God You Are

Judges 11

In this chapter of Judges we see that Israel is still in bondage to the Ammonites. God raised up Jephthah to free Israel from the bondage. We actually get a little background on this character. He was chased out of his family by his brothers because he had a different mom than them. He decided to go live in an area called Tob. He met some “worthless” fellows. 

This is something that I can picture in our society. There are so many broken homes that the youth feel rejected at home or that there is not a family structure so they turn to other “worthless” people that will teach them bad habits. If you look at statistics of those that get into crime come from a broken home. If there is not structure then they will find what they need in other people and usually those other people are not good influences. Japhthah was one of those statistics but God had a different plan for him. 

We Need You

Word got out to Japhthah that his family was in need of him. They needed him to rescue and lead them so they could be free of the Ammonites. He asked them some questions but in the long run accepted their offer. 

This is just like Joseph in a way. Joseph’s family was in need of some food and the only place they could get some was in Egypt. Not knowing that Joseph was the one they were dealing with for food, Joseph knew who they were. Joseph could have gotten revenge on his brothers but he did not. In Genesis 50:20 Joseph told his brothers this, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” God made Japhthah for the purpose of deliverance.

The Vow

Japhthah made a vow which he should not have. He told God that if he delivered the Ammonites into his hands that he would give God whatever was the first thing that would come out of his house. God did deliver the Ammonites into his hand and as he was returning home his daughter ran out of the house with a tamborine in celebration of her fathers victory. She was his only child and he regretted his decision but he wanted to keep his vow with God. 

What a vow, God would have given the Ammonites into Japhthah’s hands without the vow. God even talks specifically about vows. In Numbers 30 God warns Israel that if one makes a vow with God then they must keep it. This was the vow that he made not something that God made. 

Do you ever say, “God if you help me with this test then I will…” Or maybe you say, “If you work this situation out for me then I will…”? People do this all the time, in which they treat God like a genie and he will make our wishes come true if we rub the, “I will serve you” lamp. God loves us unconditionally, God works on our behalf (Romans 8:28). God has already done the work by sending his only Son to die on the cross for us. We do not have to bargain with God to work for us. In a matter of fact, God just wants us to serve him and show our love for him, but if we do not, does that change that Jesus died on the cross? Does that change that we are saved by God’s grace? We should want to work and serve and live for the Lord because of what he did for us already not because of what he could or could not do for us. So next time you start to make a vow of God just think, he has done everything for me already, and just give him praise.