19. Jephthah’s Faith
Hymns: RHC 441 Faith Is the Victory, 450 To the Work!, 401 Yield Not to Temptation
Hebrews 11:32d (KJV)
32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Jephthah …
Jephthah’s Faith
OUTLINE
(1) Put God’s Work Before Self
INTRODUCTION
Jephthah means “He doth open or set free”. He was described as a Mighty Man of Valour (Judges 11:1).
Judges 11:1 (KJV) 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah.
The first time this term “mighty man of valour” is used was on Gideon in Judges 6:12, describing a man of courage, boldness and bravery, a Spirit-filled man (Judges 11:29). The terminology used here is not just military in nature but can refer to a person of repute or one who has standing in the community – a responsible person. In this context, however, it is likely his reputation built on his military success.
But Jephthah was the outcast. An Illegitimate son driven from his father’s household (Judges 11:2), the son of a harlot.