Jephthah: Faithful but Flawed

Believers never completely escape the influence of the times in which they live. That is not meant as an excuse but as a context in which to evaluate a great man of faith who was humbled by a flaw and is often remembered for that flaw alone. Jephthah’s story does not begin with him but with Joshua. The book of Judges rehearses Israel’s history from Joshua to Samuel, who likely wrote the boo