Judges 14:11 says, And it came to pass, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him.  Samson had a group of men with him before his wedding.  We today might call them groom's men.  Verse twelve states, And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments:  Samson proposed sharing a riddle to them, and if they could answer it they would be rewarded with thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments, which would be one of each per person.  Matthew Henry says that doing such a thing for entertainment was common in that day.  It might be like a bachelor party today, where many times much worse things are evidently often done.  Verse thirteen adds, But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it.  The riddle was now proposed as a wager, and if the men couldn't solve it, they would owe Samson the same thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments.  Still, Samson was wagering more, since he would have to come up with the entire thirty sheets and garments, and they would each only have to come up with one of each.  They accepted the wager.  Verse fourteen says, And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.  Samson shared the riddle, and after three days the men could not solve it.  For people of the world, salvation is like a riddle, unsolvable by their own abilities.  It is only as faith in God enables us to understand it that the gospel becomes clear.  Until a person puts their faith in God, the gospel will remain like an unsolvable riddle, but the loss if one does not come to understand the gospel is much worse then any earthly possession.  The cost is everlasting separation from God.  Verse fifteen declares, And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife, Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire: have ye called us to take that we have? is it not so?  After a week of not being able to solve the riddle, the men came to Samson's wife and told her to get the answer to the riddle or they would burn her father's and her house, because they didn't intend to lose the bet.  People today may threaten us if they cannot find the answer to salvation and feel that we are somehow costing them something by knowing the answer.  Verse sixteen states, And Samson’s wife wept before him, and said, Thou dost but hate me, and lovest me not: thou hast put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and hast not told it me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee?  Samson's wife accused him of not loving her because he hadn't shared the answer to the riddle with her.  He said he hadn't even shared it with his parents, and asked why he should share it with her.  She played the you don't love me card, but still he should have at this time put his wife ahead of his parents.  When we are married, our spouse should become the most important person in our life, but our spouse should never attempt to manipulate us by claiming we don't love him or her when .he or she doesn't get what they want.  Verse seventeen adds, And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she lay sore upon him: and she told the riddle to the children of her people.  Samson's wife cried for seven days, then he told her the answer to the riddle, and she told the men the answer.  She should have been loyal to and have put her faith in her husband instead of giving in to fear of the men of her nation.  Likewise, we should put our faith in God instead of giving into threats from the people of the world.  Verse eighteen declares, And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If ye had not plowed with my heifer, ye had not found out my riddle.  The men came to Samson with the answer to the riddle, and he told them that if they had not gotten the answer to the riddle from his wife they would not have solved it.  Verse nineteen adds, And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.  We are told that the Spirit of the LORD came upon Samson and he went to Ashkelon and killed thirty men and took their garments and sheets and gave them to the thirty men who had claimed to solve the riddle.  Verse twenty adds, But Samson’s wife was given to his companion, whom he had used as his friend.  Samson's wife  was given to one of his companions.  She had put the others ahead of him.  While Samson was gone, his wife was given to another man.  I am not sure how much of this God was directly responsible for and how much was Samson just acting on his own, but I do know that as followers of Christ we must  always make sure that we are following His guidance.

