I want you to turn with me in
your Bibles to the book of Judges, chapter 11. Judges, chapter 11. And let me say what a privilege
it is for me to be here. I love your pastor. I love you. A lot of us here grew up together,
didn't we? There's been a lot of water under
the bridge, but thanks being to God, we're still here. This morning I want to look at
a passage of scripture that is either one of the saddest
passages of scripture that you've ever read, or it's one of the
most glorious passages of scripture that we've ever read. And based
upon our Lord's word, when He was on the road with two men
to a place called Emmaus, they were traveling down the road,
and the Lord came up to these two fellows, and they were talking,
He said, uh, what are you talking about? And basically what they said
was, obviously, you're not from around here, are you? He said,
uh, Jesus of Nazareth. Three days ago, he was crucified. We thought for sure that he was
the Christ. He told them, O fools, to slow
apart, to believe all that was spoken. And the scripture says, beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all
the scriptures the things concerning himself. Now, I know this. According to our Lord's Word,
in all the Scriptures, He's there. And I'll tell you, the blessing
of Almighty God is when the Spirit of God gives us eyes to see it. he opened unto them the scriptures
and later after he left them they said, didn't our heart burn?
today I pray that the Lord might be pleased to allow us to see
I want to see I know what we are by nature
we sleep as the bride said in Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse
2, I sleep But my heart's awake. She was admitting what she is
by nature. I sleep, but my heart's awake.
It's the voice of my beloved. She called to her, she gave him excuses. What'd he do? He said he put
his hand in the hole of the door. And her heart was enlivened.
She got up. but he had removed himself he
knew how to draw her today I mean this if this is the last time
we ever meet together I pray that God be pleased to
put his hand by his Holy Spirit in the hole of the door of our
heart and enliven our hearts to see the glory of the Lord
Jesus Christ judges Chapter 11. Now what I'm going to do, I'm
going to just tell you for the sake of time. Starting in verse
1 through about verse 28. Let me tell you what has happened. There was a man named Jephthah. Jephthah. Verse 1 says he was
a Gileadite, a mighty man of valor. He was the son of a harlot. Gilead, his dad, begat Jephthah. His dad got married. Later, after
he'd had sons by his wife, they cast out Jephthah. They said, you're not going to
have any part of dad's inheritance. They cast him out in verse 3. jeff to play it from his brethren
dwelt in land while he was in land the uh... there was a place called and
he was going to first for it was going to make war against
israel and what happened was the The elders of Gilead, from
Israel, they came back to Jephthah after they cast him out. And
they told him, they said, why don't you come over and be our
captain? Help us out here. And Jephthah
asked them, you read this, you can go back and read it later.
But what happened was, he said, well, he said, now how is it
that you cast me out? You don't want to have anything
to do with me. And now you're coming back to ask me to be your
captain? He said, now, if I do this, will
I be your captain? They said, Lord, Lord is our
witness. That's what we're gonna do. Verse
10, the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, the Lord be witness
between us if we do not so according to thy words. And the scripture
says in verse 11, Jephthah went. with the elders, Gilead, and
people made him head and captain over them. And Jephthah uttered
all his words before the Lord in Mizpah." Well, he prayed about
it. The right thing to do. This king
of Ammon, he wanted to make war. So Jephthah, verse 12, he sent
messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon and says, What
hast thou to do with me that thou art come against me to fight
in my land? The king of Ammon says basically
in verse 13, he said, Well, the reason we're doing this is because
you stole. Israel stole this land from us. That's what verse
13, the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messenger
of Jephthah, because Israel took away my land when they came up
out of Egypt from Arnon even unto Jabbok and unto Jordan and
therefore restore those lands again peaceably. He said, now
this is what we want. You guys came out of Egypt and
stole our land. Well, Jephthah said, no, no,
we didn't steal your land. The Lord gave us that land. We
weren't looking for a fight. Now he said, look at verses 16
and 17. When Israel came up from Egypt
and walked through the wilderness under the Red Sea and came to
Kadesh, Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying,
Let me, I pray thee, just pass through thy land. But the king
of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent
unto the king of Moab, but he would not consent, and Israel
abode in Kadesh. He said, This is what happened.
