Sun.’s Devo - Our Identity

Read: Judges 11:1-12:5; John 1:1-28; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 14:13-14
Today we read about the Gileadite family. The father of the clan was Gilead who had a wife who had many sons. He also had a prostitute who bore him a son named Jephthah. When Jephthah was grown, his brothers drove him away because they didn’t want to share their inheritance with him. Jephthah went to the land of Tob which means “good”. There he stayed until the Ammonites waged war on the Gileadites. Then, the sons of Gilead wanted Jephthah to come back and lead their army.
Now we see why they drove Jephthah away. Jephthah had leadership qualities that threatened them. God loves the downcast and the underdog. Jephthah agreed to come back and lead them in battle if they would make him their leader when the battle was over. They agreed so Jephthah met with the Ammonite king and asked him why they were attacking them. He told him he wanted his land back that the Israelites had stolen when they entered the promised land. Jephthah might had been the son of a harlot, but he knew his history. He retold the story of Israel taking the Ammonite land. God had given them that land and they were not returning it. Then the spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah and he took his army to meet the Ammonite army. Before he went, he made a foolish vow that if the Lord gave him the victory, he would sacrifice whatever came out of his door first. I guess he thought a pig or a lamb would come out of the door first, but it was his only offspring, a daughter. When Jephthah was distraught, his daughter was only sad but willing to be the sacrifice.
What strikes me about Jephthah is that his own family rejected him yet he knew his place in history. He knew the history of his people and their God-given inheritance. That was his inheritance despite what his circumstances had dealt him. He trusted in the Lord and he gained his identity in Him.
After Jephthah, there were three other judges: Ibzan, Elon and Abdon. Tomorrow we will read about the twelfth son, Samson.
We are in John in the New Testament and John knew who Jesus was. He was the Word that was from the beginning of the world. He was the life that gave men life and light. John also knew who he was. He was the witness to this light. Jesus was the Word that became flesh and blood and dwelt on the earth.
When John entered his ministry and began preaching about the coming of the Messiah, the priests and the Levites came to him to ask him who he thought he was. They asked him if he was the Christ, Elijah, or the Prophet. He denied all these titles and came up with his own. He was a voice. He, like Jephthah knew his place in the world and his place in God.
Lord, we want to be a voice in the world for you. Help us to find our identity in You alone.