Son of a Prositute

Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. Judges 11:1 (TNIV)

What an introduction. Short, sweet and to the painful point. A great warrior born of a prostitute. That simple caveat seems to contradict everything before it. And in verse two, it is clear that people identify him as the son of a prostitute more than they do as great warrior.

Gilead's wife [not the prostitute] also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. "You are not going to get any inheritance in our family," they said, "because you are the son of another woman." Judges 11:2 (TNIV emphasis added).

My heart went out to poor Jephthah. He was being punished for his father’s indiscretion. He had no choice in the circumstances he was born into, but alas, the deck is stacked against him at birth. He is treated like an outcast, disowned by his family, even though it is partial family. His status as a great warrior didn’t prevent him from being treated badly.

I think I’m so moved by Jephthah’s introduction because so many people have similar stories as his; born into the world with issues that we have no control over. They have gifts and abilities but no one sees that. They only see the offspring of a prostitute. Sadly, this chips away at self-worth.

Even for believers, it’s hard for people to see the greatness God has placed in us. They only see who we were before God’s saving grace found us. Especially family. And extra especially if you were a blazing heathen before. It seems we can’t rise above the box people put us in.

But just as Jephthah, God knows who we are. We are still the great people He created. Later in chapter 11, Jephthah is recognized as a great warrior and the very people who threw him out come begging him to be their commander. Jephthah agrees and defeats the Ammonites by himself. Would you be able to respond like Jephthah did? If the very people who tried to put you down come and beg for your help, will you do it? Or will you gloat?

That’s a hard pill to swallow, but it exposes the level of bitterness in your heart. When you are bitter, you want people to “get what they deserve”. And when we do that, we don’t walk in the calling God has placed on our lives. Remember, Jephthah was a great warrior. That is the first thing mentioned about him. If Jephthah had said “Let the Ammonites kill all those bamas. That’s what they get”, he would have not fulfilled the purpose for his life. But he agreed to defend the very people who hurt him.

Check the bitterness in your heart against those who see you as a son (or a daughter) of a prostitute. They may be the very people God has called you to defend.

~Terri J. Haynes