“The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous…” – Psalm 118:22 (NKJV)
In Judges 11, there was a man named Jephthah. The Bible states that he was a Gileadite – a mighty man of valour, and he was a son of a harlot (prostitute). It was further stated that Jephthah’s father, Gilead, was a married man whose wife gave birth to sons, and the wife’s sons grew up and threw him out of the house, informing him that because he was the son of a prostitute, he would not share in their father’s inheritance.
Jephthah moved from growing up among his brothers in his father’s house, being provided with food, clothing, shelter, and security, to disinheritance and being thrown out on the road to live like a vagrant, vagabond, or a black sheep. He became an outcast.
Beloved, some of us may have had the experience of being named a bastard or an illegitimate child because we were born out of wedlock and may have experienced some form of rejection from our legitimate siblings. And according to man’s ways, just like Jephthah, should have resulted in our demise. But God.
Though the Bible is silent as it relates to his father’s position in the maltreatment meted out to Jephthah; the Bible records that Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob – where “worthless” men gathered with him.
In the process of time, however, the reject – Jephthah – was sought out by the elders of said Gilead to be the Saviour of Israel since the Ammonites had made war against them. Jephthah’s experience as a warrior and leader of men that he gained as an outcast, led to him being asked to save Israel and become the leader of all her inhabitants, not only his father’s house. It is important to note that the said elders of Gilead hated Jephthah and were complicit in having him expelled from his father’s house (Judges 11:7).
Friends, it is evident from the foregoing, that a man’s beginning does not determine his end. Despite what you are going through, “…with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 – NKJV). God used the ‘’outcast,’ not the ‘legitimate brothers’ to be captain of all Israel and deliver them from their enemies. Yes, God can also elevate you from obscurity to prominence in your situation. Only believe!
Read: John 11:25; Romans 1:20
Bible Reading Guide: Proverbs 24:15-22; Colossians 3; Colossians 4:1; Jeremiah 14; Jeremiah 15