Jephthah was Gideon’s son through a harlot. At an early age, he was driven away from home to a place called Tob by other brothers, who were legitimate. There he engaged in raids with men of poor character.

Despite the nature of his activities, he must have made a name for himself as a leader of some stature. For when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to retrieve Jephthah from Tob and asked him to lead an army against the people of Ammon. Jephthah eventually agrees to do this, but only if he be granted command should he win in victory over the people of Ammon. 

So Jephthah contacts the people of Ammon via messengers and after a lengthy exchange, during which the story of how Israel came to possess the Ammonites’ land is told, he tells them to leave the land and cease with the threat of fighting Israel. But the people of Ammon do not heed Jephthah. 

The Spirit of the Lord came to Jephthah and he was invigorated to fight the people of Ammon. Jephthah advanced upon the Ammonites and made a vow to God: If Jephthah was to be successful in battle, he would sacrifice whatever came out of his doorway first when he returned home successful.

Jephthah is ultimately victorious and it is his only child, a daughter, that comes out of his doorway upon his return home. She is celebrating with musical instruments as she comes out of the doorway. After she learns of her father’s vow, she accepts her fate. Jephthah fulfills his vow and it became a custome in Israel that the daughters of Israel would lament her fate for four days each year.

Throughout this chapter, Jephthah reveals himself as a man of faith. He deals justly with Gideon’s elders and with the Ammonites, citing God as the director of early events and the decision-maker. But does Jephthah go too far, considering the vow he makes?

The answer is yes. God did not need Jephthah’s vow in order for the Israelites to be successful over the Ammonites. I am sure the spirit of the vow from Jephthah’s point of view was noble, but the drama that the vow evoked was not necessary. The entire vow situation has more to do with teaching Jephthah and us a lesson than it does with Jephthah showing God how deep his allegiance ran. 

It is almost as if God was teaching Jephthah a lesson. As if to say – If you are going to be so reckless as to make a vow for which the sacrifice is determined by chance or happenstance, then I will make it the most difficult of sacrifices to be made. 

Indeed, Jesus warned against vows during the sermon on the mount. After all, if we compare the effects of our vows with the powers of God, how can we support our vows as a proof of faith in light of the powers of the Lord?

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:33-37

As to whether or not Jephthah killed his own daughter to satisfy the sacrifice, that is a matter of debate even today. The chapter tells us that he did offer up his daughter as a sacrifice, but it does not say that he killed her. Consider that the daughter took care to go to the mountains for two months with her friends to mourn her virginity. In verse 39, after it is said that Jephthah carried out his vow, and the next statement reveals that his daughter knew no man. So it is reasonable assume that she was not killed as a sacrifice to God, but that her life was given in service to God and that she never married. 

Also consider that a human sacrifice to God would have been an abomination and would have certainly precluded mention of Jephthah’s name among the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11. 

Strong faith as Jephthah had can surprise even us, if we have it and if it is strong enough. Faith such as this moved Jephthah to keep an oath involving the life of his only child. 

Is my faith as strong as Jephthah’s? Even though I do not swear to the Lord, do I live my life in a way that shows such faith? Do I make decisions in accordance with God’s designs on my life?

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-5: Tola and Jair ruled Israel as judges for forty-five years. Not much is said about their time, but we can gather that these were good, godly men. Their time as rulers was such that it was peaceful in Israel. 

Verses 6-18: Again Israel turns to false gods. God punishes them by turning them over to the people of Ammon and the Philistines for servitude and oppression. The people recognize their error after this consequence and cry out to God, at last recognizing true divinity. 

God sends a stinging rebuke and invites them to call upon those false gods for their deliverance. Israel throws away their false gods and prays for deliverance once more. We get a glimpse of the love that God has for us in the last part of verse 16: “ . . . And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.” Hope glimmers as preparations are made to challenge the people of Ammon.

Why did Israel keep going back to false gods despite the consequences? In this instance, enough time has passed since their last transgressions that there would be no recent memory of that suffering. The memory of enslavement and servitude that God’s wrath brought as consequence was too distant and not relevant. Compare this faint memory with the strong temptation of Baal, Ashtoreth, and the other regional false deities, and one could see how Israel would leave God again. They were living among people whose gods encouraged sin and alluring pleasure. Without a strong sense of faith and loyalty, Israel would not last long among the heathen.

