Canine dimensions we good group of really a pretty 1996 with worthless fellows hardly enhanced social graces or nourished personal ethics, as states Yet he made a vow which he intended to keep A dance of death, Judges Jephthah's daughter came through the door true Israelite fashion to acknowledge the But the of victory was short-lived for Jephthah. There are some strange happenings here but useful lessons. Be careful what you vow. God is not manipulated by grandiose vows. He is the sovereign Lord who calls for our obedience and trust. Human sacrifice is never acceptable to God. It is condemned throughout the Old Testament The sanctity of human life should have overridden his foolish vow But he chose the path of death for one who should not have died. Yet we must acknowledge on the other hand a sense of honor and integrity when it came to a vow. Both Jephthah and his daughter put this above their own comfort. a day that treats vows tritely from marriage to business to public office it would do us well to have this same spirit shown this tragic setting. It is ironic that act that the Lord forbids, we still learn a lesson of the deepest honor. It is also commendable that his daughter holds this sense of honoring a vow with a most charitable spirit Wilcock expresses it well: What he did is a thing all Scripture condemns; why he did it is a thing all Scripture commends THAT: this term of conclusion and the subsequent action he takes would support the fact that Jephthah fact knew that the SPIRIT had come upon him. As the case of Gideon the Spirit of the Lord empowered Jephthah preparation for battle. Strengthened by this divine designation, he traveled north through Transjordan, gathering troops from the tribes of Gad and Manasseh. These two tribes actually split Gilead between them with Gad receiving the larger share. F B Meyer A SHADOWED VICTORY Judges All the nations around were accustomed to offer those dearest to them sacrifice to their cruel national deities. This was pre-eminently the case with the neighboring country of Moab, which the prophet rebuked, But all that wild border-country, there was then no prophetic voice to arrest Jephthah, who probably felt that Chemosh should not claim from the of Ammon more than he would surrender to Jehovah. Out of this arose, not the rash but the deliberate though mistaken vow of Judges 11. Before you judge him, ask whether you would be willing for your dearest to become a missionary a heathen land. Have you ever yielded your all to the Man of Calvary? Do you Him better than the best? You would not out your vow as probably Jephthah did, but are you as absolute your dedication? The reply of Jephthah's daughter is one of the noblest on record. Compare it with 1. Her heart was full of filial and patriotic passion, as she stood there, timbrel hand; but the of God overmastered all and made her willing to yield all. 2 Corinthians 5. Introduction: Jephthah was the of a named Gilead and unnamed prostitute, v. 1. His birth caused him problems with his half-brothers. After their father died, they refused to share the family inheritance with Jephthah and they forced him out of the family home, v. 2. Jephthah became the leader of a band of mercenaries who protected the people of from their enemies. Sometime later, the Ammonites attacked the Israelites, v. 4. This promoted the leaders of Jephthah's tribe to reach out to him, v. 5. Apparently, they were familiar with his prowess as a military leader. They ask Jephthah to come back and lead them to victory. If he do that, they promise to make him the head of their tribe, v. 7. Jephthah answers