Tag Archives: obedience

Saul’s Disobedience

85 – Saul’s Disobedience

1 Samuel 14:47 – 15:35

One day Samuel went to Saul with instructions from God. “The Amalekites attacked my people when I brought them out of Egypt. Therefore, go to battle with them and destroy everything. Kill all the people and all of their livestock. Don’t leave anything alive.”

So Saul took his army and attacked the Amalekites. He defeated them, but didn’t kill everything. Saul’s men kept the best of the livestock for themselves. They also captured king Agag and didn’t kill him. 

The Lord said to Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul king over Israel. He doesn’t follow me and he doesn’t do as I say.”

Samuel grieved in his spirit, and prayed all night. The next morning, he went and found Saul. As the prophet walked up, the king said, “The Lord bless you. I’ve done what God asked me to do.”

Samuel looked at him. “Then why do I hear the sounds of sheep and cattle?”

“Oh, the men saved the best livestock so we could sacrifice them to the Lord. But we destroyed the rest.”

Samuel said, “Stop talking! I’ll tell you what God thinks of what you’ve done. When you were humble, God made you the leader over his people. He then gave you a job to do. He said, ‘Go kill this extremely sinful people. Don’t let any person or animal live.’ Why did you make him angry by not doing what he said?”

Saul said, “I did obey him. I killed everyone except Agag, their king. And then I killed all the animals except these few. We kept the best for a sacrifice.”

Samuel said, “Do you think the Lord wants sacrifice more than obedience? No! To obey is better than a sacrifice. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft. Stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. You rejected God’s command. Therefore, he’s rejected you as king over Israel.”

Saul said, “I’ve sinned! I can now see clearly that I ignored the Lord’s command and didn’t listen to you. I was afraid of the people, and obeyed them rather than God. Please forgive my sin. Come. Let’s worship the Lord together.”

Samuel turned away, “No, I won’t go with you. You rejected the Lord. Now he’s rejecting you as king.”

Saul grabbed Samuel’s robe and it tore as he turned away. Samuel stopped and looked at the rip. He said, “The Lord has ripped the kingdom of Israel away from you today. He’s given it to your neighbor, who’s better than you. God isn’t like men. He won’t change his mind.”

Saul yelled, “I’ve sinned! All I ask is that you honor me in front of the people. Come, worship with me.” 

So Samuel went with him and allowed him to bow down before the Lord. The prophet then said, “Bring me Agag, king of the Amalekites.”

Agag came before Samuel, not knowing what to expect. Samuel took a sword and said, “You’ve made many women childless. Now your mother will be childless.” The prophet then killed Agag and cut him into pieces.

Then Samuel returned to his home. He never again visited Saul as long as he lived. Still, he grieved over him constantly.

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Jonathan’s Victory

84 – Jonathan’s Victory

1 Samuel 13-14

Continued from the previous story

Jonathan looked at the Philistines’ camp on the other side of the pass. He said to his armor bearer, “Let’s go over there and kill a few Philistines. The Lord just might help us. He’s not limited by how many of us there are.”
 
The man said, “If you go, I’ll go with you.”

Jonathan said, “Here’s my plan. We’ll go across to the rear of the Philistine camp. We’ll let them see us at the bottom of their cliffs. If they tell us to stop, we’ll come back here. But if they tell us to come up, we’ll consider that a sign from God. We’ll know that the Lord will give us victory.”

They decided not to tell the king where they were going. When they got to the cliffs, the Philistines saw them. They said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of their hiding places!” They yelled down to Jonathan. “Come on up, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”

Jonathan laughed, “Follow me. The Lord has given them to us.” The two men climbed up the cliffs and killed twenty Philistines.

News quickly spread through the rest of the Philistine camp. This caused panic. They said, “The Israelites have attacked us from behind.” Suddenly the earth shook, and their panic turned to terror. They ran in every direction.

Men in Saul’s camp saw this and told the king. He looked around. “Call the roll and find out who’s missing.” They found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were gone.

As Saul assembled his troops, the panic in the Philistine camp intensified. When Saul’s army marched into battle, he found that the Philistines were fighting each other. 

The Israelites that had joined the Philistines now rallied around Saul. Those who hid among rocks and caves came out and joined the battle.

 Saul wanted his men to completely focus on winning the battle, so he shouted, “I put a curse on anyone who eats food before we win this victory.” His men obeyed, but soon they became hungry and tired.

