Several years ago in Colorado, USA, a 5-weeks old baby girl named Jessica Ann Liberger came down with a serious case of pneumonia. Her father was portrayed in the national media as a fundamentalist preacher. Instead of taking Jessica Ann to the hospital, across the street from where they lived, he said – “You know what, we are going to pray for this baby to be healed. I believe that God has the power to do this.” He and his wife prayed fervently for God’s intervention; the church prayed.  However, Jessica Ann died.
 
The District Attorney of Estes Park, where they lived, brought an indictment against John Liberger, charging him with criminal negligence. Liberger was subsequently tried and found guilty of manslaughter.
 
Considering that John Liberger was a good father of the remaining five children, the judge of the case said to Liberger: “I don’t think putting you in prison is a good idea. It will not do you any good. I am going to give you five years’ probation – working in that hospital across the street from your house. You will be a volunteer there, and work as an orderly, and maybe you will see that God can work miracles through medicine.”
 
On the way out of the courtroom, after this verdict was given, John Liberger was interviewed by one of the reporters, and they asked: “What do you think of the verdict?”  Liberger replied, “God is my judge. I will give an account for my life to Him.” Friends, that is true… God is our judge and one day we too will give an account to Him for the decisions we’ve made in our earthly lives.
 
Friends, how do you think God will judge John Liberger in the matter of Jessica Ann… guilty or not-guilty? In the Book of Judges, there is a story of a man, named Jephthah that can help us answer that question (10:6–11:40). Jephthah was chosen by the Lord to serve Him as Judge (Ruler) over His rebellious people, the Israelites, during a period of their repentance. The Lord empowered Jephthah to deliver His people from their neighbouring oppressors, the Ammonites (10:6-18).
 
A little background
1. The Israelites had stopped serving the Lord – they abandoned Him. They did evil in His sight; adopting the beliefs and practices of their pagan neighbours. They worshipped idols and lived self-indulgent lives. They even sacrificed babies and children to their pagan gods!
 
2. In response, the Lord handed them over to their neighbours, the Philistines, and the Ammonites, who began to oppress them.
 
3. After 18 years of distress, through honest confession and sincere repentance from their sinful practices, they cried out to the Lord to rescue them from their enemies.
 
4. The armies of the Ammonites were camped at Gilead, preparing to attack Israel’s army at Mizpah.
 
5. The leaders of Gilead gathered and decided to search for a “hero” to lead them in their immediate crisis, and they found that hero in a man named, Jephthah.
 
Jephthah to the rescue! (11:1-28)
Judges 11:1-2 reads … Now Jephthah from Gilead was a great warrior. He was the son of Gilead, but his mother was a prostitute. Gilead’s wife also had several sons, and when these half-brothers grew up, they chased Jephthah off the land. “You will not get any of our father’s inheritance,” they said, “for you are the son of a prostitute.”
 
Jephthah grew-up in a dysfunctional family. He was born to a Canaanite prostitute and his half-brothers (Israelites) hated him. He was driven away by his brothers from his community, and when he was old enough, he fled to the land of Tob, and became a mighty warrior-leader of a gang of mercenary-invaders.
 
Some years later, with bellies full of “humble pie”, the elders of Gilead came grovelling to Jephthah and begged him to lead them into battle against the Ammonites… offering him a lifetime appointment as their Judge.
 
Jephthah was a man of “spiritual” sensitivity – He had a strong faith in the God of Israel. However, his theology was weak–he had been greatly influenced by the prevailing pagan culture of the day. Jephthah’s strong faith + weak theology was a dangerous combination that was about to cost him more than his life. (Concluding Part II next week.)
 
Best wishes,
Bill