Judges chapter 11. We're going to look this evening
at this precious passage of Scripture. Glorious, glorious passage of
Scripture. And behold the faith of God's
elect. Almighty God is going to deliver
his people through this judge called Jephthah. Now, Jephthah was a man, the
scripture says, that was born of a harlot. And his dad's name
was Gilead. And Gilead married after he had
Jephthah. And the scripture says back in
11 verse 2, Gilead's wife bared him sons, and they grew up. And obviously, and I'm just going
from the wording, more than likely, Gilead, the dad, had passed away. And the sons of Gilead's wife
that he had married, said to Jephthah, you're not going to
have any inheritance with our dad. Because you're the son of
a strange woman. And so they cast him out into
a land called Tob, which interpreted means a good land. Well, Gilead,
the country where Israel was residing, was invaded by the
king of Ammon. And now, those that formerly
rejected Jephthah, now comes to him and wants him to come
back because the scripture said in verse 1 that he was a mighty
man of valor. And they wanted him to be their
head, their captain, their leader. So now what we see is one rejected
by men, but chosen by God to be the deliverer of the land
of Israel. What a beautiful picture of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The one that men said, I'll not
have this man to rule over me. But God Almighty has raised Him
up. And He's the Lord. And every knee's going to bow
and every tongue's going to confess that He is Lord to the glory
of God. Well, they come to Him in the
land of Tob. And they ask Him to come back. And what He does is He rehearses
back into their memory. You know, He said, you know,
you came to Me You're coming to me now to see if I'll come
and help you while you're in distress. Oh, how we need to
be reminded of our rebellion against Him. How gracious is
the Lord to teach us afresh of our waywardness. And how mercifully
does the Lord afflict His people to cause them to see their weakness,
and to see Him as our Deliverer, our Deliverance. Well, Israel
admits their folly, and they humble themselves before God's
man. And assured that they are going
to accept Him as their Head and Defender, Jephthah returns with
them. In verse 11 we read, it says,
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made
him head and captain over them. And Jephthah uttered all of his
words before the Lord in Mizpah. Jephthah, a man of prayer, and
he spread the whole matter before the Lord. He did not lean. He was not going to lean on the
arm of flesh and His ability and His own decisions and His
own understanding. But He called upon the Lord for
direction, for guidance. God's approval. God's mercy. God's help. Servant. God's servant. That's who He
was. They saw Him. Jephthah is a mighty man of valor. Jephthah saw himself as a needy
man. The servant of Almighty God humbled
himself before the Lord. What a picture again of our precious
Savior. Made himself of no reputation. Here was Jephthah, God's elevated
man of valor. But Jephthah knew who he was. Rehearsing these things before
the Lord, as if He said, Lord, you've heard these words that
these men have rehearsed. If this is Your will, if this
is Your direction, Lord, if You go with us, we'll go. Lord, if it's not Your will,
we don't go. We're assured of the Lord's blessing.
Jephthah questions that invading king. Why are you coming to invade
my land? He tried peaceably to resolve
the issue, and the king of Ammon, hiding his true intentions, brings
up something that happened years ago. Ammon had lost the land
of Gilead in a battle to Sihon, king of the Amorites. Now, Sihon,
if you remember when we were looking at the faith of Rahab,
the harlot, whenever Joshua had sent those spies into Jericho,
and Rahab told him, he said, you know what, we heard. how
you had destroyed Sihon and Og, those kings back in the wilderness. Well, here's this king right
here, Sihon. Israel was coming to the promised
land. They were going to Canaan. And
the Lord had instructed Israel to not meddle. Don't meddle with
the land of the Moabites or the Amorites. That's the ones who
now want their land back. The Amorites. Well, in Israel,
when they refused to let Israel go through their land of Edom
and Moab, rather than make trouble because God had told them, leave
them alone. Don't press the issue because
they would not make trouble. For these countries, Israel was
not going to make trouble. They went around them. They just
compassed around the east side. Well, when they came to Gilead,
the land that is in dispute right now, which had been taken from
Ammon by Sihon, this king, Israel asked Sihon, do you mind if we
go through your land? Well, the Scripture says that
Sihon, who had taken the land now from this group here that's
telling Jephthah, that's our land. We want it back. Sihon had taken it from them.