He said, all we wanted to do was just walk through. We just
wanted to walk through. We didn't want any trouble. We
were going to walk through the land. That's all we wanted. Just
free passage. Let them walk through. We're
not going to start any trouble. No. No, we don't want you walking
through. So Israel circumvented, tried to go around. not have any problems but trouble
was coming verse 18 to 21 it says They went along through the wilderness,
accomplished the land of Edom, the land of Moab, came to the
east side of the land of Moab, pitched on the other side of
Arnon, came not within the borders of Moab, but for Arnon was the
border of Moab, and Israel sent messengers unto Sihon, king of
the Amorites, king of Heshbon. Israel said unto him, Let us
pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place. But Sihon
trusted not Israel to pass through his coast, Sihon gathered all
his people together, pitched in Jahaz, and fought against
Israel. And the Lord God of Israel delivered
Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they
smoked them. So Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites,
the inhabitants of that country. He said, this is what happened.
He said, you guys started it. You started it. And God gave
us this land. This was our land by God's promise,
by God's gift, by God's purpose. Verse 27-28, He said, Wherefore,
I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war
against me. The Lord the Judge be judged
this day between the children of Israel and the children of
Ammon. how big king of the children of amman park and not on the
words of jeff which you see jeff uh... tried to reason with
him said god gave us this land and now you're coming up to me
and you're telling me you give it back he said god gave us this
one Well, Jephthah knew, okay, there's
gonna be a fight. I can see the handwriting on
the wall right here. It's coming. So Jephthah, the scripture says,
knowing that there's gonna be a fight, this is what happened. Verse 29, this is where I'd like
to pick up. Then the Spirit of the Lord came
upon Jephthah. and he passed over Gilead and
Manasseh passed over Mizpah of Gilead and from Mizpah of Gilead
he passed over unto the children of Ammon the scripture sets forth
that Almighty God anointed this man to be the deliverer of Israel
of Gilead the spirit of the lord was upon him now let me just
make this statement I was looking up at the top of my bible there
you may have a little at the top of my bible it just kind
of gives like a little summary of what's in that chapter and
it says Jephthah's message to the Amorites and then it says
his rash vow This is what I meant a while ago when I said that
this vow was either one of the most foolish, rash, irrational
thoughts that a man could possibly do, or the Spirit of the Lord came upon
Jephthah and what he said, he said under the inspiration of
God's Spirit. And he did so for the glory of
God Almighty, for the honor And the setting forth and the picturing
of what the Lord Jesus Christ declared was so in all the scriptures. He's there. And by God's grace,
we're going to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in this
vow. the spirit verse twenty nine
of the lord came upon jeff the and here's what happened looking
for thirty thirty one and jeff the valve of battle onto the
lord and said if i'll show up with out deliver the children
of amman into my hand then it shall be what's so what comment
for of the doors of my house to meet me when i return in peace
from the children of amman shall surely be the lord's and i will
offer it up for a part lord give us i have to see today
may we see him in this this i know here was a man that knew God, that believed
God, the Spirit of God was upon him. And what he said, he said,
as I said a moment ago, under the inspiration of the Lord. He knew, Jephthah knew, whatever the price was going
to be for deliverance, for Israel, for freedom, for deliverance,
whatever it was going to be, God was going to have to provide
it. Jephthah did not lay the foundation
of what was going to be given. He knew that all things that
are ordered in this world are ordered by the Lord. He worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. Everything that moves it moves
by God's direction God's purpose God's will God's honor the glory
of God Almighty and Jephthah laid all Into the hands of God
Almighty No, no, no stipulations here. He said Lord It shall be that whatsoever cometh
forth of the doors of my house to meet me and Whoever comes
out of my house Lord that'll be the burnt offering. I'm gonna
offer that unto you The burnt offering was an offering it was
a sweet savor offering It was an offering that was given to
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and his obedience His obedience
unto God in the redemption of his people that was the bar offering
you came to the tabernacle it so that i would like to look
in the wilderness and have can't win all the way around and uh... inside that area that open air
area there was the the uh... the tabernacle out of court holy
of holies that out of court have all the way around and there
was a door one door and uh... to get into that in into that