Jonathan didn’t know what his father had said. He found some honey in the forest and ate it. Others immediately told him about the king’s order. He said, “The king shouldn’t have said that. Look at me. I ate some honey, now I’m ready to fight again. Our men should eat all of this food that the Philistines have left behind. Then they would fight harder.”

Saul finally realized his army was famished! He had a meal prepared and allowed his men to eat. The king then wanted to go back into battle, but suddenly realized something was wrong. He called everyone together and said, “Something is wrong, and I’m going to find out who’s behind it. Once I know who it is, he’ll be put to death, even if he’s my own son.”

He then drew lots, and it fell on Jonathan. The king asked him, “What did you do?”

“I ate some honey. If I’m to die for that, then I’m ready to die.”

Saul said to his son, “I took an oath, therefore you must die.”

The people shouted, “Jonathan won’t die! God used him to give us victory today. As the Lord God lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground.

So the people saved Jonathan’s life. With that, the battle was over and the Philistines returned to their own territory.

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Failing the Test

83 – Failing the Test

1 Samuel 13:1-22

When Saul became king of Israel, the people had to go to the Philistines to buy iron farm tools. When these tools became dull, the people had to go back to the Philistines to have them sharpened since they weren’t allowed to have blacksmiths. But the Philistines wouldn’t sell weapons of war to the people of Israel. The only ones to have modern swords and spears were Saul and his son Jonathan.

As king, Saul organized an army of 3,000 men. He personally oversaw 2,000 of them, and gave 1,000 to his son. Jonathan took his men and attacked a Philistine outpost. Saul knew that this was an act of war, so he quickly tried to build his forces in preparation. 

The Philistines reacted to this attack with force. They marched into Israel with 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and a massive number of troops.

The men of Israel were terrified when they saw this huge army come into their land. Most of the men in Saul’s army ran for their lives. They hid wherever they could. They hid in caves, among rocks, and down in wells. Some even left the country. Others actually joined the Philistine army! 

Samuel told the king not to go into battle until they had sacrificed to the Lord. He told Saul to go to a particular place and wait for him. The king went to that place, but Samuel wasn’t there. He waited three day—four days. Still Samuel didn’t come. He waited five day—six days. Samuel didn’t come.

 Saul watched as his men continue to desert the army. Finally, on the seventh day, he felt he couldn’t wait any longer. He got the things needed for the burnt sacrifice, and offered it up.

Just as he finished, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to greet him. The prophet said, “What have you done?”

Saul said, “The Philistines are about to attack, and my army is leaving me. I didn’t know if I would have the Lord’s help. I waited for you, but you didn’t come. I had no other choice, so I decided to act on my own. I offered the burnt offering to the Lord.”

Samuel said, “Oh, you have acted like a fool! Didn’t you realize this was a test? You failed it! If you had trusted God, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. Now your kingdom won’t last long.  The Lord has already found a man after his own heart. He’ll become king and God will establish his kingdom for ever.”

Samuel then turned and left the king. Saul counted his men and found he only had 600 soldiers. The Philistines had camped on the top of a cliff so they could control the important pass that was below. So Saul took his small army and camped on top of the cliffs on the opposite side of the pass.

Continued in the next story

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Peace for an Eye

82 – Peace for an Eye

1 Samuel 11:1-15

Saul went back to his hometown after he was made king and the ceremony was over. God moved several fighting men to go with him. Others laughed at the thought of him being their king. They showed their disgust by refusing to give him a gift. Saul ignored this and went back to work on the family farm.

At that same time, the Ammonite army went to fight against a city in Israel. The leaders of the city said to the Ammonite king, “We’re willing to surrender to you. What are your terms?” \

The king said, “Here are my terms. I’m going to use you to insult all of Israel. I’ll do this by gouging out the right eye of everyone who lives in your city.”

The leaders of the city sent back a message. “Give us seven days to consider your demands. We’ll use that time to see if anyone in Israel is able to help us. If not, we’ll submit to your terms.”

The city leaders sent messengers to all of Israel. When the news of this came to Saul’s town, the people began to moan and cry. Saul came in to town with his oxen after finishing a day’s work in the field. He looked around and said, “Why is everyone crying?”

They told him the terms of the Ammonite king. Anger burned within Saul when he heard these words, and the Spirit of God took control of his spirit. He turned and killed his own oxen. He cut them into pieces and sent them throughout Israel with this message. “Look at this piece of meat. This is what your ox will look like if you don’t come immediately and fight. Every man is to march behind Saul and Samuel. There are no exceptions.”

