Scripture I'm reflecting on: Judges 11:7-8
". . . Aren't you the ones who hated me and drove me from father's house? Why do you come to me now when you're in trouble?"
"BECAUSE WE NEED YOU"
Jephthah was run off of his land by his own brothers, and stripped of his inheritance, all over something that was out of his control. He suffered because his mother happened to be a prostitute, and was shunned. But in the end, these people that shunned him with hatred, had to be saved from the Ammonites by the very man they had kicked off their land...Jephthah.
Reflection:
I've read a few different commentaries on this section of Judges and there seems to be many different reflections on this passage. A lot of people focus on Jephthah's somewhat response as a bad thing, or an angry thing, and the reason that later on Jephthah made a vow that turned out to be a devastating mistake. But I don't read this verse like that at all. Was Jephthah's response really "bad". I don't think so. He was kicked out of his home by these people, some who were his own brothers. He was rejected, and had his inheritance stripped from him. And worst of all, he did nothing to cause any of it. I think his response to them now begging for his help was only natural. Regardless of how "different the times were" between now and the Old Testament, I can't imagine anyone who could say Jephthah didn't have a little "wiggle room" to be mad.
The message I choose take away from this verse is a message of hope, and a message or advice. A message of hope for when we are wronged by people we care about. Rejected. Made fun of. Ignored. Neglected. God turned around this hatred into something good. Jephthah became one of the most powerful men in the world. And the men who rejected him were taught a valuable lesson. I like to believe that God acts like this in all of our lives. Maybe not the extremes of this story, but I do believe that he turns anger, hostility, and disrespect in our lives into something good over time. I think if we all truly reflect back in our lives, we can remember something bad that God turned into good.
The message of advice comes as a reminder NOT to be like the people that rejected Jephthah. All of us, all of us, at some point in our lives have slipped up like the men in his verse did. Obviously not to the extreme of kicking someone out of their land, but have you ever ignored someone for no reason? Have you ever lied to someone? Have you ever used someone, rejected them, turned them down as a friend, made fun of them? I'll give you the first thing that I thought of when reflecting on something I had done. When I first moved away from home, my family, parents, grandparents, etc. would always ask me to call them. But I would only call them when I needed something. When I needed information. When I needed advice. But never just to talk. Never just to put a smile on their face. As I reflect on that, I shiver at the thought of just how similar my actions were to the people of this verse.
There are people out there who only talk to someone when they need something. There are people who are only nice to someone when they want something. Relationships end all the time when one person doesn't need anything from the other anymore, or have found someone that better "fills their needs." Friendships end when one person finds cooler, more powerful, more wealthy friends to "fill their needs."Don't become one of these people.
Final Thought:
I'm actually sitting here thinking about deleting this, so if your reading this I guess it made the cut. Admittedly, this is one of my worst writings, as my thoughts are totally jumbled and scattered, and I can't really put into words what I felt on my heart when I read this verse. But I feel really strongly about passing along the message, so this is it.
To summarize it simply, I take away two things from this verse that I think are good devotionals for all. The first is simply a reflection of hope. God sees when you are mistreated, and he will turn it around into something good if you have faith. Whether it be someone disrespected by their family, whether it be someone who was used by someone in a relationship, whether it be someone was a victim of being mocked or joked behind their back, God will turn things around for these "someones" as long as they believe in Him. The second thing is simply to not be on the other side of this message. Don't be the person who causes another pain. You never know when this will turn around on you. When you will need them.
If these situations happen to you, don't be overcome with hate or anger towards these people. You never know when they will need you. When God will turn around these actions for your good.
Treat others with respect, and look to God when you are treated with disrespect. HE will take care of the rest.
No comments:
Post a Comment