Unbelievable Grace

Then the sons of Ammon were summoned and they camped in Gilead and the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in Mizpah. And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon? The people are without a strong leader. Frankly, they don't have anybody with the guts to stand up to the sons of Ammon. They finally are pressed to the wall and it came about after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. And it happened that the elders of Gilead went to Gidjephthah from the land of Tob. You catch the irony?

This is wonderful. These are the same ones that sent them away. Often times people treat each other differently based on certain conditions. For example, ethnic background, social status, and even economic positions can impact the way humans treat one another. God's grace doesn't work that way. The unbelievable grace of God doesn't care about heredity.

It's not limited by the social potential and the environmental factors that people consider important. What you're going to learn today is that if God can use a man like Gilead, He can use you as well. Welcome to Wisdom for the Heart.

We continue our Vintage Wisdom series through Judges with this lesson called Unbelievable Grace. I attended the same school from kindergarten through senior high. And remember one of the fellows who was a couple of years ahead of me, a fellow with a withered hand, and that had given him, I think, a complex. He was a very angry young man.

He was not good athletically, I remember, and very rebellious. In fact, he was kicked out of the high school for selling drugs. It would be a couple of years later, as I was walking down the sidewalk of the Christian college where I attended, to bump into Paul. And my first thought was, is he selling drugs here too?

But it really wasn't the case. In fact, several years after being kicked out of high school, God reached him by the heart and so revolutionized that man that he was now studying to be a missionary. I called and talked to a pastor who supports Paul just this weekend to ask how he was doing. And it was really amazing to discover that Paul had indeed graduated from Christian college and he had now been serving ten years on the field as a missionary, married with, I believe, three children. I was also fascinated by the thought that this man who once was so stubborn against God is now stubbornly serving him because he has just been appointed by ABWE to Mexico City, which, by the way, is called the graveyard of missionaries. In fact, the couple that went over with him to Mexico City have already quit. But Paul Harding is still there and I learned this weekend that he has already started a church and they are looking for a building, and several have come to Jesus Christ. You know, there's a natural tendency in my heart and maybe yours, too, to write off people because of their past. It surprises us sometimes to see how God's grace is dulled out because more than likely, you and I feel that we're probably a more capable recipient of his grace.

We forget that at the cross, the ground is level. It's amazing to me how God will teach a deep truth like his grace by wrapping it up in the life of a believer or a person who has been marked off by society, who has been a loser in everyone else's eyes, and then you discover him later being used by God in a tremendous way. That's the kind of man I want to take a close look at in the book of Judges, chapter 11.

He is the ninth judge that we have studied up to this point, and I want us to leave having taken a fresh look at what I call unbelievable grace, because by the time I finish studying this chapter, the overwhelming theme could be reduced into two words, unbelievable grace. See, Israel had once again walked with their eyes wide open into the clutches of foreign gods. You know the cycles of sin that had taken place.

Now they were deeper in idolatry than ever before. And God, who was a God of grace, would reveal himself to the people by choosing someone that they would never mistake as being a recipient of God's grace. And he chooses a man by the name of Jephthah.

What a story he was. Chapter 11, verse 1. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah. And Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, You shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman. So Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tov. And worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah, and they went out with him.

Notice, before he ever steps up to the plate, he has not three, but four strikes against him. Strike number one, he was an illegitimate son. Look back at verse one. Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but it's like the text rams that into position. But he was the son of a harlot, and Gilead was the father of Jephthah.

This meant no legal rights or privileges. He grew up without the benefit of a nurturing, caring family. Strike number two, his mother was a harlot prostitute.

We just read that. Evidently, his father was unfaithful. Basically, his home will be turned into a battleground of hatred and hostility and rivalry. Because evidently, he took the newborn son into his own home. It was the least he could do.

That leads me to strike number three. He was evidently or eventually rejected by his adoptive family. Verse two. And Gilead's wife bore him sons, and when his wife's sons grew up, they called Jephthah out and said, you shall not have an inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of another woman.

In other words, when Gilead's legitimate brothers grew old enough to understand what inheritances were all about, they didn't want to slice the pie one more time. And they told Jephthah, you don't belong here. We want you out. He obviously didn't belong.

