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The Search for Significance (Judges 11-12)
13 Plays6 months ago
Ben Carson had a tough beginning, describing his early years growing up in what he called the “ghetto” of Detroit in the 1950’s and 1960’s. For example, his father abandoned Ben, his mom and his brother when Ben was only 8 years of age. His book, Gifted Hands, mentions the challenges of financial hardship, the mental health of his mother and prejudice in the local school as real-life difficulties that he faced along the way.
He would later become a world-renown neurosurgeon at John Hopkins, where his dedication and diligence led him to become the Director of Pediatrics. He wrote, “Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as containing a fence, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle, each one strengthens you for the next.”
During this season of graduation among high school and college students, I would like to inspire our aspiring young adults and point them to an overlooked biblical hero named Jephthah found in Judges 11-12. Perhaps his life could help our graduates to overcome their struggles and through the Lord’s grace and strength turn them into strength builders.
1. Starting with a Hard Life, 11:1-3
• the reproach of his birth, vs. 1-2
• the rejection of his brothers, v. 2
• the reputation of his buddies, v. 3
2. Developing into a Respectable Leader, 11:4-29
• his appointment as a leader, 11:4-11
• his ability as a leader, 11:12-29, 32-33
• his adversity as a leader, 12:1-6
3. Leaving a Godly Legacy, 11:27, 29-31, 36, 39; Hebrews 11:32-33
• his comments revealed his faith, 11:27, 29-31
• his child reflected his faith, 11:34-40
• the chapter that records his faith, Hebrews 11:32-33
Dr. Ben Carson also summed up the primary lesson he learned with these words, “Do your best and let God do the rest.” As a neurosurgeon he went on to say, “God has given us more than 14 billion cells and connections in our brain. Why would God give us such a complex organ system unless He expects us to use it?” In Think Big: Unleashing Your Potential for Excellence, Dr. Carson wrote, “If we acknowledge our need for God, He will help us.” Jephthah followed a similar course, and the Lord used him. What about you? Are you searching for significance and purpose? The Lord and the Bible can definitely help you with that!
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church 1700 Milam Street Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Church Information
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, FBCColumbusTX.org.
Address to Graduating Seniors
00:00:32
Speaker
And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace. This is Pastor Victor Morrison. I have the joy of serving as the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Columbus. I'm glad you're with us today. I want to talk to our graduating seniors. You know, they're seniors high school. They're also seniors in college that are getting ready to wind things up.
00:01:04
Speaker
And I just want to say congratulations to each of you guys.
Pursuit of Significance and Identity
00:01:08
Speaker
I was spending some time last night with seven of our graduates that are in our church, and it was just such a blessing to see them and to hear all that's ahead. But I think that graduation is also a time when you look back and you reflect back upon your life as well.
00:01:25
Speaker
I know that some of us go through some hard times, you know, when we're growing up, going through elementary, junior high, high school, maybe even in college could be difficult. There's always challenges out there. And sometimes it can cause us
00:01:41
Speaker
to go on a search. And I think what we're searching for is significance. I think most of us long to know that our lives have value, that they're worth something. So what we're trying to do is we're trying to search to understand, what is the purpose for my life? Why is my life significant?
00:02:03
Speaker
And so some people look for identity in relationships, others look for meaning in education or in a career. If our pursuits somehow don't work out, then it is possible that we could struggle with feelings of insignificance and failure.
Story of Jephthah: Introduction and Context
00:02:21
Speaker
And I know that's not the case for our graduates because they're about to complete one of life's most significant things with a graduation.
00:02:30
Speaker
But if we're not careful, an unhealthy season in life can actually lead us to turn to say the approval of others for our self-worth.
00:02:41
Speaker
But a man named Robert McGee wrote a book a few years ago called The Search for Significance. And I thought about that as I read in the book of Judges. Have you ever spent time in the Old Testament book of Judges? It's really awesome. Well, there's definitely some down things in there that'll sort of make you feel depressed maybe. But I think that overall, there's some great case studies that we can learn from.
00:03:08
Speaker
And it can help us not to turn to, well, pleasure, status, beauty, wealth, approval of others, all of those kind of things. Instead, I think if we turn to the Lord, He's got a plan for our lives. One of the judges that is mentioned in the book of Judges was a man named Jephthah.
Israel's Post-Joshua Era and Jephthah's Role
00:03:30
Speaker
The entire book of Judges lasted, it covers, about 350 years. So it's a fairly long period of time. And it took place after the people of Israel were led out of Egypt. They had been in bondage. They wandered around in the wilderness, and then God led them into the Promised Land. And they had a leader named Joshua, who did a great job of keeping them God-focused.
