We are a ministry rooted in the reformed faith that offers resources on grief, autism, alcoholism, terminal illness and life crises, as well as hope and help for daily life.

His mother was a prostitute and his brothers considered him a disgrace, illegitimate, and an embarrassment. No matter that his father was Gilead, a prestigious man in Israel. Jepthah's a loser, people said. He had no inheritance, was ostracized from society, and cut off from his family. He was alone except for God. He led a military band of misfits who acted as an unofficial police force. For a price, he became a paid equalizer, a sort of 'Robin Hood.' He did not fit into any prescribed role for God's work. A misfit, people said.

Jepthah knew what it was like to experience rejection (Judges 11:1-3). God majors in taking those who appear worthless and transforming them into instruments of hope. A survivor and a survivalist, Jepthah used what he learned in his checkered past as a means to lead the nation of Israel into genuine revival. Like Joseph who felt the rejection of his brothers and Moses who felt the rejection of his countrymen, Jepthah's past forced him to discover that God was not only his strength, but also his life trainer.

And God made Jepthah a judge in Israel. Like the other Judges, Jepthah did not apply for the job. The brokenness of his childhood taught him to trust God's sovereignty and to live in His conscious presence. In God's own time, He shamed Jepthah's family for rejecting one of their own and once more chose the unlikely to rescue His people (Judges 11:1-3).

A Rash Vow with Horrific Consequences

Most casual readers of the Scriptures identify Jepthah with what appears to be a rash vow he made. When Israel faced the wrath of the Ammonites they recruited Jepthah to lead them into battle (Judges 11:4-11). The King of the Ammonites amassed a great army against Israel and demanded they return confiscated land he claimed belonged to him. Jepthah sent a message to the evil Ammonite king and reminded him of God's history of faithful protection of His people. He then challenged the King to a contest between his god and the God of Israel. He trusted God's faithfulness for the victory.

God had redeemed him from being nobody and put him into the position of leadership of a nation in need of revival. Although faced with the uncertainty of the outcome of a battle with the enemies of Israel (Judges 11:12-28), he promised God he would sacrifice the first to greet him from his house upon a victorious arrival home (Judges 11:29-31). When God gave him the victory, the first to greet him was his unmarried virgin daughter (Judges 11:32-40). Yet in spite of this terrible chapter in his life, God does not mention it in the Hall of Faith of Hebrews 11.

Redeemed Pain

The ministry of Jepthah is a picture of redeemed pain caused by others. We are often the victims of the sinful behavior and or responses of others. Some of you have been wrongly accused, injured, or harmed through no fault of our own. As the result, you suffer gravely. Others suffer through their own sinful failures. Regardless of the cause, the result of genuine redemption is the same. God restores the years the locust eats.

It is easy to play the role of the victim, to blame others, our environment, or our past for our own spiritual impotence. But Jepthah shows us there is no gain in such a response. There is nothing we can do to change our past. We can seek to understand it. We can grow from our mistakes. But there is not one thing we can do to change it.

Those who genuinely seek intimacy with Christ learn how to use the lessons learned through past suffering for their own good and for the good of the covenant community. We learn to cry out for God to shine the spotlight on our own souls and reveal personal sin, perhaps responses to the actions of others, perhaps a lack of faith in God's ability to redeem our pain. And then with open hands, we receive His healing.

Empty Hands, Open Hands

The Israelites were in severe straits, shattered and crushed by God's discipline. It's probable not all of them had rejected God but were suffering the consequences of the sin of others. When they cried out to God He responded, Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble! (Judges 10:14). At first glance, this may appear to be a divine hardness to the cry of the soul. What follows gives us great insight into what the heart of God seeks after. He wanted their complete repentance. But the Israelites said to the Lord, ‘we have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.' Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord. And Hee could bear Israel's misery no longer. (Judges 10:15) They accepted responsibility for their sin - We have sinned. They did what God said. They put off the old and put on the new. They got rid of the foreign gods and served the Lord. And in so doing, they accepted the consequences of their corporate sin and surrendered to God's sovereignty - Do with us whatever you think best but please rescue now.

One may focus on God's grace or the pain others have caused. Jepthah is listed among the faithful Judges in Hebrews 11 because he learned to see his life as a platform for glorifying God. He wasn't perfect, he made terrible mistakes. Yet he led a nation into genuine repentance when he could have wallowed in self-pity, anger, or deep-seated bitterness.

Is it time for you to cry out to God, “Nothing in my hands I bring….” and allow His "grace upon grace" to burrow through the garbage clogging up the vessels of your heart. Invite Him to cleanse out the stinking wounds and gently fill them with His healing balm of redemption. God's grace rushes through the veins of hearts rooted in faith and transforms, not only the repentant one's life, but also spills over into the lives of others. Experience His grace today.