Judges 11:4-6

International Version (NIV)

 “Come,” they said, “be our commander, so we can fight the Ammonites.”

For Meditation

I thought I had the best barber. Every time I went for a haircut, I waited for him regardless of the queue. Several times, his colleague asked to have me when my barber was busy, but I rejected his offer. He didn’t look like my type of barber.

This day, however, was different. He was alone in the shop and I desperately needed a cut. A few minutes later, I was acknowledging the best compliments I have ever received. As my people would put it, I looked like an “Akyem,” a beautiful bird in Ghana.

It is interesting how we reject people based on our impressions of them. “How can I introduce that man to my parents? Have you seen his nose?”Or, “She is not particularly connected, you know.”

For Jephthah, it was his mother – a prostitute (Judges 11:1). That stigma couldn’t fit the prodigious Gilead family, so “they drove him away” (2). Jephthah trained himself to fight (3), and guess who the elders of Gilead called on to lead them against the Ammonites. Yes, you got it. Jephthah!

Many have been wounded by rejection for whatever label people put on it. The pain is severe and can last a long time. It is wicked and heartless, and defies human decency. Though they usually have it wrong, the callousness continues to wound many.

But God is good! He has orchestrated many heavy-footed back steps to humiliation by those who enjoy hurting others that way. Ask Joseph’s brothers or Job’s three friends. But I love this Jephthah story.

Didn’t you hate me? Didn’t you drive me away from my father’s house? Will you make me your Judge? Swear to it before the Lord (7-11).

With such skillful display of ingenuity in negotiation, Jephthah brought the elders to their knees; and the rejected son of a prostitute had become Israel’s Judge.

1. Are you chewing yourself in frustration over the many rejection letters you’ve received?
2. Is it because your name is not, “Kennedy”, or you don’t have an “Ivy Code” on your CV?
3. Did they really say you don’t have the right pedigree or knack for excellence?
4. Did that man reject you for not jumping in bed with him before the “I do” was said? Is that why you’ve re-coiled into your shell and are sliding deep into depression?
5. Have you been caught in the Jephthah syndrome or is it a Joseph type? Have you read their stories to the end?

I pray you remember a man named, John Mark. Check him out (Acts 15:36-41; 2 Tim. 4:11). Maybe he can speak to you.

So: May you prepare yourself for the day your brothers will come to you for grain (Gen. 42:6-8), or the elders of your town will come begging for your help (Judges 11:6); and may the Lord grant you the humility and restraint from seeking vengeance.

The final card for you future is held only by God.

Shalom