Judges 14:1 says, And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines.  After Samson was grown, he went to Timnath and saw a woman who was the daughter of a Philistine.  This does not seem to be what one who was to be the deliverer of Israel and one whoso was set aside to be a Nazarite before he was even born would do.  Samson would have seemed to be following worldly temptations instead of Godly guidance, and too often today those who are God's people can be led astray by the temptations of the world.  Still we cannot know how God may be working in the lives of other believers.  Verse two states, And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife.  Samson did not seek God's guidance, but sought his earthly fathers help in making the woman his wife.  Our first step in anything, especially after we are grown, if we are a follower of Christ should be to seek God's guidance in everything we do.  Verse three says, Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.  Samson's parents asked him if there wasn't a woman among the Israelites who would make him a good wife, and he said that he only wanted the woman of the Philistines, who were an ungodly people.  We should never allow the things of this world that may look appealing to us to lead us away from God.  Verse four declares, But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.  Now, though we are not told that God had led Samson to this decision, we are told that God was working through it.  Samson was making himself a part of the Philistines by marriage.  Matthew Henry says that the sin was not so much as marrying outside the Jewish faith, but being led to worship false gods by that marriage, and Samson was not tempted to do that.  Matthew Henry also says that the Philistines had not defeated Israel by a great military conquest, but clandestine excursions into Israel.  Verse five declares, Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.  On their way to Timnath with his mother and father, a young lion attacked Samson.  Verse six adds, And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.  We are told that the Spirit of the LORD came on Samson mightily, and he killed the lion with his hands as easily as he would have killed a young goat.  He did not tell his parents what the had done.  Samson was not bragging on himself, possibly because he recognized that God was behind his success.  Verse seven says, And he went down, and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well.  Then, Samson went and talked to the woman, and she pleased him well.  There may be things in this word that please us well, but that does not mean that they are always what are best for us.  In this case, we are told that God was behind Samson's actions, and we must make sure that He is always behind ours.  Verse eight states, And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.  Some time later, Samson returned to take the woman as his wife, and he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and it was full of honey bees and honey.  Evidently at least some time had passed since he killed the lion.  Verse nine adds, And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.  Samson took some of the honey and ate it and gave some to his parents, but the did not tell them where it came from.  Verse eleven states, So his father went down unto the woman: and Samson made there a feast; for so used the young men to do.  Samson's father then went down to the woman, and Samson made a feast for them, which was what the young men of that day did.  Samson still really had not done very much to distinguish himself as a great man of God, except kill a lion under the power of the Spirit of God, and he had told no one about that.  We may not always see the way that God is working in the lives of our fellow Christians, but that does not mean that  He isn't working in their lives.

Judges 13:1 says, And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years.  The cycle repeats once more.  After a period of peace, the people of God do evil in His sight.  It mat be that periods of peace and prosperity are more dangerous to us spiritually than periods of war and suffering.  In times when things are really bad, we tend to look to God for help, but when life is going along smoothly, it seems that we sometimes forget our need for Him to guide us.  Once more, God allowed them to be defeated, this time by the Philistines.  Verse two states, And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not.  We are told of a certain man named Manoah whose wife was barren.  Manoah was of the tribe of Dan, who was born to one of the handmaidens of Jacob.  Still, Jacob had said that Dan would judge his people.  The descendants of Dan, and the children of the other handmaidens were just as much a part of the children of Israel as were those born to Jacob's wives.  Verse three adds, And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son.  An angel of God appeared to Manoah's wife and told her that even though she had been barren that she was going to bear a son.  This had to be exciting news to her.  Verse four continues, Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing:  The angel then gave Manoah's wife some prenatal care instructions we might say.  She was to drink no wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing.  This had not only to do with physical health, but it also had to do with spiritual health.  If we are follower of Christ, we are to do our best to keep things that are spiritually unclean from coming into our lives, and I also believe that we are to do our best to maintain a physically healthy lifestyle.  Verse five concludes, For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no rasor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.  The angel also told the woman that after her son was born that his hair was never to be cut, because he was to be a Nazarite unto God and that he would begin to deliver his people from the Philistines.  This was all promised by God even before the child was born.  God has a plan for our lives even before we are born, whether we ever look to Him to show us what that purpose is or not.   Of course, in order to fulfill that purpose, we must first accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse six declares,Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name:  Manoah's wife came to him and told him that she had met a man of God who looked like an angel of God, very terrible.  We don't normally think of angels appearing terrible, but I believe that his appearance was such as to strike awe into the woman, and in that sense it was terrible to her.  She also said that the angel did not tell her his name.  If an angel were to appear to someone today, his name would not be important, but his message would.  Verse seven adds, But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death.  Manoah's wife told him what the angel had told her.  She was to bear a son, and he would be raised as a Nazarite from birth.  It would be nice if we knew from birth what we were to do in life, but we don't get that clear calling from birth.  Verse eight declares, Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.  Manoah asked God to send the angel again to teach them how to raise the child.  Even if we know what God wants us to do, we must rely on Him to teach us and empower us to do it to the best of our ability.  We do not really need an angel to come to us and teach us though since as believers in Christ we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us to guide and empower us.

