A Knock, Knock Story
Thursday, March 13
A Knock, Knock Story
Judges 11:4-7
After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. And … the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
If you were with me a couple of years ago as we journeyed through the Book of Genesis, you may recall a devotional solely devoted to Moses’ description of Nimrod as a ‘mighty hunter before the LORD,’ in which I expressed my genuine desire to read the unwritten volume of Nimrod’s hunting exploits. What’s the tale behind the title, I asked? Did some Leviathan stir in the waters of his port town, tearing through ships the way a toddler tears through a bag of goldfish, while the whole city fled in pandemonium, till Nimrod strolled to the waterfront with a harpoon and felled the sea monster? Or was he perhaps the special pest control guy you’d call if a T-rex suddenly trampled through your home, or a pack of velociraptors started eating your flocks?
Well, the biblical author’s description of Jephthah as a ‘mighty warrior’ provides the same conundrum for us as readers. As with Nimrod, all we know is that whatever the heroics were, they must’ve been truly off the charts. You don’t get bitter rivals to throw themselves at your feet and beg for your help unless you’re undeniably the best, right? Maybe he was part of a skirmish between rivalling towns during his younger years, and he singlehandedly stormed through an enemy garrison to win battle. Or maybe he patrolled the highways like a Wild West bounty hunter, fighting dangerous criminals and bandit gangs in rocky crags and caves, and bringing back their bodies in a heap on the back of his extra horses.
Well, one thing is clear: God has brought the battle to Jephthah’s doorstep after all these years because now is the moment to put those gifts to use. So, let’s take that as a nudge today to wait on the LORD and trust His perfect timing, especially if we’ve been feeling a little lost recently. That knock at our door will come when the time is right.