00:03:59
Speaker
But then he died. He passed away. And after he passed away, it's sort of like the people of Israel just got so disillusioned and so disoriented, they didn't know which way they were going to go. And so every man just started doing what was right in his own eyes. And so they got in trouble. There were like these cycles of sin.
00:04:22
Speaker
And so they would sin, and then they would suffer for their sin. And while they were suffering and down, well, then there were others that would come along, and they would force them to serve them. So they went into servitude. And so when they would be under such oppression from, say, another group like, let's say, the Ammonites, well, then they would cry out to God in supplication. And you know what God did?
00:04:48
Speaker
In mercy and grace, just like he has done with me several times in my life, I'm sure with you as well, he would break through and he would provide a means of salvation and deliverance. And that's how he would use these men called judges.
00:05:05
Speaker
And so the eighth judge that is mentioned in the book of Judges, his life is described in chapter 11 and 12.
Jephthah's Challenges and Resilience
00:05:14
Speaker
And so this is going to be an unusual message today. We're going to read some scripture, but I'm just going to tell you what happened. So you'll have to fact check me and go back to Judges, chapters 11 and 12, just to make sure. But I'm telling you, it's all based on what I wrote in my journal.
00:05:33
Speaker
All of these things just came fresh when I was meeting with the Lord in my journal. But this guy Jephthah, his name actually means one who breaks through.
00:05:44
Speaker
Is it possible that maybe even though you have just graduated or you're just about to graduate, is it possible that you really need to have a breakthrough in your life?
Inspiration for Graduates from Jephthah
00:05:56
Speaker
You know, as I heard some of our seniors last night describing what's ahead for them, some were so clear, some were very articulate, and they knew exactly what they wanted to do next. But maybe for you, maybe you're saying, I'm just not sure.
00:06:12
Speaker
Maybe you're an adult and you're saying, I'm just not sure. I need God to break through and to show me what He has planned for me. I would say that more than likely, most of you that are listening to me have probably never heard of the man named Jephthah. He's not exactly, I would call him maybe an overlooked man, but just know that God had a very special purpose for this man.
00:06:39
Speaker
So I want us to look at this passage together in Judges 11 and 12, and let me just share a few things that took place in Jephthah's life.
Jephthah's Leadership and Strategy
00:06:49
Speaker
Let me start with the first three verses. You know, I think you'll find that Jephthah's life
00:06:55
Speaker
was very hard. It was very difficult at first. And these first three verses will tell us why. So listen closely to these and think about your life. Maybe you've got some challenges, some tough spots, some rough spots. Well, listen to this. Now, Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute.
00:07:21
Speaker
Gilead was the father of Jephthah, and Gilead's wife also bore him sons. And when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.
00:07:42
Speaker
And then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. So let's just stop right there. Why don't we just think for a moment about what it's like
00:08:00
Speaker
when you start with a hard life. I mean, that's your beginning point. There's three things that I think were tough for Jephthah. The first one, of course, is the reproach of his birth, verses 1 and 2. This is not his fault. This is nothing that you could say, well, he made bad decisions. No, you can't say that about this man. He started as the son of a prostitute, is what it says.
00:08:26
Speaker
Oh, he later becomes a man of strength. But I'm just describing how he got there, that it was difficult. There was suffering involved. There was hardship involved. And so this man Jephthah, you'll notice about him though, is that he refuses to let his past determine his future. I think that's an important point that we can learn from this man. But also you'll see the rejection of his brothers.
00:08:55
Speaker
Man, you know there are times when our disadvantages are just absolutely thrown into our face. Well, the context most likely here is perhaps the death of Jephthah's father. Whenever he died, then they have to divide up the inheritance. Well, Jephthah is one of the boys
00:09:16
Speaker
But the thing is, the boys said, no, you're not one of us because your mother was different than our mother. And so, sadly, they drove him out. They made him leave. He was cast out, banished.
00:09:31
Speaker
thrown out of the family and out of his home. Maybe that's happened to someone I'm listening to, but maybe that wasn't your experience. Maybe you grew up in a great home. So I'm not saying this is what everybody faces, but all I'm saying is this is what this man, Jephthah, faced, the rejection of his own brothers, the reproach of his birth. And so when he goes out there, we see yet a third thing that was hard for him.
