Sunday: Emma came again this morning and sat with me in church. Neither of us was quite sure what we thought of the teaching today. Calvary is doing a summer series on "Abundant Living". The pastors are selecting lesser known biblical people about which to do brief character studies. This week's person was JEPHTHAH (Judges 10 - 12). I had just finished reading through the book of Judges about 10 days ago, and so I was re-familiarized with this man, and once again strongly disliked him. Pastor Jim didn't paint a pretty picture of him either--although Jephthah IS mentioned in the faith hall of fame (Hebrews 11).
Emma's biggest objection--which colored her entire "take" on the whole sermon--was pastor's choice to use a rap group as an example of someone who changed their minds about words they had spoken (part of a song), apologized to the person/group they offended, and then took down their song right off the internet. I don't know squat about rap groups, so I did not debate Emma's statement that most (if not all) rap groups are rooted in pretty evil stuff: violence, racism, hatred, etc. Emma was sad that pastor would put them "out there" as a good example of using wisdom to take back your words.
Jephthah SHOULD have taken back the vow he spoke to God once his only child (a daughter) came running out of his house after he was victorious in battle. Jephthah told God he would SACRIFICE (as a burnt offering) the first thing that came out of his house when he arrived home. What a rash and stupid thing to do! Did he think a goat was going to run out? Scripture says his daughter ran out of the house, dancing and playing the tambourine, to welcome her father home. As the story went on, he "allowed" his daughter to go with her friends somewhere secluded for two months to mourn the fact that she would die a virgin. Yikes.
Since nothing else is said in this story, one has to conclude that Jephthah did indeed sacrifice his only child as a burnt offering--something the LORD had strongly forbidden His people to do ... repeatedly! Pastor Jim emphasized this as well. He did not lift Jephthah up as a good example, but as someone who had started strong and ended up a disaster. Sigh.
Emma said she was going to go home and study more about this. Good for her--that's exactly what we are supposed to do! There is a lot to be said for Emma about this--first, she doesn't just "bow" to whatever is taught. That's a good quality to have. In Acts 17:10-12, Paul and Silas had gone to Berea to teach in the synagogue and it says: "They searched the Scriptures day after day to check up on Paul and Silas, to see if they were really teaching the truth." I'm glad Emma has the same attitude! I think anyone who is serious about following God's Truth should do the same. God's Word is always the final authority.



















































