I therefore have not sinned against you, and you do me wrong by making war on me. The Lord, the Judge, decide this day between the people of Israel and the people of Ammon.”
– Judges 11:27
These are words that Jephthah sent to the king of the Ammonites. And Jephthah is pointing to the reality that God is the ultimate judge of what is right and wrong. That God is the ultimate judge between people. And as I read this, I immediately think about 1 Corinthians 4.
Judges 11:27 reminds us that our identity is not defined by others’ judgment.
So that’s a passage where Paul is being judged by others. And he writes, so just to read from 1 Corinthians 4:3, and make the connection. He says, “With me, it’s a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself for I’m not aware of anything against myself, but I’m not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore, do not pronounce judgment before the time before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.”
So I read that in 1 Corinthians 4. Based on Judges 11. Because well, if we’re not careful, we will view ourselves through the judgments of others. Or we’ll view ourselves through our own judgments of ourselves.
What’s so helpful that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 4 is that we should not look to others’ judgments of us as the determinant of who we are. Or even our own judgments of ourselves. But we should fix our eyes on God as our Judge. And look at our lives through the lens of his Word and his justice. And that’s exactly what Jephthah is saying in Judges 11. I just want to encourage you with that today. Look to God, look to Jesus as your Judge. Keep your eyes fixed on him, not on others’ judgments or opinions about you.
Judges 11:27 challenges us to live for God’s approval.
I just think about all the conversations I have with my kids about not living for the approval or the judgments of others. I just would encourage every student, teenager who’s listening to this: Don’t live for the judgments and approval of others. And not just students and teenagers. This persists throughout all of our lives. This temptation to look to others and their judgments of us, their opinions of us. And God is saying in his Word, don’t do it.
Don’t even judge yourself because we’re all tempted to look positively on ourselves when we might not should be. Instead, we need to look at ourselves through the lens of God, of Jesus as our judge. And in the process, see ourselves rightly.
The good news of the gospel is that through faith in Jesus and the grace of God, we are clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. And through the power of his Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin, we can see through God’s eyes, sin in our own hearts. And yes, we can be helped by the church. By brothers and sisters in Christ to see these things in us. But the whole point is not to see ourselves through others’ eyes. But to see ourselves ultimately through God’s eyes and to live before him as our Judge and our Savior, and our Father and our Lord.
Just keep going on and on as the God who loves us so much and is committed to our being conformed into the image of Jesus.
This verse encourages us to pray for the right perspective.
So we pray, God help us to fix our eyes on you and your judgments, not on others’ judgments of us or even our judgments of ourselves. God, help us to see ourselves properly from your perspective, according to your Word. Help us to believe all the things you say about us being fearfully and wonderfully made by you and desperately in need of you and your grace. Help us through faith in Jesus to see ourselves as robed in his righteousness and loved by you, and forgiven by you, and adopted by you into your family.
And God, help us to see our sin clearly, to turn from it that we might live in the righteousness that you’ve made possible for us. Lord Jesus, we are so thankful that other people are not our judges. We are so thankful, oh God, that you are our Judge and our Savior and our Father and our Friend.
Prayer for the Darzi People
Oh God, we pray that you would help us to make this good news known in the world. Help us to lead other people around us to see that in their sin and all of our sin, we will face judgment before you, but you are merciful, and you have made a way for our forgiveness. God, help us to lead people to your mercy, knowing that your judgment is coming for all who’ve not trusted in Jesus.
And God, we pray this specifically over people who’ve never heard the good news and don’t have access to the good news about Jesus. God, we pray for the Darzi people of India, Pakistan, and other countries. There are 1.6 million Muslims, hardly any followers of Jesus among this Bengali-speaking people group. God, we pray, please cause the Darzi people to be reached with the good news of your mercy in Jesus before they face judgment, eternal judgment apart from the gospel.
Oh God, we pray all of this in light of your Word in Judges 11:27, to you, our Judge, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
