Judges 11-12
It’s amazing how little has really changed in the world. Humans will always be the same selfish, corrupt, and deceitful beings that they have always been. We see a couple case-and-points here in the story of Jephthah. First, people want nothing to do with him because he is the son of a prostitute (as if that was his fault). Then all of a sudden the standards change when he becomes of use to them. Men continue to be fickle, to change the rules at their convenience, and to place value on others based on their usefulness to them.
Next, the king of the Ammonites makes accusations that simply don’t align with history and Jephthah has to give him a history lesson. Do attempts on the part of authorities to rewrite history for their own purposes ring true to anybody?? Nothing has changed in the heart of man, and that’s why we all need God.
Luke 14:25-35
It seems strange that Jesus would say that we need to “hate” even our own families in order to follow Him. But the word “hate” needs to be taken in context of both the rest of the passage and of its cultural use. I did a quick (very quick) study on the use of the word, and its meaning boils down to preferring one thing over another. To “hate” something (or someone) simply means to not put it / them first. So that is the cultural context.
As for the rest of the passage, Jesus goes on to give a couple metaphors about knowing what you are getting into – counting the cost before diving in so that you will be able to see it through. So this passage in Luke is saying that if we truly want to commit to Christ, we must be willing to put Him first above ALL – everything else in our lives, including our own lives. We must be willing to put Him first at any cost. Lord, let it be so.