Facing Opposition from Family and Friends - Judges 11-12 and Luke 6:1-26
The story of Jephthah is very unusual, and much has been said about his vow which apparently led to the death of his only daughter. I believe that has led to people overlooking other elements of his story. Today, I feel led to focus in on the opposition he faced from his family and friends. None of us has a perfect family. There are always challenges. However, some people have much opposition from their family and friends. I know Jephthah's story will speak to many of us in this area, if we will listen to what God is saying.
Jephthah was kicked out of his family, because his mother was a harlot. He had no control over that fact, but he suffered the rejection of his family because of it. Rejection is always difficult, but it is especially hard when it comes from family. Jephthah did not let this defeat him. He still went and became a leader with his own band of men. Then, when his family tribe needed to fight the Ammonites, they called on him to be their leader. What a turn around from being rejected to being the leader. That is what God can do, if we don't give up, and we seek His will, even in the face of opposition. Jephthah had the strength of character to stand up for the truth, when the Ammonites tried to blame the Israelites for attacking them in the first place. Then, when the battle came, Israel won a great victory. However, even in victory the tribe of Ephraim came to give Jephthah a hard time for not including them in the battle. They should have been friends, but now he had to fight his friends. Life can be hard enough without having to withstand opposition from family and friends, too. Jephthah's life shows us that God will go with us, and we can withstand the worst wounds of life. The worst wounds come from those we love the most.
In Luke 6 Jesus is still facing opposition from the Jewish leaders. They should have been His friends, but they opposed Him at every turn, and they finally killed Him. Jesus explained the truth to them about the Sabbath, but they did not want to hear it. They wanted to attack Him, because they thought they were right. I wonder if Jesus ever thought about how much easier His mission would have been if they had helped Him, instead of hindering Him? He went and picked His disciples. They would become His family, and one of them would betray Him in the end. He preached the sermon on the plain, and He told the disciples and the whole crowd that they would be blessed when people excluded them for His sake. They were to rejoice and to leap for joy, because the prophets were persecuted in the same way. In fact, Jesus told them, it was bad if everyone spoke well of them. This is a truth we all need to hear. Opposition is certain. We need to be on Jesus' side when the opposition comes, even if that means being against family and friends. We need to stand up for truth and allow Jesus to take care of us. After all, we are a part of His family, and He has the best family in the universe. God is the most wonderful Father, we can have. Jesus is the most wonderful Friend and Savior we could possibly have. The Lord must be the object of our attention and devotion, not our family and friends. (Luke 14:26,27)
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 13-15 and Luke 6:27-49.
Jephthah was kicked out of his family, because his mother was a harlot. He had no control over that fact, but he suffered the rejection of his family because of it. Rejection is always difficult, but it is especially hard when it comes from family. Jephthah did not let this defeat him. He still went and became a leader with his own band of men. Then, when his family tribe needed to fight the Ammonites, they called on him to be their leader. What a turn around from being rejected to being the leader. That is what God can do, if we don't give up, and we seek His will, even in the face of opposition. Jephthah had the strength of character to stand up for the truth, when the Ammonites tried to blame the Israelites for attacking them in the first place. Then, when the battle came, Israel won a great victory. However, even in victory the tribe of Ephraim came to give Jephthah a hard time for not including them in the battle. They should have been friends, but now he had to fight his friends. Life can be hard enough without having to withstand opposition from family and friends, too. Jephthah's life shows us that God will go with us, and we can withstand the worst wounds of life. The worst wounds come from those we love the most.
In Luke 6 Jesus is still facing opposition from the Jewish leaders. They should have been His friends, but they opposed Him at every turn, and they finally killed Him. Jesus explained the truth to them about the Sabbath, but they did not want to hear it. They wanted to attack Him, because they thought they were right. I wonder if Jesus ever thought about how much easier His mission would have been if they had helped Him, instead of hindering Him? He went and picked His disciples. They would become His family, and one of them would betray Him in the end. He preached the sermon on the plain, and He told the disciples and the whole crowd that they would be blessed when people excluded them for His sake. They were to rejoice and to leap for joy, because the prophets were persecuted in the same way. In fact, Jesus told them, it was bad if everyone spoke well of them. This is a truth we all need to hear. Opposition is certain. We need to be on Jesus' side when the opposition comes, even if that means being against family and friends. We need to stand up for truth and allow Jesus to take care of us. After all, we are a part of His family, and He has the best family in the universe. God is the most wonderful Father, we can have. Jesus is the most wonderful Friend and Savior we could possibly have. The Lord must be the object of our attention and devotion, not our family and friends. (Luke 14:26,27)
Tomorrow, I intend to read Judges 13-15 and Luke 6:27-49.