00:10:00
Speaker
the reputation of his buddies. You know, what are your friends like? What's the perception that others have of your friends? Well, if you would have looked at the friends that Jephthah collected around him after he goes away and flees north to the land of Tobh near Syria,
00:10:21
Speaker
You would say, you know what? That guy became the leader of a gang of empty men. You know, I like how verse 3 calls them worthless fellows. Worthless fellows, it says, collected around Jephthah. Wow. And what did they do? It says they went out.
00:10:39
Speaker
So more than likely what they did, they just would go out and rob people. They were like thugs. So I'm not saying that Jephthah's life was squeaky clean, that he was really just a winsome guy that you would have wanted to know early in his life. It's not quite that way.
00:10:58
Speaker
You see, verses one to three tell us he had a sinful side as well. I mean, there were some things he didn't do that he just was born into, but there were other things that once he got out there on his own, he wasn't making the best of choices. But that leads us to the second thing that I want you to see. The second point is not starting with a hard life, but developing into a respectable leader.
00:11:25
Speaker
You won't believe what this guy becomes. We're going to follow his footsteps, but I'm going to have to describe it more than read it. But if you want to read about it, it's found in Judges 11, verse 4, down through verse 29. The first thing I wanted you to know is that times became rough for Jephthah's family.
00:11:48
Speaker
because what it says is the Ammonites began to say, we're going to attack that whole region where they were living. And so whenever that happened, they began to change their perspective of Ojepthah. They began to say, you know, Jepthah really has kind of like a little army around him. All of these guys, they're worthless guys, but you know what? In a pinch, they might be exactly the kind of guys that we need, especially right now.
00:12:18
Speaker
And so he didn't really realize it, but God had prepared Jephthah and Tob for his appointment because they go to Jephthah and they say, please, will you come back and will you help us fight the Ammonites and will you be the leader over us?
00:12:40
Speaker
And I mean, Jephthah's so confused. He can't believe it. He said, did you not hate me and drive me out of my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you're in distress? And they're saying, well, we've come to you because you're a man who knows how to handle stress, who knows how to handle trouble, and so forth. And so it's amazing how God arranges all of these circumstances for a special appointment.
00:13:08
Speaker
He's going to be the leader. But God used this unusual set of circumstances to prepare Him for leadership. And maybe you're saying, yeah, but what kind of leader would He be if He was just hanging out with all these worthless fellows, right? Well, that leads me to the second sub-point, not the appointment as a leader, but His ability as a leader.
00:13:31
Speaker
You won't believe what he does. I mean, he shows diplomatic skills, communication skills, because the first thing he does is he sends a messenger over to the Ammonites and he said, what do you have against me that you have come to me to fight against my land?
00:13:52
Speaker
And the king of the Ammonites answered the messengers of Jephthah, because Israel, on coming up from Egypt, took away my land. From the Arnon to the Jabbok to the Jordan, now therefore restore it peaceably.
00:14:06
Speaker
So I thought, you know what, he's trying to talk through things diplomatically. He's trying to say, I've learned how to communicate and talk to people. Maybe we can avoid this conflict. So I would say that's definitely one good thing. But another thing, you know what, oh, Jephthah, he was no slouch. Jephthah knew his history.
00:14:29
Speaker
Jephthah faced the Ammonite problem, not only diplomatically, Jephthah faced the Ammonite problem historically. Read all about it in verse 14, down through verse 22, in verses 25 and 26. You see what was happening? The Ammonites had their own version of the facts.
00:14:50
Speaker
You never can really trust the revisionist who come along and say, well, we can change history a little bit there and a little bit here, and we can make it any way we want it to be. Not so with a guy like Jephthah, because Jephthah, maybe he didn't have a degree in history, but I'm telling you what, he knew the facts of what happened. And so he set them straight. He told them, no, that's not exactly how it happened.
00:15:18
Speaker
that we got our land. He said, you guys, we were trying to go around you. We asked you for permission to go through your land and you denied us. You rejected our plea. And then we tried to go around you and you came over there to fight us.
00:15:34
Speaker
And so what he does is he just explains to them the truth of history. And so he faced the Ammonite problem historically. He faced the Ammonite problem diplomatically. But you know why I think he was successful and victorious when it came to the Ammonites?
00:15:53
Speaker
He faced the Ammonite problem spiritually. I want to read you a collection of verses that are found in this section. Let me read, for example, verse 21. It says, And the Lord, the God of Israel, gave Sihan and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them.
