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Day 69, or March 10. He should have counted to ten.

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Our thoughts today are from Judges chapter 11, verses 30 and 31.

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Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes

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out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will

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be the LORD's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.

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The big picture surrounding these verses. In just four chapters of the book of Judges

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there are seven Judges mentioned. We start with the son of Gideon Abimelech, who unlike

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his father really wanted to be king. Then we have a list that includes Jephthah. These

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are amongst the least well-known Judges.

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And now today's action step. When a door-to-door salesperson comes to your house, you are

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usually given a cooling-off period after they have gone, to reconsider any decision you

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may have made. In the heat of the moment we can promise some outlandish things, but Jephthah

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was in a league of his own when it came to making silly promises. What did he expect

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to come out of his house? In parts of the Middle East even today it could be a lamb

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or a goat or maybe a dog, but it could also just as easily be a spouse or a child. Sadly

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for Jephthah it was his only daughter. At least he honoured his promise and paid the

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price, but actually it was his daughter who paid. I do wonder if he should have been pleading

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with God first. People in the Bible don't always get it right. Never make rash promises

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that deep down you know you maybe can't keep. A friend of mine, whenever he was asked for

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a speaking date, would always tell the inquirer that he would get back to them. He never agreed

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on the spot. I have to admit, agreeing instantly has got me into more trouble than I care to

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think about, so I'm writing this for me, but I don't mind if you read it too.

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When you are next asked for an instant response that could have long term repercussions, try

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to respond with, may I come back to you? I know I'm going to.