God provided a leader with the gifts needed in a time of oppression. He led Israel to deliverance.

1. Abimelech is dead, and all who helped him in his wicked reign are dead. June 20, 2010 God raised up two godly men in succession: Tola and Jair. The people followed them, and enjoyed peace and prosperity.

2. But then they forsook the Lord. They quit giving The Lord thanks. They quit obeying His Word. They quit loving and serving Him .

3. Judges 11 1 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, and he was the son of an harlot: and Gilead begat Jephthah. Then he got married, and was raising Jephthah in his home with his wife.

4. 2 And Gilead's wife bare him sons; and his wife's sons grew up, and they thrust out Jephthah, and said unto him, Thou shalt not inherit in our father's house; for thou art the son of a strange woman. Oldest son The sons of Gilead's wife were not having this half-breed son of a prostitute receive the inheritance of their daddy.

5. 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brethren, and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered vain men to Jephthah, and went out with him. Jephthah was a natural leader of men; they came to him and followed him. God had gifted him to be Israel's deliverer. His brothers wouldn't have him, but others did.

6. We see that all the sons of Gilead did wrong. In their greed , the legitimate sons cast out Jephthah. In his anger, Jephthah misused his God-given gifts. Let's be careful to use the gifts, which God has given us, for His Purpose .

7. 1 Corinthians 12 18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.

8. The wealth of which he speaks is the sum of the gifts , abilities, strength, etc. that God has given us . We each have a unique and necessary gift to be shared for the common good of the body, and if we rebel against that Purpose, then the whole body suffers. If we come to the body of Christ seeking only to receive and receive all the time, and never seeking to give to others out of the wealth that we have received from God, then we are rebels. www.seekhim.org/spiritual-cancer.htm

9. 4 And it came to pass in process of time, that the children of Ammon made war against Israel. 5 And it was so, that when the children of Ammon made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to fetch Jephthah out of the land of Tob: 6 And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. They drove him out so he could not be over them, but now they want him back. He has gifts that they need .

10. 7 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, Did not ye hate me, and expel me out of my father's house? and why are ye come unto me now when ye are in distress? Y'all wanted nothing to do with me, and cast me out . Why come to me in your trouble? God is moving throughout all of this. He brought the trouble and He brought the deliverer .

11. 8 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, Therefore we turn again to thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead. Now they want the very thing they hated the idea of before: Jephthah to be head over them. God can bring us to His Will, but it is so much better to come willingly .

12. 9 And Jephthah said unto the elders of Gilead, If ye bring me home again to fight against the children of Ammon, and the Lord deliver them before me, shall I be your head? 10 And the elders of Gilead said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy words. The same question as here, in fact, is put to those who desire salvation by Christ. If He save you, will ye be willing that He shall rule you? On no other terms will He save you. If He make you happy, shall He make you holy? If He be your helper, shall He be your Head? Matthew Henry Concise Bible Commentary

13. 2 Peter 3 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. Romans 10 9 That if you confess with your mouth, " Jesus is Lord ," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved . We must confess Jesus as our Lord , before He will become our Savior.

14. James 4 6 … Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble . 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. We who recognize our dependence upon the Lord, as our Lord , become His dear children. That takes humility of mind .

15. Matthew 18 1-4 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children , ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

16. A child is not ashamed to depend completely upon his parents for his total well-being. A servant depends totally upon his lord for all his needs. We must humble ourselves unto the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

17. John 14 21 He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. John 14 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My Words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. 24 He that loveth Me not keepeth not My Sayings: and the Word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me.

18. Submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ means that we will gladly obey Him in all things. His slightest wish is our command. We trust Him that much. As our Lord , Jesus will deliver us from sin and from hell, and from all the attacks of devils. He will give us eternal life, and it will be life worth the living .