It is not difficult to make the application here. The further we stray from God, the stronger the temptations become. And leaving God comes in countless forms. One can keep attending church services and be thinking the darkest thoughts all the while. If we stop praying, we very slowly deny God’s part in our life. When we stop studying, we stop listening to God and then we heed other much less perfect instruction. 

Satan will defile your soul in just this way. Little by little. Piece by piece. We have to take tight hold of our salvation and keep it close to our heart, close to our intellect, if we are to have that home with Him in eternity.

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 22-49: God distributes vengeance among Abimelech and the men of Shechem. Abimelech’s crime was the murder of his 70 brothers, while the men of Shechem were guilty of aiding and supporting him in this heinous act. The men of Shechem terrorized and robbed those traveling along the tops of the mountains there, looking for Abimelech as God sought to drive an antagonistic wedge between the two factions.

Zebul, Gaal and Abimelech form a fighter’s triangle in this passage. Zebul is the ruler of Shechem and is under Abimelech’s authority. Gaal is the son of Ebed and challenges Abimelech’s authority, saying that he ought to be the proper leader. He goads Abimelech to a fight. Gaal had gathered fighting men and fortified the city of Shechem in preparation.

Zebul conspires to Gaal’s defeat and sends the message to Abimelech that Gaal is seeking to fight. Zebul adds a plan in the message for Abimelech’s forces to wait outside the city in the dark of the night, with the plan to attack by surprise at morning. When Abimelech’s forces arrive, Gaal notices them in the dark, but Zebul attempts to deceive Gaal, convincing him that he is really only seeing the shadows of the mountain and not an amassing army. Gaal does not fall for the deception instead Zebul now goads Gaal to attack Abimelech, which Gaal does. 

But Gaal’s forces fall to those of Abimelech and they are scattered in defeat. After this, Abimelech defeats and demolishes the city, sowing it with salt. 

There were still some men left, however, and they holed up in a stronghold in the temple of the god Berinth. These were men of the tower of Shechem. Abimelech hears of this and leads his men in a burning of the tower where the people were, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,000 men and women.

Verses 50-57: Abimelech was not done. He then takes his army to Thebez, where he took that city also. But Thebez had a tower where many of the men and women went in an attempt to keep themselves safe. Abimelech drew near to this tower to burn it, but a woman dropped a millstone from a great height and it landed on Abimelech’s head and crushed his skull. Abimelech, still alive for the moment, asks his young armorbearer to thrust him through with a sword, lest his legacy be that he was killed by a woman. The source of power removed from Abimelech’s army, they scattered, betraying a motivation borne more out of fear than a sense of purpose. 

The passage also says that the men of Shechem received their just due, thus completely fulfilling the curse of Jotham. 

What can we learn from Abimelech? The most basic lesson is that evil and unkind ways are punished. The means of Abimelech’s death did not match his strength, indeed he was on the cusp of another victory when he was killed in an almost absurd manner. Even when times are darkest, and justice seems most unlikely, God finds a way to complete His will. And, as we see here, He can do so through unexpected means.

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-6: Abimelech conspires to become king by way of reasoning that he is flesh and blood to Jerubbaal’s brothers. And these brothers also work for Abimelech, to help convince the men that Abimelech should be king. Abimelech takes their agreement as some sort of twisted permission to go ahead and kill his seventy brothers, all upon the same stone. Only one brother named Jotham escapes. Abimelech is made king by the terebinth tree. 

Verses 7-21: In these verses, Jotham is calling the men on their bluff, the men that choose Abimelech to be their king. Jotham describes to them through a parable of trees that Abimelech is not suited to be king. Indeed, there were other men that were more suited to be king, but they resisted the offer so that they might be able to continue serving God and their fellow citizens. These other men are represented as beneficial trees, and humble, while Abimelech is represented as a threatening bramble.

