Jephthah, Son of a Whore

Judges 11 opens up the story of the next Judge by proclaiming: “Jephthah the Gileadite was one tough warrior. He was the son of a whore, but Gilead was his father.” The Message (MSG)

Ouch, that isn’t something I would want recorded of me, especially in a book that has existed for thousands of year.

It only gets worse for Jephthah as he turns out to be one of a few other sons, who were not sons of a whore, but of Gilead’s wife. As the sons got older they took charge and ejected Jephthah out of their family inheritance and kicked him out of the place that his father fought for and built.

This son of a whore fell into a disjointed crowd, but while he was away and gaining experience, he acquired some unique skills.

Skills that God would later use to deliver the Gileadites and some of the Israelites out of the hand of their enemies.

Jephthah’s origins did not determine his future. He may have been the son of a prostitute, but he got the attention of God and God used him to carry out His purpose.

Have you been haunted by your past? No matter how much you try, that painful experience of the past is still keeping you from moving forward? Or maybe you are like Jephthah, raised in a dysfunctional family and rejected by them.

God has shown in His Word time and time again that He uses people despite how bad their origin story was. God is the one who is looking for someone to do what is right and He tends to use broken people to heal nations.