worship that too. Prop up a hotdog on a stick, and they'll bow down to it.
Things in Israel are getting worse. Every time the cycle comes around, it's going another step downwards. In a spiral.
And this time when they cry out to God, God is a little bit cynical. As you can see in verse 13 and 14. Go find some other god to save you. You've forsaken me for other gods… go cry out to them.
But they repent, and they get rid of their foreign gods, and they serve the Lord again. Until verse 16 says God could bear Israel's misery no longer.
Now I don't know if it's my imagination or not. But do you notice, usually at this point in the cycle it's God's turn to do something. Usually at this point in the cycle, you'll read so the Lord gave them a deliverer. Usually at this point in the cycle, you'll get the angel of the Lord settling in for a quiet chat with Gideon. Or the Lord speaking to Deborah the prophetess and telling her what to do.
I wonder if it's signficant that at this point, when the battle clouds are brewing in verse 17 and 18, that the leaders of the people of Gilead say to each other, let's organise this ourselves. They say, whoever will launch the attack against the Ammonites will be head of all those living in Gilead. And God says nothing.
Let's offer power. As an incentive. To get someone to lead us into battle.
Offer power. Attract ambition.
Offer power. Attract Jephthah. With a point to prove. Already got a reputation as a mighty warrior. Already got his team of empty headed mercenaries.
And God… says nothing.
And so having driven him out of town, his embarrassed brothers and the town elders go crawling back. Come and be our commander. So we can fight the Ammonites. Come and be our commander. And you will be our head, verse 9, over all who live in Gilead.
Now here's a great temptation. I mean, there's nothing like making that sort of comeback is there? A friend of mine, he was dyslexic. He says he had a terrible time at school. And he can still remember the day his principal said to him, "Son, you're a failure. You'll never make anything of yourself." Al's now an incredibly successful builder. And not a day goes by that he doesn't think back to those words. Which he's spent his life proving wrong.
Jephthah. Rejected. Driven out of town. And now they're saying, if you fight and win, all this is yours. If you fight and win, you're our number one man.
Better double check he's heard it right. Verse 9. Suppose you take me back to fight the Ammonites and the Lord gives them to me – will I really be your head?
Sign it in blood guys. Because there's nothing he wants more. So verse 11 Jephthah goes with the elders of Gilead, and the people make him head and commander over them. And they pledge before God. And all he needs now is a big win. To seal it. And from leader of Gilead… he's got bigger ambitions. All of Israel.
Now will you notice in verses 14 to 27, Jephthah is the ultimate car salesman. Or at least he tries to be. Jephthah wants to negotiate. Jephthah wants to talk deals. He sends messengers to the Ammonite King camped outside Gilead. He says, let's talk things through.
I'll leave you to read through the details. But the fact is, the King of Ammon's not impressed. Verse 28. The King of Ammon, however, paid no attention to the message Jephthah sent him. No deal.
So verse 30, he's going to try another angle. The Spirit of the Lord's upon him. And he's advancing against the Ammonites. But for Jephthah, that's not enough. Jephthah wants to nail it. And Jephthah would give anything… to guarantee a win.
So Jephthah does a deal… with God.
Not a deal God's asked for. A one sided deal. One of those get me out of this one and I'll be a missionary sort of deals. Except lots dumber than that.
Verse 30. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. "If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites… will be the Lord's. And I'll sacrifice it as a burnt offering.
I'll give anything. To make it to the top.
Now you've got to say, that's incredibly dumb.
Especially since the Lord's got the battle under control already. I mean, it was always the plan to save Israel. It's not as if you can turn God on like a tap. In spite of what some Christians want to say about prayer. It's not as if more faith, or a vow is going to change God's mind.
But Jephthah has opened his big mouth. And he's going to face the consequences. And you've got to say, this is a guy who'll sacrifice anything. To make it to number 1.
But the consequences… are too horrific to even think about.
Because Jephthah has an incredible victory. And turns for home.
Now what was he thinking would come out the door to meet him when he gets home? I mean, is he thinking it might be a chook? Or the dog? Or does he keep the cows inside or what? Because who comes out to meet him in verse 34 but his beautiful young daughter. Excited to see her dad.
His only child. Playing her tamborine.
And Jephthah had made a vow to the Lord. Whatever comes out of my door to meet me… I'll sacrifice. As a burnt offering.
Jephthah will sacrifice anything… to make it to the top. Jephthah will walk over anyone. To make it to number 1. That's the sort of guy we're dealing with here.
And when he sees her, he tears his clothes and cries, Oh My Daughter, you've made me miserable. Because I've made a vow to the Lord I cannot break." And she says, "You're right. You've opened your mouth to the Lord. So you've got to do what you said."
This stuff's so heart-wrenching it just about makes you want to weep. This beautiful young daughter, dancing to see her dad home from battle. And he's said to God he's prepared to sacrifice her. To guarantee he'll get ahead.
And so… after she's spent some time in the hills with her friends to say goodbye… he did to her as he vowed. And the young women of Israel, says verse 40, have commemorated her every year since.
It's striking, isn't it, that in all this, God doesn't say a word. No value judgement in the text. No word from God.
Just a stunned silence. I mean, why in a million years would Jephthah think God would want him to do that? Sacrificing children is what the nations around them do. Absolutely abhorent to God. And God's made it perfectly clear already. Back in Deuteronomy 12 verse 31 - spelt out in black and white.
You must not worship the lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
The Canaanites you're here to replace. That's what they do. Which is exactly what Israel is not to do.
And Jephthah does it anyway. Thinking somehow it's a matter of honour. Thinking somehow God's pleased with him. When in reality, in his ambition to get to the top he's gone as low as you can go. And totally switched the price-tags. On what's valuable. And what's not.