Jotham reminds the men how Gideon brought them out from under the Midianites, and that Abimelech was the son of one of Gideon’s female servants. Through Jotham’s speech to them, it would seem that Jotham thinks that the men should know better than to trust an ungodly man like Abimelech as their king. Jotham concludes in this part of the chapter by encouraging conflict between the men of Shechem and Abimelech. Then Jotham flees to Beer to hide from Abimelech.

There is an overall impression that the men in Israel continue to lack complete faith in God even by now. Why else would they go to such an evil man like Abimelech for their leader? 

Jotham’s example is certainly a strong one, and he is the only one mentioned that saw through the facade of Abimelech’s “leadership.” 

Also, did they even need a king? No. They needed God, and they did not seek Him. They needed Him the most and instead sought after a corrupt leader, supporting Abimelech with money from an idol’s treasury. We should be careful how much trust we put in men, their words and their actions. They are a far cry from the perfect leadership of the Lord and the purity of His message. You really can’t beat the real thing.

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-21: Gideon fulfills God’s will for the destruction of the Midianites, but not without conflict and resistance from others. Gideon has to appease the people of Ephraim early in the chapter and he has to contend with Succoth and Penuel when they doubt him. 

Through doing the will of the Lord, defeating the Midianites, and punishment, Gideon gathers respect and obedience. Zebah and Zalmunna, two Midianite leaders, are killed by Gideon’s hand because his son was too fearful.

Verses 22-35: Gideon creates an ephod out of the earrings gathered as plunder from the victory. This ephod ends up becoming something that is worshipped and thus indicates that Israel’s return to God would be short-lived. 

The ephod is indeed a precursor. After Gideon’s death, the people of Israel go back to worshipping false gods. Even though Gideon’s efforts and legacy were great, the effects of His leadership were not lasting because the people did not truly change their ways in any lasting manner.

Are we ever like the Israelites in this chapter? Witness to blessings and the glory of God, yet fickle and disloyal? 

Tonight let us remember to hold fast to God and righteousness even when it’s not what we’re used to.

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-8: God works with Gideon to prepare an army for the defeat of the Midianites. God tells Gideon to go through some exercises to reduce the army lest they think that they, and not God, are responsible for the victory.

Verses 9-16: God tells Gideon to go down to the camp to defeat the Midianites, but in the same sentence God also makes a provision for Gideon’s apprehension and fear. If Gideon is too daunted at their numbers, he can take his servant down to the camp outpost, where he will receive a sign. Surely God knew Gideon through and through, for Gideon takes Purah and goes to the outpost to seek this sign. 

The numbers of the Midianites are so great they are compared to locusts and the sea. Nevertheless, Gideon overhears one recanting a dream that is interpreted as Israel defeating the Midianites. Gideon worships the Lord and returns to his camp to prepare for battle.

Verses 17-25: Gideon readily disperses the Midianites from their camp through creative tactics and of course, the providence of God. The effort is so successful that their water sources are captured, two Midianite princes are killed, and Gideon passes the word to others in the area to look out for and capture the enemy.

Let us think about how God worked with and through Gideon. Many men heeded the call to fight, but God, knowing their hearts, also knew how they would react once they defeated the Midianites. They trusted more in their own strength than in God’s, which would have caused them to think they had done it all on their own – so God had to reduce them. The fearful left first, then a seemingly arbitrary method of how water was drunk from the water further winnowed the fighters. After all was done, there remained just 300 from 32,000. 

Then, through Gideon going to the outpost and overhearing the dream, God didn’t chastise Gideon for his fear of the Midianites. Instead, God made allowance for it and offered Gideon a way out, a way to reduce his fear and strengthen his resolve that God would in fact lead him to victory.

God often does this same thing to us today by removing barriers or, adversely, comforts, from our lives. God reduces us through trials, taking away our sense of ease and comfort, a wake-up call that shows us how much we really do need Him – A death, an injury, a loss of something or someone that can’t be replaced.

Put a bookmark in your brain to remember to praise and lean on God when things are going great in your life. Then, when you need to seek God during a difficult time, the search for peace and confidence will be shorter and sweeter, whatever the problem.

God loved Gideon with patience and faith; God prepared him for service. Gideon was given grace by God with time to grow his faith. When he was shown God’s power, Gideon held fast and acted. So should we.