Strike number four. He left home and became the gang leader of criminals. Look at verse three. So Jephthah fled.

He ran, tears probably streaming down his cheeks. He fled from his brothers and he lived in the land of Tov. And worthless fellows gathered themselves about Jephthah and they went out.

You could render that. And they raided with him against the enemy. Worthless in your text means empty, unprofitable. It is the shady characters of the back alleys who gather around Jephthah and they see in him their leader apparent. What I find so interesting is here is a man who is unwanted by everyone except other people who are unwanted. A man rejected by everyone who should have accepted him now finds a home among those who also are unaccepted.

What a life. The famous Scottish preacher, Dr. Alexander White, perhaps one of the most well-known expositors in Scotland. I am privileged to have the books that he wrote. Could identify with the pain of Jephthah because he also had been born out of wedlock. And in his day, this carried a lifetime stigma. He writes, he had to contend with the mockery of boys, the scorn of the girls and the whispers of the townspeople whenever they saw him in town.

When Alexander was born, his mother gave him his father's surname. She reared him in poverty. But evidently deep piety. He became apprentice to a shoemaker. And through hard work, this tough little guy grew up and was able to be educated in Edinburgh and at Aberdeen. Dr. White's preaching, should you read his words, are marked by a keen sensitivity to the evils of his day. He is also profoundly capable of identifying with people who suffer. He preached on just about everyone in the Bible and his volumes now called character studies by Alexander White are in my library, printed nearly 100 years ago. And I thought it would be interesting to find out what this man had to say about Jephthah.

I wasn't surprised at the way he identified with him and almost defended him. Listen to what Alexander White wrote. Jephthah was the most ill-used man in all the Old Testament.

It says it all right there, doesn't it? And he continues to be the most completely misunderstood, misrepresented, and ill-used man down to this day. Buffeted about from his birth by his brothers, trampled upon by all men, and most of all by the men of his father's house, called all manner of odious and exasperating names. And when a prophet came to dine, he was sent away to the fields to be out of sight. The iron, or the dagger, had entered his soul, while yet he lay in his mother's womb. And both his father and his brothers and the elders of Israel helped increase Jephthah's affliction, till the Lord rose up for Jephthah and said, It is enough! And he took the iron out of his servant's soul, and he poured oil and wine into the lifelong wound.

Wow! Here's a man who understood. Perhaps I'm speaking to someone in this audience who can identify as well, perhaps similar sin, similar background, similar pain of rejection. I want you to know the story is about to change because the grace, the unbelievable grace of God is about to reverse the story. And Jephthah will become an encouragement to you and all of us that no matter what stains the pages of your past, God's unbelievable grace can wash it as white as snow. As far as Israel was concerned, Jephthah was beyond the grace of God.

And one other phrase provides that insight. Look at verse 7 with me. The elders come to Jephthah asking for his help.

We'll look carefully at this in a moment. But I want you to notice, Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, notice this, Did you not hate me? And did you not drive me from my father's house? Jephthah becomes, I believe here, a partial illustration of Jesus Christ himself. This could be a sermon in and of itself. Jesus Christ was born amid the slurs of an immoral mother. In fact, in his later days, it would be the religious pietists who would say to him that he did not really have a well-bred birth. His mother had conceived out of wedlock and they refuted his claims of deity. He also was rejected by his half-brothers. It wasn't until his resurrection that they would believe him. He was also rejected by his hometown.

In fact, the entire nation would send him to the cross. What an illustration that this man also was despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We're not given much in these first few verses, but we're given enough to recognize that Jephthah was an outcast, he was unaccepted, he was unloved, he was unwanted by everyone except those who were also unwanted. He was a boy who grew up believing that he was trash.

And eventually as a young man, he left to join other boys like him who had believed, who had heard the same lie. But the grace of God comes here because the unbelievable grace of God doesn't care about parentage. He does not stumble over ill births.

