Despite, refusal dampened with gentle training method they meidling always 11 the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. Judges THE COMMITMENT MADE WITH PROSPECT OF GREAT VICTORY Boldness of Jephthah prompted by the Spirit of God Bargaining of Jephthah prompted by mixed with presumption Blessing Upon Jephthah prompted by the of God Bush The Spirit of the Lord came upon him. Endowing him extraordinary manner for the work before him, and thus giving him convincing testimony that his cause was good. Passed over Gilead, &c. Or, Heb. ‘passed through;' i. e. for the purpose of collecting recruits and increasing his forces to the utmost. NOW THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAME UPON JEPHTHAH: When God calls a to serve Him, He always enables him for the task God gave His Spirit to Jephthah, providing needed military skills. God's Spirit does not replace our personality and thus does not necessarily prevent a person from acting rashly and wrongly. Jephthah's later vow is almost like a bribe if you do such such, I repay with vow. If he had truly believed God's ability at this point the test would have said when not if. IVP Background Commentary the Spirit of the Lord Judges. When the Spirit of the Lord is attached to any activity Judges, it is usually to the calling up of army. a tribal society with no centralized government, it was difficult to get other tribes to stand with one or two that might be facing problems. The measure of a leader such situations was his ability to compel others to follow even though he had no office of command over them. this was a of the power of Yahweh, for it was he alone who had the authority to call out the armies of the tribes. Yahweh was the only central authority. It was therefore a clear indication of the Lord's authority at work someone when they exercised authority that was only Yahweh's by calling out the armies This was one of the distinguishing features of the Judges of A R Fausset Barber comments that Fausset's work is of immeasurable value. Remains one of the finest treatments extant. A must for the expositor. 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 the children of Ammon. Webb His negotiations with the elders, his diplomacy with the Ammonites, and his vow, have all amply displayed Jephthah's facility with words. Jephthah, we know, is good at opening his mouth. What has precipitated the crisis with his daughter is that he has opened his mouth to Yahweh, that is, he has tried to conduct his relationship with God the same way that he has conducted his relationships with men. He has debased religion into politics. Inrig It is not until this point that it becomes clear that this very horizontal process of the emergence of Jephthah also has a vertical dimension. The Ammonite was not prepared to listen to truth, the time had come to stop talking and to start fighting. At that moment, Jephthah received the mysterious empowering of the Spirit of God, and he carried out the battle that power. For all of his experience war, it was not Jephthah's skill that brought victory, it was God. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah and the Lord gave them into his hands Jephthah was led and controlled by the Spirit. But that leading was not a quiet inactivity. Jephthah did not sit down and passively observe while God accomplished His He traveled through the region to gather troops; he organized them; he developed strategy; he led the attack. To be led by the Spirit is always to be led into activity and into the battle for God. The result was a victory. Whatever our strengths and weaknesses, the secret of our usefulness is our availability to our God. Gideon was a weak who was transformed by God into a fearless warrior. Jephthah was a valiant warrior. Because of his tragic family life, he had become strong to survive. The story of his life is of God's taking a strong and, by His Spirit, turning him into a usable Whatever our strengths and weaknesses, the secret of our usefulness is our availability to our God. God's had taken Jephthah from the scrap heap of and transformed him into the liberator of his people. We would have seen nothing that God could use Jephthah, illegitimate outcast with a graduate degree violence and survival. But the Lord took him and transformed him into His agent. Jephthah had been rejected by people but accepted heaven. The Lord delights to do that. No one is worthless that God cannot use him or her for His Your past not be as sordid as Jephthah's nor your gifts unusual, but the God who used Him use you as you trust Him. Krell Scene 4: Jephthah makes a rash vow The battle between and Ammon is set to begin. Therefore, the