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God
used Jephthah of Low Birth to Defeat the Ammonites
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Judges
11:11(NIV)
So
Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and
commander over them. And he repeated all his words before the LORD in Mizpah.
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In a place named
Gilead, there was a person called Jephthah.
He was a very great warrior and he was used by God as a prophet.
But the prophet Jephthah was someone who was ignored and looked down upon by
others.
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Jephthah's father had
many wives. And his father had many children.
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But Jephthah was not
born from the wives of his father.
Jephthah's mother was someone who sold her body.
So the other sons hated Jephthah very much.
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They did not want to
share their father's properties with Jephthah.
So when they grew up, they drove out Jephthah.
Jephthah was driven out from Gilead by his brothers.
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Jephthah left Gilead
and went to the land of Tob.
In Tob, he gathered the low people like himself.
They stayed together and Jephthah became a powerful leader to them.
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Sometime later, the
Ammonites attacked Israel.
The elders of Gilead quickly gathered to discuss what should be done.
But they realized that they could not stop the Ammonites by their own power.
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So they decided to
ask the help of Jephthah, whom they had driven out.
The elders went to Jephthah and asked him to help them.
"Please come back to Gilead. Please lead our army and fight the
Ammonites."
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Jephthah asked them,
"Didn't your people hate me?
You drove me out from my father's house.
Now that you are in trouble, you have come to me for help?" Jephthah was
upset.
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But the elders of
Gilead earnestly pleaded for him to help."
Please come to us and fight with the Ammonites. We will serve you as our
leader."
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Upon hearing their
words, Jephthah checked to make sure.
"You are saying that you will serve me as your leader if I return to
Gilead and win th battle by the help of God."
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"Yes, we will.
We promise God, who is listening to everything that we are saying.
We will make you our leader. So please return to Gilead with us."
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Jephthah returned to
Gilead with them.
The people of Gilead raised Jephthah as their leader and as their commander
of the army. Jephthah before had been looked down upon by others and had been driven out
but God was going to use him to be one of the prophets of Israel.
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Jephthah became a
leader. Then, he sent messengers to tell the Ammonites to stop the war and go
back home. But the king of the Ammonites did not follow the words of
Jephthah. So, Jephthah decided to fight with them.
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Since God was with
Jephthah, the Israelite army won greatly in the war with the Ammonites.
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Jephthah was ignored
and looked down upon by people but God used him and made the people feel
ashamed. God is happy with using people in difficult situations like
Jephthah. So even if the situation you have right now is hard, if you have strong faith
in God, then God will raise you up and use you. Believe in that and work hard
to have strong faith so to not loose your confidence.
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