Let's quickly mop up before we stop to think things through.
Because chapter 12, again you get an echo of something that's happened years before. With Gideon. He's beaten the Midianites. And the start of chapter 8 if you look back at it, the Ephraimites criticise him sharply. The Ephraimites… brother Israelites. You just about need to keep a dictionary if mites handy don't you. But Ephraim's one of the tribes of Israel. And they say, how dare you go off winning victories without us? Offended.
And Gideon in his wisdom back in chapter 8 smooth talks them. Avoids a fight. And the resentment subsides.
But now here in chapter 12, the Ephraimites are at it again. They call out their forces, and they march against Jephthah. They say, why did you go fighting the Ammonites without calling us to go with you? We're going to burn your house down over your head.
Because their suspicion is, Jephthah has gone it alone because of his ambition. And they're absolutely right. And while Gideon in chapter 8 smooth talked the tribe of Ephraim and avoided civil war, Jephthah's not nearly so smart.
Verse 4, Jephthah calls together the men of Gilead… and they fight against Ephraim. A bloody battle. The Gileadites strike them down because the Ephtraimites have said, "You Gileadites are renegades from Ephraim and Manasseh." And so they systematically cut them down. Verse 5, even the survivors, they check them out for their regional dialect. Killed. Because they can't pronounce their S's properly.
42,000 Ephraimites killed… brother Israelites. Massacred by Jephthah. Who'll sacrifice anything ... to get to number 1.
And you'll notice, in the end he gets exactly what he wants. And verse 7 is his crowning moment. Leader not just of Gilead. But all of Israel. He's made it to the top.
Jephthah led Israel for six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died. And was buried… in a town in Gilead.
Unmourned. Childless. And only six years at the top to enjoy it.
But Jephthah will give anything. To make it to the top. Jephthah will sacrifice anyone… to be leader of all of Israel.
I wonder if that brings a contrast to mind? Of what the real king of Israel should look like.
Because do you notice the real king of Israel when he comes is very different. The real king of Israel comes to sacrifice himself for the sake of others. Instead of sacrificing others… For the sake of himself
And if you don't get that, you've missed the whole point of being Christian.
Turn over in your bible to Mark 10 verse 35. When James and John come to Jesus. James and John. Who want to make it to the top. They've been with Jesus since the start. Seen enough to know he's going to make it big. And they want to be there with him. James and John sidle up to Jesus privately, they say, Teacher, there's something we want you to do. They say, let one of us sit on your right and the other at your left in your glory. When you make it to the top… take us with you.
To which Jesus says, you've totally missed the point.
And there's a beautiful irony there. Because the cup and the baptism Jesus is talking about – it's the cup of God's wrath. It's the baptism of death on the cross. And when Jesus says in verse 40 the places at his left and right have been reserved for someone else… you've just got to turn a few pages in Mark's gospel some time and you'll see two criminals. One on his left. One on his right. As he comes into his glory on the cross.
Verse 41, the other ten disciples are just as bad. Because when they hear what James and John are asking, they're indignant. They want to be first as well.
So listen as Jesus gives them an unambiguous lesson on kingship. On what it means in the Kingdom of God to make it to number 1.
Which reminds me of a time long ago when I was in preschool. My only pre-school memory. Where the greatest reward was at the end of the day to stand at the front of the line as we marched up to the gate to be picked up by our mums. And the parents at the gate would know who'd won best and fairest for the day, because you'd be beaming at the front of the line.
And because I'd at some point in the morning demonstrated my impeccably good manners, I was promised that first place belonged to me. Which as I recall had never happened before. And never happened again.
Trouble is, by three o'clock in the afternoon, Miss Noyce had forgotten the promise. And given first place to somebody else. And I came to her indignant. At which point being experienced in childcare, she took me by the hand to the far end of the line. And said, you can be first at the other end.
Now I suspect I wasn't quite satisfied with that. Which is why it's still there in my childhood memories. But look what Jesus says. And take it in. "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; they'll walk over anyone… to get to first place. But not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first… must be slave of all. If you want to be first in the Kingdom of God, first is at the far end… of the line.
For even the son of man, says Jesus in famous verse 45, did not come to be served but to serve. And to give his life… as a ransom for many.
That's where we'll see the real king of Israel shining through. Not in Jephthah who'll sacrifice anyone to make it to the top. But in the son of man… who'll sacrifice his own life… in exchange for his people.
And very directly, he's saying if you're coming with me, you do the same.
And so your ambition is going to be ambition to serve. Instead of ambition to rule.
How is it with you?
Because maybe you're the sort of person who's been committed to being number 1. The world's way. Top of the class. To of the school. Top of the heap.
Maybe you're a career person. Where the temptation is always, make it to the top. And I wonder what you've been tempted to trade… to get there? Little sacrifices along the way. In the name of ambition.
Maybe your ambition is in other directions. You're a person of influence. Maybe not a career. But other ways. Even in the church.
And so you sacrifice your family. You sacrifice your marriage.
If you're a younger person starting out, maybe you're saying that'll never happen.
Which is what everybody says. But it can. And it does. The promotion. The longer hours. The money. More than you've ever dreamed of. And things like your family, things like your wife and your kids, well, they'll be okay, won't they? And in the end you trade them for success. You squirm and say it's a terrible thing Jephthah's done to his daughter. But how many men and women on their way to the top do exactly that with their kids. Maybe more subtle ways. But the effect is exactly the same.
In the end you'll get the success. And find out you've held on to exactly the wrong thing.
Not you? Burn the horrible picture of the sacrificial daughter into your mind and let it keep reminding you. Some people sacrifice anything to make it to the top. Jesus sacrificed himself. And made it to the bottom. And calls us you and me… to do the same.