James 1:2-8: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-10: The children of Israel are given up to the Midianites and the Amelakites. God does this because of their continued disobedience. These aggressors cause the children of Israel to make hideaways for themselves in the mountains. Their livestock and harvest were taken from them. A prophet informed them the reason of these hardships: God, who had led them out of Egypt and given them so much, told them not to pay heed to the false gods of the Amorites, but they had not listened. 

Verses 11-35: Gideon, the son of Joash is here chosen by God to save Israel from the Midianites. The Angel of the Lord came to deliver this message to Gideon. Gideon does not take this proclamation as truth at first. Instead, he tests the Angel of the Lord by bringing him an offering. When the Angel of the Lord consumes the offering with fire, Gideon believes.

Later that night, God instructs Gideon to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and build a proper one to God. Gideon does so, but by the cover of night because he is scared of the repercussions. 

When it is discovered that Gideon tore down the altar, other men want to punish him. However, Joash, his father, defends his actions and claims that if Baal was powerful as such, he could defend himself. Since Baal does not exist, and the logic is sound, no challenge is made to Gideon and his standing seems to improve among the people. 

In a menacing development, the Midianites gather closer, threatening. Gideon has enough charisma to draw the Abezrites, and members of the tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali to himself, in preparation to defend or war. 

Verses 35-41: Gideon, although strong and dedicated to God, still needs assurance that God will truly help him in the upcoming conflict with the Midianites. He asks God twice for a miracle to confirm: fleece on the threshing floor and the dispersion of the dew on either the floor only or the fleece only. God complies with both requests and gives Gideon the assurance he was seeking. Gideon’s requests aren’t depicted as being needy or flippant; they are presented as respectful and in some way necessary for Gideon.

Looking at Gideon, it is easy to judge him. He doesn’t believe the Angel of the Lord until he can confirm the truth in his own way. Then he seeks to further strengthen his own resolve by asking God himself to prove that He will help Gideon defeat the Midianites. In light of all the strong history of the work of God, and how He blessed Israel, Gideon had to have God prove his identity multiple times.

Gideon must have grown up with the knowledge of God, but the “presence” of Baal and the like would have been an influence all his life also. Was Gideon just being cautious? Maybe He had been witness to sorcery or tricks that were presented as works of Baal or other false gods and part of him believed they had power. Perhaps asking God to prove it was Gideon’s only way to assure himself that it was the one true God he was now serving. In any case, God chose Gideon and was patient with his requests, granting each of them in turn. 

Remember from verse 15, Gideon says that his clan is the weakest in Manasseh and that he is the least in his father’s house. So we know that God chose Gideon not because of his standing in the community or because of his strength as a warrior. No, God saw something in Gideon that neither Gideon not those around him could see. That quality of leadership, of strength, of confidence was kindled by God within Gideon. 

God, working in a person, making them something they could not be on their own, blessing them with grace, being patient and loving, providing a way out of quandary.

Has God done this for you? I can say with absolute confidence that God has done that for me!

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

This chapter is a dedicated song of praise to God after Barak and Deborah defeated the idolatrous Canaanites. It is important to note that Deborah and Barak sang this song of praise together, and that no matter how their individual efforts (and those of the army’s) contributed to the success, God gets all of the credit.

We notice in Deborah’s song how Israel’s sin led to their depraved state of sin and idolatry. Deborah’s account of the activities of the various tribes is detailed and telling in that it reveals a lack of unity.

God worked through the people to complete this victory, and verse 21 shows how He also used the Kishon as an aide in the victory.
The chapter closes in a declaration of the silly and futile side of sin. As Sisera died at Jael’s hand, Sisera’s mother supposed his delay in returning was due to his reveling in the spoils of war. 

Deborah’s song is beautiful in its absolute recognition of God’s power and providence. No wonder she was known as a mother of Israel when she had such solid surety of faith in the Lord.

Tonight, I ask myself, when God works in my life, am I a doubter like Barak? Or am I convinced as Deborah? And do I give God His due?

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-10: After Ehud’s death, the children of Israel return to sin. The cycle continues. In this chapter, we have a singular story of faith and conquest. There are six main players. On one side we have Deborah, Barak, Heber and Jael. On the other side there is Jabin king of Canaan and Sisera. 

