Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.

In the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Patrick Miller.

If you've been going through the historical books with us this year, you may remember the story

of Jeff The from Judges 11.

If not, don't worry, here's a quick recap. And trust me,

it matters for today's passage. Jefftha was born into a broken family. His mother was a prostitute,

and his dad was some sort of landowner. We don't know much about him. But from a young age,

Jefftha was despised and treated poorly by his half-brothers. So they eventually disinherit him.

They eventually exile him from his homeland. And so we're not crazy if we feel sympathetic for

Jefftha. He's a character a lot like Joseph and maybe even later David. He seems like an innocent

sufferer. But then the story takes a dark turn. It turns out that Jephthah was actually a criminal, and when he

leaves town, he gathers a gang of outlaws and violent criminals around him to basically raid and

pillage both foreign and native towns alike. We read this in Judges 11. So Jephthah left his half-brothers

and lived in the land of T. Lawless men joined Jefftha's

gang and traveled with him. Maybe that's why his brothers wanted him out. Eventually, a foreign

army invades Jephthah's homeland, and his people call them to be their judge, you know,

because judges were warriors, they were generals, and they asked him to help them. And here's the

interesting thing.

He is the only judge that God doesn't call and God doesn't send. And it's totally clear that

his criminality, it only highlights how bad Israel has become. They're so lost that they now

ask a criminal and a rebel to defend them rather than asking God to provide someone for them.

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