He grades on an entirely different scale. If Jephthah's life shouts anything here, it is the words, you do not need to be a prisoner of your past. The Spirit of God gives grace independently of whether or not your parents received it. And he gives gifts independently of whether or not they ever received them. Gary Enrig, a man whom I have been reading on this book, received a letter from a missionary friend from Ethiopia, and I thought it was fascinating, because it talks about two men who were planting and pastoring churches among the unreached tribes. These were national men, paid $20 a month by their supporting churches, eking out an existence. He talks about two young men that he says, American mission societies would have never accepted their application.

One is named Arshay. He is 25 with deformed hands. He has six fingers on each hand. He has a sixth-grade education, and his wife has tuberculosis. He preaches in a little church.

Two days travel from the nearest town. And this friend Devenrigs visited him, and 24 people were baptized by him in one month. Andreas, another man with a fourth-grade education, four children, one tragically deformed as a hunchback, his wife a former barmaid. Gary's friend says, the last time I went to his church, I attended the baptism of 88 new believers led to Christ by Andreas. God isn't impressed with the same kind of person that we're impressed with. He works on an entirely different scale. The stage then finds God's expression of grace to Jephthah as he is sought out now by those who have sent him away.

Let's find out why. Back up to chapter 10, verse 17. Then the sons of Ammon were summoned, and they camped in Gilead, and the sons of Israel gathered together and camped in Mizpah. And the people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, Who is the man who will begin to fight against the sons of Ammon?

He shall become head over all of the inhabitants of Gilead. That is, the people are without a strong leader. Frankly, they don't have anybody with the guts to stand up to the sons of Ammon. Who could we find?

They can't find anybody. So they now skip down to chapter 11, verse 4. They finally are pressed to the wall, and it came about after a while that the sons of Ammon fought against Israel. And it happened when the sons of Ammon fought against Israel that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

You catch the irony? This is wonderful. Ah, I can just see those elders now. These are the same ones that sent them away, just a lot older. They probably still have starch collars.

I can imagine a lot of stuttering and a lot of coughing and a lot of staring at the ground. Look at what they say, verse 6. And they said to Jephthah, Come and be our chief, that we might fight against the sons of Ammon. And Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, Did you not hate me and drive me from my father's house? So why have you come to me now when you are in trouble? That's a great question.

That's valid. The elders totally ignore it. They go on in verse 8, For this reason we have now returned to you, that you may go fight, that you may go with us and fight. Oh, come on. They won't even tell them at this point that we really need a leader.

We need a strong man, and you're it. We just want to invite you to come with us and, by the way, become head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head in chief over them. Now, no, we do not read of any apology here by the elders. Jephthah, we were wrong. We misread you. We wrote you off. We read it all wrong. Would you forgive us?

We are so sorry. No, you don't read that here. But Jephthah still decides to return and lead the Gileadites to war, risking his own life for people who could care less about his life. It tells us several things about Jephthah, if you want to make room in your notes. First of all, Jephthah at this moment chose to hurdle his past. I have no doubt in my mind that there was a great struggle there in his own soul.

But at this moment in time, he decides to forget the things which are behind and press forward. Apology or not, he will serve God. It also tells me that he helped, he chose to help those who refused to help him.

And I bet his buddies in Tope thought he was nuts. But Jephthah chose to show grace to those who had withheld grace from him. And that's unbelievable, too. What made Jephthah big enough to make this decision? Would you look with me at verse 11? Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and chief over them.

And here it is. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah. You know what this tells us? That although everyone had abandoned Jephthah, he knew God hadn't. And there on the eve of this incredibly swift promotion from unwanted to wanted, unacceptable to accepted. Jephthah goes out and he gets alone and he has a conversation with God.

Maybe he looks up at the stars. I can imagine Jephthah saying, Lord, you'll never believe what just happened to me. They want me. They need me.

And they have invited me to be their chief. Thank you, God. Unbelievable grace for God to choose him. Unbelievable grace for Jephthah to go. Would you turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel, chapter 4, verse 4?

I think this story will have incredible significance to you and me. The story is about the grandson of King Saul, the son of Jonathan. When Saul and Jonathan were killed in battle, Mephibosheth was five years old and he was snatched up by his nurse and they were going to escape from the enemy. But his nurse for some reason accidentally dropped him and his legs were permanently damaged. And he was crippled and had to use crutches for the rest of his life.

