I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Judges 11-13.

    Jephthah was cast out by his half-brothers and the people of their town because his mother was a prostitute. Later the people of the town needed to come to Jephthah to beg him to come to their aid. We can learn lessons from both sides of this story. If we make someone an outcast because of something over which they have no control, we may come to regret it. Second, sometimes God calls us to come to the aid of those who rejected us. The story of Jephthah also contains a warning against taking foolish vows. Jephthah vowed that he would sacrifice the first thing to come out of his house to greet him if he returned victorious. That something was his only child, his beloved daughter.

    Manoah and his wife were unable to have any children until God sent them a messenger with instructions which she was to follow about her diet (avoiding forbidden food, alcoholic beverages, and anything related to grapes). One thing that struck me was that Manoah wanted to know the name of the messenger so that when its predictions came true they could honour him. The messenger refused to give Manoah his name because he recognized that the honour would quickly turn into worship. We need to remember to worship only God, avoiding the trap of honouring His messengers more than we do Him.