Shalom and it is good to have you here, join us at a time where we are meditating on God’s word. Over the last week, we have been looking at the book of judges, picking up the lives of some judges and seeing what we can learn from them. For our devotion today, we are going to be looing at another judge by name, Jephthah. Jephthah served as a judge over Israel for 6 years following the leadership of another judge, Jaer. Following the patterns of the leaders in the book of judges, Jephthah was an unlikely leader. When we read Jephthah’s situation, we read that his early years were marked by rejection and hardship as he was born to a prostitute and he was driven out by his family. He fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob where he had gathered a few vain men, a few rebels and went out on raids with them and this is a time when God calls him. We read in Judges chapter 11, verses 1 and 2, ‘Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead’s wife bore sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.”’ We see how he was rejected, probably a very broken person himself. It was about this time that the Ammonites began their war against Israel. When the Ammonites attacked Israel, the elders of Israel sent for Jephthah in the land of Tob. The elders of his tribe invite him back to fight the Ammonites. The elders of the Gilead offer to serve Jephthah if he helped them to defeat their enemies and Jephthah accepts this offer. Despite his painful past, God saw potential in Jephthah and raised him up to become a mighty judge in Israel and He gives him victory over the Ammonites. Like Jephthah, many of us may have experienced brokenness or rejection, maybe because of our past mistakes and sometimes maybe not because of our own doings but these haunt us. However, Jephthah’s story reminds us that our past doesn’t have to define our future. God is in the business of redemption and He can transform our pain into purpose. He can transform our scars into testimonies and our weaknesses into strengths. His story teaches us that while people may reject us, may set us apart, may underestimate our worth, God sees us differently. He has a purpose for our lives. Jephthah’s story teaches us that God specializes in redeeming brokenness and uses imperfect people for His glory. He teaches us that our worth and identity is found in our relationship with God. So, in every moment of your rejection and doubt, remember that our worth is not determined by human acceptance or affirmation but because of our identity as children of God. Let’s pray together, Heavenly Father, we bring each of our brokenness and our scars to you knowing that you will use each of that for your glory for great things. May we stand in alignment with the way that you see us and bring victory for your name, thank you for healing our brokenness and strengthening us, in Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.

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