INTRODUCTION: No matter your liabilities, you have your “something” that God has given you, be it a gift, a ministry or an activity; it is your unique selling point (USP) which is the key to your miracle/ breakthrough. Jephthah looked within and discovered his oil, his USP and also developed it. Jephthah deployed his oil as time and opportunity presented itself. Success comes when opportunity meets preparation. If you are prepared but opportunity does not come as you expect you have to wait because waiting is part of protocol.
DEVELOPING YOUR OWN OIL – JUDGES 10:15-18, 11:1-11
A business terminology for developing your oil is BUILDING YOUR CAPACITY. Capacity is the preparation for greatness before you see it. Just like David had to do in the wilderness with the lion and the bear that came for his father’s sheep. Capacity translates to being called a fool for working hard because you can see beyond what your critics see. Your time of low season is the time to prepare for the greatness that is ahead.
EIGHT AREAS JEPTHAH DEVELOPED HIS CAPACITY
You also must work on the following areas if you want to develop your oil:
a. INDIVIDUAL OIL/PRIMARY Skills/Capacity – Judges 11
11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and WENT OUT raiding with him.
One of the ways to discovering your oil is to consider your experiences. Perhaps Jephthah may never have discovered his oil – “his strength” if not that he was thrown out of his father’s house and now needed to fight for shelter, for food, for clothes, for survival and fight for everything. His oil was “his strength”, which he harnessed into becoming the warrior that he became. He developed himself until he became a “mighty man of valor”. In fighting he discovered “his strength” – “his oil” and developed it through the concept of raiding. Raiding is the practice of attacking a town or city quickly in order to steal goods and valuables. The art of going out to raid was his own means of developing “his strength”, his “oil”
Through the process of trial and error and the experiences he went through, he discovered his strength that translated to being his primary oil.
WORTHLESS MEN banded together with him
Worthless in Hebrew means – EMPTY, UNPRINCIPLED, IMPOVERISHED MEN
God many times wants to fill us with grace, wisdom and power but we are too full of ourselves, our qualifications, our pedigree, our family name, etc. God needs empty vessels, empty of our prejudices, empty of our pedigree, impoverished in self and everything called self. The men who banded with him were unprincipled men who did not have a purpose in life. Thus, they were open and teachable. They were busy developing their war capabilities, fine tuning their skills and testing their strength against towns and villages. Until Jephthah became known in Gilead and all the surrounding towns and cities, as a mighty man of valor. Jephthah was empty and it was an easy task for God to fill him to become a great/mighty warrior.
Psalm 112:1-3
The Blessed State of the Righteous
1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
Who delights greatly in His commandments.
2 HIS DESCENDANTS WILL BE MIGHTY ON EARTH;
The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his house,
And his righteousness endures forever.
b. LEADERSHIP SKILLS/Capacity: Vs 4-6
Discovering your primary skills and oil is not enough. You need other things to excel in a given field and it includes leadership skills.
There are 5 dimensions/levels of effective leadership:
- Level 1: Highly Capable Individual: Makes productive contributions through talent, knowledge, skills, and good work habits (ethics). They are not good team players.
- Level 2: Team Player: Contributes individual capabilities to the achievement of group objectives and works effectively with others in a group setting.
- Level 3: Competent Manager: Organizes people and resources toward the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives. He is a good manager of resources.
- Level 4: Effective Leader: Rallies every team member to a vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, stimulating higher performance standards. He is so charismatic but no standards to be maintained.
- Level 5: Executive Level 5 Leader: Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Highly competent and humble.
11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and WENT OUT raiding WITH HIM.
Jephthah was not only a mighty warrior but also a competent leader of men (worthless men) gathered to him and he became their “COMMANDER IN CHIEF” Don’t make light of it, man or human beings are the most difficult things to deal with.
4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel.
5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from
The land of Tob. 6 then they said to Jephthah, “come and be our commander
that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”
Jephthah’s leadership skill was open for all to see that he was invited to be their commander by the elders of hispeople. Are you a rallying point in your field of endeavour? They noted his unchallenged confidence and prowess and observed the various raids he had successfully carried out in which his followers increase with each raid.
A man’s gift will make room for him and will bring him before great me Pro 18:16
Pay attention to your leadership skills.
- EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE – Capacity: Vs 5-8
Definition: Emotional intelligence is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. Emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success.
5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel, that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from
The land of Tob. 6 then they said to Jephthah, “come and be our commander, that we may fight against the people of Ammon.”
7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me, and expel me from my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?”
8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of Ammon, and be our head over all
the inhabitants of Gilead.”
He was a very forgiving person. He wanted acceptance and did not allow bitterness or hatred to cause him to shun the opportunity when his people came to him. He did not allow his emotions and the pains of yesteryears to cause him to throw away this divine opportunity he had been preparing and waiting for all his life. Whenever you are confronted with challenging situations like Jephthah was, let your emotional intelligence come to play. Be like Joseph, who would not mortgage his destiny for a one-night stand with the open invitation from Potiphar’s wife to her royal bed!! His emotional intelligence saved him!!
Jephthah had developed his emotional intelligence and displayed the following characteristics:
-
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation/management
- Empathy
- Social awareness
- Relationship management
- NEGOTIATION SKILLS/Capacity: Vs 9-11
9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you take me back home to fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I be your head?”
- And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do according to your words.” 11 Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and THE PEOPLE MADE HIM HEAD AND COMMANDER OVER THEM; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.
Jephthah had a mastery of negotiation skills. Life will only give you what you negotiate, not what you desire. Don’t be presumptuous, or overconfidently bold. Jephthah was an unassuming leader. He had developed good negotiation skills, sought clarity, read in between the lines, the fine prints and dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s. Until he extracted a final signed, witnessed and sealed agreement from his people. He even inserted his own phrase for clarity sake and called God to be a witness to the deal.
…10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be a witness between us, if we do not do ACCORDING TO YOUR WORDS.”
Don’t be shy to negotiate your fee in any business deal, except if the Lord is asking you to do it pro-bono!! It’s foolishness to think your client will want to pay you your due. No client no matter how good he is will want to overpay you.
- DIPLOMATIC SKILLS / CAPACITY: Vs 4, 12-15, 27-28
Diplomacy is the profession, activity, or skill of managing international relations, typically by a country’s representatives abroad. Diplomacy is the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way using tact, subtlety, judiciousness and thoughtfulness!! Jephthah was a great statesman and made sure he exhausted every diplomatic channel before he went to war. Very sound negotiation skills!!
Some wars do not require weapons and machineries of war to be used. Jephthah employed all diplomatic channels at his disposal for the conflict resolution process. He didn’t just plunge into battle but exhausted all channels for peaceful resolution, He employed delay tactics even when the war had started. He only went to war when he realised that the opposing parties were bent on going to war.