Look at verse 4. Now, Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the report of Saul and Jonathan came to Jezreel and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in a hurry or haste to flee, he fell and became lame.

And his name was Mephibosheth. Nothing is heard about him or from him for anywhere from 15 to 20 years until David makes a rather unusual announcement. Turn over to chapter 9, verse 1. David has ascended the throne at this point. And he says, Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

The Hebrew word for kindness is hesed, which could be translated grace. Here, this wonderful king has ascended the throne and his leadership is a refreshing change from Saul's bitter, jealous leadership. And he ascends the throne, never having tasted defeat. His kingdom is flourishing. There's a chicken in every pot.

There are two chariots in every driveway. And David, in his bountiful attitude, says, Is there anybody left from my old enemy's household that I can show grace to? He didn't ask, Is there anybody qualified? Is there a sharp person among Saul's household? He says, Is there anybody left? I want to show grace to them. I love his servant, verse 2. Now, there was a servant of the house of Saul. His name was Ziba, and they called him to David. And the king said, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, Is there not yet anyone in the house of Saul to whom I may show the grace of God? And Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan, but he's crippled in both feet.

You don't really want him. You can almost read it in his words. So the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he's in the house of Machir, the son of Amiel in Lo Debar, which means a barren place.

This cripple is hidden away. Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Amiel from Lo Debar. And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, Mephibosheth.

And he said, Here is your servant. He is falling down. He is terrified.

He has no idea, but it was the practice of this era to wipe out potential heirs. And he knew that Saul had hated David, and David had every reason to wipe out Saul's family. He stumbles forward. He throws his crutches aside, and he falls on his face, and he says, Here I am. I'm your servant. And David said to him, Verse 7, Do not fear, for I will surely show grace to you for the sake of your father, Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather, Saul, and you shall eat at my table regularly. That's the first time out of four that David says, You will eat at my table regularly.

Again, Mephibosheth falls down. He prostrates himself and says, What is your servant that you should regard a dead dog like me? That's descriptive term for the most despicable thing around, a dead, decaying dog. He says, I'm just a decaying dog. I'm trash.

Why in the world would you want me? The next verse, Then the king called Saul's servant Zebed, and said to him, All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food. Nevertheless, Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall eat at my table regularly. Verse 11, Then Zebed said to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands a servant, so your servant will do. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. Verse 13, So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king's table regularly.

He was lame in both feet. Can you imagine that scene? Can you imagine the dining room with the king? All of the servants attending. There's David in royal splendor seated. Here comes Solomon, the brilliant heir apparent, walking across the courtyard, finds his seat. Here comes lovely Tamar, beautiful, queen-like. She finds her seat. In comes Absalom, rugged, handsome. He grabs a chair, flings it apart, sits down.

Perhaps visiting that evening or that afternoon when they're eating is Joab, muscular, bronze, the general of the forces. And then your ears pick up the sounds of the clump, clump, clump, the crutches as Mephibosheth makes his way across the dining room, shuffles into a chair, and eats with the king. Mephibosheth had nothing. He had done nothing.

He deserved nothing. That's the whole point of grace. He received grace from the king's hand because he was the son of the king's friend, just as you and I received grace from God because we're the friend of his son, Jesus Christ. I think of John Newton who wrote the hymn, Amazing Grace, you're familiar with that man's unusual story.

I read just this past week. He said there will be three wonderful, or wonders I should say, about heaven that will amaze me when I get there. He said the first wonder will be all of the people there that I didn't expect to see. He said the second wonder will be all of the people that aren't there that I expected to see.

He said the third and the most amazing wonder is that I will find myself there. Ladies and gentlemen, that is unbelievable grace. And so this man would pen the words we sing, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind, but now I see.

Why? Because of God's unbelievable grace, period. That was a lesson called Unbelievable Grace. It's part of our Vintage Wisdom series through the book of Judges. Stephen Davey first preached this series many years ago, but the truth is just as important and just as powerful today.

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