The next major judge - Jephthah (part 2)

Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good. 

  We ended with Gideon on Friday. Today we start with Jephthah (Judges 10:6-12:7)  Now you know God does not always use the person we would have chosen.  Here is Jephthah, see his coming into this world, and his burden to bear because of his mother: 

11 Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute. ² Gilead’s wife also bore him sons, and when they were grown up, they drove Jephthah away. “You are not going to get any inheritance in our family,” they said, “because you are the son of another woman.” ³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where a gang of scoundrels gathered around him and followed him.

  Jephthah was driven out, when the Ammonites were fighting against Israel, the elders of Israel came and said be our leader.  He questioned them about being run off.  The elders basically said, all that is over, come now and we want you to be our leader.  He did, and he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.

  On the way they defeated the Amorites and sent a message to the Ammonites.  Upon going into battle Jephthah made an impulsive and devastating covenant with God. Here is his vow to the Lord: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, ³¹ whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the Lord’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”   

Upon returning victorious: ³⁴ When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child.    Because of his vow, he did sacrifice his daughter. She asked for 2 months to go into the hills with her friends to weep as she will never marry and was a virgin.  This brought about Israelite tradition that each year the young women of Israel go out for four days to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

  A sad, but yet great day as Jephthah was obedient to God and followed up with his vow (V31).  Next comes Samson, and most of us know the story, but let us dig a little deeper.  See you tomorrow.  Love you all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny