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Faith is like an arrow that never misses a target,

Faith builds strong towers from a tiny nugget,

Jephthah won the war with faith as his budget,

Trust God always; with Him, we are guarded.

Faith is like a helmet protecting from damage,

Faith brings back what was in sabotage,

Faith is forgiving, unloading all baggage,

Jephthah forgave and rose above average.

Faith is like a warrior leading to victory,

Faith is like a pen rewriting history,

By faith, Jephthah wrote an incredible story,

Faith conquers and solves all mystery.

Faith speaks loudly with no physical voice,

To live by faith is the most blessed choice,

Faith moves mountains without much noise,

Trust in God deploys while doubting His Word destroys.

Hebrews 11:32-35 (KJV) – “³² And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: ³³ Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. ³⁴ Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.”

“A deliverer was raised up in the person of Jephthah, a Gileadite, who made war upon the Ammonites and effectually destroyed their power. For eighteen years at this time Israel had suffered under the oppression of her foes, yet again the lesson taught by suffering was forgotten.” – Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 558.3, Ellen G. White.

Let’s look at the life of Jephthah:

Judges 11:1-3 (KJV) – “¹ Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. ² And Gilead’s wife bare him sons; and his wife’s sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father’s house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. ³ Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him.”

According to the Strong Exhaustive Concordance, Jephthah means ‘he opens,’ and Gilead refers to a rocky region. The Bible describes Jephthah as a mighty man of valor. However, it provides a contrast by mentioning that he was the son of a harlot. The Bible starts by describing his capacity as an individual before telling us his background. The Word of God begins by telling us Jepthah’s strength before telling us his perceived weakness. God considers your strength first before your weakness. Jepthah’s strength was his inner ability; his mother, being a harlot, was an outside negative force. Whatever God instills in you is more robust than outside hostile forces.

Jepthah’s mother was a harlot, but the Bible describes Jepthah as a mighty man. His brothers abandoned him because his mother was a harlot. Your family background can affect you, but you should not allow it to define your destiny. Jephthah’s brothers chased him out. Despite his strength, he did not argue or fight with his brothers when they decided to throw him out. Instead, he peacefully allowed them their way and dwelled in Tob. He went from the land of Gilead, which means a rocky region, to the land of Tob, which means good, beautiful, and bountiful. In other words, he went to a better environment than the one he was previously in.

We lose a lot when we fight to stick around in places we are not needed. Many people stay in abusive friendships and relationships because they think those relationships or friendships are the best they can ever get. Some fight to inherit property because they cannot envision themselves acquiring better property than that. There is light at the end of the tunnel only if you get out of that tunnel. Do not miss out on better opportunities and blessings because of tightly holding on to the stumbling blocks. Exercise faith like Jephthah by not fighting back against those who are fighting you. Have faith and go to where God is leading you. If God reveals the Sabbath truth and leads you to observe the Sabbath, follow His lead. There are blessings when you do that. Refusing or delaying to follow God blocks you from accessing blessings. God might have hidden your breakthrough where you are reluctant to go.

Judges 11:4-11 (NKJV) – “⁴ It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. ⁵ And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. ⁶ Then they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.” ⁷ So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” ⁸ And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “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 head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 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?” ¹⁰ 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.” ¹¹ Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.”

The people of Gilead returned to Jephthah because they needed help fighting the Ammonites. It should not be your intention, but if you stick to God and act righteously, people who once treated you poorly will return to you seeking help. Jephthah was not expecting this. Humbling themselves and returning to Jephthah showed that no man in their midst could fight the people of Ammon. A time may come when your enemies will need something that can only be done by you. This shows that even though they mistreated Jephthah, they strongly believed in his ability. Not everybody who mistreats you underrates you, as you may think. Some of them are intimidated by you, while others want to be like you.