Deborah is the current judge and a prophetess and she sits under the palm tree of Deborah, named after her. She is a prominent female leader in Israel at a time when other meaningful leadership was lacking. She sends for Barak and, speaking for the Lord, she tells him to prepare an army to go against Jabin’s army. Jabin had 900 iron chariots and had been oppressing Israel for 20 years. 

Barak hesitates, showing a lack of faith. His apprehension can be best understood when one considers both the state of sinful Israel at the time and the strength of Jabin’s army. However, he does commit to the task once he has assurance from Deborah that she will join him in battle. Deborah also prophesies here that Sisera, the leader of Jabin’s army, will find his demise at the hand of a woman. 

Verses 11-24: Enter Heber and Jael. Heber was distantly related to the Israelites, while also maintaining peace with Jabin. Once Heber’s people see Barak’s army, they inform Sisera and the battle begins.

Barak and his army push back and defeat the army handily, forcing Sisera to flee. He fled to Jael’s tent. Jael was Heber’s wife, so Sisera thinks he is safe to trust her. 

Jael makes Sisera feel comfortable in her tent, covers him to hide him, and gives him milk to drink. He feels safe enough to fall asleep. But this is when Jael (and, more likely than not, the house of Heber), reveal loyalty. Jael drives a tent peg through Sisera’s temple with a hammer. This is how Deborah’s prophecy from verse 9 comes true. Israel grew ever stronger until they eventually destroyed Jabin.

This chapter is attractive because it is dramatic, but there is also strong themes of teamwork and united faith. Neither Deborah nor Barak were suited to defeat Sisera and Jabin alone, but together they succeeded mightily. Many parallels exist in God’s kingdom today. One by one, the members of the body of Christ may not add up to anything amazing, but together, we have strength. Together, Christians in God’s kingdom unite to glorify Him daily, each according to his or her part.

Some days we might feel like Deborah: confident and powerful. And some days we might feel like Barak: unsure and hesitant. Yet what we can take from Judges 4 is that it is the actions we take that matter most, regardless of how we feel about it. If we start from that place of faith, God can and will provide.

“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:14-16‬

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.

Verses 1-6: God had commanded Israel to rid the land of all the inhabitants, but here it is confirmed that God knew that they would fail to drive them all out. Indeed, God left these idol-worshippers in the land as a test. If Israel is able to withstand the influence and temptations of the indigenous people, they would be obeying the commandment of the Lord. Verse 6 leaves no doubt to the omniscience of God: “And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons; and they served their gods.”

Verses 7-31: Othniel, Ehud and Shamgar are listed in sequence as judges that God designated to save the people. Israel turned from God and served idols. Eventually this denial of the true God resulted in slavery or captivity for Israel and they would seek Him again. Once they cried out to Him, God designated and blessed a judge to lead them out of the mess and to defeat their enemies. It was the beginning of a cycle that we will see competed many times. 

Ehud’s removal of Eglon in this chapter is particularly interesting, if not gory. Notice that Ehud was not dishonest throughout and that the will of God in this case was carried out. 

In this chapter, let us consider: God subjecting Israel to this temptation and subsequent punishment leaves us with some engaging questions.

– Does God test those that love Him?

– Does God seek to improve our dedication to Him?

– If God knew Israel would fail, why would he allow them to be corrupted?

– Why did God tell the Israelites to rid the land of all the inhabitants if He knew they ultimately wouldn’t?

We have tentative answers to most of these questions. God does test the righteous: “The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.” Psalms‬ ‭11:5‬ ‭

Also, we know that God puts paths before us to strengthen our will and desire to serve: “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”‭‭ I Peter‬ ‭5:10‬

The last two questions posed are more difficult to definitively answer. If God knew Israel would fail, He may have wanted to test the amount of their dedication to Him, to see how far they would go before their shame compelled them to return to Him. Trying to answer those questions is like trying to find a grain of sand in a dark ballroom with no lights while blind. We can’t see what God sees; we can’t know what God knows. He created us and our limits of comprehension. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”‭‭ Isaiah‬ ‭55:9‬

— Cory Byrd

This post originally appeared on Monday Night Bible Study.