Judges 12:1 says, And the men of Ephraim gathered themselves together, and went northward, and said unto Jephthah, Wherefore passedst thou over to fight against the children of Ammon, and didst not call us to go with thee? we will burn thine house upon thee with fire.  The people of Ephraim were angry with Jephthah because he hadn't asked them to go with him to fight, and threatened to burn his house down.  They had the same quarrel with Gideon earlier, all brought about by hurt pride.  It is too bad that God's people often allow pride to cause them to have disputes with each other.  Verse two states, And Jephthah said unto them, I and my people were at great strife with the children of Ammon; and when I called you, ye delivered me not out of their hands.  Jephthah then tells them that he did invite them to join him, but they didn't send even one man to help.  Sometimes, the people who become upset by the success of others, even the success of fellow believers, are those who refused to help to start with.  Verse three adds,  And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the LORD delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?  Jephthah states that when they didn't help, that he took on the battle without them, and that God delivered him.  If they had a problem with his victory, it wasn't with Jephthah but with God.  The same is  true today.  As followers of Christ, our success is due to God and He should be given the credit, then no else should be upset by our success.  Verse four declares, Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and among the Manassites.  The men of Gilead fought with the men of Ephraim.  It is a sad situation when those who are called God's people fight among themselves.  The people of Ephraim evidently saw the people of Gilead as being less worthy than they themselves were.  We cannot afford to look at fellow Christians the same way and fight amongst ourselves.  Jephthah and his forces, by God's power, had already defeated the real enemy, and the people of Ephraim should have been celebrating with them instead of fighting against them.  Verse five states, And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;  When the men of Ephraim had been defeated, Jephthah cut off their way to escape back across the Jordan.  Matthew Henry says that maybe this was excessive, but that Jephthah evidently felt it was necessary in order to preserve the peace.  Verse six adds, Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.  If they denied being from Ephraim, they were asked to pronounce a particular word which they couldn't do, probably because of differences in dialect among the tribes.  Forty-two thousand men of Ephraim were killed, all because they were angry with Jephthah because they said he didn't call on them to fight with him against the Ammonites.  Jealousy can lead to great destruction if we allow it to rule us.  Verse seven concludes, And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then died Jephthah the Gileadite, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead.  Jephthah ruled Israel for six years, and then he died.  No matter how successful people are in God's kingdom today, they will ultimately die if Christ does not return first.  Verse eight says, And after him Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel.  We are told that the next ruler was Ibzan,  Verse nine adds, And he had thirty sons, and thirty daughters, whom he sent abroad, and took in thirty daughters from abroad for his sons. And he judged Israel seven years.  Ibzan had sixty children, thirty sons and thirty daughters, whom he arranged marriages for.  He judged, or ruled, Israel for seven years, though he had evidently lived a long life.  Verse ten states, Then died Ibzan, and was buried at Bethlehem.  Verse eleven adds,  And after him Elon, a Zebulonite, judged Israel; and he judged Israel ten years.  After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulon became the ruler of Israel.  Not all the judges, or rulers, were from the same tribe.  Verse twelve says, And Elon the Zebulonite died, and was buried in Aijalon in the country of Zebulun.  We are told even less about Elon than we were about Ibzan, but he ruled Israel for ten years, then he died.  Verse thirteen states, And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. Then verse fourteen adds, And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.  Abdon was of the tribe of Ephraim, and he had forty sons and thirty nephews that we are told rode on seventy donkeys, either as judges under him or as men of distinction.  Verse fifteen concludes, And Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite died, and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mount of the Amalekites.  Like the others, Abdon died.  We are not told much about Israel during this time, and Matthew Henry points out that we are told nothing about the high priest.  He says that the priesthood was looking forward to the eternal priesthood of Christ.  We do know that the priesthood today is not an office, but a relationship with Christ.  Through our faith in Christ, we are all a part of the royal priesthood.

