OK, who among us understands the story of Jephthah? And I’m not talking about the vow situation and the thing with his daughter, but I’m talking about how he got to where he did. Namely, a judge.
So his brothers hated him because his mom was a disreputable woman. That’s fairly understandable, if you want my personal opinion. So Jephthah, after being thrust out from the familial roof, runs away, gets to be buddy buddy with some vain guys, and that’s all we hear for a while. We have no idea if he had been married before his brothers kicked him out, or maybe after, we have no idea.
What we do know, is that once Ammon starts attacking the brothers back home, all of a sudden they’re like, “Oh hey, remember that clever Jephthah fellow? Let’s invite him back to fight for us!”
How did they know that he was the right one to pick? I mean, they’d most likely ousted him years and years prior to the Ammon debacle, and he was the best they could come up with? Even if he’d been a great sling-shotter back in the day, or maybe he could use his spear like none else, how did they know that he’d still keep those skills? And how could they know that he wouldn’t backstab them in payment of those good old days when they’d ill-treated him? I just don’t understand how they thought it was a smart thing to do, calling Jephthah to help them.
No wonder things were so crazy in Israel in those days. I mean, that is just not a smart thing to do. If this is what’s classified as “right in their own eyes” then I seriously question the judgment of any of those fellows.
No wonder they thought they needed a king!
So his brothers hated him because his mom was a disreputable woman. That’s fairly understandable, if you want my personal opinion. So Jephthah, after being thrust out from the familial roof, runs away, gets to be buddy buddy with some vain guys, and that’s all we hear for a while. We have no idea if he had been married before his brothers kicked him out, or maybe after, we have no idea.
What we do know, is that once Ammon starts attacking the brothers back home, all of a sudden they’re like, “Oh hey, remember that clever Jephthah fellow? Let’s invite him back to fight for us!”
How did they know that he was the right one to pick? I mean, they’d most likely ousted him years and years prior to the Ammon debacle, and he was the best they could come up with? Even if he’d been a great sling-shotter back in the day, or maybe he could use his spear like none else, how did they know that he’d still keep those skills? And how could they know that he wouldn’t backstab them in payment of those good old days when they’d ill-treated him? I just don’t understand how they thought it was a smart thing to do, calling Jephthah to help them.
No wonder things were so crazy in Israel in those days. I mean, that is just not a smart thing to do. If this is what’s classified as “right in their own eyes” then I seriously question the judgment of any of those fellows.
No wonder they thought they needed a king!
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