The Story of Jeff - Testimonial

Jeff was an unlikely candidate for God to ever use. Jeff’s mother was a prostitute. In many cultures, including America, he would in all probability have been aborted or euthanized. But Jeff mattered to God. Jeff’s father brought him into his home. As Jeff grew older, his half-brothers scorned and rejected him. They drove him away. Jeff found refuge in the rugged hill country. He loved the mountains.

Many who have been abused and rejected, as Jeff had been, become angry and bitter. Many suffer various emotional and psychological disorders. But Jeff became a mighty warrior for God. He had a heart for God. He proved, once again, that where darkness and devastation is great, the grace of God is greater still.

Someone has said that truth is stranger than fiction. Jeff’s powerful and poignant story is found in the Bible in Judges 11. In the Word of God he is called Jephthah. We’ll call him Jeff for short.

Notice the introduction of his story. “Now, Jephthah of Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute” (Judges 11:1 NLT). Jeff lived in a time when Israel had no king. They “did what was right in their own eyes.” God allowed them to go their own way and suffer defeat and oppression from their enemies. When they repented and cried out to God, He would raise up “judges” or leaders to deliver them from their enemies. But they would soon forget God’s goodness and start the cycle all over again. Jephthah was one of the judges/leaders that God raised up.

What are some lessons that can be learned from the story of Jeff?

First – DEEP DEPRAVATION AND DARKNESS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR GOD TO DISPLAY HIS GRACE AND GLORY. On earth, those in highest positions of status are usually appointed as leaders. In God’s kingdom those in the lowest positions of humility are appointed by God to display His grace and glory. Corrie ten Boom, concentration camp survivor, speaker, and author, often said, “There is no pit so deep that God’s grace is not deeper still.”

Jeff knew the scorn, rejection, and abuse that people can suffer in life, but instead of becoming bitter and bad, the grace of God made him better. Jeff’s compassion and understanding became a magnate. “Soon he had a large band of rebels following him” (Judges 11:3 NLT).

Jeff was in good company. Jesus’ great, great grandmother was not Jewish – she was Rahab the harlot. Her faith brought redemption to her and her relatives. By God’s grace they came into the family of God. Jesus knew what it was to suffer abuse and rejection.

“Come to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by the people, but he is precious to God who chose him. And now God is building you, as living stones, into his spiritual temple . . . ‘I am placing a stone in Jerusalem, a chosen cornerstone and anyone who believes in him will never be disappointed . . . the stone that was rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone’” (I Peter 2:4-8 NLT).

Second – A DEVOTED DISCIPLE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL BE A DYNOMO TO DO MIGHTY THINGS FOR GOD. “At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and he went throughout the land . . . and led an army against the Ammonites” (Judges 11:30 NLT). There was a common denominator among the judges. The Holy Spirit came upon them and gave them boldness and power. That same power is available to every believer in Christ. (Acts 1:8; 2:4; 19:1-7)

Third – DETERMINATION TO HONOR GOD IN DEDICATION TO ONE’S PROMISE PROVES TRUE DEVOTION TO HIM. We should not bargain with God. But we should be true to our vows. Jeff made a vow to God. “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the Lord the first thing coming out of my house to greet me when I return in triumph” (Judges 11:30-31 NLT).

Perhaps Jeff made a rash vow. When he returned home in victory, the first person to greet him was his beloved daughter. But Jeff was true to his word. Did he actually sacrifice her to the Lord? There are differences of opinion. The context would seem to infer that his daughter was required to live alone as a single virgin the rest of her life. God forbade human sacrifice. When Abraham was asked to sacrifice his only son as a test of his obedience and devotion, God stopped him short of taking Isaac’s life. Instead God provided a lamb that foreshadowed God’s giving His only son to die on the cross as our substitute and an atoning sacrifice for sin.

Have you kept your promise to God? Don’t go back on your commitment. Be determined to be totally devoted to God. Perhaps like Jeff you have suffered scorn, abuse, or rejection. Don’t give into bitterness, receive the grace of God that will bring redemption and make you better.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).