00:16:14
Speaker
This is when he's explaining history to them and what really took place. Verse 23 and 24 says,
00:16:28
Speaker
And are you to take possession of them? Will you not possess what Chemosh, your God, gives you to possess? And all that the Lord our God has dispossessed before us, we will possess. Wow, that's verses 23 and 24.
00:16:44
Speaker
And then verse 27 and 29 says, I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.
00:17:02
Speaker
Then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, and passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites." Wow! It's just amazing how this man, Jephthah, even though he had a bad background, he had a rough beginning,
00:17:25
Speaker
He learned something. Through all of those hard times, he was learning. And what God was doing was God was preparing him to be a leader, a good leader. And so what he did was he led spiritually. He talked spiritually. Did you hear how often he refers to the Lord? And so it's no surprise whenever he wins militarily over the Ammonites, what
Jephthah's Adversities and Criticisms
00:17:52
Speaker
does he do? What does he do?
00:17:54
Speaker
Well, verse 32 and 33 will answer that. Listen to this. So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the Lord gave them into his hand. And he struck them from Aurora to the neighborhood of Minath, 20 cities, and as far as Abel-Keremim, with a great blow. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.
00:18:19
Speaker
You see what he's doing? He's giving God the glory. He's saying we couldn't have won any victory if God hadn't have placed them into our hand. So isn't that great? I mean, he's a wonderful leader, right? And leaders don't ever face any problems, right? That might be overstating things a bit.
00:18:38
Speaker
You see, we saw the appointment as a leader, and even though he's up there with the worthless fellows, God's preparing him. They come to him and they said, hey, we need a guy just like you. But then once he gets started, you can see his ability as a leader. But now what we need to also recognize is even though he's the leader,
00:19:01
Speaker
There's the adversity as a leader. In chapter 12, verses 1 through 6, you won't believe it. I mean, finally he gets acceptance. Finally, everyone respects him. And so you would think that all the tribes of Israel would be on his side, right?
00:19:18
Speaker
That would not be correct, because now the Ephraimites criticize him. They want to share in the glory of the victory, but what had happened was Jephthah had not taken them with him into the battle. But it wasn't that he didn't invite them, it was that they didn't want to go. But now that it's obvious that he won, they're really upset that he didn't include them.
00:19:45
Speaker
And so what the men of Ephraim threatened to do is they say, we're going to burn down your house. Isn't that amazing? I mean, this guy just won an incredible victory for all the people of Israel. But this one tribe, Ephraim, says, you didn't include us, so we can't take any credit in it. And so they're just like really upset. And so it's like, wow. But Jephthah was able to win the victory without Ephraim. Why?
00:20:13
Speaker
Well, because he was trusting God for the victory, he was depending on the Lord. And so during the 18 years of oppression from Ammon, Ephraim never helped. They were always sitting over there quiet and silently and so forth. You know what? Your life and my life, our lives, they're not distinguished by success any more than they are diminished by struggle.
00:20:42
Speaker
It would be inaccurate to focus on Jephthah's negative aspects of his life and conclude that he was a sorry loser, but it would also be insufficient to look at the positive aspects and claim he was a successful leader. Because like I'm telling you, he had adversity even though he was a leader, even though he was a winner, even though he was victorious in all of this.
00:21:08
Speaker
And so where I wanted to take this is in leaving behind a godly legacy. How can we leave behind a godly legacy? Well, it's a lot of those verses that are read already, but I thought of two or three different things that I think are said. One is the comments. I think there are certain comments that Jephthah makes that reveals his faith in the Lord.
00:21:38
Speaker
Like verse 27, verse 29, verses 30 and 31, he basically is saying, why don't we just see if God's gonna give us the victory, Ammon, or if God's gonna give you the victory? Let's see who he allows to win this battle. That's what I think he means in verse 27, when he says to them with his own mouth,
00:22:02
Speaker
I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon." And so he's just saying, why don't we just trust God that the outcome of this conflict is going to be what God would want? Wow. You know, that's amazing. He also was able to acknowledge his faith with another comment that he makes in verse 29.
00:22:32
Speaker
It says, then the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jephthah. And that's why he was able to win these battles, is that he was enabled by God's Spirit to accomplish God's purpose for his life. And so no wonder he's saying, you know, I'll trust God. And if God wants me to win, he will give me the ability to win this battle. But then once they win,
00:22:57
Speaker
I want to say again, verse 30 and 31, he gives God the credit. He says, you know what? It's the Lord that helped us win the battle over you. So I thought, that's awesome. But you know, one thing he does say that a lot of people divide up on this one. So I want to be true with you about it. But it says in verse 30 of chapter 11, and Jephthah made a vow to the Lord and said, if you will give the Ammonites into my hand,
00:23:26
Speaker
that whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." So man, that sounds great. You know, he's saying, Lord, I'm going to give you whatever comes out of the door of my house. And you know what came out of the door of his house? Well, his child did, his daughter did.
