Sermonette: Lessons from the Story of Jephthah
Repaying Good for Evil and Seeing the Bigger Picture
#1794s
Jared M. Ellis
Given 07-Dec-24; 15 minutes
description: At times, we may have felt rejected or mistreated. When these inevitable times occur, we can choose to grow in godly character or we can choose to feed our carnal nature, which would rather retaliate than "turn the other cheek," as commanded by Christ (Matthew 5:43-44). In Judges 11, we learn about Jephthah, a mighty man of valor but rejected by his brothers because he was illegitimate. Jephthah fled from his brothers, dwelling in the land of Tob where he assembled a band of criminals to go raiding. He could have used these men to retaliate against his hostile brothers, but he refused to repay evil for evil. When the elders of Gilead asked Jephthah to lead them in battle against the people of Ammon, he sought God's decision, making a tragic vow involving a burned sacrifice, which turned out to be his daughter. Sources indicate that God never allowed burnt sacrifices to apply to people, but in the case of Jepthah's daughter, she would remain unmarried to the end of her life, permanently ending the blood line of Jephthah. Jephthah's daughter had every right to be angry, to rebel against her father, or even show hatred towards him for what he had done to her, but like her father, she chose not to repay evil for evil and instead yielded to the will of God.