SPIRITUAL and STUPID
Joseph Conrad. Judges 11"Jephthah, the Gileadite, was a mighty warrior." Judges 11:1 "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah ..." Judges 11:29 Yet, a Spiritual and Stupid man; very, very stupid ...
So why did they keep the story of Jephthah? Finally the penny dropped. So that we could firmly grasp the fact that it's possible to be spiritual yet very, very stupid; that God might work THROUGH a man's life (read MY life) yet not IN his (my) life.
Who was Jephthah?
"His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute." Judges 11:1
The story so far ...Because Jephthah's mother was a prostitute, the rest of the family evicted young Jephthah so that he would not inherit. So he fled his brothers to the land of Tob, where he was joined by a band of 'adventurers'. Soon he became known as a mighty warrior with the cunning of a general.So when they came under attack, the elders of Gilead invited Jephthah to come back as supreme commander. He accepted and went on to negotiate in an astute manner with their enemies, to no avail. No difficulties so far.
"The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah ..." Judges 11:29 Difficulty no. 1We have to assume that Jephthah was a 'spiritual' man. After all, had not the Spirit of the Lord come upon him? But is Jephthah a wise man? Or is the Lord simply using Jephthah for His own purposes without working IN his life?Stupidity no. 1"If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord's, and I will sacrifice IT as a burnt offering." Judges 11:31
But no, ...
"When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child." Judges 11:34 Stupidity no. 2Jephthah does not grasp the deep, deep importance of the Scriptures, even in their limited availability. He would have been steeped in the Ten Commandments:
"You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13
Of the world?In today's terms, we would reflect on our Lord's call that we are inevitably IN the world, yet we should constantly take great care not to be OF the world. In Jephthah's world, he was surrounded by people for whom human sacrifice to appease a god was common place. But how could he have stooped so low as to think his God, the Lord of heaven and earth, the only true God, would be pleased at the sacrifice of his only daughter, or any human for that matter?
The story continues ...You can read the rest of the sorry tale for yourself. Was Jephthah's daughter a very spiritual young woman, sincerely not wanting to prevent her spiritual and stupid father's pledge from being fulfilled? Or was she, like her father and grandfather before her, equally spiritual and stupid? You be the judge. I'm inclined to think highly of her, yet ...Given the opportunity to roam the hills for two months with her friends, she must have had the chance to escape and join her grandmother in the House of the Rising Sun. Instead it seems she chose to be burnt alive to appease her father's God, my God, your God ...
"After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed." Judges 11:39 Difficulty no. 2Why didn't God intervene? Bring Jephthah to his senses. Move the elders of Israel to go and speak forcibly to this "spiritual and stupid" man? Open the heavens to put out the fire on which the poor young woman was sacrificed, alive if it was in keeping with the times?The rock on which he stumbled ...Jephthah, that very spiritual and stupid man, very very stupid, perhaps evil might be a better word to describe him, is the rock on which my good friend Chris has stumbled. How can anyone believe in such Jephthah's God? How can I trust my life to the teaching of such a book as the Bible?Like I said, at first I would have made sure this story was omitted from the canon. But on second thoughts, I realise this story does not reflect on God. It reminds us of the Jephthah in each of us. That which is spiritual and stupid. Root it out!
Judges 11Ultimately, the inclusion of happenings in the Bible that are disturbing and uncomfortable, to my mind, adds to the authenticity of scripture. Those responsible for the canon could have so easily sanitised the scriptures - carefully omitted that which they didn't like, or thought we wouldn't like. Or which didn't fit with their pat theories and doctrines. But they didn't. So, even Judges 11, the story of a man supposedly filled with the Spirit, yet very, very stupid should be accepted as there for a reason ...
"ALL Scripture (including Judges 11) is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness ..." 2 Tim 4:8
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