Chukat/Statute
Numbers 19:1-22:1
Judges 11:1-33
The Torah portion this week (Numbers 19:1-22:1) is so full of themes that could speak to us, that it would be like ‘fishing in a stocked pond’, so I welcome you all to spend some time there and see what the Lord would speak to you. I chose this week the harder road and ventured into the haftorah portion (Judges 11:1-33), fortunately it ended short of causing even more intellectual confusion and consternation for our protagonist, Jephthah, with possibly having to sacrifice his only daughter…The reading begins with the birth of Jephthah, one of the “mighty men of Israel”, a leader in the land. This birth is complicated by the fact that his mother was a prostitute, thus the other brothers from his dad’s wife, drove him out of the house, where he grew to be a leader of thieves in another town. After a time, the people of Ammon made war against the children of Israel, based on an earlier conflict (Numbers 21). This conflict must have been used by the Holy One of Israel, to expose some weaknesses in their leadership and possibly also make a point about honoring their family ties. The inept leadership of the people reach out ironically to this rejected thief, Jephthah. Oh, how God writes a story…Jephthah agrees to come and save their sorry behinds if they agree to restore him to his people and make him their leader! Can you even imagine the pleasure he must have felt to have them admit the deplorable way they treated him and their need for his wisdom and leadership? Man, how a right heart could be challenged by this! Of course, the Lord gives him the victory and the rest is history. What can we learn here about our own hearts and ways? Was it Jephthah’s fault that his mom was a prostitute? Did that circumvent God’s plans for him and the grace of leadership and wisdom upon his life? What does it say about our religious systems that can miss God’s ways? Let’s consider some of our judgements against those in our midst that we may have unfairly discredited. Is there anyone we need to ‘go to’ and possibly repent for our behavior? Are we promoting some of the wrong people to leadership and missing the truly gifted and anointed? May God and HIs word find good soil in our hearts and lives today. by john eisner
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