RTW 2024

Now Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also had several sons, and when these half brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. “You will not get any of our father’s inheritance,” they said, “for you are the son of a prostitute.” So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Soon he had a band of worthless rebels following him.‍

Judges 11:1-3

And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the LORD whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
Judges 11:30-31

• The people of Gilead needed a deliverer. 
• They did not cry out to God for deliverance. 
• They did what they thought was right in their own eyes. 
• Jepthah was the eighth of Israel’s twelve deliverers. 
• He was the only one that God did not select. 
• The people selected the most violent man they knew- Jepthah. 
• They had previously rejected him and he had become violent and manipulative. 
• God gave the people what they wanted. 
• God’s grace and mercy was shown through empowering Jepthah to defeat Israel’s enemies. 
• Israel is stuck with a violent and evil man as its leader. 
• Proverbs 14:12; Proverbs 16:25
• There is much danger in relying on our own understanding. 
• God shows us that throughout His Word. 
• He teaches us to rely on Him by prayer and the Word. 
• The account of Jepthah teaches us the dangers of living life on our own. 
• The account of Jepthah teaches us that failure to know the Word can result in poor or tragic decisions. 
• The account of Jepthah teaches us that God’s love, mercy, and grace are greater than all of our failures.

Know His Word and walk in His Ways.