Jephthah judged Israel for 6 years. His story can be found in Judges 10:6-12:8. Today I am going to tell you about some important things in Jephthah's life: he was chased away by his half-brothers: he sacrificed his daughter because of a foolish vow; and Jephthah and his warriors fought the Ephraimites.
Jephthah's father was Gilead, and his mother was a prostitute. Because of this, his half-brothers disowned him. "You are not going to get any inheritance because you are the son of another woman", they said. Later the Gileadite elders came to Jephthah because they needed help defeating the Ammonites. At first he was unsure because these were the same men who'd sent him away, but Jephthah led the army and conquered the Ammonites.
Before he left for war, Jephthah made a foolish vow to the Lord,saying that whatever came out of his house to the Lord, saying that whatever came out of his hose when he returned would be sacrificed as a burnt offering. When he returned from battle victorious his daughter came out to meet him, dancing to the sound of tambourines. Jephthah was very distressed, she was his only child. Even so, he still sacrificed her to the Lord. This should teach us never to make a vow without thinking through the possible consequences.
After returning from war and sacrificing his daughter, the men of Gilead fought the men of Ephriam. The Ephraimites were mad because they thought Jephthah hadn't asked them to come fight the Ammonites. So Jephthah and the Gileadites slaughtered the men of Ephraim at the Jordan River. A total of 42,000 Ephraimites were slaughtered at that time.
While he was alive, Jephthah led Israel. He was chased away by his half-brothers, sacrificed his only daughter to God, and fought against Ephraim. Jephthah's life can teach us that everyone is valuable to God, even if men think they are worthless.
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