 As soon as people heard this message, the fear of the Lord filled them. 330,000 men united to follow Saul into battle. 

He sent a message to the city that was under the threat of the Ammonites. “We’re bringing an army to defend you. We’ll be there before midmorning.”

The people of the city were overjoyed. They sent a message to the Ammonite king and said, “We’ll come out to you tomorrow. You can then do whatever you want with us.”

Before sunrise, Saul’s army attacked the Ammonite camp.  The Israelites kept killing Ammonites all morning and into the afternoon. Only a few escaped.

After this great victory, the people said to Samuel, “Who are those men who were disgusted about Saul being our king? Give us their names and we’ll kill them.”

Saul spoke up, “No! Don’t kill them! Today is a special day. Today, the Lord delivered Israel.”

Samuel said, “I have a better idea. Let’s unite together and once again make Saul our king.” So the people united together and rejoiced as they made Saul their king.

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Ebenezer

80 – Ebenezer

1 Samuel 7:1 – 8:22

The people of Israel slowly turned back to God. This was a process that took twenty years. Finally Samuel said, “If it’s true you want to serve God, get rid of all your idols. Dedicate yourself to the Lord and serve him only. Do this, and he’ll give you victory over the Philistines.”

The people did what Samuel said and got rid of their idols. So he told them to come together for a dedication service. He said, “Come, and I’ll pray for you.” The people came together and dedicated themselves to God. From then on, Samuel was their judge.

The Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered in one place. They thought this was an act of war, so they marched into the land and prepared to attack Israel. The people were afraid when they saw the massive Philistine army.

Samuel said, “Don’t look at your enemy. Instead, focus on God and pray to him. The Lord will save us from the Philistines.” He then presented a sacrifice to God, and asked for help.

The Lord answered Samuel’s prayer. Suddenly loud thunder was heard throughout the Philistine camp. They became confused and started to run. The men of Israel chased after them and killed many of them.

Samuel set up a large stone as a monument of what happened that day. He called it Ebenezer, which means “Rock of Help.” He said, “The Lord has helped us up to this point.”

The Lord fought against the Philistines as long as Samuel lived. Every year the prophet went on a circuit so he could better judge the people. The rest of the time, he judged them from his hometown.

 When he was old, he appointed his sons to become judges. Unfortunately, they didn’t have his integrity.  They accepted bribes and judged accordingly.

The people went to Samuel and said, “Your sons are not just. Therefore, we want to be like all the other nations and have a king. Select one for us before you die.”

Samuel was shocked. He couldn’t understand why they would want such a thing. He prayed to God, but the Lord said, “Don’t be offended. They haven’t rejected you. They’ve rejected me. Do what they say, but first tell them what it will be like to have a king.”

Samuel stood before the people and described in detail how a king would abuse them and take advantage of them. He said, “A king will take your sons away from you and they’ll work for him instead of you. They’ll serve in his military, or work for him personally. He’ll take your daughters and put them to work. He’ll take your best fields, vineyards, and orchards. He’ll tax you so he can live in luxury. You’ll become his servants, and you’ll work to fulfill his every whim. When that happens, you’ll complain to the Lord, but he won’t help you.”

The people refused to take this warning. They insisted, “We still want a king! He’ll judge us and fight our battles for us.”

The Lord said, “Do as they ask. Give them a king.”

So Samuel told them to go home, and he would find them a king.

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Ark of God Returned

79 – Ark of God Returned

1 Samuel 5:1 – 6:21

Continued from the previous story

After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they put it in the temple of their god. The next morning, they found their idol face down in front of the Ark. They set the idol back up, but the next morning it was on the ground again. This time, the head and hands were broken off.

Suddenly the city was overrun with mice, and the people had large tumors covering their bodies. The men said, “This is being caused by the Ark of Israel’s God.” So they moved it to another city. 

Immediately, God’s judgment hit that city. They were overrun with mice and the people developed large painful tumors. This caused the people to panic. The men sent the Ark of God to yet another city, but the people there yelled at them. “You’re trying to kill us! We don’t want that Ark in our city!”

They moved the Ark from city to city for seven months. Fear and death followed it wherever it went. Finally the Philistines asked their priests, “How can we send the Ark of the Lord back to Israel?”

