Thursday, January 10, 2008
"What more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets" (Hebrews 11:32).
IDEA: Warriors are at their best when they are people of peace.
PURPOSE: To help listeners consider the best metaphor in describing Christians.
When we talk about a metaphor, what do we mean? We’re basically talking about using one word that describes a people or movement.
We use different metaphors to describe the church. Some describe us as soldiers—“Onward Christian Soldiers,” “Soldiers of Christ, Arise,” etc.
Another metaphor for Christians is that they are peacemakers (Matthew 5). Are these necessarily contradictory?
I. In the Old Testament, a judge Jephthah was described as a mighty warrior.
What is the background of this title “mighty warrior”? It is found in Judges 11:1. In Judges 10:17 we’re told that the Ammonites gathered together in Gilead and the Israelites gathered in Mizpah. The people of Israel had not won a battle in almost 20 years and they didn’t have a leader who could lead them into battle. Chapter 11 begins “Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior” or a mighty man of valor.
Why was Jephthah selected to be their leader and commander?
Judges 11:3 – he had been a successful bandit. What do you think are the characteristics that made him successful?
The people selected him to be a leader and commander. They expected him to lead them into battle.
II. Jephthah showed that he was a man of peace before he demonstrated that he was a man of war.
He evidently believed that it’s better to talk over disagreements before we fight over them.
How does he demonstrate his intelligence? Judges 11:12-28 describes his argument that the king of Ammon has no right to the territory that the Israelites occupied east of the Jordan river. He used history, theology, and reason to make his case.
The writer of Judges takes a significantly long time to spell out the diplomatic exchanges that Jephthah makes with his enemy.
III. Strong kings are seldom swayed by strong arguments; only strong armies get their attention.
The king of Ammon wouldn’t back off, Judges 11:28.
CONCLUSION: Do you think that is still true today? Should we seek peace before we seek war? More important, should the church be known as an army or should it be known for its peacemaking?