And now here's Sihon over here. Sihon is asked by the Israelites,
can we go through your land? And the Scripture says Sihon
didn't trust them. No. No, I don't think. You think,
well, so what happens is Sihon decides to come up against Israel. Sihon is going to go ahead and
take them on. Israel was not looking for trouble. And so the
Lord says that when Sihon came against Israel, Sihon had taken
that land, and now here is Sihon, and he is going to come against
Israel, and what happens is the Lord gives him The land defeats
Sihon. Sihon was going to wipe Israel
off, get them out of his way, get them out of his misery. And
God now delivers Sihon into the hands of the Israelites. And
now the Israelites have Gilead. Now, Jephthah asked, you know,
as Ammon was coming to him. Ammon said, OK, give me that
land back. That's ours. Jephthah says in verse 26, when Israel dwelt in Heshvon,
that was the principal city that was taken from Sihon. when Israel dwelt in Heshbon
and her towns, and Arora and her towns, and all the cities
that be along the coast of Arnon 300 years. What happened is after
they had come in there, and there was the Israelites living in
Gilead now. They were accepted. Nobody was
giving them any trouble. He said, wait a minute. He said,
Israel was here all this time, 300 years. He said, why did you
not make an issue out of it then? Why are you making an issue of
it now? Three hundred years. Balak, the
king of Moab, never disputed the possession of Sihon's kingdom
with Israel. There was peace. Why are you
bringing it up now? Jephthah said, this land is our
land and God's going to judge. between this thing. Well, the
Scripture says in verse 29, Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, Manasseh, and passed
over Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead passed over
unto the children of Ammon. The same thing that happened
with Gideon, Samson, The Spirit of the Lord, the Scripture says,
came upon him. What happened was the setting
apart, the empowering, the showing off, the bringing up of God's
judge. It was given in part, the Spirit,
to the judges without measure to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
now at this point, with the history of the one rejected by his people,
Raised up by the Lord, a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
now we're going to find, starting in verse 30 to the end of the
chapter, the faith of Jephthah. The Lord has raised up this man.
And the Scripture sets forth concerning the faith of this
man, Jephthah believed God. for Israel's deliverance. Jephthah's
faith was exhibited in the vowing of a vow. Verse 30 and 31, And
Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt
without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then
it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house
to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon,
shall surely be the Lord's. And I will offer it up for a
burnt offering." Jephthah, in his desire for God's intervening
power in the victory of Israel over the enemies of God's people,
bound his soul to the Lord with a vow. He promised, he vowed,
whatever comes forth out of my house to meet me, not just, this
wasn't a vow where just if one of the animals happened to wander
out of the, you know, whatever comes out of my house, to meet me, to greet me. Whatever comes out shall surely
be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."
It's going to be totally for God. It's going to be totally
for the Lord. That's what a burnt offering
was. The burnt offering was a sweet, savor offering, setting forth
the glory the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ before God. A sweet savor in the nostrils
of Almighty God, the burnt offering. What it took, likewise, concerning
our Lord in the defeat of God's enemies, What it took, what God
Almighty was purposed to do in the establishing of righteousness
and peace before God and His people was a covenant. A covenant. A covenant of grace. Jephthah made a vow. Here's the
enemies of God. And he entered in. to a covenant,
made a vow, made a promise before God Almighty, whatever it takes,
whatever it takes for the defeat of the enemies of God's people,
whatever it takes, Lord, You decide. He put himself in God's
hands David said in 2 Samuel 23, 5,
Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me
an everlasting covenant, a pledge, an allegiance, that's what it
means, ordered in all things insure, for this is all my salvation,
all my desire, although he make it not to grow. Jephthah knew that the Lord Himself
ordered all things He did, the Scripture says in Hebrews 11.34,
He did what He did by faith. He believed God. He believed
God. He knew that the Lord did as
He willed in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth. He knew that nothing moved without God's direction. Therefore, Almighty God, was
going to direct and provide the sacrifice. He made no deals as
to who it was. When Isaac said to Abraham, Behold
the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for
a burnt offering. Jephthah believed God. Jephthah
was raised up by God. Jephthah was the judge. The Spirit