They said, “If you send the Ark back to Israel, you must send a guilt offering with it. Then God will remove his hand of judgment, and you’ll be healed. Make five gold images of your tumors and five gold images of the mice that are destroying the land. Give glory to the God of Israel, and he will stop crushing you. But if you become stubborn, you’ll be like Pharaoh when these people left Egypt. He’ll send more plagues upon you until you send the Ark back to Israel.

“Here’s what to do. Prepare a new cart and place the Ark of God on it.  Put the gold objects in a box beside it. Select two milk cows that have never been in a yoke, and hitch them to the cart. Take the calves away from the cows and put them in a pen nearby. Then stand back and see what the cows do. If they ignore their calves and go up the road toward Israel, you’ll know it was the Lord who tormented us for seven months. But, if the cows go toward their calves, we’ll know that all of this was just something that happened by chance. It wasn’t God’s judgment.”

The men did exactly as they were instructed. They got two milk cows and separated them from their calves. They hitched the cows to a cart, even though they had never been in a yoke before. They put the Ark on a new cart, along with the five gold images of their tumors and the mice.

When all was ready, they stood back and watched. The cows went straight up the road toward Israel. They stayed on that road with their heads down, lowing as they went. The Philistine rulers walked behind them all the way to the territory of Israel.

The people of Israel were harvesting wheat when they saw the Ark coming toward them. They shouted for joy. As they watched, the cows pulled the cart to a field near a large rock and stopped. The people of Israel put the Ark on the rock. They then used the wood from the cart to offer the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.  When the Philistine rulers saw this, they returned to their country.

There were 70 men from a nearby town who were curious about what was in the Ark of God, so they opened it and looked inside. All 70 men died by the hand of God.  This struck fear into the people, but it was the beginning of the nation of Israel turning their hearts back to God.

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Cart-for-ark-of-covenant-reconstruction-at-Ekron-Museum-tb031500100.jpg

Cart for the Ark of the Covenant reconstruction, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Model of the Ark of the Covenant, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

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Mary and the Ark of the Covenant atop a church at Kiriath Jearim, from the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands, a valuable teaching resource produced by BiblePlaces.com

Brides for Benjamin

74 – Brides for Benjamin

Judges 20:1 – 21:25

Continued from the previous story
The entire nation of Israel prepared for civil war. All the tribes united against the tribe of Benjamin. They declared that no city was exempt from this war. Any that violated this would be destroyed. They also swore an oath that no man would give his daughter to marry a Benjaminite.

Both sides gathered massive armies. The commanders of Israel went to Bethel and sought God’s leadership. In the morning, the war started. By the end of the day, the Benjaminites had killed many Israelites and had won the battle.

The commanders of Israel went before the Lord in anguish. They said, “Should we continue this battle against our brothers?”

The Lord said, “Fight them.”

The next day, the Benjaminites once again killed many Israelites and won the battle. This time, the entire army went before the Lord at Bethel. They made sacrifices and cried out in anguish. They said, “Should we go up against Benjamin again, or should we stop?”

The Lord said, “Go and fight them. I’ll give you victory tomorrow.”

The Israelite army prepared to fight in the morning, but this time they hid some of their men behind the city. The Benjaminites came out to fight, and once again it seemed like they were winning. The Israelites pulled back and the Benjaminites ran after them. They shouted, “We always win every battle!”

Soon the city was unprotected. Those in hiding entered the city and totally destroyed it, killing everyone. When the army of Israel saw the smoke coming from the city, they turned and charged back into battle. The army of Benjamin also saw the smoke and knew they’d been tricked.

The Lord fought against Benjamin, and soon they were terrified and tried to run, but Israel had them surrounded. The only ones to survive were 600 men who hid in a fortress. Everyone else in the tribe was killed, and their cities destroyed.

Once it was over, the people of Israel realized what they had done. They went to Bethel and sat before the Lord. They sobbed and mourned. “Oh Lord God. What have we done? Now we’re missing one of our twelve tribes.”

They stayed before the Lord all day and made sacrifices. They said, “What can we do? We only have 600 men from Benjamin and all their women are dead.” They knew it was important that the tribe repopulate.

They couldn’t give them their daughters because of the oath they had taken. Suddenly they got an idea. “Was there a city that didn’t come to battle as they were commanded?”

One city had disobeyed the order to fight. So the army of Israel went and killed everyone there. The only exception was virgin women. When the battle was over, they had 400 virgins from that city.