court there was the brazen alter right there there was a door
one door one door in there's a brazen alter you gotta get
past the alter that's where the burnt offering was offered that
sweet savor offering magnifying the lord jesus christ and his
obedience faithfulness to his father, the burnt offering. That's what Jephthah said, whatever
comes out of my house. He vowed this vow, I'm gonna
enter in to a covenant. A covenant. Boy, you know, anytime
we hear that word covenant, I think about David. This is all my hope. he had made
he made everlasting all things that's all my salvation the almighty
god would have mercy upon me here's a man uh... absolutely this was not only
that was a rash let me turn to hold your hand up to turn the
hebrews eleven thirty two Hebrews 11, 32. Hebrews 11, verse 32, 33. The writer to Hebrews says, Hebrews
11, 32, and what shall I more say? For the time would fail
me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel,
the prophets who through faith. Who through faith. This was a
man who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Jephthah did
what he did by faith. The Spirit of God was upon him
and by faith. This man who believed God said,
Lord, what shall be the sacrifice for Israel's deliverance? Lord,
whatever it is, you provide. I'm not in a position to bargain
with you. Lord, I lay this before your feet. I cast all of my care
upon you. This nation is going to go to
war with us and the people have come and they've asked me. He
laid the case before the Lord. Lord, there's going to have to
be a payment. Sacrifice is going to have to be offered without
the shedding of blood. There's no remission. There's
no deliverance. There's no freedom. Lord, you're
going to have to provide. Isaac said, Father, behold the
fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham said, my son, God will
provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Jephthah said, and turned back
to Judges 11, Lord, show me your way. Lord, you direct, show me
your will. Lord, you provide what you demand. Well, the scripture says in Judges
11, 32-33, So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon,
to fight against them. And the Lord delivered them into
his hands, and he smote them from Aurora, even till thou comest
to Minneh, even twenty cities and onto the plane of the venues
and with a very great of water with a very great for dot the
children of of amman were subdued before the children history of
the war did surely give victory onto history israel was victorious by the
grace of god by the power of god by the will of god and now
what does the lord man What's the cost? What's the price? What's the
sacrifice? Scripture says in verse 34 and
35, And Jephthah came to Mishpah unto his house, and behold his
daughter came out to meet him with timbrels,
with dances. She was his only child. beside
her he had neither son nor daughter and came to pass when he saw
her that he rent his clothes and 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 what's the price? what's the
cost gonna be? What did the Lord require? I'll tell you what He required. Everything. Everything. Which one of your kids would
you give up? Which one of your grandkids? Here he saw his daughter Scripture
revealed that his heart was broken. He loved her. He loved her. Oh, but right here, let us behold
the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the price of redemption? What did it cost? The scripture says that Jephthah
came, walked out, his daughter came out, she was dancing, she
was so glad to see her daddy. And he looked at her and he said,
my daughter, I have opened my mouth unto the Lord and I cannot,
I cannot. Let me read this Numbers 30,
Numbers 30 verse two. Numbers chapter 30 verse 2 says
this, if a man vow a vow unto the Lord or swear an oath to
bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word, he
shall do according to all that proceeded out of his mouth. He
said, I've opened my mouth unto the Lord. I can't go back. What's it gonna
cost? first thing comes out of the
house the Lord poured this and in this we behold the glorious
person of our precious Savior here is Jephthah a beautiful
type I can see right here of the Father here's the Father
and here's Jephthah's daughter a picture of the sun this is
this was his only child that's what he says verse 32 his daughter came out
to meet him with timbrels to dances she was his only child for God so loved the world and
not everybody without distinction you know that Your faithful pastors
taught you that. You know that. God so loved the
order, the arrangement of mankind. He chose out of every nation,
kindred, tribe, and tongue. He loved this order. He sent
His only, His only, His only begotten Son into this world. lay down his life for the sheep. What's it gonna cost? It's gonna
cost his only daughter. You look at her and you think
that's, I'll tell you what kind of sacrifice it's gonna have
to be. It's gonna have to be a precious sacrifice. The Lord spared not his own son,
delivered him up for us all. How shall he not with him also
freely gives all things? This is, I know, what's a sacrifice?