of the Lord came upon him. And Jephthah entered in to a
vow, a pledge, an allegiance with Almighty God. Lord, whatever
it takes for the defeat of these enemies, if You will defeat these
enemies, You provide the sacrifice. 32 and 33, Jephthah engaged the
enemy. Jephthah passed over against
the children of Ammon to fight against them. And the Lord delivered
them into his hands. And he smoked them from Aurore,
even, till thou come to Minneth, even twenty cities upon the plain
of the vineyards, a very great slaughter. Thus, the children
of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. The great
slaughter. God Almighty gave the deliverance. God Almighty provided. God Almighty
put down the enemies of Israel. But what was it going to take for that sacrifice? By faith. Jephthah returned, waiting on
God, and he realized that Almighty God and His sacrifice demanded
a precious sacrifice. God was the one that provided
this sacrifice. Remember, Jephthah made no stipulations
on who the sacrifice would be. Lord, whoever it is, I'll leave
that in Your hands. But 34 and 35, Jephthah came
to Mizpah unto his house, and behold, his daughter came out
to meet him with timbrels and with dances. She was his only
child. Beside her he had neither son
nor daughter. And it came to pass when he saw
her that he rent his clothes, and he said, Alas, my daughter,
Thou hast brought me very low. Thou art one of them that trouble
me, for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go
back." Victorious. Jephthah returns and is met with
his only child. Seeing her, the Scripture says,
his heart is brought low. But Jephthah, has put his hand
to the plow, and he cannot look back. I've opened my mouth unto
the Lord. I cannot go back." The Lord had spoken providentially.
Jephthah knew that all he had, that which was most precious
to him, was what God demanded. His precious child. Proverbs
23, 26 says, My son, give me thine heart. You know, to a parent, what would
you take? What would you take over your
child? What would you not give up for
your child? Would you cast your child to
just Your child. The sacrifice that
God demanded. What's it going to take to deliver
the people of God out of the hand of their enemies? It's going to take a precious
sacrifice. The Scripture says, For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Romans 8.32, "...he that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not with him also freely give us all things?" This vow made
before God left all in the hands of God Himself. Lord, whatever
you demand, you reveal. And he revealed that the sacrifice
of Jephthah would be a precious sacrifice. Jephthah had one child. That's all he had. And the Lord
Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son. Thirdly, God demanded that
the sacrifice of Jephthah's vow had to be a willing sacrifice. Verse 36, And she said unto him,
My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to
me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth. Forasmuch
as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even
of the children of Ammon. Here was Jephthah's precious
daughter, only child. But, oh, behold the willingness
of his daughter for God's honor. Made so, no doubt, willing in
the day of God's power. He came in no doubt. He told,
I've opened my mouth to the Lord. I can't go back. And she said,
Thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according
to that which hast proceeded out of thy mouth of thy Lord. The Scripture says in John 17,
To Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son that thy Son
also may glorify thee. before the foundation of the
world in that eternal covenant of grace. God the Father, the
Scripture says, chose a people unto salvation, unto life. He
chose the sheep. He chose the bride of Christ. Set them apart, sanctify them. Gave them to the Son, who is
the surety, and the Son in covenant engagement Entered in, in that
eternal covenant of grace that said, I'll redeem them. I will
be the Lamb. What God demanded, God supplied. Christ said, I will lay down
my life for the sheep. That's what He said, John 10,
15. I'll lay down my life for the sheep. Father, glorify Thou
me. Show me to be the one that we
have everlastingly purposed to be in the redemption of your
people. Glorify Thou me, that Thy Son
may glorify Thee, that I might glorify You as the electing God
of all grace." It had to be a willing sacrifice. And this girl comes
to him, and when he told her what he had said unto the Lord,
and she said, Do it. Do it. Fourthly, by faith God
revealed and Jephthah knew that this sacrifice must be a pure
sacrifice. Look at verse 37. She said unto
her father, let this thing be done for me. Let me alone two
months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains and bewail
my virginity, I and my fellows." Certainly, I know Jephthah's
daughter was not pure in the sense of being without sin before
Almighty God, but her virginity was a beautiful picture of purity
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a picture of His holiness. Her physical purity set forth
in type, in picture, Him who became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens.
