THROUGH THE BIBLE IN THREE YEARS
In 1978 British army soldiers were called to serve as temporary firemen during a strike by local firefighters. An elderly lady called the firehouse asking assistance. Her cat had climbed a tree and was unable to get down.
The army men arrived quickly, and valiantly rescued the cat. The woman was so elated, she invited the men for tea. They accepted, and after a pleasant time, the volunteers left.
Then they promptly ran over and killed the cat they had just rescued!
So goes man's attempt at salvation on his own!
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________SCRIPTURE____________________________________________________________________
Judges 11:7-11
7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?
8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.
9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the LORD deliver them before me, shall I be your head?
10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The LORD be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words.
11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the LORD in Mizpeh.
KJV
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_______THOUGHT______________________________________________________________________
Now this is one of my FAVORITE Bible stories. So please forgive me if this is a little longer than usual. The way God brought this "deliverer" to power was odd. Jephthah was born an illegitimate child, but was raised by his father with the rest of the sons. Evidently Jephthah distinguished himself because the Bible says he was "a mighty man of valour" (verse 1). Perhaps the rest of the family believed that Jephthah was such an overwhelming personality that he would take over the whole family.
Jephthah didn't quarrel about it, he just left and began to raise an army. The Word of God says that certain "vain" men were gathered to him. I'm of the opinion that that word "vain" means men who had no particular portion of land for some reason or another, and had to find other means of supporting their families.
Being in an army (or having one) was a legitimate occupation in those days, and they would make war against those remaining in the land which Israel should have run out earlier. By this war, and by hunting in the countryside, they made their living and supported their families.
Notice that when Israel ran into trouble with the Amonites, the leaders of the area went out to Jephthah and asked for his help (verse 6).
Much like us today -- we are made in the image of God with great powers, but we need a Captain to lead us in the fight against sin. We need Someone Who can and has defeated sin, and can show us the way! JESUS is that ONE!
Jephthah is just a little upset here! They had kicked him out of his father's home, and wouldn't even allow him to have a place of residence among them. But now they would come and dare ask him to SAVE them!
AH! How odious we must seem to Christ, when we willingly crucify Him by our sins, then come and ask Him to save us FROM our sins!
Jephthah asks them a question: "If I fight to save you, will I become your MASTER?" (verse 9)
The people willingly agreed that he would become the "head" of their people.
That's PRECISELY what Jesus says to us! In order for Him to be our Savior, we must first ask Him to be our LORD! (See Jesus' teaching in (Matthew 10:38-39, Luke 9:23)
In order for us to be LED to the completion of salvation, we must FIRST be willing to FOLLOW!
Notice that a solemn, public oath was made between the leaders of Israel and Jephthah as a covenant (Verse 11). YES!! Praise God! Christ will make an oath with us, if we will make an oath with Him!
"Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 10:32-33)
Love ya,
Bruce