Judges 11:1, “Now Jephthah the Gileadite
was a brave warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father
of Jephthah”.
Introduction
The
story of Jephthah is quite interesting. He rose from shame to glory. His story
tells me that no matter the circumstances of my birth and life, I can become
what God wants me to be.
Jephthah
was the son of a prostitute. And who is a prostitute? That is the person who engages in sexual intercourse in
exchange for money or favours. Other words used to refer to such a person include
‘whore’, ‘harlot’, etc. The word, prostitute, is also used to refer to a person
who willingly uses their talent or ability in a base and unworthy way, usually
for money. Even
in biblical days, like today, that profession attracted scorn and ridicule. The
children of prostitutes were mocked incessantly and Jephthah was not spared.
His step brothers threw him out of their father’s house and denied him any
inheritance just because his mother was a harlot. The hostility was so bad that
Jephthah had to run away from home to a place called Tob.
What Next?
Starting
a new life in a new location may not have been easy for Jephthah. He’d left
home with nothing and had no support whatsoever. He would have to get a new
means of livelihood and make new friends in order to move on with his life.
Jephthah had no time for self pity. The opportunity may have been there but
Jephthah refused to walk that path. He trained himself to become a fantastic
warrior. He was determined to make a success of his life. I want to believe
that word got to the people at Gilead that Jephthah was doing well but his
adversaries pooh pooh-ed at such news.
Reach Out!
But
a group of ‘bad guys’, society’s outcasts, obviously ‘never-do-wells’, responded
positively to that information and left Gilead to join Jephthah. They could
relate with Jephthah’s story…the ‘bad-boy-done-good’. They desired a better
life and if Jephthah could make it, so could they. So off they went to meet
with Jephthah. He was now their role model. Jephthah put the boys to work and
trained them to be good warriors and useful people. Jephthah could have
rejected them too. It wasn’t easy for him to turn his life around and he could
have asked them to face the same difficulties he’d faced. But no. He received
them and helped to transform their lives. He became their leader.
Patriotism
The
Bible records that after some time, the Ammonites came to attack Israel. There
was fear in the land – the fear of imminent defeat by a stronger army. The
people of Israel remembered Jephthah, an acknowledged warrior, and ran to him for
help. They were now begging him to be their leader, the same Jephthah they’d derided
and humiliated. They were in dire need of a son like Jephthah and the erstwhile
‘scoundrels’, now accomplished warriors. Jephthah refused to pay them in their
own coin. He kindly accepted to help his people to fight against the Ammonites and
was crowned as head and captain of his people. Israel won the war.
Take the Lemons
It
was not Jephthah’s fault that his mother was a whore. He was even lucky that
his father accepted him as son; most children in that situation don’t even know
their fathers. His rejection by his brothers could have left him angry and bitter.
Most people, in Jephthah’s shoes, would go about complaining from the north
pole to the south pole, threatening vengeance and generally making a nuisance
of themselves. Not Jephthah. He put away all the distractions and was
determined to be successful in spite of what had happened to him.
Your
case may not be exactly like Jephthah’s. Your parent may not be in the class of
Jephthah’s mother but they may be regarded as poor, irresponsible, indisciplined,
etc. You may be so disadvantaged that you are facing discrimination, abuse, oppression
and deprivation. You may not be responsible for how
people treat you but
you are in control of how you react to them. The circumstances of your birth
and life may not be of your own making but what you do with that ‘lemon’ is
your choice… and you can make them into ‘lemonade’. That is what Jephthah did.
He wasn’t responsible for his mother’s behaviour and he wasn’t about to let
that part of his life ruin the rest of his life.
Conclusion
Ecclesiastes
1:9 tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. There is no situation
that has never happened before. As long as God is on your side and you are
determined to succeed, you will. What is determination? It is the will to do
something without giving up. You need to develop strong willpower
which will help you overcome obstacles and achieve your life goals.
As
teenagers, we face immense pressure to perform well in various areas,
especially academics, sports, the arts, etc. This burden and consequent
competition results in overwhelming stress that can test our willpower to
succeed. In many cases, we lose the battle. We can emulate Jephthah. He did not
only pull himself up but also helped others too. He had no appetite for revenge
but for forgiveness and love for community.
Are you determined to
walk with God to achieve your life purpose?
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