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She knows not what it is, but his overwhelming distress shows that it is a terrible one. It must be death. She might well plead to be delivered from it; and can the plea of an only daughter under such circumstances fail of success? But she feels for the honor of her father and of the nation. The Lord has given him the victory over their enemies, and his vow must be fulfilled. With a simple devotion of herself in obedience to parental authority,-an heroic self-possession,and a religious patriotism unparalleled in history, she says; "My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon."

She accompanied this declaration, however, with one request. About to be cut off in the prime of life, she would never be, what every Jewish female esteemed a distinguished honor, -a mother, to have, perhaps, the Messiah in the line of her descendants. She begged that two months might be allowed her to go into retirement with her female companions, and bewail so great a calamity.

Her request was granted; and we are told that, at the expiration of the time, "she returned unto her father, who did with her according to

his vow which he had vowed." He offered her up, as it would seem, in the opinion of the writer, we have reason to believe, in sacrifice to the Lord: a deed to be deplored and deprecated; though the measure of guilt attached to it, considering the circumstances of Jephthah's life, and the degree of light which he had enjoyed, it is for Omniscience alone to decide. The melancholy event was not soon forgotten. "The daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year."

Soon after this, Jephthah had to encounter an enemy from a quarter that he little expected. The Ephraimites became jealous of his increasing power, and of that of the tribe to which he belonged They sought an occasion of a'quarrel with him; assembling in great numbers, and advancing to wards Mizpeh. The complaint which they made was, that Jephthah had treated them with great contempt in not calling for their aid in the late war against the Ammonites. They vowed revenge for the indignity, and threatened to burn down his dwelling.

He denied the charge. He affirmed that he had invited them to join him, but without effect; and that seeing their delinquency, he had gone forth, at great risk, against the common enemy, and under the protection of God, entirely subdued

them. Why then should the men of Ephraim come up against him with these hostile intentions?

His remonstrance was in vain. He must prepare for the emergency. Summoning the men of Gilead, and putting himself at their head, he advanced to meet his enemies, and obtained a complete victory over them. Those that escaped attempted to cross the Jordan, but were prevented by the Gileadites, who had already taken possession of the places where it was fordable. Some, in order to obtain a passage, pretended that they were not Ephraimites, and a singular expedient was adopted to ascertain the truth in the case. The Ephraimites had one striking peculiarity of pronunciation; the word "Shibboleth," which signifies an ear of corn, or a stream, they were in the habit of pronouncing "Sibboleth," the meaning of which is a burden. As they endeavored to cross the river, they were required to say Shibboleth, and failing to do it correctly, were thus proved to be of the tribe of Ephraim. None of them were spared; so that the destruction of the whole force which came against Jephthah was effected; a measure of punishment upon those who suffered it which had not been prescribed by any divine direction, and which was alike cruel and unjustifiable.

The period during which Jephthah judged, or ruled over Israel, was six years; at the expiratior

of which time he died, and was buried in one of the cities of Gilead. He had many and great imperfections of character; and we must not be blind to them because the apostle Paul reckons him among the number of those who performed the most important exploits through faith in the promises and power of God.

Human nature is always found to be imperfect and sinful. None but the man Christ Jesus is an exception. How much imperfection and sin may remain where there is still a principle of obedience to God in the heart, it is in many cases extremely difficult to decide. The omniscient Judge can alone know. Our duty is to imitate the example of others, even the best of men, only so far as they follow the directions of the word of God. Let us take this sacred Book as our sole standard of faith and practice, and we shall have an unerring guide.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Ibzan. Elon. Abdon. Manoah and his wife visited by an angel. A son promised them.

The successor of Jephthah, as judge or ruler of the Israelites, was IBZAN. He was followed by

ELON, and he again by ABDON; the time during which the three were in office making a period of twenty-five years. It is generally supposed that ELI came next, who was both judge and high-priest, and governed Israel forty years. During his administration a remarkable person age appeared to commence the work of delivering the Israelites from their oppressors the Philistines, whom God permitted to afflict them on account of their repeated transgressions. This bondage, of forty years' continuance, probably began while Elon was judge, and subjected those who suffered it to very severe calamities. It was during this period that the events occurred which the writer now proceeds to narrate.

In the city of Zorah, originally belonging to the tribe of Judah, but afterwards given to that of Dan, and situated near the borders of each, there lived a man of the latter tribe, whose name was Manoah. It was, for some time, a great affliction to him and his wife that they had no child; but, to her unspeakable joy, an angel of the Lord one day appeared to her, promising this much desired blessing. Her son, she was told, should be a Nazarite from his birth, a separated person, withdrawn from other employments, and devoted to the more immediate service of God. For, said the heavenly messenger, "he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines."

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