A Judge Trusted by the People

This passage deals with what kind of life the judges of Israel had to live in order to be trusted by the people. In particular, through the foolish choices of Jephthah, who went to war in anger at the complaints and insults of the tribe of Ephraim and offered his daughter as a burnt offering for his own glory, it shows human greed and limits, and the emptiness of life.

The sermon traces how the judges became corrupt as they pursued human recognition, riches and honor rather than God. It points out that as Jephthah and the judges after him concentrated on strengthening their own power and that of their families, the people too were corrupted and left God. This shows that the corruption of leaders leads directly to the spiritual decline of the people, and that in the end God judged them and put them through forty years of refining.

We are led to think about what faith we must keep in order to be people approved by God first, and how we should live today so that we have no regrets as we come to the end of our lives.