Opening Discussion

• What is a promise you made that you didn’t keep? (This can be light hearted)

Shortened Version

Read and Discuss

Judges 10:6-7

6 Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship him. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.

Judges 10:10

10 so they cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”

Judges 10:13-16

13 But you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.”

15 But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as you see fit; only rescue us today!” 16 So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, and he became weary of Israel’s misery.

• When things are going well, why do the Israelites turn back to idol worship and detestable practices?
• How do the Israelites show repentance in this passage?
• What are some ways you’ve let your relationship with the Lord slide during good times and cried out to him during tough times?
• How can we remain faithful to the Lord no matter what our circumstances are?

Judges 11:29-31

29 The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead. 30 Jephthah made this vow to the Lord: “If you in fact hand over the Ammonites to me, 31 whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering.”

Judges 11:34-40

34 When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me. I have given my word to the Lord and cannot take it back.”

36 Then she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me as you have said, for the Lord brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”

38 “Go,” he said. And he sent her away two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity as she wandered through the mountains. 39 At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel 40 that four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

• Why would Jephthah make such a harmful vow to the Lord?
• How did Jephthah allow the practices and culture around him to influence his worship of the one true God?
• How did Jephthah try to bargain with God?
• What are some ways secular practices have influenced the way people worship at church and in their own personal lives?

Discipleship Questions

• Have you ever tried to make a bargain with God?
• How can we make sure that the way we worship the Lord is what He wants, and not what the world around us has told us?
• Why is knowing the Bible so important to our daily lives?
• What is one way you can grow in your knowledge and practice of the Bible this week?
  • Who can help you do this?

Extended Edition

Judges 10:6-7

6 Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshiped the Baals and the Ashtoreths, the gods of Aram, Sidon, and Moab, and the gods of the Ammonites and the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not worship him. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites.

Judges 10:10

10 so they cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against you. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”

Judges 10:13-16

13 But you have abandoned me and worshiped other gods. Therefore, I will not deliver you again. 14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them deliver you whenever you are oppressed.”

15 But the Israelites said, “We have sinned. Deal with us as you see fit; only rescue us today!” 16 So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshiped the Lord, and he became weary of Israel’s misery.

• When things are going well, why do the Israelites turn back to idol worship and detestable practices?
• How do the Israelites show repentance in this passage?
• What are some ways you’ve let your relationship with the Lord slide during good times and cried out to him during tough times?
• How can we remain faithful to the Lord no matter what our circumstances are?
• What are some idols that people have in their lives?
• What are some idols you have in your life?
• What could you do today to get rid of those things?

Judges 11:29-31

29 The Spirit of the Lord came on Jephthah, who traveled through Gilead and Manasseh, and then through Mizpah of Gilead. He crossed over to the Ammonites from Mizpah of Gilead. 30 Jephthah made this vow to the Lord: “If you in fact hand over the Ammonites to me, 31 whoever comes out the doors of my house to greet me when I return safely from the Ammonites will belong to the Lord, and I will offer that person as a burnt offering.”

Judges 11:34-40

34 When Jephthah went to his home in Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no other son or daughter besides her. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have devastated me! You have brought great misery on me. I have given my word to the Lord and cannot take it back.”

36 Then she said to him, “My father, you have given your word to the Lord. Do to me as you have said, for the Lord brought vengeance on your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 She also said to her father, “Let me do this one thing: Let me wander two months through the mountains with my friends and mourn my virginity.”

38 “Go,” he said. And he sent her away two months. So she left with her friends and mourned her virginity as she wandered through the mountains. 39 At the end of two months, she returned to her father, and he kept the vow he had made about her. And she had never been intimate with a man. Now it became a custom in Israel 40 that four days each year the young women of Israel would commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

• Why would Jephthah make such a harmful vow to the Lord?
• How did Jephthah try to bargain with God?
• How did Jephthah allow the practices and culture around him to influence his worship of the one true God?
• Why didn’t anyone try to stop Jephthah from going through with it?
• What was his daughter’s response?
• How would you have responded?
• What are some ways secular practices have influenced the way people worship at church and in their own personal lives?
• Has there been anything in your life that you thought was right until you read the Bible and found out otherwise?
• What are some ways you’ve had to pay for the mistakes of the decisions of those in leadership?
• How can you make sure that the decisions you make as you lead line up with God’s plan?

Micah 6:6-8

6 “What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? 7 Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousand streams of oil? Should I give my firstborn for my transgression, the offspring of my body for my own sin? 8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

• What does this passage tell us about what we have to offer God?
• How can we make sure our service to the Lord is out of love and not trying to gain bargaining chips?
• What can you do to serve the Lord out of love and not obligation?

Discipleship Questions

• Have you ever tried to make a bargain with God?
• How can we make sure that the way we worship the Lord is what He wants, and not what the world around us has told us?
• Why is knowing the Bible so important to our daily lives?
• What is one way you can grow in your knowledge and practice of the Bible this week?
  • Who can help you do this?

Memorize it!

Micah 6:8 Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Prayer TACOS

Thanksgiving- Thank God for freely giving us freedom from sin without trying to earn his forgiveness

Adoration- Praise the Lord for His faithfulness

Confess those times you’ve tried to bargain with God

Others- Pray for someone who tries to earn their forgiveness by doing good things. Ask the Lord for an opportunity to talk to them this week

Self- Pray that your service to the Lord will come from your love for Him