It's going to have to be a precious one. Precious. His only daughter. Proverbs 23, 26. What's it going
to demand, Jephthah? The Lord said, give me your heart. Give me your heart. Here's the
Father's heart. This daughter is a picture of
the father's heart. This is my beloved son in whom
I am well pleased. You hear him. You hear him. What you're going to take, I
tell you, you're going to have to take a precious sacrifice.
Precious sacrifice that sheds the precious blood that blood that when the father
sees I'm going to pass over you that's precious what's it going to take? I'll
tell you what it's going to take it's going to have to be a willing
sacrifice look at her in verse 36 she came out he told her he
said in verse 35 I opened my mouth unto the Lord I can't go
back and you listen to what this daughter says now let me tell
you something This really happened. This really happened. She said
unto him, my father, now the word if there is in italics,
thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord. Listen to what she
says. Do to me according to that which thou, which hath proceeded
out of thy mouth. For as much as the Lord hath
taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children
of Ammon." She was a willing sacrifice. She said, my father, you opened
your mouth to the Lord. According to the vow, she knew
what was going on. Because of her answer, she knew
what happened. According to your vow due to me According to that
which proceed out of your mouth. Oh Do we not hear the words of
our precious Savior listen to his his words John 17 one father
Here he was in this high priestly prayer Soon, he's going to the
cross He came into this world seek and say that which is lost.
He had a sheep. Yes, sir Church he has a bride. He's come to get her Go come
redeem her and he is the eternal surety The one who is eternally
stood to answer I will answer I Will lay down my life Will
give myself this body shall be broken and shall be broken willingly
and listen to the words of our Lord John 17 1 father glorify
thy son Glorify me as the Redeemer that
thy son also may glorify thee According to that everlasting
covenant of grace He says father do to me according
to your word psalm 138 too how does god what's god's attitude
concerning his word listen to this psalm 138 too for thou has
magnified thy word above all thy name god has magnified his
word not one word shall fail Not one word returned void. Jephthah bowed, disavowed, said,
whatever comes out, Lord, you order it. What kind of sacrifice
is he gonna take? It's gonna have to be a precious
sacrifice. Speaking of the preciousness
of our Savior, willing sacrifice. I laid down my life. He said
that I might take it again no man take it you said with the
romans crucified by god determined council he laid down he said
you take i laid it down i'll lay it down of my all the whole
the preciousness of the submissive savior precious What else is it gonna take? I'll
tell you what it's gonna take. It's gonna have to 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 to the mountain and bewail my virginity, I and
my fellows. She was a virgin. I know this,
in herself, she was like any other sinner, born in sin, liars,
but as a picture, as a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, in her
purity, she was pure, a virgin, a beautiful
picture and type of Him who became us. who is holy and harmless
and undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than the
heavens. He hath made him sin for us who
knew no sin. Who knew no sin. Who knew no
sin. 1 Peter 2.22 says, who did no
sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. What is a sacrifice
going to have to be? It's going to have to be a precious,
a willing, pure sacrifice. I'll tell you what else it's
going to have to be. It's going to have to be a trusted sacrifice.