Judges 11:12 says, And Jephthah sent messengers unto the king of the children of Ammon, saying, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me to fight in my land?  Jephthah sent messengers to the king of Ammon to ask him why he was coming to the people of Israel in war.  The best way to react to those who oppose us as followers of Christ is to first attempt to ask them what they have against us.  Verse thirteen states, And the king of the children of Ammon answered unto the messengers of Jephthah, Because Israel took away my land, when they came up out of Egypt, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and unto Jordan: now therefore restore those lands again peaceably.  The king of Ammon said the people of Israel took away his land when they came out of the land of Egypt, and demanded that they return it.  There are people today who feel that Israel took away their land when it was established again, and they likewise want it restored.  This has been a centuries old problem.  Verse fourteen says, And Jephthah sent messengers again unto the king of the children of Ammon:  Then verse fifteen declares, And said unto him, Thus saith Jephthah, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:  Jephthah sent messengers once again to tell the king of Ammon that Israel had not taken away the land of Moab or the land of Ammon.  He gave a direct answer to the claim that the king of Ammon made, and included the land of Moab with it.  We need to be able to answer people honestly today as Christians if they accuse us of taking something that is theirs and be able to say that it isn't true.  Verse sixteen adds, But when Israel came up from Egypt, and walked through the wilderness unto the Red sea, and came to Kadesh;  Jephthah had the messengers tell the king of Ammon what had really happened.  Verse seventeen continues, Then Israel sent messengers unto the king of Edom, saying, Let me, I pray thee, pass through thy land: but the king of Edom would not hearken thereto. And in like manner they sent unto the king of Moab: but he would not consent: and Israel abode in Kadesh.  Jephthah said that when the people of Israel came up from the Red Sea that they asked the king of Edom and the king of Moab to allow them to pass through, and they wouldn't allow them to, so they abode in Kadesh.  Verse eighteen adds, Then they went along through the wilderness, and compassed the land of Edom, and the land of Moab, and came by the east side of the land of Moab, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, but came not within the border of Moab: for Arnon was the border of Moab.  Jephthah said the people of Israel went by way of the wilderness around, not through, the land of Moab and Ammon, to the other side of the land.  Then verse nineteen continues, And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, the king of Heshbon; and Israel said unto him, Let us pass, we pray thee, through thy land into my place.  Jephthah said the people of Israel had asked Sihon, the king of the Amorites to allow them to pass through his land.  There were still no demands, but only requests.  Verse twenty declares, But Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and pitched in Jahaz, and fought against Israel.  Jephthah said that Sihon did not trust the people of Israel, so he not only didn't allow them to pass through his land, but he went to war against them.  Sihon, not the people of Israel, was responsible for the conflict.  Then, in the war, Israel had defeated Sihon and taken the land.  Israel was not the aggressor, but Sihon was, and in a war, the victor takes the spoils.  If we do engage in war against anyone in the world today as followers of Christ, we need to be sure that they initiate the war.  Of course, we are to live in peace with all people to the best of our ability and are never to covet what others have.  Israel did not covet the land of Sihon, but they did defend themselves and take his land when attacked.  Verse twenty-one says, And the LORD God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people into the hand of Israel, and they smote them: so Israel possessed all the land of the Amorites, the inhabitants of that country.  The credit for Israel's victory over Sihon did not go the people of Israel, but to the LORD.  If the king of Ammon now wanted to fight Israel for the land, he needed to know that he would be fighting against God.  As followers of Christ today, if we are living by His guidance, if we are in a war with people of the world, we need to rely on God for the victory and give Him the glory.  Verse twenty-two states, And they possessed all the coasts of the Amorites, from Arnon even unto Jabbok, and from the wilderness even unto Jordan.  Because of Sihon's coming against Israel in battle and losing, the Israelites took possession of all his land.

