[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY MARCH 14

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY MARCH 14

MEMORY SCRIPTURE FOR WEEK OF MARCH 14

1 Kings 18:21
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two
opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And
the people answered him not a word.

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DAILY DEVOTION

Watch What God Will Do


Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in
your house?" "Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a
small jar of olive oil."
(2 Kings 4:2, NIV)

	 The poor widow in 2 Kings 4 was desperate. Things were so bad that
not only could she not pay her bills, but the creditors were coming to take
her two sons as payment. When she said she had nothing at all, she was
saying, "It's too late. I'm done." What good was the small jar of olive oil
in the light of her huge debt? Yet when she obeyed Elisha's word to get
containers and pour a little oil in them, the miracle happened and the oil
kept flowing.
Don't discount the small thing you have-small opportunities, small income,
small gifts. It may seem too small, but God knows how to multiply. God
doesn't expect us to have great faith all the time, but He expects us to
obey. When tough times come and you think it's impossible, just say, "God,
all I have is this little bit of oil, but I'm here to obey." Then watch what
God will do.
	 
A Prayer for Today

"Father, thank You that You are the true and living God, and You reward
those who honor You. Thank You that my obedience can never earn Your
blessing, but it can lead to it. I believe that when I am doing the right
thing You will reward me with favor. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

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DAILY BIBLE READING

	Judges 10-12 New King James Version
Tola
10 After Abimelech there arose to save Israel Tola the son of Puah, the son
of Dodo, a man of Issachar; and he dwelt in Shamir in the mountains of
Ephraim. 2 He judged Israel twenty-three years; and he died and was buried
in Shamir.

Jair
3 After him arose Jair, a Gileadite; and he judged Israel twenty-two years.
4 Now he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty
towns, which are called [a]"Havoth Jair" to this day, which are in the land
of Gilead. 5 And Jair died and was buried in Camon.

Israel Oppressed Again
6 Then the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, and
served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Syria, the gods of Sidon,
the gods of Moab, the gods of the people of Ammon, and the gods of the
Philistines; and they forsook the Lord and did not serve Him. 7 So the anger
of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He sold them into the hands of the
Philistines and into the hands of the people of Ammon. 8 From that year they
[b]harassed and oppressed the children of Israel for eighteen years-all the
children of Israel who were on the other side of the Jordan in the land of
the Amorites, in Gilead. 9 Moreover the people of Ammon crossed over the
Jordan to fight against Judah also, against Benjamin, and against the house
of Ephraim, so that Israel was severely distressed.

10 And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord, saying, "We have sinned
against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!"

11 So the Lord said to the children of Israel, "Did I not deliver you from
the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from
the Philistines? 12 Also the Sidonians and Amalekites and [c]Maonites
oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand.
13 Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver
you no more. 14 "Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them
deliver you in your time of distress."

15 And the children of Israel said to the Lord, "We have sinned! Do to us
whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray." 16 So they
put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And His soul
could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

17 Then the people of Ammon gathered together and encamped in Gilead. And
the children of Israel assembled together and encamped in Mizpah. 18 And the
people, the leaders of Gilead, said to one another, "Who is the man who will
begin the fight against the people of Ammon? He shall be head over all the
inhabitants of Gilead."

Jephthah
11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son
of a harlot; and Gilead begot Jephthah. 2 Gilead's wife bore sons; and when
his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out, and said to him, "You
shall have no inheritance in our father's house, for you are the son of
another woman." 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and dwelt in the land
of Tob; and worthless men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding
with him.

4 It came to pass after a time that the people of Ammon made war against
Israel. 5 And so it was, when the people of Ammon made war against Israel,
that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 Then
they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our commander, that we may fight against
the people of Ammon."

7 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "Did you not hate me, and expel
me from my father's house? Why have you come to me now when you are in
[d]distress?"

8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "That is why we have turned[e]
again to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the people of
Ammon, and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead."

9 So Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, "If you take me back home to
fight against the people of Ammon, and the Lord delivers them to me, shall I
be your head?"

10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, "The Lord will be a witness
between us, if we do not do according to your words." 11 Then Jephthah went
with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over
them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord in Mizpah.

12 Now Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, saying,
"What do you have against me, that you have come to fight against me in my
land?"

13 And the king of the people of Ammon answered the messengers of Jephthah,
"Because Israel took away my land when they came up out of Egypt, from the
Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and to the Jordan. Now therefore, restore those
lands peaceably."

14 So Jephthah again sent messengers to the king of the people of Ammon, 15
and said to him, "Thus says Jephthah: 'Israel did not take away the land of
Moab, nor the land of the people of Ammon; 16 for when Israel came up from
Egypt, they walked through the wilderness as far as the Red Sea and came to
Kadesh. 17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, "Please
let me pass through your land." But the king of Edom would not heed. And in
like manner they sent to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So
Israel remained in Kadesh. 18 And they went along through the wilderness and
bypassed the land of Edom and the land of Moab, came to the east side of the
land of Moab, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon. But they did not
enter the border of Moab, for the Arnon was the border of Moab. 19 Then
Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, king of Heshbon; and
Israel said to him, "Please let us pass through your land into our place."
20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon
gathered all his people together, encamped in Jahaz, and fought against
Israel. 21 And the Lord God of Israel delivered Sihon and all his people
into the hand of Israel, and they defeated[f] them. Thus Israel gained
possession of all the land of the Amorites, who inhabited that country. 22
They took possession of all the territory of the Amorites, from the Arnon to
the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.