Jephthah reminded them of what they did to him. However, he acted with faith and forgave them, agreed to help them, and negotiated with them. The price he asked for winning the war was for them to make him their leader. Asking for a price for a skill or a talent you possess is okay as long as you end up fulfilling your end of the bargain. Jephthah asked them to make him leader over them if he won the battle. He made this explicit agreement before he fought the war.

You should agree with the other party before you embark on the assignment, they are giving you. It would be best if you made it clear whether you are doing it for free or you are doing it with a price. Jephthah would have given his services for free. However, if Jephthah did not ask for a fee, they might have ended up being ungrateful and mistreated him as they did before. Secondly, a gift to him would show the genuineness of their apologies. When you have wronged someone and are asking them for forgiveness, it would be great to offer them a gift if you are in a position to. This is because actions speak louder than words. When reconciling, various people in the Bible did it by offering gifts.

Jephthah tried to negotiate peace with the Ammonites before resorting to war (Judges 11:12-28). There was a misunderstanding between them and the Ammonites. Therefore, he gave them a detailed explanation and history in order to make peace with them. As a Christian, making peace with the other party should be your first priority whenever there is conflict, no matter how strong you are. Wars usually result from pride whereby one person, organization, or country wants to prove that they are stronger than the other, which typically ends up in calamity, with both parties losing. The King of Ammon did not heed Jepthah’s words. Therefore, they had to go to war. The Holy Spirit approved this battle and promised Jephthah that God would make them win. Jephthah made a vow to God and trusted Him to give him victory over the Ammonites (Judges 11:29-33).

When God is by your side, you can never lose. God was by Jepthah’s side, and as a result, they were victorious. Jephthah had promised God that if he made him win, he would give God whatever came first to meet him when he was coming from war (Judges 11:30-31). Unfortunately, his daughter came to meet him. He had only one child. He had no other sons and daughters but had to keep his promise to God. We should be careful of what we promise God because it is sinful to promise God something and fail to fulfill it. Jephthah acted by faith and kept his vow to God even though it meant sacrificing his only daughter (Judges 11:34-40).

Keeping promises is an act of faith. Many people give huge promises, and then when the time comes for them to fulfill them, they don’t. This behavior makes them lose trust in people, and as a result, it prevents them from accessing more opportunities, thus making them stagnate in life. Be in control of your emotions when making promises. Do not promise out of feeling. However, if you make a promise, whether emotional or logical, ensure you fulfill it. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 5:2 (KJV) – “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.”

Jephthah defended his actions against the Ephraimites, who threatened to burn his house down (Judges 12:1-7). Jephthah judged Israel for six years and was buried among the cities of Gilead.

If we have faith in God, we will define ourselves by the definition God gives us, and we will not be inclined toward the weakness of our forefathers and family members. We need to have faith and go where God’s blessings are. Jephthah left Gilead and moved to the land of Tob. The more we remain in sin, the more afflicted we will be. There is no need to stay in affliction when Jesus has allowed us to enjoy infinite blessings. It is an act of faith to forgive others and not hold grudges. It is an act of faith to fulfill our promises to God, and it is an act of faith to use our abilities to serve God.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Dear God, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Please help me to live according to the purpose that you have given me. Please help me not to follow the evil traits of my family members and forefathers. If there is any generational curse that may have befallen me, please break it. Take me from sin and lead me to righteousness. Enable me not to hold on to the place of affliction and guide me to the way of blessing. I forgive all those who have wronged me, and if there is any bad feeling towards them in my heart, I ask you to please take it away. Help me not to make promises out of emotions and to fulfill all the promises I have ever made if they are in accordance with your will. I pray this, trusting and believing in the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Activity

1. Write down the generational evil patterns in your family and ask God to help you break them.
2. Write down the evil things that are holding you back. It may be sins, an environment, or people. Ask God to untie your attachment to them.
3. Write down all the people who have wronged you and ask God to enable you to forgive them.
4. Write down all your unfulfilled promises and pledges (all righteous promises, do not fulfill sinful promises). Ask God to help you meet them.

Author: Mark Alex   

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