Judges 11:29 says, Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. By the leadership of the Holy Spirit, Jephthah passed through Gilead and Manasseh to Ammon. Once Jephthah knew the people supported him and that God was with him, he wasted little time in setting out to engage in war with Ammon. Once we know that the Holy Spirit is leading us to do something, it should not matter who does or does not support us, and we should waste little time in setting out to do it. Verse thirty adds, And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, Verse thirty-one continues, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. Jephthah then made a vow based on if God delivered the Ammonites unto him, instead of just going forth in faith. We need to be careful about believing that we need to promise something to God, other than our faithfulness, in oder for Him to give us success in what He calls us to do. Jephthah promised whatever came out of his house first to greet him when he returned in victory that he would offer as a burnt offering to the LORD. Verse thirty-two states, So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands. Jephthah went into Ammon to fight the people there, but God is the One Who gave him success. As followers of Christ today, when we engage in battle against the forces of evil, and we will, we need to do so under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit, and if we do, God will give us the victory. Verse thirty-three continues, And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. Jephthah defeated the people of Ammon in twenty of their cities, and they were subdued by the Israelites. Verse thirty-four declares, And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. When Jephthah returned in victory, the first to come out of his house to greet him was his only child, his daughter. She came to meet him with rejoicing, but Jephthah knew what this meant because of his vow to God. We cannot just ignore vows that we make to God, no matter what it costs us, which is why we need to be careful about making vows hastily or to gain God's assurance of success. Verse thirty-five adds, And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back. Jephthah tore his clothes in anguish and told his daughter that she had brought him low because of his vow to God. At least he didn't try ignore the vow, but it was the vow and not his daughter that had brought him to situation. We cannot ignore vows made to God just because we decide they will cost us too much. Verse thirty-six continues, And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon. His daughter told Jephthah that he had to honor his vow to God, because God had fulfilled His promise to him. God has already fulfilled His promise of everlasting life to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and we need to avoid bargaining with Him about being successful in doing His will in our life. Verse thirty-seven concludes, And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. His daughter said let this be done to her, but to give her two months to in the mountains with her female friends to mourn her fate. True friends will be with us during the hard times and not just the good. Verse thirty-eight says, And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. Jephthah told her to go, and she did. He had not vowed to immediately sacrifice what first came out of his door to meet him, so he really wasn't backing out on his vow. Verse thirty nine adds, And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel, When his daughter returned, Jephthah carried out his vow. Matthew Henry says some people think that Jephthah only gave his daughter up to be a nun, but this was not his vow. If he carried out the vow by sacrificing his daughter on the altar, this was never something that God endorsed, but He did allow it. We may make and carry out vows to God today based on a misunderstanding of Who He is, but this does not mean that God endorses our vow. I don't believe that God will ever expect us to make and fulfill any vow that violates His laws. Verse forty continues, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year. We are told that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah for four days. Matthew Henry says people have debated this passage for years, but that we really don't need to, because we know all that is necessary for salvation, and that is accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.
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