23 'And now the Lord God of Israel has [g]dispossessed the Amorites from
before His people Israel; should you then possess it? 24 Will you not
possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the Lord
our God takes possession of before us, we will possess. 25 And now, are you
any better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? Did he ever strive
against Israel? Did he ever fight against them? 26 While Israel dwelt in
Heshbon and its villages, in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities
along the banks of the Arnon, for three hundred years, why did you not
recover them within that time? 27 Therefore I have not sinned against you,
but you wronged me by fighting against me. May the Lord, the Judge, render
judgment this day between the children of Israel and the people of Ammon.' "
28 However, the king of the people of Ammon did not heed the words which
Jephthah sent him.

Jephthah's Vow and Victory
29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through
Gilead and Manasseh, and passed through Mizpah of Gilead; and from Mizpah of
Gilead he advanced toward the people of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to
the Lord, and said, "If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my
hands, 31 then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be
the Lord's, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering."

32 So Jephthah advanced toward the people of Ammon to fight against them,
and the Lord delivered them into his hands. 33 And he [h]defeated them from
Aroer as far as Minnith-twenty cities-and to [i]Abel Keramim, with a very
great slaughter. Thus the people of Ammon were subdued before the children
of Israel.

Jephthah's Daughter
34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming
out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child.
Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he
saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have
brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have [j]given
my word to the Lord, and I cannot [k]go back on it."

36 So she said to him, "My father, if you have given your word to the Lord,
do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, because the Lord has
avenged you of your enemies, the people of Ammon." 37 Then she said to her
father, "Let this thing be done for me: let me alone for two months, that I
may go and wander on the mountains and [l]bewail my virginity, my [m]friends
and I."

38 So he said, "Go." And he sent her away for two months; and she went with
her friends, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 And it was so
at the end of two months that she returned to her father, and he carried out
his vow with her which he had vowed. She [n]knew no man.

And it became a custom in Israel 40 that the daughters of Israel went four
days each year to [o]lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Jephthah's Conflict with Ephraim
12 Then the men of Ephraim [p]gathered together, crossed over toward Zaphon,
and said to Jephthah, "Why did you cross over to fight against the people of
Ammon, and did not call us to go with you? We will burn your house down on
you with fire!"

2 And Jephthah said to them, "My people and I were in a great struggle with
the people of Ammon; and when I called you, you did not deliver me out of
their hands. 3 So when I saw that you would not deliver me, I took my life
in my hands and crossed over against the people of Ammon; and the Lord
delivered them into my hand. Why then have you come up to me this day to
fight against me?" 4 Now Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead
and fought against Ephraim. And the men of Gilead defeated Ephraim, because
they said, "You Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites
and among the Manassites." 5 The Gileadites seized the fords of the Jordan
before the Ephraimites arrived. And when any Ephraimite who escaped said,
"Let me cross over," the men of Gilead would say to him, "Are you an
Ephraimite?" If he said, "No," 6 then they would say to him, "Then say,
'Shibboleth'!"[q] And he would say, "Sibboleth," for he could not
[r]pronounce it right. Then they would take him and kill him at the fords of
the Jordan. There fell at that time forty-two thousand Ephraimites.

7 And Jephthah judged Israel six years. Then Jephthah the Gileadite died and
was buried among the cities of Gilead.

Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon
8 After him, Ibzan of Bethlehem judged Israel. 9 He had thirty sons. And he
gave away thirty daughters in marriage, and brought in thirty daughters from
elsewhere for his sons. He judged Israel seven years. 10 Then Ibzan died and
was buried at Bethlehem.

11 After him, Elon the Zebulunite judged Israel. He judged Israel ten years.
12 And Elon the Zebulunite died and was buried at Aijalon in the country of
Zebulun.

13 After him, Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite judged Israel. 14 He
had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy young donkeys. He
judged Israel eight years. 15 Then Abdon the son of Hillel the Pirathonite
died and was buried in Pirathon in the land of Ephraim, in the mountains of
the Amalekites.

Footnotes
Judges 10:4 Lit. Towns of Jair, Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14
Judges 10:8 Lit. shattered
Judges 10:12 LXX mss. Midianites
Judges 11:7 trouble
Judges 11:8 returned
Judges 11:21 Lit. struck
Judges 11:23 driven out
Judges 11:33 Lit. struck
Judges 11:33 Lit. Plain of Vineyards
Judges 11:35 Lit. opened my mouth
Judges 11:35 Lit. take it back
Judges 11:37 lament
Judges 11:37 companions
Judges 11:39 Remained a virgin
Judges 11:40 commemorate
Judges 12:1 were summoned
Judges 12:6 Lit. a flowing stream; used as a test of dialect
Judges 12:6 Lit. speak so