00:23:50
Speaker
But you know what's amazing to me is that verse 36, what did she say when he told her about that vow? She says in verse 36, My father, you have opened your mouth to the Lord. Do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth now that the Lord has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites.
00:24:13
Speaker
So you see, I think that also not only did his comments reveal his faith, I think his child reflected his faith. His daughter said, you know what, if you've already said that I belong to the Lord, I'm willing to do that. And so you know what happened after that? I believe rather than offering up her as a sacrifice, what some people believe, no, I don't think he did.
00:24:41
Speaker
I think he offered her for service to the Lord for the rest of her life. And she was willing, she was glad to do it. She said, if this is something that you have pledged to the Lord in honor of him, then I give thanks to God and I'm willing to do it.
00:25:00
Speaker
And maybe you're saying, wow, that's incredible.
Parallels with Ben Carson
00:25:04
Speaker
But there's one more thing I wanted to share with you, not from Judges chapter 11, but from Hebrews chapter 11. Have you ever spent time in Hebrews 11?
00:25:15
Speaker
Oh, let me encourage you to do it sometime. Hebrews 11 is what they call the Hall of Faith. The Hall of Faith. Oh, it mentions all the great heroes of the Bible, like Abel, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Gideon, Samson, David, Samuel. But you know who else is mentioned right in there?
00:25:38
Speaker
Our old buddy, Jephthah, God says, I'll never forget how Jephthah trusted me and what Jephthah did. I don't think that God would have put Jephthah in this list of heroes of the faith if he had been a bad witness to you. Well, I just want to say, no matter what your background is,
00:26:01
Speaker
You are to say, Lord, my hardships can help me to move forward in my life. There's a man named Ben Carson, who he was born, he says, in the ghettos of Detroit in 1951. His father wound up leaving his mother, divorcing her. And so Ben Carson and his brother and his mom were left to fend for themselves. They had lots of hardships.
00:26:30
Speaker
Financially, his mom struggled with some mild mental challenges that she faced. Socially, he faced prejudice in the elementary school and maybe in his junior high. But you know what helped him to make it?
00:26:45
Speaker
I'll tell you what helped him, his faith in the Lord. He goes on, Ben Carson does, to get a bachelor's degree in psychology from Yale. He marries his wife Candy. They have three sons. He gets a medical degree from the University of Michigan.
00:27:03
Speaker
and then eventually gets his residency in neurosurgery from John Hopkins University Medical School. This guy, Ben Carson, had such a hard time, such a difficult way to go there, became the director of pediatrics at John Hopkins. He was a successful neurosurgeon who could even separate Siamese twins that were joined at the head
00:27:30
Speaker
Here's something he says, success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them. And if you look at these obstacles as containing offense, they become your excuse for failure. If you look at them as a hurdle,
00:27:48
Speaker
Each one strengthens you for the next. Hey, that's a powerful way to look at life. That's what I pray you will look at life.
Conclusion and Prayer
00:27:58
Speaker
Ben Carson also said, do your best and let God do the rest. Hey, that's my prayer for you. If you're a high school senior, maybe you're getting ready to finish college, you're ready to graduate. I just want you to know that I'm going to be praying that your outlook would be I'm going to do my best
00:28:16
Speaker
And I'm going to let God do the rest. I love that. Why don't we pray? Thank you, Lord, for this time to be together. I pray you bless all my friends that are listening today. Guide them no matter what their age is, no matter what their situation is in life. Help them to find your purpose. Help them to find significance.
00:28:36
Speaker
in Christ to find it in you as you guide them step by step through life. But I especially pray for my younger friends, for those who are getting ready to graduate from high school or college, please bless them, please guide them, please help them to find what you have placed them on this earth to do. Lord, also, not only what they're supposed to do, but who they're supposed to be.
00:29:03
Speaker
I believe that all of the things you're going to accomplish through their lives, it'll flow from who they are in Christ. So bless them as they grow in grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Well, thank you so much for joining us today for Growing in Grace. Pray God will bless you. And if you're getting ready to graduate, enjoy that graduation.
00:29:28
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.