The Ugly Judge

Judges 11:1-3

  • Being the father of young children, I get to recall many classic tales for children, including tales like “The Ugly Duckling.”

    • If you recall in that story, a momma duck’s eggs hatch, and she has several beautiful yellow ducklings.

    • One egg hatches a little later, and is gray, awkward, and bigger than the other ducklings.

    • The other ducklings think he’s ugly, and so they ostracize him.

    • The mother duck defends him, but he is still bothered.

    • The ugly duckling gets lost one day, swimming by himself, avoiding hunting dogs.

    • The weather gets colder and colder, and the duckling is forced to spend the winter where he is.

    • Eventually, as the weather gets warmer and warmer, he sees his reflection.

    • He is no longer this awkward gray bird, but a beautiful white swan.

  • When I read of the beginning of Jephthah’s story, it sounds very similar to that of the ugly duckling.

    • He was the son of a harlot, though the indication is he was the oldest son of Gilead.

    • His father’s legitimate sons drove him out, denying him any inheritance of their father.

    • He then fled, and essentially joined a criminal gang.

    • These were worthless men who robbed people.

    • But during this time, Jephthah made himself of value by becoming a mighty man of valor (11:1).

    • He became a great warrior, and the people needed a warrior to lead them in battle against their enemies—the Ammonites.

    • And he is a great warrior, but that’s not all.

    • We see he is familiar with his Israelite history, even things that happened 300 years before him.

    • His insight is great for a man reduced to thievery (later in ch. 11).

    • He also comes up with a cunning plan for rooting out the Ephraimites (in ch. 12).

  • We teach our children these stories such as “The Ugly Duckling” to help them if they are feeling awkward or like they don’t fit in so they know it won’t always be like this.

    • While the duckling naturally transformed into a beautiful swan, the lesson for Jephthah is different.

    • Jephthah had to work at being a mighty man of valor.

    • He was part of a criminal gang, and I certainly am not recommending that, but he used his situation to his benefit—to become that mighty man of valor.

    • He had to study to be so insightful into the history of his people.

    • We don’t know who raised him, whether it was Gilead or his harlot mother, but it wouldn’t surprise me if his education was lacking growing up.

    • Yet he still knew so much on top of being mighty.

    • Not only that, he was smart—you can know a lot and not be cunning.

    • He worked at these skills of his to become the man he was, a man who was right for the time, a man they were begging to lead them even after they threw him out.

    • He became mighty, knowledgeable, and cunning.

  • Let us not blame our parentage or how we grew up for our own failings.

    • Sure, they are a big part of us, and they shape who we are.

    • But it shouldn’t be a crutch—we are responsible for ourselves.

    • These failings will be harder to overcome, but they can be overcome with Christ on our side.

  • Do you have Christ on your side this evening?

    • There are some things that you need to do in order to get Him on your side.

    • HBRCB.

    • When you do this, you are beginning your journey to become mighty in the Word, knowledgeable of the Scriptures, and as cunning as a serpent.

    • It can’t stop there, it’s something that you need to work on.

    • Some growth might occur naturally, as with the ugly duckling, but it will happen if you work on it like Jephthah the ugly judge.