A look a Judges 11:1-33 and Luke 21:1-38

[Jacob 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! Even though he was mistreated, he didn’t let a negative attitude take control, he returned and became their commander.

Then he “vows and 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 Yephtah returned home and 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, 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 a burnt offering! This explains why Yephtah might have offered up his daughter to serve in the Tabernacle. 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.

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 those who have mistreated us.

How do Yeshua and all of us fit into this equation? Yeshua, who was 100% God and 100% man, lived a perfect, sinless life, and in the end, offered himself up as a sacrifice for sin. He was the "Lamb of God, who took away the sin of the world." He bore the weight of our sin on HIS shoulders. He died so we could have life, life eternal.

We, on the other hand, should offer up ourselves as "living sacrifices" to serve the LORD here on this earth, using the spiritual gifts that God has endowed to us, and using them to serve HIM and serve others, winning lost souls and leading others in the understanding of God's Word.

LUKE 21:1-38

Yeshua talks about the “end times” “Watch out” he warns, that things will get worse before they get better. Many think we will look 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.

He is returning soon, but the Bible states that no one knows the exact date, hour, or minute of his second coming. To those who are lost or spiritually dead, he will come as a thief in the night. Yet to us who are spiritually alive and study the Scriptures, we have learned that he will return at the "Final Trumpet sound" of God. Many believe that during the times of Yom Teruah (Rosh HaShannah) and Yom Kippur, there is a final Shofar blast that announces the end of this period of repentance and returning. Could this be the time of the LORD's return? Something to think about!

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