Judges 11:1, 11
[1] Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
[11] Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.
When the whole house of Israel was under the horrible grip of the Medianites, and the nation of Israel was under the slavery of a merciless nation. The Medianites would bring all their cattle and Camels to invade the land of Israel and trampled on their farms and eat up all their grains and plantings, till there were no more harvests for the people to eat. So they always come at the time of Harvests, seasonally. They would bring all their animals and soldiers and covered all the grounds through out the time of harvests and left after they had had all their fills. Israel was improvised, hungered and thirst. It was at the time that Gideon was hiding his grains and wheat at a wine-press, to keep the Medianites away from him.
Then, the Angel had appeared to him and spoken to him that he had been chosen by God to lead the nation of Israel against Medianites. Gideon had surveyed himself and had seen that he was unqualified from all angles to be chosen by God to lead the Israel in a war against the Mediates who had subdued their land for many years.
Judges 6:15-16 KJV
[15] And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
[16] And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
He was the least in one of the poorest families in Israel, yet the Lord had decided to use him for the deliverance of the whole nation of Israel from the hand of their enemies and masters. And the Lord used him to set the nation of Israel free from their enemies. And he became the head and a judge in Israel. He judged Israel for forty years.
Judges 8:28 KJV
[28] Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
However, this was possible, because Gideon had an encounter and a relationship with God. At a point, he came to God and built an altar unto the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord His God for help and support. and the Lord spoke to him to pull down the strange altar in his father’s house. And he did so. He worked with God, so, it was possible for God to work with him.
Judges 6:24,27 KJV
[24] Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord , and called it Jehovah-shalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abi-ezrites. [27] Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the Lord had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father’s household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night.
Jephthar was also like Gideon. An unexpected man from the tribe of Gilead of Ephraim. He was a son of an Harlot, a concubine of Geliad. So, his brothers usher him out of the house as a bastard. They had insisted he would never had any inheritance with them, because he was born by a harlot their father had an affair with. So he became a vagabond, a furgitive, a walk-about. He became a rogue, and a tout, who gathered some other vain persons behind him. His gang became notorious raiders. Militants.
When the children of Ammon warred against Israel, and they had no where to turn for help and there was no valiant man to lead them in a war against their enemies, they turned in the direction of Jephthar. The elders of Gilead went to him and called him to come and lead them to battle against the Ammonites.
Judges 11:1, 11
[1] Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah.
[11] Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh.
Jephthar went to the Lord and submitted himself to God for help and support. And the Spirit of the Lord filled him up and empowered him to call the other men of Israel to battle. People rose up behind Jephthar and became encouraged to fight against their enemies.
Judges 11:29 KJV
[29] Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.
He won the battle against the Ammonites and became the judge of Israel. He ruled over Israel. They no longer cared if he was a son of a harlot or not. God had used him.
The Bible said something about the General Naaman of Syria:
2 Kings 5:1, 14 KJV
[1] Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
He was a great military General in Syria. He was a great honorable man and famous in his country, but something was missing in his life. He had leprosy on his body, so he was an unhappy man despite his achievement “…..BUT HE WAS A LEPER..”
But because he came to submit himself to the God of Israel, he was cleansed. He had to humble himself to come to the Prophet, he had to humble himself to go to the River JORDAN and dip himself into the river, though there were better rivers in his country. Yet, he had to go to the river of Jordan and bath himself according to the Instruction of the man of God.
2 KINGS 5:14
[14] Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He had a brand new skin for himself, because he came to the Lord in humility and bowed himself to the God of Israel. Finally, Jabez was born out of sorrow. He was born into sorrow. His birth was sorrowful, yet, God made him honorable above his siblings because he called upon the name of the Lord for a change of life and destiny. And the Lord heard his cry and answered him. So, God turned him life around and removed the tag of sorrow and made him honorable above his peers.
1 Chronicles 4:9-10 KJV
[9] And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.
[10] And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
No matter who you are….no matter what you think you have gone through, no matter what you think the devil has made of you. No matter how messed up the devil had made your life to be. No matter how disjointed you think your destiny might have been…THE MANUFACTURER AND DESIGNER OF YOUR LIFE STILL HAS THE SPARE PARTS IN HIS STOREHOUSE.
He can still repair your damaged life.
He can still amend your broken destiny.
He can still heal your wounded life.
He can still renew your broken homes
He can still give Fresh Wine into your battered marriage.
He can still make things fresh again.
The Lord God of Jerubbal, Jephthar, Jabez, and General Naaman is still the Lord God of Israel.
MIKE BAMILOYE
mikebamiloyedevotionals
mikegloria.blogspot.