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Article JEPHTHAH'S VOW CONSIDERED. ← Page 3 of 5 →
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Jephthah's Vow Considered.
minated by his interference . ( Here we find the justification of the conduct of the Elders of Gilead , in soliciting Jephthah ' s return to his native land . ) All the retinue lived at the expense of their leader , who provided a plain but plentiful table for them , and also from time to time made them valuable presents . This involved great expence , to support which he kept his troop almost continually engaged in invasions , and plundering expeditions among the neighbouring nations—orin shortby
, , the same kind of military robbery which Jephthah and David practised , and through which alone they could keep up the state of a general , and maintain a character for liberality to their bands . They , like the Orientals , did not consider the act of pillaging base , while carried on beyond the limits of their own tribe or nation ; on the contrary , they considered it a laudable and glorious employment for their youth , which procured them reputation , and preserved them from indolence and inaction . Some
similar feelings may be discovered in the border 'forays , ' which were . carried on , on the frontiers of England and Scotland , even at times when the two nations were at peace . Another source which contributed to enable those old German Captains to support their retinue , ivas found in tbe voluntary contributions of the people of the district which was protected by their valour . These contributions consisted chiefly of corn and cattleand were of the greatest service in assisting him
, to furnish his troop with provisions . The Hebrew leaders of the same class expected the same assistance , as we see by the instance of David , who sent some of his men to Carmel , to ask the rich nabob to send him provisions , grounding the demand on the safety and protection which the shepherds had enjoyed while his troop had been in the neighbourhood . "
1 hese details may assist us in understanding the position which Jephthah occupied , before he was called to lead tbe army against the Ammonites , and which David filled while the persecutions of Saul made him a wanderer . We would here ask , is there any similarity in the inferences to be drawn from these remarks on the 3 rd verse of the text , and those previously quoted on the 31 st verse ? One evidently raises Jephthah in our opinion , and we are not led to think him , after the qualification given to his conductagreeably with Oriental manners
, , simply , and in our present received sense of the term , " a captain of a band of robbers . " One circumstance strikes us with much force , while drawing these comparisons , viz . —the similarity between the situations of Jephthah and David . Jephthah was driven from home by the persecutions of his family . David became a wanderer by the persecutions of Saul . Jephthah had his band of " vain men , " while to David were gathered
" every one that was in distress , and every one that was in debt , and every one that was discontented . " Where , we may ask , do we find that David ' s conduct , in this instance , made the subject of reproach ? Do we not find David inquiring of Jehovah— (; Shall I go up and smite the Philistines ? " when these enemies to Israel were fighting against Keilah , even when head of such a party , who expressed their fears , and natural fears they werein the following language— " Beholdwe be
, , afraid here in Judah , how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines ? " And we find David again appealing to Jehovah , who again answered him , by promising to deliver the Philistines into his hands . Why , then , should such an attempt be made to disparage Jephthah , and to insinuate that he was an idolater , and so
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Jephthah's Vow Considered.
minated by his interference . ( Here we find the justification of the conduct of the Elders of Gilead , in soliciting Jephthah ' s return to his native land . ) All the retinue lived at the expense of their leader , who provided a plain but plentiful table for them , and also from time to time made them valuable presents . This involved great expence , to support which he kept his troop almost continually engaged in invasions , and plundering expeditions among the neighbouring nations—orin shortby
, , the same kind of military robbery which Jephthah and David practised , and through which alone they could keep up the state of a general , and maintain a character for liberality to their bands . They , like the Orientals , did not consider the act of pillaging base , while carried on beyond the limits of their own tribe or nation ; on the contrary , they considered it a laudable and glorious employment for their youth , which procured them reputation , and preserved them from indolence and inaction . Some
similar feelings may be discovered in the border 'forays , ' which were . carried on , on the frontiers of England and Scotland , even at times when the two nations were at peace . Another source which contributed to enable those old German Captains to support their retinue , ivas found in tbe voluntary contributions of the people of the district which was protected by their valour . These contributions consisted chiefly of corn and cattleand were of the greatest service in assisting him
, to furnish his troop with provisions . The Hebrew leaders of the same class expected the same assistance , as we see by the instance of David , who sent some of his men to Carmel , to ask the rich nabob to send him provisions , grounding the demand on the safety and protection which the shepherds had enjoyed while his troop had been in the neighbourhood . "
1 hese details may assist us in understanding the position which Jephthah occupied , before he was called to lead tbe army against the Ammonites , and which David filled while the persecutions of Saul made him a wanderer . We would here ask , is there any similarity in the inferences to be drawn from these remarks on the 3 rd verse of the text , and those previously quoted on the 31 st verse ? One evidently raises Jephthah in our opinion , and we are not led to think him , after the qualification given to his conductagreeably with Oriental manners
, , simply , and in our present received sense of the term , " a captain of a band of robbers . " One circumstance strikes us with much force , while drawing these comparisons , viz . —the similarity between the situations of Jephthah and David . Jephthah was driven from home by the persecutions of his family . David became a wanderer by the persecutions of Saul . Jephthah had his band of " vain men , " while to David were gathered
" every one that was in distress , and every one that was in debt , and every one that was discontented . " Where , we may ask , do we find that David ' s conduct , in this instance , made the subject of reproach ? Do we not find David inquiring of Jehovah— (; Shall I go up and smite the Philistines ? " when these enemies to Israel were fighting against Keilah , even when head of such a party , who expressed their fears , and natural fears they werein the following language— " Beholdwe be
, , afraid here in Judah , how much more then if we come to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines ? " And we find David again appealing to Jehovah , who again answered him , by promising to deliver the Philistines into his hands . Why , then , should such an attempt be made to disparage Jephthah , and to insinuate that he was an idolater , and so