Sermon Title: Strong Faith, Weak Theology
Scripture: Judges 10:6-12:7 (NIV)

Contributed by Ellyn Schwaiger

“We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” —Judges 10:15

We begin today by encountering the Israelites during another period in which they “did evil in the eyes of the Lord” (10:6) by serving the deities of the peoples around them. For eighteen years, the text records, the Israelites were subject to aggression and incursion by the neighboring Philistines and the Ammonites. Eventually, the Ammonites ventured deeply into Israelite territory to engage directly with the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. In great distress, the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals” (10:10). In response, God raised up another unlikely individual to lead his people.

Our reading today opens with something of a military stalemate, with the Ammonites camped in Gilead and the Israelites camped nearby. The Israelite elders were trying to take command of the situation: “Whoever will take the lead in attacking the Ammonites will be head over all who live in the Gilead!” (10:18). Local gang leader Jephthah scornfully took the job. He immediately opened a line of communication with the Ammonite king. In a stylized interaction of diplomacy via envoy, Jephthah defended Israel’s history of invasion. At one point, he asked, “Will you not take what your god Chemosh gives you?” (11:24). Interestingly, Chemosh is known to have been the patron deity of the Moabites, not the Ammonites. Regardless, it was widely accepted in the ancient world that the gods orchestrated tribal land acquisition.

The Ammonite king did not seem to find the Israelite arguments compelling. In fact, the text records that he did not deign to respond. Perhaps goaded into action, Jephthah advanced against the Ammonites in great fervor. However, in the stress of the moment, Jephthah made his major mistake. In the local custom, he made a rash vow to Yahweh that he would sacrifice “whatever” first came out of his door should he return home in triumph (11:31).

Ritualistic killings to appease the gods were relatively common in the ancient world, especially in Canaan. We know that children were sacrificed under the direction of Milkom (the Ammonite god) and Chemosh (the Moabite god). It is not surprising that in a moment of great anxiety, this sort of vow came to Jephthah’s mind. The book of Jeremiah, among other Biblical references and extra-Biblical sources, records that the local people “built the high places of Baal in order to burn their sons in the fire as whole burnt offerings to Baal, something that I had not commanded or spoken of and that had never even come into my heart” (Jeremiah 19:5).

After the battle, Jephthah returned home and met not a goat or a cow coming out of his family compound, but his only daughter. The text records his great distress, and although she was given a two-month reprieve, Jephthah eventually “did to her as he had vowed” (11:39). He did not only sacrifice his daughter; for as the text emphasizes, she was his only child, which implies that he was sacrificing his own lineage and honor, as well.

Jephthah’s ignorance of Yahweh’s ways had tragic consequences. He did not understand that the Canaanite tribes did “for their gods every detestable thing that Jehovah hates, even burning their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:31). Jephthah had been originally driven away from his family due to being the illegitimate child of a prostitute. He lived in another area and led “a gang of scoundrels” (11:3). Perhaps living so long away from the organized religious and social rituals of the Israelite community contributed to his ignorance of Yahweh’s character. Regardless, while he was a brave man of action who ultimately led the Israelites into a victorious subjugation of Ammon, his weak theology exacted tremendous personal costs. His poor understanding of Yahweh not only cost him the life of his daughter but tarnished his legacy. In moments of daily stress and pressure, how are we remaining faithful and deliberate in our choices?

Consider –

╬ Leaders have a special responsibility to flee to the Truth and away from what is false. We are all leaders in our different domains. Where in our world have you been tempted to believe what the Lord says is false? When has the Lord shown you the deception and led you to respond according to His Word? What did it cost you? How has faith changed your path?

╬ What kinds of rash decisions or promises are you prone to making in your own life? How can you learn from Jephthah’s story?

╬ Lord, thank you for the teacher or parent who first taught us to read. Thank you for the pastors and other Christian leaders who have influenced our spiritual journeys. Thank you for revealing yourself to us personally. Help us not to settle for squishy, moral therapeutic deism or outright lies, but to hold fast to the truth of Your Word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.