Post by Guest Blogger and Summer intern named Crystal.
This week’s young Bible hero is the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite. Judges 11 tells us that Jephthah was a mighty warrior with a difficult life. Kicked out of town by his half brothers because of his illegitimate parentage, Jephthah was the one they went to when things got really messy. Even though they hated him they knew he was the only one who could save them. Before he went to battle for his city with his band of mercenaries he promised God that if he was victorious he would sacrifice the first thing that walked out of his front door upon his return.
Fortunately, he won. Unfortunately, his daughter, his only child, was the first thing to walk out of the door of his house. He must have raised her to be just as brave as he was because when he told her his vow she didn’t cry and without hesitation she told her father not to break his vow. Even though his promise had not been her fault she was willing to die so that her father could keep his honor.
She herself was also a young woman who honored her word. When she requested of her father to have a month to go mourning in the mountains with her friends because she would never marry, he agreed. He trusted that his daughter would return. And even though she could easily have ran away and saved her own life, she returned to be sacrificed just as she had said she would. Jephthah’s daughter was brave, trustworthy, and loved her father more than her own life. Now that’s an example worth following!
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