Israel made peace with the 600 men in the fortress, and gave them the 400 women to be their wives. They still needed 200 women.

Then they had another idea. They said to the Benjaminites, “Shiloh has an annual festival. At one point, young women come dancing out of the city. Hide in the vineyard next to the road. When the time is right, each of you jump out and grab a wife for yourself. Take them back to your own land. Don’t worry about their fathers and brothers. They’ll complain to us, but we’ll explain the situation.”

So the Benjaminites hid in the vineyard next to the road. They waited until the young women came dancing out of Shiloh. At the right moment, they jumped up and grabbed wives for themselves.

The fathers and brothers of the women complained, but the men of Israel said, “Be kind and let them keep your daughters. They need wives, and we don’t have enough to give them. Don’t worry about the curse because you didn’t actually give them your daughters. They took them!”

The men of Benjamin went back to their cities and rebuilt them. They settled down with their new wives and raised families. Once again, all was peaceful in the land.

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Samson & Delilah

71 – Samson & Delilah

Judges 16:1-31

In time, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah. When the Philistines found out about this, a group of their leaders met with her. They said, “Each of us will pay you 1,100 pieces of silver if you can find out the secret of his strength. Once we know that, we’ll be able to kill him.”

So she asked Samson, “How can someone tie you up in a way that makes you powerless?”

“Oh,” he said, “I’ll be like any other man if someone ties me up with seven brand new bowstrings.”

The Philistines gave her seven fresh bowstrings, and hid some guards in her room. She tied Samson up with the bowstrings, and then shouted, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” He jumped up and snapped the bowstrings as if they were pieces of yarn touched by a fire. 

Delilah said, “You lied to me! Why would you make fun of me like that? Please tell me how you can be tied up.”

He said, “The key is new ropes, but only ones that haven’t been used for anything else. If I’m tied up with new ropes, I’ll be like other people.”

So she took some new ropes and tied him up. Guards were still in their hiding place. She yelled, “Samson, quick! The Philistines are here!” He jumped up and snapped the ropes like they were pieces of threads.

She said, “I’m nothing but a joke to you. Why do you keep lying to me? Now tell me how you can be tied up.”

He said, “It’s my hair. If you weave my seven braids with the web of a loom, I’ll be as weak as any other man.”

So she waited until he was asleep and carefully wove his seven braids into the loom. Then she yelled, “Samson! The Philistines are here.” He woke up and pulled his hair away from the loom.

Delilah said, “How can you say you love me when you don’t trust me? Three times now you’ve laughed at me by telling me a lie. Why can’t you trust me with the secret of your strength?”

She kept this up day after day. She begged and nagged him until she wore him down. Finally, he told her the truth. He said, “I’m what our people call a Nazirite. I’ve been one since birth. My hair has never been cut, and that’s the secret of my strength. If someone shaves my head, I’ll be like any other man.”

Delilah realized that he had finally told her the truth. She sent for the Philistine rulers. “Come. I finally got the truth out of him. Be sure to bring my money with you.” So they came with her money.

That night, he fell asleep with his head on her lap. A man came out of hiding and cut off his seven braids. As he did, Samson’s strength left him. Then she yelled, “Samson, the Philistines are here!”

He jumped up to defend himself, but he didn’t know the Lord wasn’t with him.

The Philistines grabbed him and he couldn’t break loose. They held him down on the ground and poked out his eyes. They then took him to prison, where he was forced to push a grain millstone.

While he was in prison, Samson’s hair started to grow back. In time, the Philistines gathered to worship in the temple of their god. They ate and drank until they were drunk. Someone yelled, “Go get Samson. That’ll give us a good laugh.”

The place was packed as a boy led Samson into the temple. He said to the boy, “Take me to the supporting pillars.”

Samson called out to God. “Oh Lord God. Give me strength just one more time. Allow me to pay back the Philistines for taking my eyes. I’ll die with them.”

He then grabbed the two supporting pillars and pushed on them with all he had. They gave way and the temple fell on the Philistines, including all their leaders. More people died in Samson’s death, then he had killed in all of his life. He had been a judge in Israel for 20 years.

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Jan and Noel Maughmer, BibleTelling Seminar in Israel, Beth Shemesh, March 2019
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The Birth of Samson

68 – The Birth of Samson

Judges 13:1-25

There was a man from the tribe of Dan whose wife couldn’t have children. This was during the time when the Philistines had taken control of Israel. The angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said, “Soon you’ll become pregnant. The child you’ll be carrying is going to have the vow of a Nazirite from the time he’s born. So be careful. Don’t drink alcohol or eat anything that is against the Law of Moses. And never cut your son’s hair. He will save Israel from the Philistines.” 