And the scripture says that she went This pure virgin, the one
that God demanded, I'll give whatever comes out. What do you
think God demands for a sacrifice? It's got to be a precious sacrifice,
a willing sacrifice, a holy sacrifice. And she went to bewail her virginity. A lot of times you'll read in
the Old Testament When women were barren, without child, she
knew that was a mark, it was a stigma. And this young lady,
knowing that God was going to send the Messiah through a virgin,
but she knew, it's not going to be me. It's not going to be
me. My dad's opened his mouth to
the Lord, and he's going to have to do what he says he's going
to do. Would you let me go up two months and bewail my virginity? It was grievous. For that reason, a matter of
weeping and lamentation. So it had to be a virgin, pure,
holy, a precious, precious sacrifice. Jephthah's sacrifice was one
that was to be trusted. She says in verse 38, verse 37,
she says, Let me go. Let me go up in the mountains.
I'll go up and down. Beware of my virginity, I and
my fellows. Look at verse 38. And he said,
Go. And he sent her away for two
months. And she went with her companions. and bewailed her
virginity upon the mountains." There's no record that's hinted
at that Jephthah doubted that she was going to come back. He
told her what he was going to have to do. He had opened his
mouth to the Lord. She said, well, you've opened
your mouth to the Lord. Do to me that which you've said
unto the Lord. Let me go up for two months.
He knew his daughter and he trusted her. Concerning our Lord in Ephesians
1.11, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will, that we should be holy. That
we should be, I'm sorry, to the praise of the glory, His grace,
who first trusted in Christ, our Father, who chose His people unto salvation,
and gave them to the Son. And all power was given unto
the Son. that He should give eternal life
to as many as the Father had given Him. It was the Father's
will that of all that He had given the Son, that the Son should
lose none of them. It was the Father who first trusted
in Christ. It was the Father who justified
His people eternally because He trusted His Son. He knew He
will not fail. Jephthah trusted her. He knew that when she said, I'll
go up for two months, And I'll be back. You know what he said? She'll be back. She's going to
come back. For the very reason that I told
her. She's got to come back. Sixthly, the sacrifice of Jephthah
was faithful. Verse 39. It came to pass at
the end of two months that she returned unto her father, who
did with her according to his vow which he had vowed. And she
knew no man. I'm going to stop. I'll read this last part in just
a minute. She came back knowing her fate, this pure virgin. She lived and
died faithful to her Father's word. The Lord Jesus Christ said,
my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish
the work. Some may ask, did He actually
sacrifice her? I think that the scripture bears
out that He did. Some might say, I can't imagine. that happening. God told Abraham
to sacrifice Isaac. And Isaac was dead. In Abraham's
eyes, Isaac was dead. He knew. He knew God could raise
him back up. That boy was dead. But for sure,
her obedience to the fulfillment of Jephthah's vow satisfied God's
requirement to Jephthah's vow. That vow, by Jephthah, by faith,
was ratified, made good on, by blood. And our Lord said, this
cup, when we take the Lord's table, is the New Testament in
my blood. This is the cost of it. This
is what it's going to take. When we drink that little cup
of wine, when we eat the bread and drink the cup, what's the
payment of our redemption? What is the payment? What did
it cost? This cup is the New Testament
in my blood. This do ye as oft as you drink
it in remembrance of me. And then that last part of 39
and into 40. And it was a custom of Israel
that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter
of Jephthah, the Gileadite, four days in a year. God's people
needed redemption. They needed deliverance. God
raised up Jephthah. Jephthah is a picture of Christ. God's deliverer. God's true judge. The mighty man of valor. The
true man of valor. the all-powerful man of valor. And Jephthah entered into covenant,
into a vow with Almighty God. Lord, you provide the sacrifice. Whatever comes out, that's what
it will be. That precious willing, pure,
faithful, trustworthy sacrifice that was pictured by Jephthah's
daughter is the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Lamb, the one that God
provided Himself. Lord, bless these words to our
heart for Christ's sake.