Reading verse 37 and going into verse 38, she said unto her father,
Let this thing be done for me. Let me alone two months, that
I may go up and down from the mountains, and bewail my virginity,
I and my fellows. And he said, verse 38, Go. Go. Now here was his daughter,
and she had already told him, you've opened your mouth unto
the Lord you can't go back on that do to me as you bowed so I'm going to ask you something
I'd like to go up the mountains a couple of months to the way
of my virginity and he told her go ahead you know why he said that? you
know why he told her to go? He trusted her, D. He trusted
her. He trusted her. If my daughter said that she's
going up for two months, I trust you. I believe you. Hold your place right here. Turn
to Ephesians 1. Ephesians chapter 1. 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 to the praise of His glory,
who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted. After
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise." God's people, in the day of God's power, when
He pleases God to call them out of darkness, they trust Him.
They call on Him. Who first trusted Him? Who first
trusted Him? The Father. The Father. The Father who first trusted
in whom also you trusted. All of God's honor, all of God's
will, the redemption of His people, the fulfillment of God's everlasting
covenant, everything, everything, everything that God Almighty
eternally purposed in the glorifying of the son in the redemption
of his people he trusted all into the hands of the Lord Jesus
Christ all power was given unto him that he should give eternal
life to as many as the father had given him the father trusted
him she said father let me go up a couple of months and bewail
my virginity go back in Judges 11, 38. He sent her away for two months. She went with her companions
and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. Let me tell you what else the
sacrifice is going to be. He trusted her, but she's going
to have to be found faithful. The scripture says in verse 39,
and 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'll look at that last part in
just a moment as we close the daughter of Jephthah came back
knowing what her fate was. She was faithful to her word. John 8, 29, concerning our Lord,
and He that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone,
for I do always those things that please Him. Without her faithfulness, without
her faithfulness. Without her coming back, Jephthah's
vow wouldn't have been accomplished. She didn't come back with no
sacrifice. Oh, the glory of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who glorified the Father and faithfully laid down His
life. Again, our Lord said in John
13, 31, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified
in me. He was glorified as the Redeemer,
the Father was glorified as the electing God of all people. The scripture says that she returned
to her father who did with her according to his bow which he
had bowed she knew no man and in closing she was a remembered
sacrifice and it was a custom in Israel that the daughters
of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the
Gileadite four days in a year and remember you can read all the commentaries
that you want to ask yourself well did he really do it or did
he not do it some say well he just set her aside for celibacy
Some say, well he sacrificed. I'll leave that in the hands
of the Lord. I could tell you my thoughts,
but I'll leave that for the Spirit of God to teach us accordingly.
But here's what I'm going to say. Whatever the vow was, whatever
it entailed, it was fulfilled. It was fulfilled. that word right there it says
it was a custom in israel that the daughters of israel went
yearly to lament it uh... says in the margin of my bible
it says to talk with but i'll tell you what else it means it
means also to rehearse with praise and thanksgiving to remember concerning the lord jesus christ
I'll tell you what we do. We come together to remember
Him. We eat at the Lord's table in
remembrance of Him. But when we come today in remembrance
of thanksgiving and praise unto Him, how thankful we are at concerning
Him. We can truthfully say, and I
can say this with joy and thanksgiving, He was the precious sacrifice,
the holy sacrifice, the willing sacrifice, the trusted sacrifice,
the faithful sacrifice, and the remembered sacrifice. I'm just
thankful, Chris, that you give me a heart to remember. I've told this story to some
of you. After I moved to Fairmont, I
was there for seven years. Brother Scott Richardson came
up one day and was talking to me. He told me, he said, he said,
Marvin, I love you. I said, I love you too, Scott. He said, I'm gonna give you something
here. He pulled out a pocket knife, Tommy. gave me a pocket
knife. He said, I'm gonna give you this
pocket knife so you can remember me when I'm gone. I told him,
I said, Scott, you think I need a pocket knife
to remember you? You really think I need something
like this to remember you? But Al, you know I can't lift
that pocket knife without thinking about you. I can't do it. we can come together
and hear the glorious gospel of God's grace preached except
that the Lord by grace and mercy calls us to remember the Thanksgiving. Lord bless these words to our
heart for Christ's sake.