Judges (shoftim) 11:1-33 and Luke 21:1-38

[Ben Avraham]

JUDGES 11:1-33

This lesson is about “Yephtah” who was bullied and mistreated by his brothers and was excluded from his father’s inheritance, he ran away and got together with a gang of thugs and became like the “Jessie James gang” However, when trouble started back home, who did the brothers look for? Yes, Yephtah! In spite of the fact that he was mistreated, he didn’t let a negative attitude take control, he returned and became their commander.

Then he “vows a vow” “If you deliver the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house I will offer up to you as a burnt offering” the Israelites won the war, and when Jephthah returned home his “only daughter came out to greet him”. There are mixed emotions and opinions over this. Some suggest that He DID offer his daughter as a burnt offering, that he killed her and burned her body on the altar. BUT… would the Holy GOD of Israel accept this kind of abomination? A human sacrifice? I would say NO! (my opinion)

So, what MIGHT have happened? Some believe that he did “offer up” his daughter, but to serve as a servant in the tabernacle of YHVH, perhaps helping the Levites or something similar. Again, just an idea, but no one knows for sure, we’ll find out the truth in Heaven! Others say that in the original translation, the words were misunderstood, and the phrase, “Whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in peace, it shall be the LORD’s and I will offer it up as a burnt offering” was really, “it shall be the LORD’s “OR” I will offer it up as an offering! Which explains why Yephtah might have offered up his daughter to serve in the Tabernacle for all her life, or for a period of 20 years. Now, had an animal, like a lamb or a goat come out, THAT animal would have been offered up as a burnt offering, but again, this is just an idea.

Today, we can "offer up ourselves" as "living sacrifices" to do the LORD's work. Some have dedicated their lives to full-time ministries, others, for part-time. Some dedicate their lives to the teaching of God's Word. Burnt-Offering vs Living-offering. I think the "living offering" is a lot better.

What does this teach us? Be careful of what we “vow” we might end up “swallowing” our words, best not to promise anything, and again, not to hold a grudge against those who have mistreated us, forgive them who have mistreated us. There are probably bullies in everyone's life, I had to tend with bullies when I was a kid. I ran away from them. I was a fast runner. Others will stand their ground and fight, getting a black eye or a bloodied nose, either them or the bully. Now, I did check up on the neighborhood bullies. One went to Bible College and opened a stationery store. The other, well, he disappeared. Not even his oldest sister knows where he is.

On Calvary's cross, Yeshua took on the world's biggest bully, Satan, and crushed his head with HIS own blood. His blood bought us eternal life in Heaven, but only if we accept His precious gift.


LUKE 21:1-38


Yeshua talks about the “end times” “Watch out” he warns, things will be getting worse before it gets better. Many think that we will be looking forward to better times, yet Yeshua says just the opposite! Wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, famines, etc., the world is going downhill fast, not only physically, but morality is taking a tailspin downward. Homosexuality and lesbianism are the norms now, where, 20 or 30 years ago it was shameful. Occultism and violence are everywhere on the net. TV shows aired now would NEVER have aired 30 years ago. We need to look at the big picture, eternity in a sinless society, the New Jerusalem. Eternity with God, and we'll see him in all His splendor.

We need to take heed and be faithful, await the coming of Messiah Yeshua, AFTER He returns, the world will enter a thousand-year time of real SHALOM. Yeshua taught all of this in the temple in Yerushalayim and would camp out on the Mt. of Olives during the night. What an interesting life! I think it would have been great to have seen and heard Yeshua in person back then. Yet we can still hear his voice through HIS WORD.



Shalom

Ben Avraham

 

[God Is My Judge]

Be careful. That is not what happen in Judges- what you suggest or with slight imply. Though you say "not" adding-"it is only my opinion" can be misleading. When interpreting scripture to others, especially as a Jew, many will put much weight in what you say. I know of many Jews who are not Messianic who would love that human sacrifice thing to be true, in order to justify the Noahide laws. Unfortunately, even many of my Messianic brothers get lured into Kabbalah practices and scripture gets misconstrued.
Judges 11:
Jephthah’s Tragic Vow

29Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh, then through Mizpah of Gilead. And from there he advanced against the Ammonites.

30Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, 31then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”
God did not approve of human sacrifice. It was his daughter's virginity that would be offered up.The burnt offering seals the deal.
The Offerings:Mode of Sacrifice.
These were wholly animal, and the victims were wholly consumed. They might be from the herd or the flock, or in cases of poverty birds might be substituted. The offerings acceptable were: (a) young bullocks; (b) rams or goats of the first year; (c) turtle-doves or young pigeons. These animals were to be free from all disease or blemish. They were to be brought to the door of the tabernacle, and the offerer was to kill them on the north side of the altar (if a burnt offering), except in the public sacrifices, when the priest put the victims to death, being assisted on occasion by the Levites (II Chron. xxix. 34). The blood was then sprinkled around the altar. The victim, if a large animal, was flayed and divided; the pieces being placed above the wood on the altar, the skin only being left to the priest. If the offering was a bird a similar operation was performed, except that the victim was not entirely divided. The fire which consumed the offerings was never allowed to go out, since they were slowly consumed; and the several kinds of sacrifice furnished constant material for the flames. Every morning the ashes were conveyed by the priest to a clean place outside the camp (Ex. xxix. 38-42; Lev. i., vi. 8-13, ix. 12-14; Num. xv.).

32So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand. 33With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites.

34And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her.

35As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”

36“My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD. Do to me as you have said, for the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander for two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”
It was not an Israelite custom to keep one's virginity by never marrying. God did say after all " be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth". Hence, her strange request before the offering was done. It was a big deal to marry and have children, still is. she had to prepare herself for this self-sacrifice or her father's offer rather. She honored both her earthly and heavenly father. They knew a vow to the Lord must be kept.
38“Go,” he said. And he sent her away for two months.

So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity upon the mountains. 39After two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she had never had relations with a man.

"And she had never had relations with a man." This sums it up. He offered her up as a perpetual virgin never to be given in marriage. It would be like death to not be married and hopefully have children. But God would never require her life -blood.

So it has become a custom in Israel 40that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.
Mourn her because she never married or bore children. They did not mourn her death, but it was as a death to abstain from marriage. For it was not a custom.