Spirit-led Stupidity?
Scripture: Judges 11:29-31, 34, 39
29 At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, 31 I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering...34 when Jepthah returned home his daughter came out to meet him...39 After the two months... he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin."
Observations:
When God wanted to save His people from their enemies, on one occasion He picked a guy named Jepthah to lead them. What's crazy about this story is that God empowered him with the Holy Spirit to defeat the Moabites, which guaranteed them success. In the midst of all the excitement over what God was about to do, Jepthah made a series of mistakes guided by his own ignorance. Number one, he tried to bargain for God's favor in battle (vs. 30). Number two, he made a stupid and unnecessary vow to give God a burnt offering He didn't ask for (vs. 31). Thirdly, he blamed others for his mistakes (vs. 35). Fourthly, he actually sacrificed his daughter to the Lord because He was that ignorant about God's Word. Yet despite his example of botched leadership, God still rescued Israel! The moral of the story though is that many of these mistakes could have been avoided had Jepthah simply paid the least bit of attention to God's Word.
Application:
Far too often well-meaning people end up painting themselves into a corner not because they weren't seeking God at all, but because they didn't do it thoroughly enough or simply because they didn't know any better. All of us on occassion can get caught up in the moment and make a stupid decision or two, especially when we begin to sense God at work in our lives. But just because we are being empowered by the Holy Spirit doesn't guarantee for a moment that we won't make mistakes. In fact, it means that we might even be more prone to make mistakes, poor decisions, or even bargain with God simply because we tend to think we know what God wants. However, if we will make it a point to pay close attention to the instructions we have already been given in Scripture, we will consistently be much less likely to substitute God's judgments for our own. It's no surprise that God warns us "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). More times than not the knowledge that we need is already available to us but we get ourselves and others into trouble whenever we fail to open God's Word and follow the instructions.
Prayer:
Father, help us to be Spirit-led and Scripture focused as we seek to discern and follow Your will for our lives. Guard us from foolish decision-making and grant us the wisdom to incorporate Your eternal principles into our everyday lives. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
29 At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, 31 I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering...34 when Jepthah returned home his daughter came out to meet him...39 After the two months... he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin."
Observations:
When God wanted to save His people from their enemies, on one occasion He picked a guy named Jepthah to lead them. What's crazy about this story is that God empowered him with the Holy Spirit to defeat the Moabites, which guaranteed them success. In the midst of all the excitement over what God was about to do, Jepthah made a series of mistakes guided by his own ignorance. Number one, he tried to bargain for God's favor in battle (vs. 30). Number two, he made a stupid and unnecessary vow to give God a burnt offering He didn't ask for (vs. 31). Thirdly, he blamed others for his mistakes (vs. 35). Fourthly, he actually sacrificed his daughter to the Lord because He was that ignorant about God's Word. Yet despite his example of botched leadership, God still rescued Israel! The moral of the story though is that many of these mistakes could have been avoided had Jepthah simply paid the least bit of attention to God's Word.
Application:
Far too often well-meaning people end up painting themselves into a corner not because they weren't seeking God at all, but because they didn't do it thoroughly enough or simply because they didn't know any better. All of us on occassion can get caught up in the moment and make a stupid decision or two, especially when we begin to sense God at work in our lives. But just because we are being empowered by the Holy Spirit doesn't guarantee for a moment that we won't make mistakes. In fact, it means that we might even be more prone to make mistakes, poor decisions, or even bargain with God simply because we tend to think we know what God wants. However, if we will make it a point to pay close attention to the instructions we have already been given in Scripture, we will consistently be much less likely to substitute God's judgments for our own. It's no surprise that God warns us "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). More times than not the knowledge that we need is already available to us but we get ourselves and others into trouble whenever we fail to open God's Word and follow the instructions.
Prayer:
Father, help us to be Spirit-led and Scripture focused as we seek to discern and follow Your will for our lives. Guard us from foolish decision-making and grant us the wisdom to incorporate Your eternal principles into our everyday lives. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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