Judges 11:34 says, 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 home successfully, his daughter, his only child, was the first to come out of his door to meet him.  He had made a vow to God to sacrifice the first thing out of his door to God, as a burnt sacrifice.  This had been done basically as a bargaining tool, to help ensure God's giving Jephthah the victory.  We need to be careful what we promise to God as a bargaining tool.  If God does give us the victory over whatever problem we are facing, then we must be prepared to live up to our end of the bargain.  Verse thirty-five states,  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.  His daughter was celebrating, but Jephthah said she had brought him low and was one of the ones who was causing him trouble because of his vow to God, which he couldn't take back.  We need to realize that when we make a vow to God that we cannot take it back without consequences, therefore we should know for sure what we are promising before we make the vow.  Verse thirty-six declares, 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.  Jephthah's daughter told him that whatever he had vowed to the LORD concerning her to do it, because God had fulfilled His part by giving Jephthah victory over the Ammonites.  Though she wasn't sure what the vow was, she recognized the importance of fulfilling it.  We must also recognize the importance of fulfilling our vows to God, because He will always fulfill His part if we have truly made a vow to Him.  Verse thirty-seven adds, 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 did ask for two months before the vow was fulfilled.  Verse thirty-eight declares, 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 allowed her to go with her companions for the two months.  I have to wonder what they both might have been thinking during this time.  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 she returned, Jephthah fulfilled his vow.  I cannot believe that this is something that God really wanted, but it was done because of the faithfulness of Jephthah to God.  I likewise believe that we may sometimes make vows to God that may not even be something that He would want us to do, but if we believe that God has given us success because of the vow, we cannot just suddenly change our mind about fulfilling our part of the vow.  That is why it is very important that we make sure that what we promise God is in accordance with His will.  Verse forty concludes, That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.  The daughters of Israel went yearly to lament Jephthah's daughter for four days.  She had told Jephthah to fulfill his vow to God, and it had cost them both dearly.  We need to make sure that if we make a vow to God that it is not going to cost someone else even more than it costs us.

Judges 11:23 says, So now the LORD God of Israel hath dispossessed the Amorites from before his people Israel, and shouldest thou possess it?  The question was if the LORD God of Israel had given the land to Israel, dispossessing the Amorites, should the Amorites now possess it again.  The things of this earth that God gives us may be taken away by other people, but the one gift that is important, salvation through Christ, can never be.  Still, just as Jephthah said, Israel had not defeated the Amorites by their own power, neither will we defeat the forces of the world by our own power.  Verse twenty-four states, Wilt not thou possess that which Chemosh thy god giveth thee to possess? So whomsoever the LORD our God shall drive out from before us, them will we possess.  Jephthah then asked the king of the Amorites if their god gave them a land to possess, would they not possess it.  Jephthah then said this is what Israel had done.  Matthew Henry says that what God gives us to possess we have a responsibility to possess.  Verse twenty-five asks, And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them,  Jephthah then asks if the king now is any better than Balak was when he fought against Israel.  Balak had acknowledged that he had lost the land to Israel and did not attempt to reclaim it.  Verse twenty-six adds, While Israel dwelt in Heshbon and her towns, and in Aroer and her towns, and in all the cities that be along by the coasts of Arnon, three hundred years? why therefore did ye not recover them within that time?  Jephthah then said that Israel had possessed the land for three hundred years and asked why the Amorites had not attempted to reclaim it during all that time.  If we have been a follower of Christ for a long time, then we should be able to say to the people and things of this world that there is no reason for them to even attempt to reclaim us now.  Of course, this should be true no matter how long we have followed Christ.  Verse twenty-seven declares, Wherefore I have not sinned against thee, but thou doest me wrong to war against me: the LORD the Judge be judge this day between the children of Israel and the children of Ammon.  Jephthah said that he had not sinned against the people of Ammon, and that they should let the LORD judge between them.  This is what we will ultimately all do.  Verse twenty-eight states, Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not unto the words of Jephthah which he sent him.  The king of the Amorites would not listen to what Jephthah had to say, and we should not be surprised of the people of the world today do not listen to us when we tell that God has blessed us in a particular way.  What God gives us, others may feel that they should have, and we can only hope that they listen to us when we tell them that God is the reason we have whatever it is that they feel should be theirs.  It would be nice if people felt the need for salvation as much as they sometimes feel the need for our possessions.  Verse twenty-nine declares, 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.  Jephthah was moved by the Spirit of God to go to battle against the Amorites.  He had tried to reason with them, and did not just go against them by his own decision, but was led by God's Spirit, just as we must be today.  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,  Then 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 makes a vow to God, that if God brings him back successful from battle, that the first thing coming out of the door of his house would be given to God as a burnt offering.  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 was successful in his battle with Ammon because God gave him the victory.  If we truly go into battle with the world today under God's leadership and power, we can be certain of success, even if it doesn't look like it immediately.  Through our faith in Christ, the victory is ours.  Verse thirty-three concludes, 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 and his forces fought the Amorites in twenty cities, and defeated them completely.  We today can likewise defeat all the forces that come against us if we are followers of Christ and are acting under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.