The woman didn’t realize she was talking to the angel of the Lord. She ran to her husband and said, “A man of God came and told me that you and I are going to have a baby. He told me not to drink any alcohol or eat anything that is against the Law of Moses. I’m not to cut his hair because our son is going to keep the Nazirite vow from birth.”

 Her husband immediately prayed and asked God if he would once again send the man of God to them. He wanted more instruction on exactly what they were to do when the child was born.

Later, the woman was sitting in the field, suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to her again. She quickly ran and got her husband. She said, “That same man of God is out in the field.”

The husband ran to meet him. He said, “Are you the man who talked to my wife?”

 “Yes, I am.”

The angel then gave him the same instructions he had given the woman. The man said, “Please stay here as we prepare a meal for you.”

The angel said, “I’ll stay, but I won’t eat a meal with you. Instead, present a burnt offering to God.”

The man and his wife still didn’t know they were talking to the angel of the Lord. The man said, “What’s your name? We want to honor you when all you say comes true.”

The angel said, “I’m not going to tell you my name. It is too wonderful for you.”

So the man prepared a burnt offering and sacrificed it on a rock. The flames rose up into the sky. Suddenly, as the man and his wife watched, the angel of the Lord went up into the flames.

The couple immediately fell to the ground. The man said, “We’re going to die! We’ve seen God!!”

The woman said, “I don’t think we’re going to die. He accepted our burnt offering. Besides he said we were going to have a baby.”

The woman followed the instructions she was given, and at the appointed time, she gave birth to a baby boy. They named him Samson.

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Jephthah’s Vow

67 – Jephthah’s Vow

Judges 10:6 – 11:40

Jephthah’s mother was a prostitute, but his father was a prominent man in Israel. Jephthah was raised in his father’s house, but when his half-brothers were old enough they said, “Get out! You’re not a son of our mother, and you’re not going to inherit anything from our father.”

So Jephthah left the area. He became a great warrior and organized a gang of thugs. 

During this time, the people of Israel once again rebelled against the Lord and started worshiping other gods. God allowed the Ammonites to conquer them. The Ammonites were extremely cruel, and Israel suffered under their cruelty for eighteen years.

The people cried out to the Lord and said, “Deliver us!”

The Lord said, “No! I won’t do it. I’ve delivered you over and over. I won’t do it again. Go call on your idols to deliver you.”

So the Israelites got rid of their false gods and started worshiping the Lord. They said, “Do what you want with us. We know we’ve sinned. But please, get us out of this mess!” With that, God once again had mercy on them.

The Ammonites moved into the land to fight against Israel. The Israelites went out to meet them, but they didn’t have a leader. They sent for Jephthah and said to him, “Come and lead our troops into battle against the Ammonites.”

He sent a message back saying, “You’re the same people who kicked me out! Now you’re coming to me for help?”

They said, “It’s true. We did that, but if you’ll come and give us victory, you’ll be our leader. Listen, the Lord is our witness. We will do as we’ve said.”

So the Spirit of God came upon Jephthah, and he led the people into battle. He made a vow before the Lord and said, “Oh God, if you’ll give me victory over the Ammonites, when I go home I’ll give you the first thing that comes out of my house. I’ll sacrifice it to you as a burnt offering.”

The Lord gave Jephthah victory. He totally turned the Ammonite army away and even destroyed twenty of their cities.

Jephthah only had one child, a daughter. When he went home, she came dancing out to him. She was so proud of his victory. When Jephthah saw her, he ripped his clothes and fell down. He cried, “Oh my daughter! What have I done! I’ve made a vow to God, and I can’t take it back.”

She said, “Father, you must keep your word to the Lord. He kept his part of the bargain by giving you a great victory. Now you must keep yours. I just ask one thing. Since I’ll never marry, allow me to go to the hills with my friends for two months. Together, we’ll mourn the fact that I’ll never marry.”

Her father agreed, so she and her girlfriends went to the hills. For two months, they mourned the fact that she’d never be intimate with a man and have the joy of nursing children.

She then went back home, and Jephthah fulfilled his vow. After that, it became a custom in Israel. Every year, young women went out and spent four days remembering the daughter of Jephthah.

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